Lizinna

Lizinna is a combined birth control pill. When taken correctly, it stops you from getting pregnant by altering your menstrual cycle.

Lizinna has other benefits too. It isn’t primarily prescribed for heavy or painful periods, but can help to make these more regular and manageable.

Lizinna is a combined pill, so it contains two hormones that work like progesterone and oestrogen. These hormones do a little number in your body to trick it into not ovulating. No ovulation = no egg = no baby. They also stop your uterine wall from getting thicker. This means no implantation for any stray fertilised eggs (just in case) but also lighter periods. The pill makes cervical mucus thicker, so sperm can’t make their way to an egg as easily.

Lizinna is actually in the safest category of combined pills. Blood clots are rare anyway with the pill, but women taking Lizinna are even less likely to get a blood clot than they are with some other options.

But you should read the information that comes with it before you start taking it, so you know what side effects you should see a doctor about if they happen.

If you have any risk factors for a blood clot, like high blood pressure or if you smoke and are over 35, combined pills like Lizinna aren’t the best option for you. In this case, you’ll usually be advised to take the mini pill instead.

With perfect use, Lizinna offers more than 99% protection against pregnancy, which means less than one in 100 women will get pregnant while using Lizinna over the course of a year.

If you make an occasional faux pas – so miss a pill, for example – it’s a little less effective. Around 91%. ^[1] So it’s better not to deviate from the instructions, and to get into the regular routine of taking it.

Take one Lizinna pill at the same time every day. Swallow it whole with water. Lizinna comes in strips of 21, each with the day of the week marked on them. At the end of the 21 tablets per strip, you should take a seven day break, during which you will experience a withdrawal bleed. On the following day after your break, you should start the next strip of 21 tablets.

If you can, start it on the first day of your cycle, which is the first day of your period. You’ll be instantly protected against pregnancy from the first pill and won’t have to use a barrier contraceptive (e.g. a condom) for the first seven days.

You can start taking Lizinna on another day, but you will need to use a barrier contraceptive for the following week while the pill starts to work.

If you have been using a different combined contraceptive up until the day you’re starting to use Lizinna, you should start the new course without a break. There is no need to take the week break between the two and you will be protected immediately. At the end of the first Lizinna strip, you should take the seven day break as normal.

Try not to panic, and check the leaflet for advice on what to do.

Everybody forgets to take their medication once in a while. One of the advantages of the combined pill is that it offers some flexibility with missed pills. If you normally take it at a certain time, and remember to take it within 12 hours of that time, you will stay over 99% protected against pregnancy.

If it’s been over 12 hours since your missed pill, take the one you forgot as soon as you remember and then the next at the normal time (this might mean taking two on the same day). When you miss more than one, you only need to take the most recent pill you forgot. The other pills you’ve missed can be discarded.

If you miss one or more pills, you’ll need to use a barrier contraceptive for the following seven days.

Sometimes, you might need to skip your usual seven day break and ‘stack’ pill packs – it depends where in your pack your missed pill is. The leaflet that comes with your pill will have more info on this.