Contraceptives

New Low Dose Birth Control Pill For 2009

If you’re the sort of girl who likes to review her ‘contraception career’ regularly, you may like to know that a new low dose birth control pill will be coming onto the market in the first few months of next year with benefits that you may welcome. This new low dose birth control pill will be called LoSeasonique and has just been approved by ‘big brother’- the FDA.

If you already use a low dose birth control pill you may be familiar with those brands that reduce the number of withdrawal periods you have, such as Seasonale, Seasonique and Lybrel. These particular low dose birth control pills are termed ‘extended cycle’ or continuous, birth control pills which are 98%-99% effective in preventing pregnancy if taken as directed. Seasonique and Seasonale have been available for some time now, giving four ‘periods’ a year while Lybrel allows no periods at all.

If you’re like me, you’ll want to know how thorough the trials have been on this low dose birth control pill before rushing off for a prescription. Over a 12 month period, over 2,100 female subjects between the ages of 18 and 41 at 56 sites throughout the United States participated in the trial and completed an equivalent of nearly 21,000 28-day cycles of exposure.

LoSeasonique is a low - dose version of Seasonique and, like Seasonique, reduces the number of ‘periods’ you will get from 13 to 4 per year. Yep, it saves on the cost of pain relief and tampons too.

OK. So what’s in this new low dose birth control pill?

LoSeasonique is a combination (progestin + estrogen) birth control pill.
Each pill contains 0.10 mg levonorgestrel and 0.02 mg of ethinyl estradiol (synthetic estrogen) Seasonique contains 0.15mg levonorgestrel and 0.03mg ethinyl estradiol.
Other low dose pills such as Alesse, Mircette and LoOvral contain the same amount of estrogen as LoSeasonique (0.02mg) but with these you will have 13 periods a year.
How do I take it?
LoSeasonique should be taken daily for 84 consecutive days, followed by the 0.01 mg ethinyl estradiol tablets for seven days.

Benefits of the new low dose birth control pill

• you know when to expect your period
• your periods will be light, shorter and less frequent (4 per year)
• you should get relief from PMS and acne
• your risk of ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancy, benign breast cysts or lumps and ovarian and endometrial cancer will be reduced

Are there any side effects or disadvantages?
Don’t expect any BUT this new low dose birth control pill is likely to affect some women in similar ways to other low dose birth control pills. I’m afraid it’s individual trial every time girls. However, doctors are unlikely to prescribe this new low dose birth pill for you if you smoke, are over 35 years of age or have health problems such as blood clots, breast, uterine, or liver cancers or serious heart problems.

Warning: Please use your own discretion when using any low dose birth control pill. Seasnoque of these brands of low dose birth control pills mentioned above have been used long enough for anyone to say for certain if there any long term negative side effects.