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The text only version may be available in large print, Braille or audio CD. For further information call emc accessibility on 0800 198 5000. The product code(s) for this leaflet is: PL00010/0550.
Norgeston
Due to regulatory changes, the content of the following Patient Information Leaflet may vary from the one found in your medicine pack. Please compare the 'Leaflet prepared/revised date' towards the end of the leaflet to establish if there have been any changes.
If you have any doubts or queries about your medication, please contact your doctor or pharmacist.
Norgeston®
levonorgestrel
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, family planning nurse or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.
1 What Norgeston does
2 What you need to know before you take Norgeston
3 Taking Norgeston
3.3 A missed pill
4 Possible side effects
5 How to store Norgeston
6 What is in Norgeston and who makes it
Norgeston is an oral contraceptive pill (the ‘mini Pill’). You take it to stop you getting pregnant.
Norgeston contains a type of female sex hormone, called a progestogen. This hormone stops you getting pregnant by working in three ways: by making the fluid (mucus) in your cervix thicker, which makes it more difficult for sperm to enter the womb; by preventing the lining of your womb thickening enough for an egg to grow in it; and in some women it also stops the ovary releasing an egg each month (ovulation).
Norgeston is taken every day without a break. You take a pill every day for 35 days.
Norgeston needs to be taken as directed to prevent pregnancy.
The likelihood of getting pregnant is slightly higher if you take a progestogen-only pill (POP) such as Norgeston than with some other medicines for hormonal contraception such as combined hormonal contraceptives containing an oestrogen and a progestogen. Your doctor can provide further information on this. The effect of Norgeston is similar to that of other POPs. The failure rate may increase if pills are missed or taken incorrectly (see section 3).
The benefits of taking the Pill include:
Norgeston will not protect you against sexually transmitted infections, such as Chlamydia or HIV.
Only condoms can help to do this.
Norgeston is not indicated for use before the first menstrual bleeding (menarche).
Norgeston is not intended for use after the menopause.
Do not take Norgeston if you suffer from severe liver disease. See also sections 2.2 and 2.3.
It’s important that you understand the benefits and risks of taking the Pill before you start taking it, or when deciding whether to carry on taking it. Although the Pill is suitable for most healthy women it isn’t suitable for everyone.
The Pill may slightly increase your risk of having a blood clot( called a thrombosis), especially in the first year of taking it.
A clot in a leg vein – a deep vein thrombosis (or DVT) – is not always serious. However, if it moves up the veins and blocks an artery in the lungs, it can cause chest pain, breathlessness, collapse or even death. This is called a pulmonary embolism and is very rare.
Very rarely, blood clots can also form in the blood vessels of the heart (causing a heart attack) or the brain (causing a stroke). In healthy young women the chance of having a heart attack or stroke is extremely small.
You are more at risk of having a blood clot:
Signs of a blood clot include:
If you have breast cancer, or have had it in the past, you should not take the Pill. The Pill slightly increases your risk of breast cancer. This risk goes up the longer you’re on the Pill, but returns to normal within about 10 years of stopping it. Because breast cancer is rare in women under the age of 40, the extra cases of breast cancer in current and recent Pill users is small. For example:
Your risk of breast cancer is higher:
Taking the Pill has also been linked to liver diseases, such as jaundice and non-cancer liver tumours, but this is rare. Very rarely, the Pill has also been linked with some forms of liver cancer in women who have taken it for a long time.
Do not take Norgeston if any of the following apply to you. Taking Norgeston would put your health at risk.
Some of the conditions listed below can be made worse by taking Norgeston, or they may mean it is less suitable for you. Remind your doctor:
Some women using hormonal contraceptives including Norgeston have reported depression or depressed mood. Depression can be serious and may sometimes lead to suicidal thoughts. If you experience mood changes and depressive symptoms contact your doctor for further medical advice as soon as possible.
If you ever need to take another medicine, including medicines obtained without a prescription, at the same time as being on the Pill, always tell your doctor, pharmacist or dentist that you’re taking Norgeston. Also check the leaflets that come with all your medicines to see if they can be taken with hormonal contraceptives.
Some medicines can stop Norgeston from working properly and cause unexpected bleeding – for example:
If you do need to take one of these medicines, Norgeston may not be suitable for you or you may need to use extra contraception for a while. Your doctor, pharmacist or dentist can tell you if this is necessary and for how long.
Norgeston can also affect how well other medicines work. For example, taking Norgeston can mean that the levels of some drugs in your blood may either go up (e.g. ciclosporin) or go down (e.g. lamotrigine).
Norgeston may also increase or reduce the effects of some anticoagulant drugs (e.g. coumarins) or inhibit the anticoagulant effect (e.g. phenindione).
Laboratory tests
Norgeston can interfere with the results of some blood tests, so always tell your doctor that you are taking Norgeston if you have a blood test.
There are no special instructions about food while on Norgeston.
Do not use Norgeston if you are pregnant. If you think you might be pregnant, do a pregnancy test to confirm that you are before you stop taking Norgeston.
Progestogen-only pills like Norgeston have not been shown to have any detrimental effect on breast milk or the growth or development of a healthy baby.
Norgeston has no known effect on the ability to drive or use machines.
If you have been told by your doctor that you have intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before using Norgeston.
To prevent pregnancy, always take Norgeston as described below. Check with your doctor or family planning nurse if you are not sure.
Take Norgeston every day for 35 days
Norgeston comes in strips of 35 pills, each marked with a day of the week.
Then start your next strip
Start your next strip of Norgeston the very next day after finishing the previous pack, again taking a pill marked with the day of the week. Always start the new strip on time.
You will be taking pills through your periods and there must be no break between packs
As long as you take Norgeston correctly, you will always start each new strip on the same day of the week.
As a new user or starting the Pill again after a break
It is best to take your first Norgeston pill on the first day of your next period. Another method of contraception will not be required.
Changing to Norgeston from another contraceptive Pill
Starting Norgeston after a miscarriage or abortion
If you have had a miscarriage or an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, your doctor may tell you to start taking Norgeston straight away, in which case another method of contraception will not be required.
Contraception after having a baby
If you have just had a baby your doctor will advise you to start taking Norgeston immediately after delivery. If you start taking Norgeston later than this you should use another method of contraception, such as a condom for the first 7 days of pill taking. If you have already had intercourse, then you should exclude the possibility of pregnancy before starting Norgeston or wait until you have your first period.
If you have just had a baby and you are breast feeding please refer to section 2.8 Pregnancy and Breast-feeding.
If you are less than 3 hours late with a pill, take it straight away. Keep taking your pills at the usual time. This may mean taking two pills in one day. Don’t worry – your contraceptive protection should not be reduced.
If you are more than 3 hours late with a pill, or you have missed more than one pill, your contraceptive protection may be reduced.
If you have missed any of the pills in a strip and had intercourse in the week before missing the tablets, there is a possibility of becoming pregnant. The more consecutive tablets you have missed, the higher the risk that the contraceptive efficacy is decreased.
If you lose a pill,
Either take the last pill of the strip in place of the lost pill. Then take all the other pills on their proper days. When you start your next pack you will have a new starting day, one day earlier than before.
Or if you have another pack and do not want to change the starting day of your next strip, take a pill from that pack. Then take all the other pills from your current strip as usual. You can then keep the opened spare strip in case you lose any more pills.
If you are sick (vomit) within 2 hours of taking a tablet your body may not get its usual dose of hormones from that pill and you should take another pill as soon as possible. Follow the instructions in section 3.4 A lost pill. If you are not able to take another pill within 3 hours use extra contraception for the next 7 days, such as condoms
If you are persistently sick or have very bad diarrhoea, use extra contraception during the illness and for the 7 days after recovery, such as condoms
It is unlikely that taking more than one pill will do you any harm, but you may feel sick, vomit or have some vaginal bleeding. Talk to your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.
If you are planning a baby, it’s best to use another method of contraception after stopping Norgeston until you have had a proper period. Your doctor or midwife relies on the date of your last natural period to tell you when your baby is due. However, it will not cause you or the baby any harm if you get pregnant straight away.
Like all medicines, Norgeston can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Signs of a blood clot:
Signs of a severe allergic reaction to Norgeston:
Signs of breast cancer include:
Signs of severe liver problems include:
A few women have irregular periods, a little unexpected bleeding or spotting or no periods at all while they are taking Norgeston, especially during the first few months. Normally, these changes are nothing to worry about and require no treatment. Keep taking Norgeston as usual. The problem should disappear after the first few strips.
You may also have unexpected bleeding if you are not taking your pills regularly, so try to take your pill at the same time every day. Also, unexpected bleeding can sometimes be caused by other medicines.
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the packaging after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Do not throw away any medicines down a drain or into a bin. Ask your pharmacist what to do with any medicines you do not want. This will help to protect the environment.
Each box of Norgeston contains one memo strip of 35 white, round, coated tablets.
Each tablet contains: 30 micrograms of the progestogen levonorgestrel.
Norgeston also contains the inactive ingredients:
lactose, maize starch, povidone, macrogol 6000, calcium carbonate (E170), talc, magnesium stearate (E 572), sucrose, glycol montanate.
The company that holds the product licence for Norgeston is:
Norgeston is made by:
or
This leaflet was last revised in January 2021.
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