Lucette 0.03mg/3mg - 63 Tablets (3-month course)

Contraception Doctor Service

Lucette is a Combined Oral Contraceptive (COC) tablet also called pill ('the Pill') and is used to prevent pregnancy.

Each tablet contains a small amount of two different female hormones, namely ethinylestradiol and drospirenone.

• Contraceptive pills that contain two hormones are called "combination" pills.

These help to stop you from getting pregnant, just as your natural hormones would stop you conceiving again when you are already pregnant.

The COC pill protects you against getting pregnant in three ways: 

• Alters the lining of the womb to make it less likely to accept a fertilised egg
• Stops the ovary from releasing an egg each month (ovulation)
• Thickens the fluid (at the neck of the womb making it more difficult for the sperm to reach the egg

Combined contraceptive pills can be prescribed for females who experience painful or irregular menstruation in order to ease the pain and regulate the period.

You can order Lucette tablets from our UK registered online pharmacy and doctor service. To see if you are suitable for this treatment, complete the online assessment and checkout. Our UK registered doctors will review the order and after approval pass the prescription to the Pharmacy team. We will then dispense and dispatch your order to your chosen address.

• The safety and efficacy in adolescents below 18 years has not been established.
• This medicine is not recommended for females who have an elevated risk of having thrombosis. 

A good self care guide and information for contraceptives is available on the NHS website.

NHS - Contraception

Lucette tablets, like other hormonal contraceptives, do not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) or any other sexually transmitted disease.

What are the side effects of the Contraceptive Pill? 

While side effects are usually uncommon and mild in nature, it is best to be aware of any that may occur. Some of the most common side effects include mood swings, headaches nausea, breast tenderness. For a full list of side effects and more information, you can read the Patient Information Leaflet of the medication.

What are the Advantages of the Combined Oral Contraceptive?

• Can improve acne symptoms 
• Can reduce the risk of some cancers
• Can reduce menopausal symptoms

What are the disadvantages of the Combined Oral Contraceptive?

• Can increase blood pressure
• Can cause headaches, breast tenderness and mood changes
• Can experience breakthrough bleeding

What are the advantages of Progesterone only contraceptives?

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

What are the disadvantages of Progesterone only contraceptives?

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

Which pill is right for me?

Prescribers will take a thorough medical history before choosing the right contraceptive pill for you. For most people, the combined contraceptive pill works best. For those who are over 35, smoke, suffer from migraine or have other risk factors your doctor will look into, the Progesterone-only pill may be more suitable.

Am I protected straight away?

Some pills, if taken correctly, will provide protection immediately, while others take time to provide contraceptive cover. Refer to your patient information leaflet to find out when you are protected on your pill.

Do I still need to use a condom?

Although you will be covered against pregnancy with the pill, it is always advised to use a condom. This is to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

I forgot to take my pill – what should I do?

You should always take your pill around the same time each day to ensure maximum contraceptive cover. Different pills vary in the amount of time you can delay your dose. Always refer to your prescribed medication’s patient information leaflet to find more detailed information relating to missed doses.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects although not everybody gets them. If you get any side effects, particularly if severe and persistent, or have any change to your health that you think may be due to Lucette, please talk to your doctor.

An increased risk of blood clots in your arteries is present for all women taking combined hormonal contraceptives.

The following is a list of the side effects that have been linked with the use of ethinylestradiol / drospirenone:

Serious side effects: – See you doctor straight away.

• Signs of cancer of the cervix include: vaginal discharge that smells and/or contains blood, unusual vaginal, bleeding, pelvic pain, painful sex.
• Signs of a severe allergic reaction to Lucette: swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue or throat.
• Signs of a blood clot
• Signs of breast cancer include: dimpling of the skin, changes in the nipple, any lumps you can see or feel.
• Signs of severe liver problems include: severe pain in your upper abdomen, yellow skin or eyes (jaundice), inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), and your whole body starts itching.

If you think you may have any of these, see a doctor straight away. You may need to stop taking Lucette.

Common side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):

• depressive mood
• headache, migraine
• nausea
• breast tenderness, breast pain, menstrual disorders, bleeding between periods, thick whitish vaginal
• discharge , vaginal yeast infection.

Uncommon side effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):

• altered interest in sex
• high blood pressure, low blood pressure
• vomiting, diarrhoea
• acne, severe itching, skin rash, hair loss (alopecia)
• vaginal infection, breast enlargement
• fluid retention
• body weight changes.

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 Lucette 0.03mg/3mg Film-coated Tablets

Other medicines and Lucette

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.

Also tell any other doctor or dentist who prescribes another medicine (or the pharmacist) that you are taking this medicine. They can tell you if you need to take additional contraceptive precautions (for example condoms) and if so, for how long.

Some medicines can make Lucette less effective in preventing pregnancy, or can cause unexpected bleeding. These include medicines used for the treatment of:

• epilepsy (e.g. barbiturates, carbamazepine, phenytoin, primidone, oxcarbazepine);
• tuberculosis (e.g. rifampicin);
• HIV infections (e.g. ritonavir, nevirapine) or other infections (antibiotics such as griseofulvin, penicillin, tetracycline);
• high blood pressure in the blood vessels in the lungs (bosentan);
• the herbal remedy St. John’s wort.

Lucette may influence the effect of other medicines, e.g.:

• medicines containing ciclosporin
• the anti-epileptic lamotrigine (this could lead to an increased frequency of seizures).

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine.

Taking Lucette with food and drink

• Lucette may be taken with or without food, if necessary with a small amount of water.

Laboratory tests

If you need a blood test, tell your doctor or the laboratory staff that you are taking the pill, because hormonal contraceptives can affect the results of some tests.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.

Pregnancy - If you are pregnant, do not take Lucette. If you become pregnant while taking Lucette stop taking it immediately and contact your doctor. If you want to become pregnant, you can stop taking Lucette at any time.

Breastfeeding - Use of Lucette is generally not advisable when a woman is breastfeeding. If you want to take the pill while you are breastfeeding you should contact your doctor.

Driving and using machines

• There is no information suggesting that use of Lucette affects driving or the use of machines.

Lucette contains lactose and soya lecithin

Lucette contains 48.17 mg lactose monohydrate. If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product.

Lucette also contains 0.070 mg soya lecithin. If you are allergic to peanuts or soya, do not use this medicinal product.

How to Store Lucette

• Do not use this medicine after the expiry date (EXP.) which is stated on the blister and carton. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• Store below 30ºC. Store in the original package in order to protect from light.
• 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.

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.

Before using 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.

Lucette tablet is for oral use only.

How to take Lucette

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

Lucette comes in strips of 21 pills, each marked with a day of the week.

1. Swallow one tablet per day with water for 21 days. Do not chew the pill. Take your pill at the same time every day.
2. Start by taking a pill marked with the correct day of the week. Follow the direction of the arrows on the strip. Take one pill each day, until you have finished all 21 pills.
3. Then have seven pill-free days. After you have taken all 21 pills in the strip, you have seven days when you take no pills. So, if you take the last pill of one pack on a Friday, you will take the first pill of your next pack on the Saturday of the following week.

Within a few days of taking the last pill from the strip, you should have a withdrawal bleed like a period. This usually starts on the 2nd or 3rd day after the last tablet of Lucette. This bleed may not have finished when it is time to start your next strip of pills.

You don’t need to use extra contraception during these seven pill-free days – as long as you have taken your pills correctly and start the next strip of pills on time.

Then start your next strip
Start the following strip after the last day of the seven pill-free days, whether your bleeding has stopped or not. Always start the new strip on time.

When can you start with the first strip?
If you have not used a contraceptive with hormones in the previous month.

Begin with Lucette on the first day of your cycle (that is, the first day of your period). If you start Lucette on the first day of your period you are immediately protected against pregnancy.

You may also begin on day 2-5 of the cycle, but then you must use extra protective measures (for example, a condom) for the first 7 days.

After a miscarriage or abortion

If you have had a miscarriage or abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, your doctor may tell you to start taking Lucette straight away. This means that you will have contraceptive protection with your first pill.

After having a baby
You can start taking Lucette between 21 and 28 days after having a baby. If you start later than day 28, use a so-called barrier method (for example, a condom) during the first seven days of taking Lucette. If, after having a baby, you have had sex before starting Lucette (again), you must first be sure that you are not pregnant or wait until your next period.

If you are breastfeeding and want to start Lucette after having a baby
If you want to take the pill while you are breastfeeding you should contact your doctor. Use of Lucette is generally not advisable when a woman is breastfeeding.

If you take more Lucette than you should

There are no reports of serious harmful results of taking too many Lucette tablets. If you take several tablets at once then you may have symptoms of nausea or vomiting. Young girls may have bleeding from the vagina. If you have taken too many Lucette tablets, or you discover that a child has taken some, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

If you miss one pill and are less than 12 hours late then your protection from pregnancy will not be reduced. You should take the missed tablet as soon as you remember even if it means taking two in one day. Take the following pills at your usual time.

If you are more than 12 hours late taking your pill, your protection from pregnancy may be reduced. Continue to take your pill as normal but you should avoid unprotected sex for 7 days. If you have already had unprotected sex (after your missed pill), you will need to use emergency contraception.

If you miss a pill and your strip ends within the next six days, you should skip your usual 7-day break and continue with the next strip of pills.

If you want to stop taking Lucette

You can stop taking Lucette whenever you want. If you do not want to become pregnant, ask your doctor for advice about other reliable methods of birth control.

If you want to become pregnant, stop taking Lucette and wait for a menstrual period before trying to become pregnant. You will be able to calculate the expected delivery date more easily.

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Do not use Lucette

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Lucette tablets.

You should not use Lucette if you have any of the conditions listed below. If you do have any of the conditions listed below, you must tell your doctor. Your doctor will discuss with you what other form of birth control would be more appropriate.

• if you are allergic to ethinylestradiol or drospirenone, or any of the other ingredients of this medicine. This may cause itching, rash or swelling;
• if you have (or have ever had) a blood clot in a blood vessel of your legs (deep vein thrombosis, DVT), your lungs (pulmonary embolus, PE) or other organs;
• if you know you have a disorder affecting your blood clotting – for instance, protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, antithrombin-III deficiency, Factor V Leiden or antiphospholipid antibodies;
• if you need an operation or if you are off your feet for a long time;
• if you have ever had a heart attack or a stroke;
• if you have (or have ever had) angina pectoris (a condition that causes severe chest pain and may be a first sign of a heart attack) or transient ischaemic attack (TIA – temporary stroke symptoms);
• if you have any of the following diseases that may increase your risk of a clot in the arteries: severe diabetes with blood vessel damage, very high blood pressure, a very high level of fat in the blood (cholesterol or triglycerides) a condition known as hyperhomocysteinaemia;
• if you have (or have ever had) a type of migraine called ‘migraine with aura’;
• if you have (or have ever had) a liver disease and your liver function is still not normal;
• if your kidneys are not working well (renal failure);
• if you have (or have ever had) a tumour in the liver;
• if you have (or have ever had) or if you are suspected of having breast cancer or cancer of the genital organs;
• if you have any unexplained bleeding from the vagina.
• Lucette contains soya oil. If you are allergic to peanuts or soya, do not use this medicinal product.

Warnings and precautions

Talk to your doctor if any of the following conditions apply to you.

In some situations you need to take special care while using Lucette or any other combination pill, and your doctor may need to examine you regularly. If any of the following conditions applies to you, tell your doctor before starting to use Lucette.

If the condition develops, or gets worse while you are using Lucette, you should also tell your doctor.

If you have:

• a close relative who has ever had breast cancer.
• a disease of the liver or the gallbladder.
• diabetes.
• depression.
• epilepsy.
• a disease that first appeared during pregnancy or earlier use of sex hormones (for example, hearing loss, a blood disease called porphyria, yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice), itching of the whole body (pruritus), skin rash with blisters during pregnancy (gestational herpes), a nerve disease causing sudden movements of the body (Sydenham’s chorea).
• ever had a discolouration of the skin especially on the face or neck known as “pregnancy patches”, (chloasma). If so, avoid direct sunlight or ultraviolet light.
• hereditary angioedema, products containing oestrogens may cause or worsen the symptoms. You should see your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms of angioedema such as swollen face, tongue and/or throat and/or difficulty swallowing or hives together with difficulty breathing.
• Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (chronic inflammatory bowel disease).
• systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE - a disease affecting your natural defence system).
• haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS - a disorder of blood clotting causing failure of the kidneys).
• sickle cell anaemia (an inherited disease of the red blood cells).
• elevated levels of fat in the blood (hypertriglyceridaemia) or a positive family history for this condition. Hypertriglyceridaemia has been associated with an increased risk of developing pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).
• if you need an operation, or you are off your feet for a long time.
• just given birth you are at an increased risk of blood clots. You should ask your doctor how soon after delivery you can start taking Lucette.
• an inflammation in the veins under the skin (superficial thrombophlebitis).
• varicose veins.

Blood Clots

Using a combined hormonal contraceptive such as Lucette increases your risk of developing a blood clot compared with not using one. In rare cases a blood clot can block blood vessels and cause serious problems.

Blood clots can develop:

• in veins (referred to as a ‘venous thrombosis’, ‘venous thromboembolism’ or VTE)
• in the arteries (referred to as an ‘arterial thrombosis’, ‘arterial thromboembolism’ or ATE).

What Lucette contains

The active substances are 0.03 mg ethinylestradiol and 3 mg drospirenone in each tablet.

The other ingredients are:
Tablet core: lactose monohydrate, pregelatinised maize starch, maize starch, povidone K-25, magnesium stearate.

Film-coating: polyvinyl alcohol, titanium dioxide (E171), talc (E553b), macrogol 3350, lecithin (soya).

What Lucette looks like and contents of the pack

White or almost white, round, biconvex film-coated tablet. Engraving on one side: “G63”, other side is without engraving. Lucette 0.03 mg/3 mg film-coated tablets are packaged PVC/PVDC//Al blister pack.