How soon after taking the active birth control pills will I be protected?

Hi there, I have a question.





I have been taking Loestrin 28-day birth control pills for nearly five months, in preparation for getting married. My doctor told me it would be best to take the pills for several months to ';get it in my system';.





Well I got married last month :) Anyway, my question is this:





After a week of taking the inactive pills (I had my period during this week), am I protected the day that I take the first active green pill?





For that matter, is it safe to have sex while I'm taking the inactive pills? I wouldn't want to do it during my period (yucky!) but from the time I start taking the inactive pills, it takes two days for me to start my period and I would like to be able to ';do it'; on those two days if possible. We haven't used condoms before - I'd prefer to just work around the pill if possible.





The instruction sheet that came with the pack was kind of vague but I'd rather be safe than sorry, so please answer if you can!!How soon after taking the active birth control pills will I be protected?
Go ahead. You are as safe as a birth control pill can make you.How soon after taking the active birth control pills will I be protected?
8 hours