Starting Your Patient on LYBREL®
The right way for patients to take LYBREL is one pill, every day, at the same time of day.1 If a patient is making the transition to LYBREL from another method of birth control, or she is currently not taking any birth control, the following table shows how to start her on LYBREL for maximum effectiveness against pregnancy1:
| Current birth control | Day to start LYBREL | Nonhormonal backup birth control needed? |
|---|---|---|
| None | Day 1 of menstrual cycle, during first 24 hours of your period | No |
| 21-, 24-, or 28-day COC regimen | Day 1 of withdrawal bleed, at the latest 7 days after last "active" (hormone) pill | No |
| Progestin-only pill | Day after taking progestin-only pill | Yes, for first 7 days of taking LYBREL |
| Hormonal implant | Day of implant removal | Yes, for first 7 days of taking LYBREL |
| Hormonal injection | Day the next injection is due | Yes, for first 7 days of taking LYBREL |
COC, combination oral contraceptive
You can also download and print this table and give copies to LYBREL patients in your office.
Download Starting LYBREL. Requires Adobe® Reader®
Important Safety Information
- Oral contraceptives (OCs) do not protect against HIV infection or other sexually transmitted diseases.
- When prescribing LYBREL, the convenience of having no scheduled menstrual bleeding should be weighed against the inconvenience of unscheduled breakthrough bleeding and spotting.
- OCs are contraindicated in women who have blood clots; breast, uterine, or liver cancers; a history of heart attack, stroke, or breast cancer; as well as those who are or may be pregnant.
The risks of serious cardiovascular side effects are substantially increased in women who smoke and use OCs, especially
in women over age 35. Women who use oral contraceptives should be strongly advised not to smoke.
- Serious risks associated with OCs include blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.
- LYBREL provides women with more hormonal exposure on a yearly basis (13 additional weeks of hormone intake per year) than conventional cyclic oral contraceptives containing the same strength of synthetic estrogens and similar strength of progestins.
- Scheduled withdrawal bleeding does not occur with the use of LYBREL, therefore, the absence of withdrawal bleeding cannot be used as a sign of an unexpected pregnancy and as such, unexpected pregnancy may be difficult to recognize. Although pregnancy is unlikely if LYBREL is taken as directed, if for any reason, pregnancy is suspected in a woman using LYBREL, a pregnancy test should be performed.
- The most commonly reported treatment emergent adverse events reported with LYBREL in a clinical trial were headache, dysmenorrhea, upper respiratory infection, vaginal bleeding (defined as metrorrhagia and vaginal hemorrhage), and nausea.
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