Cerazette Contraceptive Pill

Cerazette is a brand of contraceptive pill that only contains one type of hormone so it classes as a progestogen only pill or the “mini pill”. It is manufactured by Organon and contains 75 micrograms of desogestrel. The progestogen only pill is known to be less effective in preventing pregnancy than the combined contraceptive pill as it only contains one hormone. However, Cerazette is highly effective due to the dose of hormone you are given compared to other mini pills.

It is used to prevent pregnancy and is usually prescribed to women that experience bad side effects on combined contraceptive pills or have problems with the levels of oestrogen. It is a 28-day pill that must be taken every day unlike most contraceptive pills. You must take one pill every day at the same time regardless of whether you are experiencing bleeding and you do not experience a pill free week.  Therefore, you will have a constant stream of progestogen entering your system. It works by thickening the mucous lining, changing the uterus wall and sometimes by stopping an egg from being released. The fact that it does not always stop the egg from being released contributes to the difference in effectiveness between mini pills and the combined contraceptive pill.

Although Cerazette is less effective than the combined contraceptive pill in preventing pregnancy, it does have a number of advantages.  It can be given to women who experience too many adverse side effects from the combined contraceptive pill. It is the constant levels of oestrogen from the pill that cause most of the side effects so the progesterone only pill does not cause as many side effects or reduces their severity. It can also be given to women who are breast-feeding, as it does not affect milk production.

Every pill will contain the synthetic version of progestogen, desogestrel. They will also contain a number of inactive ingredients that include maize starch, stearic acid, polyvidone, macrogol 400, talc, colloidal, anhydrous silica, all –rac-alpha-tocopherol, titanium dioxide and lactose monohydrate.

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