How LYBREL® works?

To understand how LYBREL works, it's best to first understand what happens to your body during your menstrual cycle and when you're taking traditional birth control pills.

What's going on inside my body during my monthly cycle?

Here's what happens: During the 28 days or so of your cycle, the levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone naturally rise and fall. This helps build up the lining of your uterus and prepares it to receive a fertilized egg. If the egg does not become fertilized, the uterine lining is shed and you get your period.

What happens to my period with traditional cyclic birth control pills?

Instead of a menstrual period, you get what is called a "pill period." Most traditional cyclic birth control pills provide hormones for 21 out of 28 days. This prevents ovulation and minimizes the build-up of your uterine lining. During the 7 days you stop taking pills, or take nonhormone placebo pills, your body experiences hormone-withdrawal bleeding or a "pill period."

How does LYBREL work?

LYBREL is a birth control pill that delivers the same low dose of hormones every day. As with other birth control pills, it prevents pregnancy by suppressing ovulation. But when you take LYBREL, the lining of your uterus does not undergo the changes needed for menstruation and, therefore, you do not have regular menstrual periods or a pill period.

You are, however, likely to have unscheduled or unplanned bleeding or spotting when you start to use LYBREL. The number of days each month with unscheduled bleeding and spotting usually decreases over time for the majority of women. When using LYBREL, the convenience of having no regular menstrual periods should be weighed against the inconvenience of unscheduled breakthrough bleeding and spotting.

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Important Safety Information

  • The Pill does not protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.

  • Unscheduled bleeding or spotting is likely to occur while you are taking LYBREL. The convenience of having no regular menstrual periods should be weighed against the inconvenience of unscheduled or unplanned breakthrough bleeding and spotting.

  • Some women should not use the Pill, including women who have blood clots; breast, uterine, or liver cancers; a history of heart attack, stroke, or breast cancer; as well as those who are or may be pregnant.

  • Serious risks associated with the Pill which can be life threatening, include blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks and are increased if you smoke cigarettes.

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious adverse effects on the heart and blood vessels from oral contraceptive use, especially if you are over 35. Women who use the Pill are strongly advised not to smoke.

  • LYBREL provides women with more hormonal exposure on a yearly basis (13 additional weeks of hormone intake per year) than conventional cyclic oral contraceptives containing the same strength of synthetic estrogens and similar strength of progestins.

  • Because regular monthly bleeding does not occur on LYBREL, it may be difficult to recognize if you get pregnant. If you suspect that you may be pregnant, or if you have symptoms of pregnancy such as nausea/vomiting or unusual breast tenderness, you should have a pregnancy test and you should contact your health care professional.

  • The most common side effects reported with LYBREL in a clinical trial were headache, menstrual cramps, upper respiratory infection, vaginal bleeding, and nausea.