Qlaira

When do I start taking Qlaira?

You should start taking Qlaira on the first day of your period. This will protect you from pregnancy straight away.

If you start to take Qlaira on any other day, use an extra method of contraception, like condoms, for the next 9 days.

• You should take 1 Qlaira pill at the same time each day. Use the weekday sticker strips on the blister strip to help you take the pills in the right order. Each Qlaira blister strip has 28 pills and there are 5 different colours of pills.
• You start Qlaira by choosing the weekday sticker strip of the same day you begin Qlaira. For example, if you start Qlaira on a Monday, you should use the weekday sticker strip that says ‘MON’. Place this sticker on top of the blister strip so that your first day is marked with ‘1’.
• The weekday sticker strip will show a day above each pill to help you remember to take Qlaira.
• You may have withdrawal bleeding after you take the second dark red pill or the white pills. Continue taking your Qlaira pills even if you have not stopped bleeding.
• Qlaira pills have no pill free break. Once you finish taking one 28 blister strip, start the next blister strip the following day.
• You will be protected from pregnancy on the days you take the 2 inactive white pills, as long as you do not miss any Qlaira pills.

If you take a Qlaira pill and vomit or have diarrhoea within 4 hours, you might not be protected from pregnancy. You should keep taking your pills as normal and use condoms for the next 9 days.

What do I do if I forget to take Qlaira?

If you forget to take a white pill, you do not need to do anything as the white pills are inactive.

If you forget to take 1 Qlaira active pill (any colour other than white) and are less than 12 hours late taking it, you should take your Qlaira pill as soon as you remember. You should still be protected against pregnancy.

If you forget to take 1 Qlaira active pill and are more than 12 hours late taking it on:

• Day 1 to 9: take the missed pill immediately. If you have had sex in the last 7 days, contact your doctor straight away.
• Day 10 to 17: take the missed pill immediately which may mean taking 2 pills in 1 day. Use an extra method of contraception, like condoms, for the next 9 days.
• Day 18 to 24: you must start a new blister strip and throw away the remaining missed pills. You should also use an extra method of contraception for the next 9 days.
• Day 25-26: take the missed pill when you remember which may mean taking 2 pills in 1 day. You do not need extra contraception.
• Day 27-28: you should leave the missed pill and take the remaining pills in the blister as normal. You do not need extra contraception.

You should not take more than 2 active pills on the same day unless you have missed a previous pill.

If you forget to take more than 1 active pill, you should contact your doctor straight away.

What do I do if I take Qlaira twice?

If you take Qlaira twice, you might feel sick or vomit. You could also have some vaginal bleeding. A healthcare professional such as your doctor or pharmacist can help provide more advice.

Can pregnant or breastfeeding women take Qlaira?

You should not take Qlaira if you are pregnant. If you think you might be pregnant, stop taking Qlaira and use another method of contraception until you speak to your doctor.

If you are breastfeeding, you might be able to use Qlaira, but this will depend on when you gave birth. Your doctor might recommend you take a progesterone-only pill as alternative contraception.

What should I watch out for if I want to stop taking Qlaira?

When you stop taking Qlaira, you may have some withdrawal bleeding. If you don’t want to get pregnant, you need to use another method of contraception, such as condoms.

You might get side effects when you take Qlaira and you can speak to your doctor at any time for advice on what to do.

Common side effects of Qlaira include:

• irregular bleeding
• headache
• nausea
• acne
• weight gain
• breast pain

Uncommon side effects of Qlaira are:

• mood changes
• feeling hungry
• migraine
• fungal vaginal infections like thrush
• excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis)
• weight loss
• hair loss
• increased blood pressure

Rare side effects of Qlaira include:

• blood clots
• fluid retention
• allergic reaction
• breast cancer or cysts
• dry eye

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

Does the risk of thrombosis increase?

You are slightly more likely to have a blood clot when taking Qlaira. This is because it contains oestrogen.

Stop taking Qlaira and call 999 if you notice any signs of blood clots such as:

• breathlessness
• chest pain
• blurry vision
• swelling in your calf

Qlaira pills can interact with other medicines and affect how they work. Qlaira might not prevent pregnancy if you take it with certain medicines.

Check with a healthcare professional, such as your doctor or pharmacist, if you take:

• epilepsy medication such as primidone, carbamazepine, phenytoin, topiramate, barbiturates, or lamotrigine
• vitamins, teas or products containing St. John’s wort
• ritonavir for HIV treatment
• hepatitis C treatments
• antifungals such as griseofulvin or ketoconazole
• ciclosporin
• rifampicin to treat tuberculosis

Your doctor may suggest you use different or additional contraception such as condoms.

The active ingredients in Qlaira are:

• Each dark yellow pill contains 3mg estradiol valerate
• Each medium red pill contains 2mg estradiol valerate and 2mg dienogest
• Each light yellow pill contains 2mg estradiol valerate and 3mg dienogest
• Each dark red pill contains 1mg estradiol valerate

The 2 white pills are inactive and do not contain any active ingredients.

The other ingredients in all Qlaira pills are lactose monohydrate, maize starch, povidone K25 (E1201), magnesium stearate (E572), hypromellose type 2910 (E464), macrogol 6000, talc (E553b), titanium dioxide (E171).

Other ingredients in medium and dark red pills only: iron oxide red (E172).

Other ingredients in light and dark yellow pills only: iron oxide yellow (E172).

All coloured pills also contain pregelatinised maize starch.

If you have an allergy or hypersensitivity to any of these ingredients please speak to your doctor for advice before taking Qlaira.

How should Qlaira be stored?

You should store Qlaira in its original pack. Keep Qlaira pills in a safe place away from sunlight.

How must Qlaira be disposed of?

To dispose of your Qlaira pills, take them to a nearby pharmacy. Do not throw away your Qlaira pills in the bin or down the drain at home.

What does Qlaira look like?

Qlaira pills are small and round. Qlaira pills come in five different colours. Each blister strip of Qlaira contains 28 round pills with:

• 2 white pills, one side marked with ‘DT’
• 2 dark yellow pills, one side marked with ‘DD’
• 5 medium red pills, one side marked with ‘DJ’
• 17 light yellow pills, one side marked with ‘DH’
• 2 dark red pills, one side marked with ‘DN’

In which pack sizes is Qlaira available?

Qlaira pills are available in pack sizes of 1, 3, and 6 blister strips. Each Qlaira blister strip contains 28 pills.

Information on the manufacturer

The marketing authorisation holder of Qlaira is Bayer Plc, 400 South Oak Way, Reading, RG2 6AD.

Qlaira is manufactured by Bayer Weimar GmbH und Co. KG, 99427 Weimar, Germany and Bayer AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany.