What to do if you miss a dose of long-acting contraceptive pills

For couples who do not want children, contraception is a compulsory course in daily life. The first thing that many people think of is condoms, but most couples say that condoms are too troublesome. Not only are they easy to leak, but they can also easily affect the mood of both people. In order to be more convenient, some women start taking long-term contraceptive pills, thinking that this method is a permanent solution. So, what should I do if I miss a dose of long-acting contraceptive pills?

If you just missed one day, it is not a big problem and you can just continue taking the medicine. Women should try to use contraceptives as little as possible for contraception, because contraceptives achieve the purpose of contraception by changing women's sex hormone levels and inhibiting women's ovulation. If taken for a long time, it can easily cause endocrine disorders in women and irregular menstruation.

Long-acting contraceptives are drugs used to inhibit ovulation and prevent implantation. Its advantages are high efficiency, long-term effect, reversibility, no need for daily medication, easy to use and distribute, and no impact on sexual life. However, it also has disadvantages. For some women, after taking long-acting contraceptives, their menstrual flow will increase, their menstrual period will be prolonged, and it may also cause amenorrhea.

1. Advantages

Compared with short-acting contraceptive methods, long-acting contraceptives do not need to be administered every day. After a single dose, the drug is slowly and steadily released in the body to maintain a long-term and highly effective contraceptive effect. It can improve user compliance and satisfaction, is easy to use and distribute, does not affect sexual life, and significantly reduces unwanted pregnancies.

2. Disadvantages

For some women, after using long-acting contraceptives, their menstrual flow will increase, their menstrual period will be prolonged, and they may also suffer from amenorrhea. In terms of chemical composition, long-acting contraceptives are similar to short-acting contraceptives and can be divided into three types: estrogen, progestin and estrogen-progestin combination. Since long-acting drugs need to be put into the body at one time and the amount is relatively large, there may be a certain amount of accumulation after stopping the drug. So in general, women who have not given birth are best not to take long-acting contraceptives. If you want to have a baby after taking the medicine, you should stop taking it for 3 months to half a year.

3. Common long-acting contraceptives

1. Levonorgestrel ethinyl estradiol tablets

【Usage and Dosage】

1. Starting from the day of menstruation, take the medicine once after lunch on the 5th day, and take the second time after an interval of 20 days, or take 1 tablet each on the 5th and 10th days of menstruation, and then take the medicine on the date of the second dose. Take 1 tablet per month. Generally, withdrawal bleeding will occur 6 to 12 days after taking the medicine. For patients with severe adverse reactions after taking the medicine, reduced-dose tablets can be used starting from the 4th cycle. 2. When patients who were originally taking short-acting oral contraceptives switch to long-acting contraceptives, they can take long-acting contraceptives on the second day after taking 22 tablets, and then take 1 tablet every month on the same date as when they started taking long-acting contraceptives.

【Pharmacological action】

Ethinyl estradiol (ethinyl estradiol cyclopentyl ether) is a long-acting estrogen. After oral administration, it is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and stored in adipose tissue. It slowly releases ethinyl estradiol, inhibiting ovarian ovulation by inhibiting the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis, thereby achieving a long-term contraceptive effect. The combination of progesterone and ethinyl estradiol has a synergistic effect on inhibiting ovulation and can also transform the endometrium, causing secretion, leading to withdrawal bleeding, and forming cyclical changes. Taking the pill once a month can achieve a contraceptive rate of over 98%.

【Drug Interactions】

1. Drugs that affect contraceptive effects: Antibiotics inhibit the growth of intestinal bacteria, reduce the decomposition of hormone conjugates, and reduce enterohepatic circulation; drugs that induce liver enzymes such as rifampicin, hypnotics and anticonvulsants, antipyretics and analgesics; tricyclic antidepressants compete with this product in the liver for common metabolic enzymes. 2. Drugs whose efficacy is affected when used in combination with contraceptives: The antihypertensive effect of antihypertensive drugs is reduced; the effect of anticoagulants is reduced; the efficacy of hypoglycemic drugs (such as insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs) in controlling diabetes is reduced; the effect of tricyclic antidepressants is enhanced.