Oral Contraceptive Pill Review

General Tips

– You can take your pill continuously without a break.
– The pill does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases.
– You’ll need to use condoms as well as the pill to protect against sexually transmitted infections.
– If you wish to discuss a non-pill form of contraception (e.g. an implant in the arm or womb) please contact the practice.

Missed Pill Rules

The advice below relates to all combined pills except for:

Daylette | Eloine | Qlaira | Zoely

If you use one of these pills please consult the medicine information leaflet for missed pill rules.

If your pill is less than 24 hours late (it is less than 48 hours since your last pill), take it now then take your next dose at your usual time. No further action is needed.

If your pill is more than 24 hours late (it is more than 48 hours since your last pill).
– Take a pill as soon as you remember (only take 1 of the missed pills, even if you’ve missed more than 1 pill).
– Take the next pill at the usual time. This may mean taking 2 pills on the same day (1 when you remember and 1 at the usual time).
– Carry on taking your remaining pills each day at the usual time.
– Use extra contraception such as condoms for the next 7 days (1 week) after you remember to take your missed pill, or abstain from sex.
If you have unprotected sex from the time that you miss your pill until 7 days after you start taking it reliably again, you may need emergency contraception. Get advice from your contraception clinic or the practice.

Rules for D&V

If you vomit within 3 hours of taking your pill, it may not have been fully absorbed. So take another pill straight away and the next pill at your usual time.

If you continue to vomit, keep using another form of contraception (eg condoms) or abstain from sex until you’ve retaken the pill for 7 days without vomiting.

Severe diarrhoea (6 to 8 watery poos in 24 hours) may also mean that the pill does not work properly. Keep taking your pill as normal, but use additional contraception (eg condoms) or abstain from sex while you have diarrhoea and for 2 days after recovering.

Will using a GLP-1 agonist affect my contraception?

This depends on the type of GLP-1 agonist that you are using. If you are using tirzepatide (Mounjaro), you should use condoms along with your pill for four weeks after you start the medicine and for four weeks after any dose increase. This is because tirzepatide works a bit differently from other similar medicines. You might also think about using a different type of contraception that isn’t a pill while on tirzepatide. For other medicines like semaglutide, exenatide, liraglutide, dulaglutide, or lixisenatide, there is no proof that they make the pill less effective.

Diarrhoea and vomiting can happen when taking GLP-1 agonists and might make the pill less effective. If you vomit within three hours of taking your pill, or have bad diarrhoea for more than a day, follow the guidance for missed pills. If diarrhoea or vomiting continues, think about using a different type of contraception that isn’t a pill, or use condoms as well.

What about non-oral methods of contraception e.g. the coil, implant, injection, patch or ring, could these be affected by GLP-1 agonists? GLP-1 agonists do not affect contraception methods that aren’t pills. So, it’s safe to use these other options without any extra precautions when taking a GLP-1 agonist.

I am planning to switch from one type/brand of GLP-1 to another, does the contraception advice remain the same? If you are changing to tirzepatide (Mounjaro) from any other GLP-1 agonist, use condoms for four weeks after switching and for four weeks after any dose increase. Keep taking your pill too. Or, you might want to switch to a different type of contraception that isn’t a pill while using tirzepatide.