Friday, April 19, 2024

Does Lo Loestrin Have Estrogen And Progestin

Don't Miss

Why Do Birth Control Pills Contain Estrogen

Why Low Dose Birth Control Pills are not what you think and not good for your bones!

As Ive mentioned, combined birth control pills with estrogen and progestin, trick your pituitary gland into thinking you are pregnant. The constant doses of estrogen each day are pivotal to this trickery because of the estrogen:

Prevents your pituitary gland from producing the follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone so that ovulation doesnt take place.

Thickens the lining of your uterus, making the environment more hostile to conception.

What Side Effects May I Notice From Receiving This Medicine

Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:

  • allergic reactions like skin rash, itching or hives, swelling of the face, lips, or tongue
  • breast tissue changes or discharge
  • changes in vaginal bleeding during your period or between your periods
  • changes in vision
  • leg, arm or groin pain
  • loss of balance or coordination
  • severe or sudden headaches
  • sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg
  • symptoms of vaginal infection like itching, irritation or unusual discharge
  • tenderness in the upper abdomen
  • trouble speaking or understanding
  • skin rash, acne, or brown spots on the skin
  • weight gain

This list may not describe all possible side effects. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What Are Contraceptives Used For

Generally, contraceptives are used to prevent pregnancy. However, certain contraceptives can also be used to treat other conditions. For example, four combined oral contraceptives have FDA approval for the treatment of acne. Certain combined oral contraceptives are also FDA-approved for premenstrual dysphoric disorder . Many contraceptives are used âoff-labelâ to treat the conditions below:

  • Polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Painful menstruation

Don’t Miss: Does Nugenix Have An Estrogen Blocker

Thrombotic And Other Vascular Events

Stop Lo Loestrin Fe if an arterial or deep venous thrombotic event occurs. Although use of COCs increases the risk of venous thromboembolism, pregnancy increases the risk of venous thromboembolism as much or more than the use of COCs. The risk of venous thromboembolism in women using COCs is 3 to 9 per 10,000 woman-years. The risk is highest during the first year of use of a COC. Use of COCs also increases the risk of arterial thromboses such as strokes and myocardial infarctions, especially in women with other risk factors for these events. The risk of thromboembolic disease due to oral contraceptives gradually disappears after COC use is discontinued.

If feasible, stop Lo Loestrin Fe at least 4 weeks before and through 2 weeks after major surgery or other surgeries known to have an elevated risk of thromboembolism.

Start Lo Loestrin Fe no earlier than 4 weeks after delivery, in women who are not breastfeeding. The risk of postpartum thromboembolism decreases after the third postpartum week, whereas the risk of ovulation increases after the third postpartum week.

COCs have been shown to increase both the relative and attributable risks of cerebrovascular events , although, in general, the risk is greatest in older , hypertensive women who also smoke. COCs also increase the risk for stroke in women with underlying risk factors.

Oral contraceptives must be used with caution in women with cardiovascular disease risk factors.

What Are The Side Effects Of Low

How to Take

Even though low-estrogen pills have less estrogen than other birth control pills on the market, the side effects are similar: nausea/vomiting, headaches, spotting or bleeding between menstrual periods, weight change, breast tenderness, acne, abdominal pain, anxiety, and depression. Like other higher-dose estrogen pills, low-estrogen birth control pills can also increase the risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack. It’s best to talk to your doctor to assess your risk factors, especially if you smoke cigarettes and are over the age of 35, Dr. Richardson advised.

Also Check: Does Blue Cross Blue Shield Cover Testosterone Therapy

How Should I Take Lo Leostrin Fe

  • Take one pill every day at the same time. If you miss pills you could get pregnant. This includes starting the pack late. The more pills you miss, the more likely you are to get pregnant.
  • You may have spotting or light bleeding, or may feel sick to your stomach during the first few months of taking Lo Loestrin Fe. If you have spotting or light bleeding or feel sick to your stomach, do not stop taking the pill. The problem will usually go away. If it doesn’t go away, check with your healthcare provider.
  • Missing pills can also cause spotting or light bleeding, even when you take these missed pills later. On the days you take 2 pills to make up for missed pills, you could also feel a little sick to your stomach.
  • If you have trouble remembering to take Lo Loestrin Fe, talk to your healthcare provider about how to make pill-taking easier or about using another method of birth control.
  • If you have vomiting or diarrhea , you should follow the instructions for What to do if you miss pills.
  • If you have any questions or are unsure about the information in this leaflet, call your healthcare provider.

Before you start taking Lo Loestrin Fe

1. Decide what time of day you want to take your pill. It is important to take it at the same time every day.

2. Look at your pill pack: The Lo Loestrin Fe pill pack has 24 “active” blue pills and 2 active white pills for Weeks 1, 2, 3 and part of Week 4. The pill pack also has 2 “reminder” brown pills for the last part of Week 4.

3. Find:

Do Birth Control Pills Cause Cancer

The link between birth control pills and breast cancer risk cannot be ignored. BCPs can increase breast cancer risk, particularly in women who take the pill before they have had children.

The figures are startling. Research from the Womens Lifestyle and Health Study in Sweden and Norway has shown that the risk of breast cancer in women taking the contraceptive pill rose by:

  • 26% in women who had used the pill but had ceased to take it.
  • 58% in women still using the pill compared with never-users.
  • 144% in women aged 45 or over who were still using the Pill.

According to the National Cancer Institute, BCPs may also increase the risk of benign liver lumps which have the potential to turn into cancer.

Plus women on BCPs are also at a higher risk of developing cervical cancer. The good news? The risk lessens after 10 years of no longer taking the pill.

What about ovarian cancer and birth control pills? In this case, studies suggest that BCPs have a protective effect.

But when you consider the many other negative impacts of these tiny pills, you would do better to reduce cancer risks naturally and avoid the other dangers of birth control pills.

There are plenty of steps you can take to reduce the risk of estrogenic cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer. I discuss them here in my post about 15 Ways to Prevent and Manage Breast Cancer Naturally.

You May Like: Does Insurance Cover Testosterone Injections

When Will I Get My Period After Taking Diane 35

You will usually get your period 2-4 days after taking the last tablet. When to start the second and ongoing pack of pills: The first tablet in the next pack will always be taken on the same day of the week that you first began taking DIANE35.

How To Choose The Best Birth Control Pill For You

Story Time | Birth Control Experiences

Because every woman is different, your body may tolerate some brands of birth control pills better than others.

Here are a couple of steps we suggest you consider when thinking about what birth control is best for you:

What are the side effects? Most doctors recommend staying on a new birth control pill for at least 2-3 months. However, different women experience different side effects, so if you try one and it’s not the right fit, be sure to tell your doctor so you can try a different pill.

What hormones would work best in my body? Most doctors will probably recommend a combined contraceptive, but if estrogen is a concern , you may want to consider a progestin-only pill.

Is it name-brand or generic? In general, when you are looking at name-brand birth controls, they will be more expensive. Depending on your insurance or budget, you may want to ask about the generic version of birth control

Why do I want to be on birth control? If you are simply looking for a contraception method, the pill you choose may be different from if you are looking for birth control for acne, or PMDD, etc. Be mindful of the fact that the pill does not protect against STDs.

What if I’m still not sure? Birth control is different for everybody, if you have any questions you should contact your doctor, or sign up for Pill Club to get in touch with an expert.

Read Also: Can Having Tubes Tied Cause Early Menopause

Risk Of Liver Enzyme Elevations With Concomitant Hepatitis C Treatment

During clinical trials with the Hepatitis C combination drug regimen that contains ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir, with or without dasabuvir, ALT elevations greater than 5 times the upper limit of normal , including some cases greater than 20 times the ULN, were significantly more frequent in women using ethinyl estradiol-containing medications, such as COCs. Discontinue Lo Loestrin Fe prior to starting therapy with the combination drug regimen ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir, with or without dasabuvir . Lo Loestrin Fe can be restarted approximately 2 weeks following completion of treatment with the Hepatitis C combination drug regimen.

Who Gets Low Dose Birth Control

While low dose birth control is typically not recommended to women under the age of 30, it may be prescribed in some specific cases. For instance, this option might be necessary for women who are intolerant to high doses of estrogen, but still want to take hormonal birth control. Additionally, those who weigh less than 100 pounds or who have experienced nausea and/or headaches when taking the regular pill could benefit from trying a lower dose method.

Tldr: Adolescent medicine, bone, and pediatric gynecology specialists at Stanford Medical School agree that if you are under 30 years old, you should take a birth control pill that has at least 30 micrograms of estrogen. Any pill with fewer micrograms could have negative impacts on bone density.

You May Like: Can Having Your Tubes Tied Cause Hormonal Imbalance

Who Should Not Use Lo Loestrin Fe

Women over 35 who smoke cigarettes should not use Lo Loestrin Fe due to the increased risk for heart attack, blood clots, and stroke. Your risk increases due to age as well as the number of cigarettes you smoke each day. People with liver disease, breast cancer, and another estrogen- or progesterone-sensitive cancers should not use Lo Loestrin Fe.

Use Of Oral Contraceptives In The Event Of A Missed Menstrual Period:

Birth Control Pill Brands
1.
If the patient has not adhered to the prescribed dosage regimen, the possibility of pregnancy should be considered after the first missed period and oral contraceptives should be withheld until pregnancy has been ruled out.
2.
If the patient has adhered to the prescribed regimen and misses two consecutive periods, pregnancy should be ruled out before continuing the contraceptive regimen.

After several months on treatment, bleeding may be reduced to a point of virtual absence. This reduced flow may occur as a result of medication, in which event it is not indicative of pregnancy.

Also Check: Nugenix Estro-regulator Review

Dosage And Administration For 21 Day Dosage Regimen

To achieve maximum contraceptive effectiveness, Loestrin 21 must be taken exactly as directed and at intervals not exceeding 24 hours.

Loestrin 21 provides the patient with a convenient tablet schedule of 3 weeks on –1 week off. Two dosage regimens are described, one of which may be more convenient or suitable than the other for an individual patient. For the initial cycle of therapy, the patient begins her tablets according to the Day 1 Start or Sunday Start regimen. With either regimen, the patient takes one tablet daily for 21 consecutive days followed by one week of no tablets.

Faqs: Birth Control Basics

Some common side effects of birth control pills are:

  • Spotting or bleeding between periods

  • Nausea

  • Breast tenderness

  • Headache

Breakthrough bleeding is actually the most common side effect from oral contraceptives. All in all, minor side effects may disappear over time, or may improve if you switch to another pill.

Other minor side effects include:

  • Irregular bleeding

  • Yeast infections

  • Weight fluctuations*

*Editor’s note: To date, studies have shown that birth control pills do not cause weight gain, so any weight changes may simply be normal weight changes over time.

Recommended Reading: Does Nugenix Have An Estrogen Blocker

What Are The Main Types Of Birth Control Pills

The two main categories of birth control pills are combined oral contraceptive pills and mini-pills. Both types of pills have hormones that interact with a woman’s ovulation cycle to prevent pregnancy. A combination pill combines the two hormones estrogen and progestin, while a mini-pill only contains progestin.

*Both pills are effective contraceptives and approved by the FDA.

Your Body On Birth Control Pills

Ashley Tisdale Is A Woman Who Knows. Are You? | Lo Loestrin®Fe

Doctors rarely discuss side effects with women when they prescribe them the contraceptive pill, adding to the myth that the birth control pill is completely safe and barely impacts on your mind and body. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Unfortunately, many women first start taking the pill as teenagers and dont realize that as they get older that their health could be impacted by these hormonal imbalances over time.

What are the effects? I drilled down into the research on the pill and what it shows about health fallout is staggering.

Read Also: Can Having Your Tubes Tied Cause Hormonal Imbalance

Is There A Best Birth Control Pill For Weight Loss

If you’re trying to lose weight, you don’t have to worry about your birth control pills getting in the way. Many women and girls ask questions about birth control pills and weight gain or weight loss. Science has shown that birth control pills don’t cause weight changes.

You wouldn’t need to find a birth control pill that helps with weight loss. Instead, you can create a weight loss plan that works for you. The Office on Women’s Health says that most women will need to consume fewer calories and get the right amount of healthy foods to lose weight.

Carcinoma Of The Breasts And Cervix

Women who currently have or have had breast cancer should not use Lo Loestrin Fe because breast cancer is a hormonally-sensitive tumor.

There is substantial evidence that COCs do not increase the incidence of breast cancer. Although some past studies have suggested that COCs might increase the incidence of breast cancer, more recent studies have not confirmed such findings.

Some studies suggest that COCs are associated with an increase in the risk of cervical cancer or intraepithelial neoplasia. However, there is controversy about the extent to which these findings may be due to differences in sexual behavior and other factors.

You May Like: Does Tubal Ligation Cause Early Menopause

Thromboembolic Disorders And Other Vascular Problems

a. Myocardial Infarction

An increased risk of myocardial infarction has been attributed to oral contraceptive use. This risk is primarily in smokers or women with other underlying risk factors for coronary artery disease such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, morbid obesity, and diabetes. The relative risk of heart attack for current oral contraceptive users has been estimated to be two to six . The risk is very low under the age of 30.

Smoking in combination with oral contraceptive use has been shown to contribute substantially to the incidence of myocardial infarctions in women in their mid-thirties or older with smoking accounting for the majority of excess cases . Mortality rates associated with circulatory disease have been shown to increase substantially in smokers over the age of 35 and non-smokers over the age of 40 among women who use oral contraceptives.

TABLE II: CIRCULATORY DISEASE MORTALITY RATES PER 100,000 WOMAN YEARS BY AGE, SMOKING STATUS AND ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE USE Adapted from P.M. Layde and V. Beral, Reference 18

TABLE II: CIRCULATORY DISEASE MORTALITY RATES PER 100,000 WOMAN YEARS BY AGE, SMOKING STATUS AND ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE USE Adapted from P.M. Layde and V. Beral, Reference 18

b. Thromboembolismc. Cerebrovascular Diseased. Dose-Related Risk of Vascular Disease From Oral Contraceptivese. Persistence of Risk of Vascular Disease

What Should I Do If I Forget A Dose

How Effective Is Lo Loestrin Fe In Preventing Pregnancy ...

If you miss doses of your oral contraceptive, you may not be protected from pregnancy. You may need to use a backup method of birth control for 7 to 9 days or until the end of the cycle. Every brand of oral contraceptives comes with specific directions to follow if you miss one or more doses. Carefully read the directions in the manufacturer’s information for the patient that came with your oral contraceptive. If you have any questions, call your doctor or pharmacist. Continue to take your tablets as scheduled and use a backup method of birth control until your questions are answered.

Recommended Reading: Can Tubal Ligation Cause Early Menopause

How To Take Loestrin Pills

Before taking any medication, follow the directions from your physician and on the prescription label.

You may have to use backup birth control when you begin taking this pill.

Talk to your physician about which day is best for you to start taking Loestrin pills. It is important to take it at the same time every day .

Take the first Loestrin tablet in the pack on the first Sunday following the beginning of your menstrual period or on the first day of your period. Pick a time that you are able to take the pill consistently every day and that you will easily remember . Take one pill each day until the pack is empty. Then start a new pack the very next day so that no days pass without taking a pill.

Loestrin 24 comes with: 24 blue pills, 2 white pills, and 2 brown pills. Loestrin 24 blue pills are active combination pills . The 2 white pills are also active but only contain the estrogen. The last 2 brown pills are non-hormonal pills that contain ferrous fumarate, or iron. They are there to remind you to keep taking a pill every day.

Tell your physician if bleeding is quite significant or if it occurs at unexpected times throughout the month.

Inform your doctor and use a backup birth control if you experience diarrhea or acute vomiting .

Since a prescription is required, youll need to see your physician regularly while taking birth control pills.

More articles

Popular Articles