Bimizza

What is Bimizza?

Bimizza is a contraceptive pill with two active ingredients that work together to prevent pregnancy. They are artificial versions of the natural female hormones progesterone and oestrogen. You take the Bimizza pill for 21 days and then have a break, when you’ll have your period.

If you’re taking Bimizza as contraception, you can also use it to delay your period. So if you have a special event you don’t want your period to get in the way of, Bimizza can help. Bimizza can also make your periods lighter and less frequent when used normally, so it’s a good choice if you suffer from heavy or painful periods.

How does Bimizza work?

There are two active ingredients in Bimizza: 150mcg of desogestrel and 20mcg of ethinylestradiol. Desogestrel is a form of progesterone and ethinylestradiol is a form of oestrogen, both made in a lab.

Desogestrel helps prevent pregnancy in three major ways. First, it stops your body from releasing an egg from your fallopian tubes. It also makes your cervical fluid much thicker, which helps prevent sperm from going through the cervix and entering your uterus. Finally, it makes the lining of your uterus thinner, stopping any fertilised egg from implanting there.

The ethinylestradiol in Bimizza also helps to stop you getting pregnant. Because it works like oestrogen, ethinylestradiol reduces your levels of the luteinising hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. This means that it stops an egg from properly developing and being released. It also makes your uterus a less accommodating environment for a fertilised egg to grow.

What doses of Bimizza are there?

There’s only one dose of Bimizza, the 150/20mcg dose. You’ll usually take it everyday for 21 days. You then take a seven day break from any pills.

How to take Bimizza

You should only take Bimizza as your clinician tells you.

• You can take Bimizza with or without food. Try drinking water with Bimizza, as it can help you swallow the tablet.
• It doesn’t matter which time of day you take Bimizza, but you should take it at the same time everyday. Using an alarm or reminder app can help you remember.
• Each strip of Bimizza contains 21 tablets. They are all labelled with a day of the week. So if you start taking Bimizza on Tuesday, take the tablet with TUE written above.
• Then follow the arrows on the pack to take your next pill. Keep taking a pill everyday until the strip is empty.
• When you’ve finished the pack, take a seven day break. After a couple of days, you’ll usually have your period or withdrawal bleeding.
• On the eighth day, start a new strip. Take it as you took the previous strip.

How long does it take Bimizza to work?

Bimizza starts working in your system quickly. How quickly it will be effective at stopping you from getting pregnant depends on a few things. If you haven’t used hormonal contraceptives in the past month, Bimizza will be effective right away if you take it on the first day of your period. If you start taking Bimizza on days two to five of your period, use an extra method of contraception like a condom for seven days. If you’re switching from another combined pill, you should try to take your first Bimizza pill the day after your last active tablet. At the latest, start taking it the day after your last inactive pill (or the day after your break). If you’re switching from another combined contraceptive method like the ring or patch, talk to your clinician for advice. If you’re switching from a progestin-only method, whether it’s a pill, IUS (intrauterine system), injection or implant, you can start taking Bimizza on any day of your cycle. But you should use an extra method of contraception like a condom for the first seven days, to make sure you’re protected against pregnancy. If you’ve had a baby, you should start taking Bimizza from 21-28 days after giving birth. If it’s more than 28 days after you’ve given birth, use an extra method of contraception. You shouldn’t use Bimizza if you’re breastfeeding, as it can reduce the amount of breastmilk you make.

What should I do if I make a mistake when taking Bimizza?

If you forget to take your Bimizza pill and you’re less than 12 hours late, take it as soon as possible. Then keep taking your tablets as normal. If it’s been more than 12 hours since you missed your pill, things can get more complicated. What you should do next will depend on where you are in the strip and how many pills you’ve missed. If you forget more than one pill, contact your clinician and use an extra method of contraception in the meantime. You might not be protected from pregnancy. If you’ve missed one pill in the first seven days of your strip, take the tablet as soon as you remember. Then use a barrier contraceptive like a condom for the next seven days. If you forget a pill in your second week of tablets, take it as soon as you remember. Do this even if it means taking two pills at once. You should still be protected against pregnancy due to the levels of hormones in your body. If you forget to take a pill in the third week of your strip, you have two options. You can take the pill as soon as you remember and finish the strip, then go onto the next strip immediately. This will usually cause you to skip your period. You can also begin your seven day pill break immediately. If you want to start your next strip on the same day as usual, take a break that’s shorter than seven days. Remember that like other oral contraceptives, Bimizza won’t protect you from STIs. If you’re at risk of catching an STI, you should use a barrier method of contraception too, like a condom.