Cerazette Contraceptive Pill

I took the contaceptive pill known as 'Cerazette' for around two months back in 2002 and it successfully managed to ruin parts of a perfectly good trip around South East Asia..... You might say that I am a little bitter about this to say the least so be warned.

***About Cerazette***
Cerazette (manufactured by Organon) is a prescription hormonal contraceptive commonly known as the 'mini pill' or progestogen-only pill and it contains the active ingredient 'desogestrel' which is a synthetic progestogen (which helps to control a women's natural cycle). Desogestrel works in three ways. Firstly it prevents the release of an egg from the ovary. Secondly it increasing the thickness of mucus at the neck of the womb, making it more difficult for sperm to get across and hence to fertilise an egg. Thirdly it change the quality of the lining of the womb preventing the implantation of any eggs that do manage to become fertilised.

The pill is taken orally, everyday, at approximately the same time. If you do not manage to take the pill within a 12 hour time frame, then the reliability of the pill becomes severely diminished and other forms of protection should be used (e.g. condoms). Unlike most pills if you take crazette you will not be required to have a pill free week in which you would usually have a period. The pill is taken throughout this time. When you are supossed to have a 'real' period is beyond me (more to follow about this below).

As with all pills the usual cautions are advised. Stop taking the pill if it causes headaches or blurred vision. Do not take the pill while pregnant or if you suffer from a propensity to blood clots and various other conditions. Also check with your doctor if you are taking other types of medication alongside. Cerazette can be taken by lactating women.

***My Experiences***
I had been taking the mini pill 'microgynon' for years and I was perfectly happy. I didn't want to change! However, my partner and I were going travelling!!! 3 months in South East Asia and China. We planned to travel through Cambodia and consequently a course of nasty malaria tablets was on the cards. But as you may have guessed.... malaria tablets do not work with microgynon and consequently it was time to have a change....

Unfortunately this was all left to the last minute. Really I should have tried to new pill out prior to the week before getting on the plane but at the time I really didn't think it was going to be a problem... I'd never experienced any trouble with the pill and I didn't even consider the fact that I might suffer from side effects.

The two main problems were the mood swings and the constant bleeding.

OK, so I am a girl, all girls can be moody, especially around that time of the month but this was just absurd. I would get upset very easily about things and on a number of occassions this escalted into full blown arguments. There were times that I knew I was being stupid but since when does that make any difference?? I was up - down, up - down the entire time I took cerazette. Not good.

The bleeding was even more of a problem. I got through packets and packets of tampons and believe me they arn't always the easiest thing to come across in Cambodia. I'm not talking full on period here but the bleeding was basically on and off throughout the two months I took cerazette. This was nothing but awful and I don't wish it on anyone else, especially not in the situation I was in at the time...

I did not have a 'real' five day period during the time I took this pill, only the on and off bleeding the entire time, as described above.

In the end it got so bad that I stopped taking the pill (and having sex as we didn't trust condoms bought over there) for the remainder of the trip.But at least the mood swings disappeared and so did the bleeding and frankly I was alot happier when I had got that nasty combination of hormones out of my body....

***Other Side Effects***
The website http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100​004961.html lists the following as other potential side effects of cerazette: Headache; Changes in mood; Nausea; Fatigue; Weight gain; Irregular menstrual cycle; Acne; Breast pain; Development of fluid filled sacks (cysts) in the ovaries; Stopping or absence of menstrual periods (amenorrhoea); Hair loss (alopecia); Decreased sex drive; Itchy rash (urticaria); Inflammation of the lining of the vagina (vaginitis); Discomfort when wearing contact lenses; Difficult and painful menstruation (dysmenorrhoea).
That's quite a list! But I guess the same could be said for most other pills.

However, according to http://www.medisave.ca/DrugMoreInfo5659.​aspx, based on evidence from clinal trials some kind of bleeding irregularity has been reported in up to 50% of women using Cerazette. That is appallingly high. They also state that In 20 - 30% of the women, bleeding may become more frequent, whereas in another 20% bleeding may become less frequent or totally absent.

***Summary***
I hated this pill and I give cerazette one star as a consequence. I'd give it none but this isn't an option. However I think that it is important to note that, as with all pills, everyone is different and different pills suit different people. I note, for example, that someone else has written a cerazette review and gives it 4 stars... Thus, this pill might just suit you, so if your doctor recommends it don't rule it out entirely just on the basis of my experiences....

Also, although this pill did disrupt my holiday I still had a fabulous time when all is said and done! Next time the boyf can take some responsibilty...... It is always up to the girls.....