A combined birth control pill with a progestin (levonorgestrel) and an estrogen (ethinyl estradiol), taken every day to prevent pregnancy. It works mainly by stopping ovulation, and smoking raises its risk of heart attack, stroke, and blood clots, especially after age 35.
Levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol works mainly by stopping ovulation, the monthly release of an egg from an ovary. Levonorgestrel is a type of progestin and ethinyl estradiol is a type of estrogen, the two female sex hormones the pill combines. Each pack has 21 active tablets with both hormones, followed by 7 inactive tablets with none. During the inactive week, a bleed similar to a period usually comes.
Both hormones are absorbed quickly from the gut, and the liver breaks down the estrogen with an enzyme that some other medicines speed up. Medicines that speed up that enzyme, such as rifampin, some seizure drugs, and certain herbal products, can lower hormone levels and lead to pregnancy or breakthrough bleeding. Missing pills or taking them late also raises the chance of pregnancy. The hormones also raise the risk of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke, a risk that is highest in the first year of use and grows with smoking and age over 35.
Levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol, in the Tyblume pill pack, is used to prevent pregnancy. It combines two female sex hormones, a progestin and an estrogen, in one tablet. Taken every day as directed, it is an effective form of birth control, and about 1 in 100 women may get pregnant in the first year of use. It does not protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted infections.
It is for females who have started having periods and are of an age to become pregnant, and it is taken at home every day. The tablet can be swallowed whole or chewed and then swallowed with a full glass of water, on an empty stomach. It is not used before the first period or after menopause, and it is stopped if pregnancy occurs. Women over 35 who smoke should not use it.
Headache, stomach pain, nausea, bleeding or spotting between periods, vaginal yeast infections, and acne are the most common effects, and irregular bleeding is most likely in the first 3 months. Breast tenderness, bloating, mood changes, and missed periods can also happen. The label treats blood clots in the legs, lungs, or eyes, heart attack, and stroke as the most serious risks, especially in women over 35 who smoke. It also warns of liver problems and rare liver tumors, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, worse migraines, and depression.
This is the boxed warning, the warning the FDA label prints first.
Cigarette smoking and serious cardiovascular events. Smoking raises the risk of serious cardiovascular events from combined hormonal contraceptives, and the risk climbs with age, especially over 35, and with the number of cigarettes smoked. Tyblume is contraindicated in women over 35 who smoke.
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