Combined Contraceptive Pill

Qlaira

Tablets

  • Reduces heavy mestrual bleeding
  • Available in two strengths
  • Taken daily 
Price Checker

£39.99

Qlaira Medical Information

Qlaira is a contraceptive pill and is used to prevent pregnancy.

Qlaira is used for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding (not caused by any diseaseof the womb) in women who wish to use oral contraception.

Each coloured, active tablet contains a small amount of female hormones, either estradiol valerate, or estradiol valerate combined with dienogest.

The 2 white tablets contain no active substances and are called inactive tablets.

Composition of the coloured tablets containing one or two active substances:

2 dark yellow tablets each containing 3 mg estradiol valerate 5 medium red tablets each containing 2 mg estradiol valerate and 2 mg dienogest light yellow tablets each containing 2 mg estradiol valerate and 3 mg dienogest 2 dark red tablets each containing 1mg estradiol valerate

Composition of the white inactive tablets:

These tablets do not contain any active substances.

Each wallet contains 26 coloured active tablets and 2 white inactive-tablets.

Take one tablet of Qlaira every day, if necessary with a small amount of water. You may take the tablets with or without food, but you should take the tablets at around the same time every day.

Preparation of the wallet

To help you keep track, there are 7 weekday sticker strips marked with the 7 days of the week. Choose the weekday sticker strip that starts with the day you begin taking the tablets. For example, if you start on a Wednesday, use the weekday sticker strip that starts with “WED”.

Stick the weekday sticker strip along the top of the Qlaira wallet where it reads “Place weekday sticker strip here”, so that the first day is above the tablet marked “1”.

There is now a day shown above every tablet and you can see whether you have taken a pill on a particular day. Follow the direction of the arrow on the wallet until all 28 tablets have been taken.

Usually, so-called withdrawal bleeding starts when you are taking the second dark red tablet or the white tablets and may not have finished before you start the next wallet. Some women still experience bleeding after taking the first tablets of the new wallet.

Start the following wallet without a gap, in other words the day after you have finished your current wallet, even if the bleeding has not stopped. This means that you should start your following wallet on the same day of the week as the current wallet and that the withdrawal bleed should occur on the same weekdays each month.

If you use Qlaira in this manner, you are protected against pregnancy even during the 2 days when you take inactive tablets.

• if you have (or have ever had) a blood clot in a blood vessel of your legs (deep vein thrombosis, DVT), your lungs (pulmonary embolus, PE) or other organs;

• if you know you have a disorder affecting your blood clotting – for instance, protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, antithrombin-III deficiency, Factor V Leiden or antiphospholipid antibodies;

• if you need an operation or if you are off your feet for a long time

• if you have ever had a heart attack or a stroke;

• if you have (or have ever had) angina pectoris (a condition that causes severe chest pain and may be a first sign of a heart attack) or transient ischaemic attack (TIA – temporary stroke symptoms);

• if you have any of the following diseases that may increase your risk of a clot in the arteries:

• severe diabetes with blood vessel damage

• very high blood pressure

• a very high level of fat in the blood (cholesterol or triglycerides)

• a condition known as hyperhomocysteinaemia

• if you have (or have ever had) a type of migraine called ‘migraine with aura’;

• if you have (or have ever had) liver disease and your liver function is still not normal

• if you have (or have ever had) a tumour of the liver

• if you have (or have ever had) cancer or suspected cancer of the breast or genital organs

• if you have any unexplained bleeding from the vagina

• if you are allergic (hypersensitive) to estradiol valerate or dienogest, or any of the other ingredients of this medicine

Common side effects (between 1 and 10 in every 100 users may be affected):

- headache

- abdominal pain, nausea

- acne

- no periods, breast discomfort, painful periods, irregular bleeding (heavy irregular bleeding)

- weight gain

Uncommon side effects (between 1 and 10 in every 1,000 users may be affected):

- fungal infections, fungal infection of the vulva and vagina, vaginal infection

- increased appetite

- depression, depressed mood, emotional disorder, problems sleeping, decreased interest in sex, mental disorder, mood swings

- dizziness, migraine

- hot flush, high blood pressure

- diarrhoea, vomiting

- increased liver enzymes

- hair loss, excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis), itching, rash

- muscle cramps

- swollen breasts, lumps in the breast, abnormal cell growth on the neck of the womb (cervical dysplasia), dysfunctional genital bleeding, pain with intercourse, fibrocystic breast disease, heavy periods, menstrual disorders, ovarian cyst, pelvic pain, premenstrual syndrome, growth in the uterus, contractions of the uterus, uterine/vaginal bleeding incl. spotting, vaginal discharge, vulvovaginal dryness

- fatigue, irritability, swelling of parts of your body, e.g. ankles (oedema)

- weight loss, blood pressure changes.

Rare side effects (between 1 and 10 in every 10,000 users may be affected):

- candida infection, oral herpes, pelvic inflammatory disease, a vessel disease of the eye resembling a fungal infection (presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome), a fungal infection of the skin (tinea versicolor), urinary tract infection, bacterial inflammation of the vagina

- fluid retention, increase in certain blood fats (triglycerides)

- aggression, anxiety, feelings of unhappiness, increased interest in sex, nervousness, night mare, restlessness, problems sleeping, stress

- reduced attention, “pins and needles”, giddiness

- contact lens intolerance, dry eye, eye swelling

- heart attack (myocardial infarction), palpitations 

- bleeding in a varicose vein, low blood pressure, inflammation of superficial veins, painful veins

- harmful blood clots in a vein or artery for example: 

o in a leg or foot (i.e. DVT)

o in a lung (i.e. PE)

o heart attack

o stroke

o mini-stroke or temporary stroke-like symptoms, known as a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) o blood clots in the liver, stomach/intestine, kidneys or eye. The chance of having a blood clot may be higher if you have any other conditions that increase this risk .

- constipation, dry mouth, indigestion, heartburn

- liver nodules (focal nodular hyperplasia), chronic inflammation of gallbladder

- allergic skin reactions, golden brown pigment patches (chloasma) and other pigmentation disorders, male pattern hair growth, excessive hair growth, skin conditions such as dermatitis and neurodermatitis, dandruff and oily skin (seborrhoea) and other skin disorders

- back pain, pain in jaw, sensation of heaviness

- urinary tract pain

- abnormal withdrawal bleeding, benign breast nodules, breast cancer in early stage, breast cysts, breast discharge, polyp on the neck of the womb, reddening on the neck of the womb, bleeding during intercourse, spontaneous milk flow, genital discharge, lighter periods, delayed periods, rupture of an ovarian cyst, vaginal odour, burning sensation in the vulva and vagina, vulvovaginal discomfort

- swollen lymph nodes

- asthma, difficulty in breathing, nose bleeding

- chest pain, tiredness and feeling generally unwell, fever

- abnormal smear from the neck of the womb

See other combined contraception pill products 

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