Cerelle 75mcg - Desogestrel - 84 Tablets (3 month course)

Contraception Doctor Service

Cerelle is an oral contraceptive pill used to prevent pregnancy.

It is a progestogen-only pill, called POP, which doesn’t contain an oestrogen. It contains the active ingredient desogestrel 75 micrograms. This is a synthetic version of the natural progestogen sex hormones produced in the body.

Cerelle is a form of progestogen-only mini pill. Cerelle is prescribed to sexually active women who do not want to get pregnant.

The contraceptive pill is a hormonal based tablet that regulates a woman’s cycle and prevents pregnancy. It must be taken regularly throughout a woman’s cycle for full effectiveness.

• For female use only
• Used for contraceptive purposes
• Daily progestogen-only tablet
• 99% effective when taken correctly
• Suitable for smokers and over-35s

How Does Cerelle Work?
Cerelle is a form of progestogen-only mini pill. Its active ingredient is desogestrel, which is a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone. Cerelle is prescribed to sexually active women who do not want to get pregnant. It's the generic version of Cerazette - it contains the same active ingredient and works in the same way.

Can Smokers Use Cerelle?
Cerelle, as a progestogen-only pill, is suitable for smokers, and is therefore a good alternative to the combined contraceptive pill.

Can Cerelle Stop Periods?
Cerelle is taken everyday without a break. For some women their periods stop altogether with this pill, whereas for others their periods may continue regularly, or become lighter and less frequent.

How effective is Cerelle?
If you start using Cerelle on days 1-5 of your period, you will be immediately protected against pregnancy.

Used correctly, Cerelle can be up to 99% effective in preventing pregnancy. However, if you are vomiting or have severe diarrhoea you may not be protected against pregnancy. If this happens, continue to take the pill as usual but use a condom whilst you're ill. If this continues for more than 24 hours you should follow the same steps as a missed pill. 

What are the side effects of Cerelle?
Most women will not experience any side effects on Cerelle, but some report irregular bleeding - this usually settles within 3 months. Other side effects can include headaches, acne, feeling sick, mood swings, and breast sensitivity.

For full information on side effects and correct use, see the patient information leaflet.

Will Cerelle affect my weight?
There is no evidence that the progestogen-only pill, like Cerelle, will cause women to put on weight. You may find your weight changes throughout your cycle due to fluid retention and other reasons not related to the pill.

How do I switch to Cerelle from a different pill?
If you would like to switch your contraceptive pill to Cerelle, you can contact us via your Patient Record or get an appointment with your GP. If you are changing to a new pill usually you will be advised to have no break between the packs and you may have to use other contraceptive methods during the changeover.

Like all medicines Cerelle can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. While side effects are usually uncommon and mild in nature, it is best to be aware of any that may occur.

Some of the side effects to be aware of are listed below. For a full list, make sure you read the patient information leaflet which comes with your medication.

Contact your doctor as soon as possible if:

• you have severe pain or swelling in either of your legs, unexplained pains in the chest, breathlessness, an unusual cough, especially when you cough up blood (possibly indicating a thrombosis);
• you have a sudden, severe stomach ache or jaundice (you may notice yellowing of the skin, the whites of the eyes, or dark urine, possibly indicating liver problems);
• you feel a lump in your breast (possibly indicating breast cancer);
• you have a sudden or severe pain in the lower abdomen or stomach area (possibly indicating an ectopic pregnancy, this is a pregnancy outside the womb);
• you are to be immobilised or are to have surgery (consult your doctor at least four weeks in advance);
• you have unusual, heavy vaginal bleeding;
• you suspect that you are pregnant.

For a full list of side effects, read the Patient Information Leaflet.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, our Rightdose pharmacists or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet.

You can help to make medicines safer by reporting any side-effects to the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

Before taking any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us. 

Patient Information Leaflet Cerelle 75 microgram Film-coated Tablets

Cerelle and other medicines

You should be able to take Cerelle alongside other medicines. However, it is important that you let us know which prescription, over-the-counter medicines and recreational drugs you are taking so that we can prescribe Cerelle safely.

What are the advantages of Progesterone only contraceptives?

• Reduced likelihood of side effects associated with combined pill
• Can be used during breastfeeding
• Can help with premenstrual symptoms

What are the disadvantages of Progesterone only contraceptives?

• Can cause irregular periods
• Can cause periods to be more frequent, or stop altogether
• Must be taken at the same time each day

Please be alert and see your doctor if you think you may have symptoms of a blood clot.

How to store Cerelle

• Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
• This medicinal product does not require any special temperature storage conditions. Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• Store in the original package in order to protect from light and moisture.

The active metabolite etonogestrel shows an environmental risk to fish.Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.

How to take Cerelle

Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

Each strip of Cerelle contains 28 tablets. Arrows and the days of the week are printed on the front side of the strip, which help you take your pill correctly.

• Take your daily tablet at about the same time each day.
• Swallow each tablet whole with water.

Every time you start a new strip of Cerelle take a tablet from the top row. Don’t start with just any tablet. For example, if you start on a Wednesday, you should take the tablet from the top row marked “Wed”.

You should continue to take one tablet a day, until the strip is empty, always following the direction indicated by the arrows. By looking at the back of the strip of tablets you can easily check if you have already taken your tablet on a particular day.

• You may have some bleeding during the use of Cerelle, but you must continue to take your tablet as normal.When a strip is empty, you must start with a new pack of Cerelle on the next day – without interruption and without waiting for a bleeding.
  Take 1 pill every day, at the same time. Take the packs back-to-back without a break, including during your period. Many women won’t have their period at all while on Cerelle – this is normal and should not cause concern.

What should I do if I miss the pill?
If you forget to take it, unlike most mini pills, Cerelle offers a window of 12 hours in which it can be taken and still protect you from pregnancy.

• Take the forgotten pill as soon as you remember. Then take the next pill at the normal time. This may mean taking 2 pills in one day.

If you do not take it within 12hrs of the usual time, you will not be protected against pregnancy. Continue to take your pills as usual but use condoms for the next two days. If you've had unprotected sex during this time, you may need emergency contraception.

Cerelle will not protect you against HIV infection (AIDS) and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

Do not use Cerelle if you have any of the conditions listed below.

• If any of these apply to you, tell your doctor before starting to use Cerelle. Your doctor may advise you to use a non-hormonal method of birth control.
• If you are allergic to desogestrel or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6.).
• If you have thrombosis. Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a blood vessel, which may lead to obstruction of this blood vessel {e.g. of the legs (deep venous thrombosis), the lungs (pulmonary embolism), the heart (heart attack) or brain (stroke)}.
• If you have or have had jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) or a severe liver disease and the function of your liver (as determined by laboratory investigation of the blood) has not returned to normal.
• If you have or if you are suspected of having cancer that grows under the influence of certain hormones (progestagens), such as certain types of breast cancer.
• If you have any unexplained vaginal bleeding. If any of these conditions appears for the first time while using Cerelle you should consult your doctor promptly.

Warnings and precautions

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Cerelle.

If any of these apply to you, tell your doctor before starting to use Cerelle:

• you have or have ever had breast cancer;
• you have cancer of the liver;• you have or ever had thrombosis (blockage of a blood vessel due to a blood clot);
• you have diabetes;
• you suffer from epilepsy (see section “Other medicines and Cerelle”);
• you suffer from tuberculosis (see section “Other medicines and Cerelle”);
• you have high blood pressure;
• you have or have had chloasma (yellowish-brown pigmentation patches on the skin, particularly of the face); if so avoid too much exposure to the sun or ultraviolet radiation;
• you have depression or mood changes.

What Cerelle contains

The active substance is desogestrel.

One film-coated tablet contains 75 microgram desogestrel.

The other ingredients are:

Tablet core: Lactose monohydrate, Potato starch, Povidone K-30, Silica, colloidal anhydrous, Stearic acid, all-rac-α-tocopherol

Tablet coat: Poly[vinyl alcohol], Titanium dioxide (E171), Macrogol 3000.

What Cerelle looks like and contents of the pack

Cerelle is white or almost white, round, biconvex film-coated tablet of about 5.5 mm in diameter, with a sign “D” on one side and “75” on the other side.

Cerelle film-coated tablets are packed in PVC/PVDC-Aluminium blister, in a laminated aluminium sachet and cardboard cartons with a leaflet and etui storing bag enclosed.