Rigevidon 150mcg/30mcg - 63 Coated Tablets (3 Month Course)

Contraception Doctor Service

Rigevidon is a combined oral contraceptive, also called ‘the Pill’. You take it to stop you getting pregnant. It contains two types of female hormones: an oestrogen: ethinylestradiol, and a progestogen: levonorgestrel in a low dose.

These help to stop you from getting pregnant, just as your natural hormones would stop you conceiving again when you are already pregnant.

The combined contraceptive pill protects you against pregnancy in three ways:

• Thickens the fluid in your cervix (at the neck of the womb) making it more difficult for the sperm to reach the egg
• Stops the ovary from releasing an egg each month (ovulation)
• Alters the lining of the womb to make it less likely to accept a fertilised egg

If taken correctly, the pill is an effective reversible form of contraception. 

Rigevidon is a popular combined oral contraceptive pill - a 21-day pill as you take one each day for 21 days, followed by 7 days when you take no pills. This combined contraceptive pill can be prescribed for females who experience painful or irregular menstruation in order to ease the pain and regulate the period. 

You can order Rigevidon tablets from our UK registered online pharmacy and doctor service. To see if you are suitable for this treatment, complete the online assessment and checkout. Our UK registered doctors will review the order and after approval pass the prescription to the Pharmacy team. We will then dispense and dispatch your order to your chosen address.

• Rigevidon is not intended for use in females whose periods have not yet started.
• Rigevidon is not intended for use after the menopause.
• This medicine is not recommended for females who have an elevated risk of having thrombosis. 

The Benefits Of Taking The Pill Include:

• it is one of the most reliable reversible methods of contraception if used correctly
• it doesn’t interrupt sex
• it usually makes your periods regular, lighter and less painful
• it may help with premenstrual symptoms.

A good self care guide and information for contraceptives is available on the NHS website.

NHS - Contraception

Rigevidon tablets, like other hormonal contraceptives, do not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) or any other sexually transmitted disease.

What Is In Rigevidon?
Rigevidon is a combined oral contraceptive pill. It contains two synthetic hormones, ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel. These are synthetic versions of the naturally occurring hormones, oestrogen and progesterone

How Does Rigevidon Work?
Rigevidon works by tricking the body into thinking an egg has been released, by keeping hormone levels high. This prevents an egg from being released into the ovaries each month. The hormones also work by thickening the mucus lining of the womb, making it more difficult for sperm to pass through.

When Do I Take Rigevidon?
Rigevidon is best taken at the same time each day, every day, for 21 days of your cycle. 

How Long After Taking Rigevidon Are You Protected?
If you started taking Rigevidon on days 1-5 of your period, you will be protected immediately in your next cycle. If you started taking Rigevidon after day 5, you should use additional contraception measures for SEVEN DAYS, until Rigevidon will offer protection against pregnancy.

Are Rigevidon & Microgynon The Same?
Yes, Rigevidon, Levest, Microgynon and Ovranette pills all contain exactly the same hormones at the same strength and work in the same way.

What Are The Advantages Of The Combined Oral Contraceptive?

• Can reduce the risk of some cancers
• Can improve acne symptoms 
• Can reduce menopausal symptoms

What Are The Disadvantages Of The Combined Oral Contraceptive?

• Can cause headaches, breast tenderness and mood changes
• Can increase blood pressure
• Can experience breakthrough bleeding

What Are The Advantages Of Progesterone Only Contraceptives?

• Reduced likelihood of side effects associated with combined pill
• Can be used during breastfeeding
• Can help with premenstrual symptoms

What Are The Disadvantages Of Progesterone Only Contraceptives?

• Can cause irregular periods
• Can cause periods to be more frequent, or stop altogether
• Must be taken at the same time each day

Which Pill Is Right For Me?

Prescribers will take a thorough medical history before choosing the right contraceptive pill for you. For most people, the combined contraceptive pill works best. For those who are over 35, smoke, suffer from migraine or have other risk factors your doctor will look into, the Progesterone-only pill may be more suitable.

Am I Protected Straight Away?

Some pills, if taken correctly, will provide protection immediately, while others take time to provide contraceptive cover. Refer to your patient information leaflet to find out when you are protected on your pill.

Do I Still Need To Use A Condom?

Although you will be covered against pregnancy with the pill, it is always advised to use a condom. This is to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

I Forgot To Take My Pill –What Should I Do?

You should always take your pill around the same time each day to ensure maximum contraceptive cover. Different pills vary in the amount of time you can delay your dose. Always refer to your prescribed medication’s patient information leaflet to find more detailed information relating to missed doses.

Like all medicines, Rigevidon can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. While side effects are usually uncommon and mild in nature, it is best to be aware of any that may occur. If you get any side effects, particularly if severe and persistent, or have any change to your health that you think may be due to Rigevidon, please talk to your doctor.

The following serious adverse events have been reported in women using combined oral contraceptives:

• Venous thromboembolism (a blood clot in vessels)
• Arterial thromboembolic disorders (the blocking of an artery)
• Cervical cancer (cancer in the neck of the womb)

STOP taking Rigevidon immediately and tell your doctor if any of the following symptoms of a blood-clot formation occurs:

• any unusual, severe or long-lasting headache or migraine
• any sudden changes to your eyesight (such as loss of vision, blurred vision or double vision)
• slurred speech or any other difficulties affecting your speech
• dizziness, fainting or fits
• sudden shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, sudden coughing for no apparent reason, bloody spittle
• sudden sharp pains in your chest which may reach your left arm
• unusual pain or swelling in your legs
• sudden weakness or numbness in one side or part of your body
• difficulties in moving around (known as motor disturbances)
• severe pain in your abdomen (known as acute abdomen).

Tell your doctor if

• you can feel a lump in your breast.

The most commonly reported undesirable effects (affects more than 1 in 10 women) are irregular bleeding, nausea, weight gain, tender breasts and headache.

Common (affects up to 1 in 10 women): Depression, excitability, acne, no or reduced bleeding, weight gain, fluid retention, changes in the sexual desire (increased or decreased), nervousness, eye irritation when wearing contact lenses, sight disturbances and migraine.

Uncommon (affects up to 1 in 100 women) and rare (affects up to
1 in 1000 women): Vomiting, brown patches on your face and body (chloasma), high blood pressure, breast cancer, cervical cancer, blood clot, enhanced levels of blood fat, impaired hearing (otosclerosis), gallstones, inflammation of the pancreas, skin disorders, liver tumours, changes in vaginal secretions or vaginal thrush, chorea (a movement disease), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, a disease of the connective tissue).

Before you have any blood tests, tell your doctor or the laboratory staff that you are taking the pill, because oral contraceptives can affect the results of some tests.

For a full list of side effects, read the Patient Information Leaflet.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, our Rightdose pharmacists or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet.

You can help to make medicines safer by reporting any side-effects to the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

Before taking any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

Patient Information Leaflet Rigevidon 150mcg/30mcg Coated Tablets

Before you start using Rigevidon you should read the information on blood clots in the Patient Information Leaflet. It is particularly important to read the symptoms of a blood clot and it’s important that you understand the benefits and risks of taking the Pill before you start taking it, or when deciding whether to carry on taking it. Although the Pill is suitable for most healthy women it isn’t suitable for everyone.

• Your doctor will ask about you and your family’s medical problems, check your blood pressure and exclude the likelihood of you being pregnant. You may also need other checks, such as a breast examination, but only if these examinations are necessary for you, or if you have any special concerns.
• While you’re on the Pill - You will need regular check-ups with your doctor or family planning nurse, usually when you need another prescription of the Pill.
• You should go for regular cervical smear tests.
• Check your breasts and nipples every month for changes – tell your doctor if you can see or feel anything odd, such as lumps or dimpling of the skin.
  If you need a blood test, tell your doctor that you are taking the Pill, because the Pill can affect the results of some tests.
• If you're going to have an operation, make sure your doctor knows about it. You may need to stop taking the Pill at least 4 weeks before the operation. This is to reduce the risk of a blood clot. Your doctor will tell you when you can start taking the Pill again. 

Other medicines and Rigevidon

If you ever need to take another medicine at the same time as being on the Pill, always tell your doctor, pharmacist or dentist that you’re taking Rigevidon. Also check the leaflets that come with all your medicines to see if they can be taken with hormonal contraceptives.

Some medicines can have an influence on the blood levels of Rigevidon and can stop it from working properly – for example:

• primidone, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, topiramate, phenytoin, hydantoins, barbiturates (to treat epilepsy and other illnesses)
• rifampicin (to treat tuberculosis)
• ritonavir (to treat HIV infections)
• griseofulvin (to treat fungal infections)
• antibiotics (such as ampicillin, tetracycline).
• herbal remedy commonly known as St John’s wort (hypericum perforatum).

If you do need to take one of these medicines, Rigevidon may not be suitable for you or you may need to use extra contraception for a while. Your doctor, pharmacist or dentist can tell you if this is necessary and for how long.

Rigevidon may affect the following medicines:

• medicines used for suppression of tissue rejection following transplant surgery (e.g. ciclosporin)
• lamotrigine (to treat epilepsy).

Before you have any blood or urine tests, tell your doctor or the laboratory staff that you are taking the pill, because oral contraceptives can affect the results of some tests.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine. You must not use Rigevidon when you are pregnant. If you become pregnant or you think you might be pregnant, stop taking Rigevidon and talk to your doctor immediately. Rigevidon should not be taken during breastfeeding. If you are breastfeeding and want to take the pill, you should discuss this with your doctor.

Driving and using machines

You can drive or operate machinery while taking Rigevidon.

Rigevidon contains lactose.

If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product. If you have been told by your doctor that you have rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption, you should not take this medicinal product.

How to store Rigevidon

• Do not use Rigevidon after the expiry date which is stated on the package. The expiry date refers to the last day of the month.
• This medicinal product does not require any special storage conditions.
• Do not throw away any medicines down a drain or into a bin. Ask your pharmacist what to do with any medicines you do not want. This will help to protect the environment.

Keep out of the reach and sight of children.

Before using any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

Rigevidon tablet is for oral use only.

How to take Rigevidon

Always use this medicine exactly as described in the patient information leaflet or as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

• The daily dosage is one coated tablet.

Directions:

1. Swallow one tablet per day with water for 21 days.Do not chew the pill. Take your pill at the same time every day. You may find it easiest to take it either last thing at night or first thing in the morning.
2. Each pack of Rigevidon contains 3 memo strips of 21 coated tablets. The memo pack has been designed to help you remember to take your pills.
3. Start by taking a pill marked with the correct day of the week. Follow the direction of the arrows on the strip. Take one pill each day, until you have finished all 21 pills.

Within a few days of taking the last pill from the strip, you should have a withdrawal bleed like a period. This usually starts on the 2nd or 3rd day after the last tablet of Rigevidon. This bleed may not have finished when it is time to start your next strip of pills.

You don’t need to use extra contraception during these seven pill-free days – as long as you have taken your pills correctly and start the next strip of pills on time

Then start your next strip

Start taking your next strip of Rigevidon after the seven pill-free days – even if you are still bleeding. Always start the new strip on time.

Starting after childbirth, miscarriage or abortion
If you have had a miscarriage or an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, you can start taking Rigevidon straight away. In this case you do not need extra contraceptive precautions. If you have had a delivery or abortion during the second trimester of pregnancy, your doctor will advise you about taking the pill. You may need to use extra contraception, such as condoms, for a short time.

If you take more Rigevidon than you should
It is unlikely that taking more Rigevidon than you should will do you any harm, but you may have nausea, vomiting or vaginal bleeding. If you have any of these symptoms, you should talk to your doctor.

If you forget to take Rigevidon
If you forget to take a pill please follow these instructions.

If one pill is 12 hours late or less, you are still protected against pregnancy if you take the late pill as soon as you remember, and keep taking your next pills at the usual time. This may mean taking two pills in one day.

If you are more than 12 hours late in taking a pill, your protection against pregnancy might be reduced so you must use extra contraceptive precautions. The more pills you have missed, the greater the risk that your contraceptive protection is reduced.

If you have missed more than one pill, ask your doctor for advice.

If you want to stop taking Rigevidon
You can stop taking Rigevidon at any time. If you do not want to become pregnant, ask your doctor for advice about other reliable methods of birth control. If you stop taking Rigevidon to have a baby, use another method of contraception until you have had a proper period. In this case, it will be easier for your doctor to tell you when your baby will be born.

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

When you should not use Rigevidon

You should not use Rigevidon if you have any of the conditions listed below. If you do have any of the conditions listed below, you must tell your doctor. Your doctor will discuss with you what other form of birth control would be more appropriate.

Tell your doctor or family planning nurse if you have any medical problems or illnesses.

Do NOT take Rigevidon if you

• are allergic (hypersensitive) to ethinylestradiol, levonorgestrel or any of the other ingredients of Rigevidon.
• have or have ever had a blood clot (thrombosis) in a blood vessel of the leg, lung (embolus) or other organs
• have had a heart attack or stroke
• have any medical condition which increases your risk of suffering a heart attack (for example, angina pectoris, which causes severe pain in the chest) or a stroke (for example, a momentary slight stroke with no lasting effects)
• have heart disease or fluctuations in heart rhythm
• if you have or have ever had migraine with visual disturbances, abnormal touch sensation, or movement
• have very high blood pressure
• have diabetes affecting your blood vessels
• have or have ever had eye disorders (e.g. a disease of the retina called retinopathy)
• have or have ever had liver tumours or liver disease
• have breast cancer or another cancer, for example ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, or cancer of the uterus (womb)
• have unexplained bleeding from your vagina
• are pregnant or think you might be.

If you have any of the following diseases/conditions, you should only take Rigevidon under strict medical supervision, since these conditions may get worse while you are taking the pill.

Tell your doctor before starting to take Rigevidon if you

• have a disorder of blood-fat (lipid) metabolism, or other very rare blood disorders
• have high blood pressure
• have varicose veins or inflammation of a vein (usually in the legs) (thrombophlebitis)
• have migraines
• have diabetes
• have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (chronic inflammatory bowel diseases)
• have the inherited form of deafness known as otosclerosis
• have depression
• have the movement disorder called Sydenham’s chorea
• have liver and/or gallbladder disease (yellowing of the skin, gallstones)
• have the inherited disease called porphyria
• have sickle cell anaemia
• have a blood disorder called haemolytic uraemic syndrome - HUS (a disorder where blood clots cause the kidneys to fail)
• have systemic lupus erythematosus - SLE (an inflammatory disease which can affect many parts of the body, including the skin, joints and internal organs)
• have itching (pruritus)
• have the rash known as herpes gestationis
• have brown patches on your face and body (chloasma), which you can reduce by staying out of the sun and not using sunbeds or sunlamps.

The above conditions may get worse while you are taking the pill; therefore regular medical check-ups are necessary while you are on the pill.

Also tell your doctor before starting to take Rigevidon if you:

• are smoking
• are severely overweight (obese).

Blood clot

Your chances of having a blood clot are only increased slightly by taking the Pill.

The use of any combined pill, including Rigevidon, increases a woman’s risk of developing a venous thrombosis (formation of a blood clot in vessels) compared with a woman who does not take any contraceptive pill.

The risk of developing a blood clot in users of a combined pill increases:
• as you get older
• if you are overweight
• if one of your close relatives has had a blood clot (thrombosis) in the leg, lung, or another organ at a young age
• if you must have an operation (surgery), any prolonged period of immobilization, or if you have had a serious accident.

The use of combined pills has been connected with an increase in the risk of arterial thrombosis (blocking of an artery), for example, in the blood vessels of the heart (heart attack) or the brain (stroke).

The risk of arterial thrombosis in users of combined pills increases:
• if you smoke. You are strongly advised to stop smoking when you use Rigevidon, especially if you are older than 35 years
• if you have an increased amount of fat in your blood (cholesterol or triglycerides)
• if you have high blood pressure
• if you have migraines
• if you have a problem with your heart (valve disorder or a disturbance of the heart rhythm).

The pill and cancer
Breast cancer has been found slightly more often in women who take the pill than in women of the same age who do not take the pill. The risk goes up the longer you are on the pill, but returns to normal within about 10 years of stopping it. It is not certain whether the pill causes the increased risk of breast cancer. It may be that women taking the pill are examined more often, so that breast cancer is noticed earlier.

Because breast cancer is rare in women under the age of 40, the extra cases of breast cancer in current and recent Pill users is small.

What Rigevidon contains

The active substances are ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel. One coated tablet contains 30 micrograms ethinylestradiol and 150 micrograms levonorgestrel.

The other ingredients are: Colloidal anhydrous silica, magnesium stearate, talc, maize starch, lactose monohydrate (33 mg), sucrose, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide (E171), copovidone, macrogol 6000 and povidone carmellose sodium.

What Rigevidon looks like and contents of the pack

White, biconvex, circular coated tablets. Each box contains 1, 3, 6 or 13 calendar pack(s) of 21 coated tablets.

Not all pack sizes may be marketed.