Levonelle

The morning after pill Levonelle can be taken to prevent unwanted pregnancies if it’s within 72 hours of the unprotected intercourse. The quicker you take it, the better. It’s often taken if there has been a problem with regular contraception, for example, because of a forgotten pill or broken condom. Treatment consists of a single dose.

The active ingredient in Levonelle is a hormone found in many conventional contraceptive pills, called levonorgestrel. Levonelle contains 1.5mg of this hormone, which prevents pregnancy by stopping your ovaries from releasing an egg.

Levonelle is available on the NHS, through your GP, sexual health clinic or walk in centre or to buy over the counter from most chemists, as well as from various sources online. ZAVA can provide you with a prescription and send your medication to your preferred address. Please be careful when ordering prescription medication online and check the legitimacy of any website by ensuring the service has been approved by the Care Quality Commission.

You can also buy generic Levonelle using our service. It has the same active ingredient as branded Levonelle - levonorgestrel.

The morning after pill Levonelle is an effective way of preventing pregnancy if taken within the required time frame. However, it’s not 100% effective and should be used for emergency contraception only.

Using regular contraception, like a condom or normal contraceptive pill, is a safer way of preventing pregnancy. Levonelle is not effective after ovulation, and in an emergency, the copper coil (intrauterine device - IUD) is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy. This involves a small device made of copper and plastic being fitted into your womb. It can be inserted up to 5 days after you have ovulated and is 99.9% effective at preventing pregnancy.

Levonelle is more effective the earlier it is taken. It is 97-99% effective overall at preventing pregnancy. If you had unprotected sex more than 3 days ago, then Levonelle is not suitable for you. You may wish to discuss alternative treatment options with your local doctor. With an intrauterine contraceptive coil or the alternative morning after pill EllaOne (which can be taken up to 120 hours after unprotected sex providing you have not ovulated) you will still be able to take preventative steps to avoid pregnancy. EllaOne is more effective (98-99%) than Levonelle, especially if it is near ovulation.

Levonelle is only suitable for preventing pregnancies within 72 hours of intercourse and can not be used to terminate a pregnancy. Levonelle can be taken while breastfeeding. Studies have found no evidence that this morning after pill can harm your baby, but small amounts of the active ingredient may pass into your breast milk. You should avoid breastfeeding for 8 hours after taking Levonelle.

Levonelle is generally not suitable for patients with Crohn’s disease or any other condition affecting the way you absorb food as this can make it less effective. You must also discuss the possibility of taking Levonelle with your doctor if you have ever had an ectopic pregnancy, have problems with your liver or have suffered from inflammations of the fallopian tubes in the past. It’s important you tell your doctor or pharmacist about any medical conditions you suffer from before taking Levonelle.

If you are under the age of 16, you may need to visit your local doctor or family planning clinic to obtain a morning after pill.

Levonelle is also less effective for people with a BMI over 26 or weight over 70kg. While people in these groups could take it, one tablet of Levonelle isn’t the most suitable. If you’re in this group, the IUD is advised or in terms of tablets, EllaOne is more effective. Sometimes a higher dose of Levonelle may be recommended though this is "off label", which means a higher dose of Levonelle is not usually prescribed but that healthcare professionals may still prescribe it if appropriate.

Certain types of medication may interact with Levonelle. This includes barbiturates, epilepsy medication and drugs used to treat tuberculosis. Some HIV treatments can also interfere with Levonelle, the same goes for ciclosporin. You should also be careful when taking medicines to treat fungal infections, such as griseofulvin. As with the ordinary contraceptive pill, taking the herbal remedy St. John’s Wort can lessen the effectiveness of your contraceptive. Please make sure you indicate which medications you are taking regularly or whether you have finished a course of medication in the last 4 weeks when ordering Levonelle from ZAVA or any other doctor service or pharmacy.

If you need to take Levonelle because you've forgotten to take your contraceptive pill, you can continue taking it as usual. Just take one pill per day, at the usual time, even on the day of emergency contraceptive treatment. If you’re not sure how to take your pill, read our contraceptive pill page or ask a ZAVA Doctor for advice. If you have missed a pill you will need to use condoms to prevent pregnancy until this is effective again (7 days for most combined pills, 9 days for Qlaira or 2 days for progesterone only pills).

No. It’s really important you use regular contraception, instead of relying on emergency contraception methods after intercourse. Regular contraception, such as using condoms, an intrauterine device, or contraceptive pill, generally have a lot less side effects and are much more effective. However Levonelle can be taken more than once per cycle if needed.

You should also bear in mind, that unprotected sex puts you at danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia or HIV. If you have recently had sex with a partner whose sexual health status is unknown, you should consider getting tested for sexually transmitted infections.

Levonelle may cause your menstrual cycle to be irregular. If you are unsure as to whether Levonelle has worked, or if you have any strange or sudden pain in your abdomen, you must consult a doctor immediately. Your doctor will need to establish whether you're pregnant and rule out the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy.

If your period is more than 7 days late, you should tell your doctor too. Even if you think it has worked, it’s still a good idea to take a pregnancy test – you can take this from the first day of a missed period or 3 weeks after unprotected sex.

These occur in 1 in 10 women:

• Feeling sick
• Tiredness
• Headaches
• Irregular bleeding - including that your period might occur earlier or later. Most women do have their period within 5 to 7 days of their normal time

Between 1 in 10 and 1 in 100 women will also experience these side effects:

• Being sick
• Changes to your period, including being more than 7 days late (but, if this happens, you should tell a doctor)
• breast tenderness
• diarrhoea
• dizziness

Most side effects resolve a few days after taking Levonelle.

In very rare cases, women experience an allergic reaction to Levonelle. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include an itchy rash, difficulty breathing, and facial swelling.

If you throw up or experience severe diarrhoea within three hours of taking the pill, you may need to take another dose. There is a possibility that the active ingredient has not been absorbed yet, making the treatment ineffective. Please contact your doctor to discuss how to proceed.