Yasmin

• Contraceptive pill
• Contains two female sex hormones
• Highly effective
• Not suitable for women who are breastfeeding

About Yasmin

Yasmin is a contraceptive pill and is used to prevent pregnancy. Each tablet contains a small amount of two different female hormones, drospirenone and ethinylestradiol. Contraceptive pills with two active ingredients are also called combination pills.

How to use Yasmin

Take one tablet at the same time every day, with a drink of water. The tablets can be taken with or without food.

Yasmin comes in strips of 21 tablets, each marked with a day of the week. Follow the direction of the arrows on the strip. Take one tablet each day, until you have finished all 21 tablets.

Then you have seven days when you take no tablets. Within two or three days of taking the last pill from the strip, you should have a withdrawal bleed like a period.

Start taking your next strip of Yasmin on day 8 – even if you are still bleeding. As long as you take Yasmin correctly you will always start each strip on the same day of the week (and your withdrawal bleed on roughly the same day each month).

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

Check the package leaflet to see when to start your first pack of Yasmin. For example, when changing from another contraceptive or after you have had a baby.

Taken too much/forgot to take/stop taking Yasmin

If you have taken more Yasmin tablets than you should, or if you think a child may have swallowed some tablets, contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately.

If you miss a dose of Yasmin,

• and you are less than 12 hours late Yasmin will still protect you from pregnancy. Take the missed tablet as soon as you remember and take the next one at the usual time.
• and you are more than 12 hours late Yasmin can be less effective. The more consecutive tablets you have missed, the higher the risk that you might fall pregnant. Refer to the package leaflet for instructions if you are more than 12 hours late.

In the case of stomach or digestive issues:

If you vomit within three to four hours after taking your tablet or have severe diarrhoea, the active ingredient may not have been completely absorbed. Take a tablet from a new strip as soon as possible, within 12 hours when you were due to take the missed tablet. If this is not possible, or if more than 12 hours have passed, follow the instructions in the package leaflet. You can also consult a doctor or pharmacist.

You can stop taking Yasmin at any time. For more information, see the package leaflet.

When not to use Yasmin

Yasmin is not suitable for every female. Do not take this contraceptive pill if:

• You have, or have had, a blood clot in a blood vessel of your legs (deep vein thrombosis), your lungs (pulmonary embolus) or other organs.
• You have, or have had, a heart attack or stroke.
• You have, or have had, a condition that is linked to an increased risk of heart attack (e.g., angina pectoris or chest pain) or mini-stroke (also known as TIA or transient ischaemic attack).
• You have any of the following diseases that may increase your risk of a clot in the arteries (thrombosis): severe diabetes with blood vessel damage, very high blood pressure, or a very high level of fat in the blood (cholesterol or triglycerides).
• You have a disorder affecting your blood clotting (e.g., protein C deficiency).
• You have, or have had, a type of migraine associated with focal neurological symptoms (migraine with aura).
• You have, or have had, a liver disease and your liver function tests have not returned to normal.
• Your kidneys are not working well (renal failure).
• You have, or have had, a liver tumour.
• You have, have had, or may have cancer of the breast or the genital organs.
• You have any unexplained vaginal bleeding.
• You are allergic to any of the ingredients in this medicine (see section 'What Yasmin contains').

When should this medicine be used with caution?

In some situations you need to take special care while using Yasmin or any other combination pill, and your doctor may need to examine you regularly. Tell your doctor if any of the following conditions apply to you:

• Diabetes.
• Disease of the liver or the gallbladder.
• Depression.
• Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

See the package leaflet for a full list of situations in which Yasin should not be used or special care should be taken. Always consult a doctor if you are unsure if Yasmin is suitable for you.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you must not take Yasmin.

Other medicines and Yasmin

Some medicines may make Yasmin less effective at preventing pregnancy or cause unexpected bleeding. These include medicines used for the treatment of:

• Epilepsy (e.g., primidone, phenytoin, barbiturates, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, topiramate, felbamate).
• Tuberculosis (e.g., rifampicin, rifabutin).
• HIV infections (e.g., ritonavir or nevirapine).
• Other infections (antibiotics e.g. griseofulvin, penicillin, tetracycline).
• High blood pressure in the blood vessels in the lungs (bosentan).

The herbal remedy St John’s wort also interacts with Yasmin.

Yasmin may influence the effect of other medicines, for instance medicines containing ciclosporin and the anti-epileptic lamotrigine.

Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any of these or other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription. Also be sure to tell any other doctors, dentists and pharmacists who treat you that you are taking this medicine. Your doctor or pharmacist will be able to tell you if and how long you will need to use additional contraceptive methods.

Side effects

Like all medicines, Yasmin may cause side effects, although it is generally well tolerated.

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

• Disorders of the menstrual cycle, irregular periods.
• Breast pain or tenderness.
• Headache.
• Depressed mood.
• Migraine.
• Nausea.
• Vaginal discharge or thrush.

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

• Breast enlargement.
• Altered interest in sex.
• High blood pressure, low blood pressure.
• Vomiting, diarrhoea.
• Acne, severe itching, skin rash, hair loss (alopecia).
• Vaginal infection.
• Fluid retention, body weight changes.

Rare side effects (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 women):

• Allergic reactions (hypersensitivity).
• Asthma.
• Nipple discharge.
• Hearing impairment.
• Harmful blood clots in a vein or artery.
• The skin conditions erythema nodosum (characterised by painful reddish skin nodules) or erythema multiforme (characterised by rash with ring-shaped reddening or sores).

Note: the use of combined hormonal contraceptives (such as Yasmin) has been associated with an increased risk of thrombosis (a blood clot in a vein) and certain types of cancer. For more information, see the package leaflet.

If the side effects are severe or if you get any side effects that are not listed in the package leaflet, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

What Yasmin contains

The active substances are drospirenone and ethinylestradiol. Each tablet contains 0.030 milligrams ethinylestradiol and 3 milligrams drospirenone.

Other ingredients in Yasmin are: lactose monohydrate, maize starch, pregelatinised maize starch, povidone K25, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, macrogol 6000, talc, titanium dioxide (E171) and iron oxide yellow (E172).

The manufacturer of Yasmin is:

Bayer Pharma AG
Müllerstrasse 170-178
13353 Berlin
Germany

Package leaflet

Read the package leaflet before use. The official package leaflet of Yasmin is available for download here.