Gedarel

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Gedarel 30/150 is what’s known as a combined oral contraceptive pill, commonly called ‘the Pill’. It comes in strips of 21 pills, each marked by the days of the week.

Gedarel 30/150 contains synthetic versions of the two female sex hormones, progesterone and oestrogen, which are called desogestrel and ethinylestradiol.

Together, these hormones will prevent you from getting pregnant, just as your natural hormones make it impossible for you to conceive again if you are already pregnant.

Gedarel 30/150 stops you from getting pregnant in three ways:

1. by preventing ovulation (when your ovaries release a monthly egg)
2. by making the fluid of your cervix thicker, so it’s more difficult for sperm to make its way through towards an egg
3. by thinning the lining of your womb so that it’s harder for a fertilised egg to grow there

If used correctly, Gedarel 30/150 is one of the most reliable types of contraception available for women. It doesn’t interrupt sex, and is completely reversible (meaning that it won’t affect your fertility in the long-term).

You should only take Gedarel 30/150 if a licensed nurse or doctor has prescribed it to you. It’s commonly used by women who are sexually active, and who don’t wish to become pregnant.

Who shouldn’t take Gedarel 30/150?

Gedarel 30/150 isn’t suitable for everyone. You shouldn’t take it if you:

• are pregnant
• are allergic to its ingredients
• have or have had a blood clot (like DVT or PE)
• have a disorder affecting your blood clotting (like a protein C deficiency)
• need to have an operation
• have a history of heart attacks, strokes or mini-strokes
• have severe diabetes or high blood pressure
• get ‘migraines with aura’
• have or have had pancreatitis
• have a history of liver disease
• have a history of cervical or breast cancer
• have a condition called endometrial hyperplasia

Other factors like your weight, age and smoking status, family history, and the medications that you’re taking may also affect whether Gedarel 30/150 would be safe for you to take.

Talk to your doctor if you’re unsure about whether or not Gedarel 30/150 is safe for you to use.

If taken properly, Gedarel 30/150 is over 99% effective in preventing pregnancy.

You can only get it with a prescription from a licensed nurse or doctor. You can get a prescription in-person, at your local doctor’s surgery, or online, using a registered health service like ZAVA.

You can take Gedarel 30/150 at any time of day (morning, noon or night), it won’t change its effectiveness.

However, you should try to take your pill at around the same time every day. Set yourself an alarm to do this if you have trouble remembering.

No, taking the Pill won’t protect you against STIs, such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea. The only thing that helps protect you against STIs is a condom.

You can postpone your monthly period when taking Gedarel 30/150. This is completely safe, and a very useful option for some women.

If you don’t want to have your monthly bleed, simply skip the 7-day break period by starting a new strip of pills immediately after you finish your current one.

You have a 24 hour window to take your pill before it counts as a missed pill. It you take a pill less than 24 hours late, you’ll still be protected from pregnancy but you should take the pill as soon as you remember.

This depends on where you are on your current strip and how many pills you missed:

• If you forget to take the first pill of your new strip after your pill-free break (so it has been more than 7 days since your last pill) you might not be protected. If you had sex during the break you should speak to your doctor as soon as possible. Start taking the pill again as soon as possible and use additional contraception, such as condoms, for 7 days
• If you miss one pill later in the strip, you’ll still be covered as long as you haven’t missed any other pills
• If you miss more than one pill in the strip, you might need to use emergency contraception if you have had sex. You should speak to your doctor who can advise you further

If you’ve forgotten any of your pills, and you don’t get your usual withdrawal bleed during your next 7-day break, then you could be pregnant. Contact your doctor before continuing with Gedarel 30/150.

If you’re sick (vomiting or diarrhoea) within 4 hours of taking Gedarel 30/150, the hormones in the pill might not have been fully absorbed by your body.

If you’re sick within 24 hours of taking your tablet, take another one from a spare strip of pills as soon as possible. If it’s been more than 24 hours, follow the advice for when you forget a pill.

Your Gedarel 30/150 pill contains active and inactive ingredients. The active ingredients are ethinylestradiol (30 micrograms) and desogestrel (150 micrograms).

The inactive ingredients are: lactose monohydrate, potato starch, all-rac-alpha-tocopherol, stearic acid, silica colloidal anhydrous, magnesium stearate, Hypromellose, povidone K 30, propylene glycol, and Macrogol 6000.

Gedarel 30/150 will prevent you from getting pregnant while you’re taking it, but after stopping taking the pill your fertility levels will return to normal. The majority of women who stop taking the pill ovulate within the first month and start to have periods within 90 days.

It can affect your periods. Some users find their periods are lighter and less painful while they’re on Gedarel 30/150. However, every person’s experience with hormonal contraception is different.

Smoking cigarettes doesn’t affect the Pill. Gedarel 30/150 is just as effective in preventing pregnancies in smokers and non-smokers alike.

Common side effects:

• nausea
• acne
• stomach pains
• weight gain
• mood swings (depression, nervousness or anxiety)
• sore or tender breasts

Rare side effects:

• allergic reaction
• skin disorders
• blood clots (thrombosis)
• stroke, or mini-stroke
• heart attack

Gedarel 30/150 can interact with certain medicines. This can mean that Gedarel 30/150 may not work as well, but also that the other drugs may not work as well.

You should ask your doctor before taking it, if you’re currently taking:

• ciclosporin (a drug given after transplant surgery)
• tizanidine (a treatment for muscle spasticity)
• drugs used for treating epilepsy
• some antibiotics-particularly those used to treat Tuberculosis (Rifabutin and Rifampicin)
• some medication used to treat HIV
• antifungal treatments such as griseofulvin
• modafinil
• sedative medications
• Isotretinoin (used for acne)
• levothyroxine (used to treat an underactive thyroid)
• St Johns Wort

It may not be safe for you to use Gedarel 30/150, and you may have to use an alternative mode of contraception.

Taking Gedarel 30/150 does slightly increase your risk of getting a blood clot. However, this risk is still very small.

You should seek urgent medical attention if you notice any of the following signs of a blood clot:

• painful swelling of one leg, with a change in colour of the skin on your leg (deep vein thrombosis)
• sudden coughing up blood, breathlessness, or chest pain (pulmonary embolism)
• sudden loss or blurring of vision in one eye (retinal vein thrombosis)

It’s not recommended to use Gedarel 30/150 when breastfeeding, until at least 6 weeks after giving birth. Consult your family-planning nurse or doctor, who can recommend another form of contraception.

If you’re not breastfeeding, you may be able to start taking Gedarel 30/150 3 weeks after giving birth, depending on any other health conditions or risk factors.

If you’re breastfeeding, you shouldn’t take the pill for at least 6 weeks after giving birth. You should speak to your doctor before starting contraception again after giving birth.

A common side effect of the Pill is mood swings. If you have a history of mental illness, like anxiety or depression, Gedarel 30/150 could make your symptoms worse. Talk to your doctor for advice while you consider your options.

Taking Gedarel 30/150 could affect the results of some blood tests, or the outcome of surgery. Tell your doctor if you’re taking it well in advance, because you might have to stop taking it beforehand.