Femodette

To take Femodette, follow the arrows and days labelled on the foil blister strip. You swallow each Femodette pill with a glass of water. You can have Femodette with or without food, but do not chew your Femodette pill.

• Take 1 Femodette pill at the same time each day for 21 days. Do not miss any pills.
• After that, you will have 7 days where you do not take any Femodette pills, and you will have a withdrawal bleed similar to a period.
• After the 7 days of no Femodette pills, start a new strip of 21 Femodette pills, even if you are still bleeding.

You can also take Femodette in other ways. For more information please speak to your doctor.

Take your first Femodette pill on the first day of your period. You will be protected from pregnancy straight away.

If you start after the fifth day of your period, you need to take Femodette once a day for 7 days in a row to be protected. Use condoms during these 7 days to prevent pregnancy.

A pill is considered as being missed if it is taken 24 or more hours after the usual time. If you forget to take a Femodette pill, here is what you should do:

• If you have only missed 1 pill, take it as soon as you remember, even if you have to take 2 pills at once. Continue to take the rest of your pack as usual. You’ll still be protected against pregnancy.
• If you have missed 2 to 7 pills, take the most recently missed pill as soon as you remember and leave any previous pills in the strip. This may mean taking 2 pills at once. Continue to take the rest of your pack as usual. But if you have fewer than 7 pills left in the pack, start a new pack without taking a pill free break. You will need to use extra contraception such as condoms for 7 days as you may be at risk of pregnancy.
• If you miss more than 2 pills in the first week of your pill packet or if you miss 8 or more pills, you may need emergency contraception.

Speak to your doctor or pharmacist for advice if you are unsure about what to do after missing a Femodette pill.

If you take Femodette twice, you may feel sick, vomit or bleed from your vagina.

Speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you take too much Femodette.

If you are pregnant you should not take Femodette.

If you find out you are pregnant with a positive pregnancy test, stop taking Femodette straight away and get in touch with your doctor.

You should not use Femodette if you are breastfeeding in the first 6 weeks after giving birth. If you’re breastfeeding and you are still unsure if you can take Femodette or if you require contraception before 6 weeks, contact your doctor for advice. A progesterone only pill can be used instead.

You can always speak to your doctor for advice on what to do if you need contraception.

You can get pregnant if you stop taking Femodette. Use condoms as contraception and speak to your doctor for advice if you want to stop taking Femodette. You may have vaginal bleeding a few days after you take your last Femodette pill.

You may experience side effects when you take Femodette. Talk to your doctor if there are any changes to your health while using Femodette.

Common side effects of Femodette:

• Nausea
• Weight gain
• Headaches
• Mood swings
• Breast pain or breast tenderness

Uncommon side effects of Femodette:

• Vomiting
• Fluid retention, or bloating
• Migraines
• Low sex drive
• Change in breast size
• Itchy skin rash

Rare side effects of Femodette:

• Uncomfortable to use contact lenses
• Weight loss
• Vaginal discharge
• Blood clots
• Breast cancer

If you are experiencing any of these side effects, please get in touch with your doctor as soon as possible. You can find out more in the patient information leaflet that comes in your pack of pills.

You can report any side effects using the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme in the Google Play or Apple App Store.

When you take Femodette, the risk of having a blood clot is slightly higher than normal because of the oestrogen hormone. The risk goes back down after you stop taking Femodette.

Places at risk of blood clots include your:

• Leg (deep vein thrombosis or DVT)
• Lungs (pulmonary embolism)
• Eye (retinal vein thrombosis)
• Heart (heart attack)
• Brain (stroke)

The active ingredients in Femodette are 75mcg gestodene and 20mcg ethinylestradiol.

The other ingredients in Femodette are lactose, maize starch, sucrose, povidone, magnesium stearate (E572), macrogol 6000, calcium carbonate (E170), talc, montan glycol wax.

For people with lactose intolerance, please speak to your doctor for advice before taking Femodette.

Femodette pills should be stored in their original pack to protect them from light. Keep your Femodette pills below 25°C and away from children or pets.

Take your unused or expired Femodette pills to a nearby pharmacy for safe disposal. You should not put Femodette pills in your bin or down the drain at home.

Femodette pills are small, white, round, and sugar-coated.

Femodette is available in a pack of 3 blister strips. Each blister strip contains 21 Femodette pills.

The Marketing Authorisation Holder is ​​Bayer plc, 400 South Oak Way, Reading, RG2 6AD holds the licence for Femodette.

The Manufacturer of Femodette is Bayer AG, Mullerstrasse 178 13353 Berlin, Germany or Delpharm Lille SAS, Lys-Lez-Lannoy, France.