Many women opt for birth control pills . This method of contraception is considered one of the most reliable. Today, gynecologists prescribe Regulon tablets to protect against unwanted pregnancy. From what else this drug helps, few know. Let's try to figure out what kind of health benefits a contraceptive can bring, what is in its composition and how to take it correctly.
Product release form
The drug is only available in tablet form. According to reviews, this medication is one of the most popular contraceptives. Regulon tablets contain a combination of synthetic analogues of hormones that prevent the fertilization of an egg, even if a woman has a sex life without the use of barriers to prevent unwanted pregnancy (condoms). These hormones are tinylestradiol and desogestrel. They inhibit the synthesis of female hormones that perform follicle-stimulating and luteinizing functions.
Each tablet is coated with a protective film coating of a white or grayish tint. Regulon's pills have a bulge on both sides, on one of which the marking P8 is stamped, and on the other - RG. In each pack of Regulon there are 21 tablets placed in a blister. One pill contains:
- 0.15 mg desogestrel;
- 0.03 mg of tinylestradiol.
In addition to the main active ingredients, auxiliary components are also present, including magnesium stearate, lactose monohydrate, stearic acid, potato starch and povidone.
How does this tool work?
With regular use of Regulon tablets, artificial hormones suppress ovulation. In addition, they contribute to a change in the consistency and chemical composition of cervical mucus, which complicates the further penetration of sperm into the uterus through the cervix. Even if conception occurs, a fertilized egg cannot be implanted to the organ wall.
In fact, tinylestradiol and desogestrel contained in the preparation are artificial analogues of estrogen and gestagen. That is why a contraceptive has an estrogen-progestogen effect on the female body. The entry into the body of these substances for a long time helps to inhibit the production of gonadotropin and prevent the onset of the ovulation cycle, without which fertilization is impossible.
In addition to contraceptive, several other uses of Regulon tablets are known. What do they help from? It turns out that steroid contraceptives can be used for therapeutic purposes. So, "Regulon" is often prescribed to women for the treatment of diseases that arose against the background of hormonal failure, elimination of benign neoplasms. Hormone tablets "Regulon" can be used to stabilize the menstrual cycle, prevention of vaginal bleeding. Also, the drug has a beneficial effect on fat metabolism in a woman's body, increasing the level of high density lipoproteins.
Many people mistakenly think that the Regulon pill protects against sexually transmitted infections, but infection can only be prevented using barrier methods of contraception, birth control pills are powerless in this regard.
In what cases is Regulon prescribed?
You can buy this tool in a pharmacy only if you have a prescription from a doctor. In Russia, the price per package is on average 500-600 rubles. Now we turn to a detailed consideration of the question, from which the Regulon tablets help women.
First of all, this drug is used as an oral contraceptive - a means to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. The instructions for use with Regulon tablets also noted that they can be used to eliminate dysfunctions of the female reproductive system. This monophasic contraceptive helps restore a regular menstrual cycle. Is it possible to drink Regulon tablets with dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome, heavy bleeding outside of menstruation? This question is better to ask your doctor, since the decision on the necessity of prescribing this drug should be made only by a qualified specialist. Uncontrolled intake of the drug on the recommendation of friends and acquaintances can lead to negative consequences.
Based on reviews and instructions, many women take Regulon tablets to relieve aching pain in the lower abdomen. A contraceptive eliminates pain, helps to normalize the fluid volume of discharge during menstruation. Some users note that prolonged use of Regulon tablets, which initially aimed at preventing pregnancy, led to the disappearance of dark secretions and clots from the genital tract between menstrual cycles.
There is another group of diseases in which the therapeutic effect of this drug is proved is hormone-dependent tumors. What are Regulon tablets used for? It turns out that in practice this drug is prescribed for women who suffer from mastodynia, mastopathy, have benign formations of the mammary glands, ovaries. Birth control pills are also prescribed for endometriosis, uterine fibroids to stop the growth of pathology. If the diameter of the detected formation does not exceed 2 cm, treatment in most cases brings good results.
Who are contraindicated in birth control pills?
In parallel with the large list of indications, there is an impressive list of restrictions and prohibitions on the use of Regulon tablets. The instructions for use indicate various contraindications for taking oral contraceptives, which can conditionally be divided into absolute and relative.
The first category includes pathological conditions and various diseases that do not allow the use of this contraceptive under any circumstances. These are incurable diseases of the liver, gall bladder, including hepatitis, cholecystitis, a stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer, acute pancreatitis. You can not take these pills during pregnancy: not knowing exactly about whether fertilization has occurred or not, but suspecting its likelihood, you need to stop taking the drug. Nursing mothers are also not prescribed birth control pills "Regulon."
How to drink medicine in the presence of hormone-dependent formations, it is better to consult a doctor. If a woman has uterine bleeding of an unknown etiology, it is dangerous to give her oral contraceptives with hormones. Caution should be exercised in the presence of cardiovascular diseases, and with confirmed thrombosis, thromboembolism, a stroke or heart attack, you can not drink pills - this can be dangerous for the health and life of a woman.
Based on the principle of action of Regulon tablets, it is easy to assume that in the presence of disorders of the endocrine system, the body may not respond to the drug in the most familiar way. In no case should it be used by women suffering from diabetes. An adverse response to the body can contribute to smoking and an allergic reaction to any irritant.
Use with caution
In addition to absolute, relative contraindications should also be taken into account. Use the drug with caution is necessary at high risk of developing arterial thrombosis, hypertension. Relative contraindications also include autoimmune diseases (lupus erythematosus). A woman over 35 years old needs to take laboratory blood tests before taking Regulon tablets. In the event of a change in several biochemical parameters, it is undesirable to drink birth control pills. For example, with protein C deficiency or antiphospholipid antibodies, including anti-cardiolipin antibodies, lupus anticoagulant medication can be dangerous.
In addition, it is not recommended to take "Regulon" for migraines, obesity, heart pathologies. Bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease are a serious limitation on the use of hormonal contraceptives. With caution, the drug is prescribed after extensive surgery, prolonged immobilization, severe trauma.
How to take, dosage
How to drink Regulon tablets is clearly stated in the instructions. Taking the drug begins on the first day of menstruation. Doctors prescribe one tablet once a day for 21 days. That is why in one package contains 21 tablets - this number of pills is enough for one menstrual 28-day course, since after applying the blister, you need to take a week break. As a rule, women bleed during this period. It can last as long as menstruation, or a little longer.
After a week, you must begin to take birth control pills from the next pack. Usually, each attending physician tells his patients how to drink Regulon tablets if they still have bloody discharge after a week's break. But if for some reason no attention was paid to this issue at the appointment with a gynecologist, you need to proceed as follows: start taking pills, regardless of menstruation.
Such a Regulon regimen should be followed as long as there is a need for oral contraception. Subject to the rules of admission, the effect of birth control pills remains constant.
It is important to start taking the drug from the first day of your period. In this case, the protection against unwanted pregnancy will be reliable, the use of additional methods of protection will not be required.
“What if I missed the Regulon pill at the beginning of the cycle?”
This is the question all women ask their doctor. You can start taking the drug on the second and third day, but then you can’t do with the use of tablets alone, for reliable protection you will have to use additional methods of contraception throughout the cycle. But what if from the first day of menstruation more than five days have passed and the woman missed the Regulon pill, what should I do? If this situation occurs, then taking the drug is pointless to start in this menstrual cycle. It is better to postpone the start of the intake until the next menstruation.
If pregnancy has occurred
Confirmed pregnancy is a direct contraindication for the continued use of birth control pills. It is important to take Regulon tablets as written in the instructions and not to depart from the recommended regimen for a single step. This is the only way to guarantee maximum protection against an unplanned pregnancy. Ovum fertilization can occur. The contraceptive effect of this drug is due to the ability of the synthetic hormones that are part of the Regulon tablets to prevent the egg from exiting the follicle.
But if pregnancy is already there, you can not take pills. They cannot interrupt her, but they can harm the embryo. It is necessary to refuse further use of "Regulon" during breastfeeding. Taking hormonal contraceptives can cause a decrease in milk production and adversely affect the growth and health of the baby.
As a measure to prevent unwanted pregnancy, this drug can be taken for several years. Many women who choose this method of contraception for themselves are worried about whether such a prolonged inhibition of reproductive function with the help of hormones will affect future motherhood. Gynecologists answer such questions this way: if you drink the tablets correctly, following all the doctor’s instructions and the manufacturer’s recommendations, “Regulon” will not affect fertility. Judging by the reviews, in most women after discontinuation of the drug, pregnancy occurred in about 6-12 months.
Those who plan to replenish the family, doctors advise to stop taking only after the completion of the full course of "Regulon". How many pills in a pack have already been noted. Ovulation is restored after 3-6 months.
How to take after childbirth or abortion?
After abortion, tablets continue to be taken according to the above scheme. You need to drink the drug from the first day after the intervention, even in the presence of bleeding. In this case, there is no need to protect yourself with the help of additional methods, in addition to oral contraceptive.
The composition of the Regulon tablets allows you to take them after childbirth only if the woman is not going to breastfeed her baby. The active ingredients of the drug pass into breast milk. After the birth of a child, you need to take pills no earlier than 21 days after labor, and only in the absence of contraindications. This will definitely require a consultation with a doctor. However, if a woman had sexual contact before taking birth control pills, oral contraceptives are delayed until the next cycle. If the decision to take the pills was made after 21-28 days, additional protective equipment should be used during the first week.
Other application features
If you want to change the oral contraceptive to birth control pills "Regulon", you must adhere to a similar scheme:
- the first pill should be taken the day after the end of the pack, designed for 28 days;
- after taking 21 tablets of the previous drug, take a week break, and only then start using the Regulon tablets;
- use a condom, vaginal suppositories and other methods of contraception is not necessary.
If prior to taking Regulon oral contraceptives containing exclusively progestogen (the so-called "mini-drank") were used, the first pill is taken on the first day of menstruation. In the case when there are no regular periods during the use of progestogen agents, you can drink Regulon tablets only after exclusion of pregnancy on any day of the cycle. However, in this case, taking the drug does not provide one hundred percent protection against pregnancy, so you should not rely on the calendar method. In such a situation, a woman should either be protected by other means, or refrain from sexual intercourse until the next cycle.
If for any reason it is necessary to delay the onset of the menstrual cycle, taking birth control pills continues without interruption. That is, after taking 21 tablets, they open the next package and drink the drug further without a seven-day pause. At the same time, the possibility of spotting or minor bleeding is not excluded, which does not mean a decrease in the contraceptive properties of Regulon.
Taking pills amid problems with the gastrointestinal tract, it is important to consider that the drug will be absorbed into the blood only partially. With vomiting or diarrhea, tablets are taken twice a day with an interval of 12 hours between doses. As soon as the symptoms of the disease are stopped, drinking pills in the future is necessary according to the standard principle.
What to do if I forgot to drink a Regulon pill?
Most women have faced this situation. The schedule for taking the drug should be taken seriously, because skipping the intake of one tablet can lead to the fact that the contraceptive simply does not work and pregnancy occurs. So, what recommendations can be given to a woman who forgot to drink the contraceptive pill “Regulon”? If after the time it was necessary to take the drug, no more than 12 hours have passed, you must urgently drink a pill and continue to adhere to the schedule. Otherwise, if more than 36 hours have passed since the previous dose, doctors advise either to abandon hormonal contraceptives before the next menstruation, or use additional protective equipment.
According to many women, "Regulon" - the best pills that protect against the onset of an unplanned pregnancy. But if nevertheless there was a skipping reception, you must be safe with other methods of contraception. The thing is that a decrease in estrogen levels in the body increases the risk of ovulation.
Are there any side effects? Patient Reviews
Despite the popularity of Regulon, it is impossible to call it a completely harmless drug. In the vast majority of cases, the drug is tolerated normally, but based on user comments, sometimes these birth control pills cause unpleasant symptoms such as high blood pressure and partial hearing loss. With prolonged use of this drug, some women developed thrombosis.
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Sometimes birth control pills cause disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Violations of the genitourinary system, the development of the inflammatory process, an increase in the size of the mammary glands, the development of mastodynia, thrush are also possible. With individual intolerance, the drug is urgently canceled. It is worth noting that the use of hormonal contraceptives does not affect the woman's ability to drive a car.
How to combine with other medicines?
Some medications that stimulate the production of liver enzymes can reduce the effectiveness of hormone-based birth control pills. These drugs include:
- "Hydantoin."
- "Carbamazepine."
- Primidon.
- "Rifampicin."
- Felbamat.
- Topiramat.
- "Griseofulvin."
Among plant components, St. John's wort is worth noting, which minimizes the effect of oral contraceptives and increases the risk of intermenstrual bleeding. Antibiotics based on ampicillin and tetracycline act in a similar way. Although the exact mechanism of their mutual influence on each other has not been established, experts have been convinced that these funds reduce the effectiveness of Regulon. If necessary, the combined use of drugs, gynecologists recommend the use of barrier methods of contraception until the drug is discontinued, which reduces the effectiveness of birth control pills.
What else do you need to know when taking Regulon?
Take this tool without first consulting a doctor is not worth it. In addition, many experts insist on passing a mandatory gynecological examination. Only under the condition of a satisfactory condition of the pelvic organs, mammary glands, cytological analysis of a smear from the cervix, a positive decision is made about hormonal contraception. In addition, it is important to consider all the advantages and influence of negative factors.
Doctors, as a rule, warn their patients about the need for further routine examinations and tests. If taking pills provokes changes in blood counts, disruptions in the liver, cardiovascular, nervous systems or gastrointestinal tract, “Regulon” is replaced by non-hormonal methods of protection against unwanted pregnancy. Birth control pills are also canceled in the event of the appearance of hormone-dependent tumors, gynecological pathologies, complications of diabetes mellitus, and depressive disorders.
Some experts believe that taking hormonal oral contraceptives is associated with a risk of thromboembolism. However, such a possibility exists not only when taking birth control pills. For example, pregnant women are much more likely to encounter this pathology than those who take Regulon. Nevertheless, it would be incorrect to completely exclude the possibility of developing vascular thromboembolism of the retina, kidneys, and liver. More often this disorder occurs in women over 35 years old, suffering from obesity, hypertension, heart disease and heart failure. The predisposition to thromboembolic disorders can be hereditary.
Thromboembolism can be recognized by specific symptoms:
- sharp severe pain in the chest, radiating to the left arm;
- dyspnea;
- headache;
- deterioration in visual acuity;
- weakness;
- numbness of the body or its half;
- sharp belly;
- pre-syncope.
Patients who are planning surgery on the lower extremities or other extensive surgical interventions should refuse to take birth control pills for some time, and it will be possible to resume it two weeks after the restoration of motor activity.
It is important for women prone to the manifestation of chloasma to avoid sun exposure to the skin during the period of taking "Regulon", to refuse to visit the solarium. If the patient has intermenstrual bleeding or there is no cyclical bleeding, birth control pills are stopped until pregnancy is ruled out.
Since hormones are contained in oral contraceptives, the drug is able to change the parameters of laboratory tests of blood, urine, functional indicators of the thyroid gland and lymphatic system. With serious liver diseases, including cholestatic jaundice, viral hepatitis, the use of birth control pills becomes possible only three months after recovery and improvement of physiological parameters.
According to reviews, the use of this drug has repeatedly led to a reduction in the volume of lost menstrual blood in women, stabilization of the cycle. Many patients in their reviews noted that with the many months of using Regulon, there are positive changes in overall well-being, skin condition improves, acne disappears.