Lizinna

What is the Lizinna pill?

Lizinna is a combined oral contraceptive pill. It contains the active ingredients norgestimate, a synthetic version of progesterone, and ethinylestradiol (oestrogen). Lizinna is mostly prescribed to prevent pregnancy but some women take it to relieve period pain and other premenstrual symptoms, including acne.

Are Cilest and Lizinna the same?

Both Cilest and Lizinna contain the same active ingredients in the same quantities: 

• 250 micrograms (mcg) 
• norgestimate 35 mcg ethinylestradiol. 

Cilest has been discontinued by its manufacturer and is no longer available. If you currently take Cilest, you can switch to the Lizinna pill. The only difference is the name.

How do Lizinna tablets work?

Like all combined oral contraceptive pills, Lizinna works to stop pregnancy in three ways:

• Stopping the ovaries from releasing an egg (ovulation)
• Thickening the fluid inside your cervix
• Thinning the uterus lining, making it difficult for a fertilised egg to implant itself

How to take Lizinna

Lizinna tablets come in 21-day strips and are marked with a corresponding day of the week. You should:

• Choose a convenient time to take the pill, so you remember to take it at the same time every day.
• On your first day, take a pill marked with the right day of the week. If it is a Monday, take a pill that is marked Monday or ‘Mon’.
• Swallow each tablet whole with a glass of water and take one pill each day.
• Follow the direction of the arrows on the strip. When you have taken all 21 pills, you will have a 7-day pill-free break.
• You will experience a ‘withdrawal bleed’, like a period when you’re not taking the pill for 7 days.
• After 7 days, you should start a new strip of pills. You should start the new strip even if you are still bleeding.
• You will start a new strip on the same day each time if you take the Lizinna pill correctly.
• To achieve the full benefits of Lizinna, you should take it exactly as prescribed. If you are unsure, speak to your clinician for advice.

What to do if you miss a Lizinna dose

If you miss a pill, what you should do depends on how many pills you have missed.

If you have missed one pill: You should take the missed pill as soon as you remember. This might mean taking two pills on the same day. Take the rest of the strip as usual. You should still be protected against pregnancy.

If you have missed more than one pill: You should take the most recently missed pill as soon as you remember. Do not take any other missed pills. Continue taking your next pills as you normally would, you may need to take two pills in one day. Take the rest of the Lizinna strip as usual. To continue being protected against pregnancy, you’ll need to use a barrier method, such as condoms for the next 7 days and:

• If there are at least 7 pills left in the strip: When you have finished the strip, have your usual 7-day pill-free break before starting the next strip. If you missed any pills from the first week and you had sex during that week, there is a chance you could get pregnant. You will need to speak to a clinician for advice as they may recommend emergency contraception.
• If there are less than 7 pills left in your strip: Start taking the next strip straight away but do not have a 7-day break. You should do a pregnancy test if you have not had a withdrawal bleed after you have finished your second Lizinna pill strip.

The Lizinna patient information leaflet can provide more information.

How effective is Lizinna

When taken correctly, Lizinna is more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. However, real-world use estimates that the combined pill is around 92% effective when accounting for forgetting to take pills and other reasons for incorrect use.

How to buy the Lizinna pill

You will need a prescription to buy Lizinna pills but you can get one from Prescription doctor.

You will need to complete a short online consultation, so our clinicians can determine if Lizinna pills are right for you.

If it is approved, we will deliver your medication to your address in discreet, opaque packaging, and the next day if your medication is approved by 3 pm.

Lizinna side effects

Common side effects of Lizinna may include:

• Nausea
• Headaches
• Breast tenderness
• Mood changes
• Changes in menstrual bleeding patterns, such as spotting or breakthrough bleeding
• Weight changes
• Changes in libido (sex drive)
• Vaginal discharge or irritation
• Fluid retention

Who shouldn’t take Lizinna?

Lizinna may not be suitable for everyone. To get a prescription for Lizinna from Prescription Doctor, you will need to complete an online consultation, so our clinicians can assess if it is right for you.

Before taking Lizinna you should tell our clinicians if you have any current medical issues or are taking any prescribed, over-the-counter, or herbal medications.

You should not take Lizinna if you:

• Are pregnant or think you might be
• Have ever had a blood clot in your leg, lungs, or other organs
• Have a blood clotting disorder, such as protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, antithrombin III deficiency
• Will be having an operation soon or will be sedentary for a while
• Have ever had a heart attack or stroke
• Have or have had angina pectoris or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) sometimes called a ‘mini-stroke’
• Have severe diabetes, very high blood pressure, high levels of fats in your blood or hyperhomocysteinemia
• Experience migraine with aura
• Have breast or liver cancer
• Have or have recently had severe liver disease
• Have hepatitis C and are taking any medications to treat it
• Are allergic to any of the ingredients in Lizinna

Sources

emc, (2023). Lizinna patient information leaflet.

NHS Inform, (2022). Combined pill.

NIH, (2022). Oral Contraceptive Pills.