Microgynon

Drug name: Microgynon

Other names used:

• Lessina®

Active Ingredients: levonorgestrel, ethinyl estradiol

Therapeutic actions: Combined oral contraceptives like Microgynon work by over-riding the normal menstrual cycle. The daily dose of hormones taken in the pill work mainly by tricking your body into thinking that ovulation has already happened. This prevents an egg from ripening and being released from the ovaries each month.

The hormones also increase the thickness of the natural mucus at the neck of the womb, which makes it more difficult for sperm to cross from the vagina into the womb and reach an egg. They also change the quality of the womb lining (endometrium), making it less likely that a fertilised egg can implant there.

Indications: Ideally, you should start taking this pill on day one of your menstrual cycle (the first day of your period). This will protect you from pregnancy immediately and you won't need to use any additional methods of contraception. If necessary, you can also start taking it up to day five of your cycle without needing to use additional Contraception when you start. However, if you have a short menstrual cycle (with your period coming every 23 days or less), starting as late as the fifth day of your cycle may not provide you with immediate contraceptive protection. You should talk to your doctor or nurse about this and whether you need to use an additional contraceptive method for the first seven days.

Contraindications and cautions: Use with caution in

• Women aged over 35 years
• Women whose parent, brother or sister had a stroke caused by a blood clot or a heart attack before the age of 45
• Women with a parent, brother or sister who has had a blood clot in a vein (venous thromboembolism), eg in the leg (deep vein thrombosis) or in the lungs (pulmonary embolism) before the age of 45
• Obesity
• Smokers
• Diabetes mellitus
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Women who use a wheelchair
• Varicose veins
• Hereditary blood disorder called sickle cell disease
• History of severe depression
• History of migraines
• Inflammatory bowel disease, eg Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis
• History of liver disease
• Decreased kidney function
• Heart failure
• History of gallstones
• Close family history of breast cancer (eg mother or sister has had the disease)
• History of irregular brown patches appearing on the skin, usually of the face, during pregnancy or previous use of a contraceptive pill (chloasma). Women with a tendency to this condition should minimise their exposure to the sun or UV light while taking this contraceptive.

Not to be used in the following conditions:

• Known or suspected pregnancy
• Breastfeeding (until weaning or for six months after birth)
• Women who have ever had a blood clot in a vein (venous thromboembolism), eg in the leg (deep vein thrombosis) or in the lungs (pulmonary embolism)
• Blood disorders that increase the risk of blood clots in the veins, eg antiphospholipid syndrome or factor V Leiden
• Long-term condition called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
• Excess of urea in the blood causing damaged red blood cells (haemolytic uraemic syndrome)
• Women with two or more other risk factors for getting a blood clot in a vein, eg family history of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism before the age of 45 (parent, brother or sister), obesity, varicose veins, long-term immobility
• Women who have ever had a blood clot in an artery, eg a stroke or mini-stroke caused by a blood clot, or a heart attack
• Angina
• Heart valve disease
• Irregular heartbeat caused by very rapid contraction of the top two chambers of the heart (atrial fibrillation)
• Moderate to severe high blood pressure (hypertension)
• High Cholesterol levels
• Severe Diabetes with complications, eg affecting the eyes, kidneys or nerves
• Women who smoke more than 40 cigarettes per day
• Women over 50 years of age
• Women with two or more other risk factors for getting a blood clot in an artery, eg family history of heart attack or stroke before the age of 45 (parent, brother or sister), diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, age over 35 years, obesity, migraines
• Women who get migraines with aura, severe migraines regularly lasting over 72 hours despite treatment, or migraines that are treated with ergot derivatives
• History of breast cancer
• Cancer involving the genital tract
• Vaginal bleeding of unknown cause
• Severe liver disease, eg liver cancer, hepatitis
• History of liver disease when liver function has not returned to normal
• Disorders of bile excretion that cause jaundice (eg Dubin-Johnson or Rotor syndrome)
• Gallstones (cholelithiasis)
• History of jaundice, severe itching, hearing disorder called otosclerosis, or rash called pemphigoid gestationis during a previous pregnancy, or previous use of sex hormones
• Hereditary blood disorders known as porphyrias.

Adverse effects: The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache/migraine
• Breast tenderness, enlargement
• Weight changes
• Retention of water in the body tissues (fluid retention)
• Vaginal thrush (candidiasis)
• Change in menstrual bleeding
• Menstrual spotting or breakthrough bleeding
• Depression
• Skin reactions
• Decreased sex drive
• Rise in blood pressure
• Irregular brown patches on the skin, usually of the face (chloasma)
• Steepening of corneal curvature which may make contact lenses uncomfortable
• Disturbance in liver function
• Gallstones
• Blood clots in the blood vessels (eg, DVT, pulmonary embolism, heart attack, stroke - see warnings above)

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.

Interactions: It is important to tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are already taking, including those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines, before you start taking this contraceptive. Similarly, check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medicines while using this one, to ensure that the combination is safe.

The following medicines speed up the breakdown of the hormones in this contraceptive by the liver, which makes it less effective at preventing pregnancy:

• antiepileptic medicines, eg phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, topiramate
• aprepitant
• barbiturates
• bosentan
• griseofulvin
• modafinil
• nelfinavir
• nevirapine
• ritonavir
• rifampicin
• rifabutin
• the herbal remedy St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum).

If you regularly take any of these medicines, this contraceptive is not recommended for you, because these medicines are likely to make this contraceptive ineffective at preventing pregnancy. You should talk to your doctor about other contraceptive options. You should keep using the alternative contraception that you choose for four to eight weeks after stopping treatment with any of these medicines.

If you are prescribed rifampicin or rifabutin, an alternative method of contraception is usually always recommended, because these particular antibiotics make the pill ineffective.

Other antibiotics do not affect the breakdown of the pill by the liver. However, if you are prescribed another antibiotic medicine (eg amoxicillin, doxycycline) while taking this contraceptive, there is a very low risk that the antibiotic may make your pill less effective at preventing pregnancy. Although the risk of this is very low, the personal and ethical consequences of an unwanted pregnancy can be very serious. For this reason, it is recommended that you use an extra method of contraception (eg condoms) while you are taking the antibiotic and for seven days after finishing the course. If these seven days run beyond the end of a pill packet, a new packet should be started without a break. For more information talk to your pharmacist.

If you are prescribed an antibiotic for longer than three weeks, eg for treating acne, then you don't need to use extra contraception after you have been taking that antibiotic for three weeks or longer. But, if you are then also prescribed a short course of a different antibiotic, you will need to use extra contraception again, as above. For more information talk to your pharmacist.

This pill may increase the blood level of the immunosuppressant medicine ciclosporin.

Additional Information: DO NOT SHARE THIS MEDICINE with others. DO NOT USE THIS MEDICINE for other health conditions. KEEP THIS PRODUCT, as well as syringes and needles, if needed during treatment, out of the reach of children. Do not reuse needles, syringes, or other materials.