EllaOne has to be taken within 5 days hours of unprotected sex — allowing 48 hours extra than Levonorgestrel. EllaOne is taken as a single tablet. Potential side effects are very rare. The most likely are irregular bleeding, headache, nausea and stomach pain, but these side-effects are rarely severe. Consult the medical instructions within the packet or speak with your GP if you have major concerns.
If you vomit within three hours of taking ellaOne you must take another tablet as soon as possible. Recurrent vomiting probably means your body is rejecting the treatment. Levonorgestrel is the most commonly used morning after pill, although it is sometimes called its branded name Levonelle. Although less effective than ellaOne, it has been around longer and costs less.
Levonorgestrel is a synthetic hormone that prevents pregnancy. The active ingredient in Levonorgestrel or Levonelle is levonorgestrel. This a synthetic hormone which works to prevent pregnancy by stopping the ovaries from releasing an egg and also stopping sperm fertilising an egg if it had already been released.
Levonorgestrel is most effective when taken within 12 hours of unprotected sex, although it can be effective for up to 72 hours after sex. You should bear in mind, however, that this effectiveness decreases over time. Levonorgestrel is thought to prevent :.
For this reason, taking Levonorgestrel three days after unprotected sex may not leave you as well-protected as you hoped. Levonorgestrel comes as a tablet, taken once only. However, you can take Levonorgestrel again during the same menstrual cycle if you require emergency contraception on another occasion. Levonorgestrel should not disrupt any contraception such as the combined pill. In contrast, ellaOne is not recommended o be used more than once in a menstual cycle.
You should never take Levonorgestrel and ellaOne within the same menstrual cycle as each other. Most women experience no side effects after taking Levonorgestrel. Should side effects occur, the most common are irregular bleeding, headache, nausea and stomach pain. Certain medical conditions make Levonorgestrel unsafe to take. If you order through our site, one of our doctors will check that you are eligible beforehand.
If you're sick within 3 hours taking Levonorgestrel, you will need to take another tablet as soon as possible. If vomiting recurs then your body has probably rejected the treatment. You should seek another form of emergency contraception — mostly likely the IUD coil see below.
The IUD is the most effective form of emergency contraception. The morning after pill Levonelle is the most widely used emergency contraception pill on the market today. Although it is considered to be less effective than ellaOne and may only be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, it is a cheaper and more flexible option.
Levonelle contains the active ingredient levonorgestrel. It is recommended that Levonelle is ingested within 12 hours of unprotected sex for maximum effectiveness, but it is possible to take the medication with some reliability up to 3 days after intercourse.
Levonelle success rate figures are as follows:. An added benefit of Levonelle is that it is possible to take the tablet more than once during the same menstrual cycle if you should require it. And unlike ellaOne, which can inhibit some forms of contraceptive pill, Levonelle allows women to continue using their usual pill-based contraception effectively throughout the remainder of the month.
Much like ellaOne, side effects are rare with Levonelle. For those women who do experience some mild problems, the most common of these are:. It should be mentioned that neither ellaOne nor Levonelle have any effectiveness against the contraction of sexually transmitted infections STIs.
Emergency contraceptives should never be taken as a replacement for protected sex and if unsure as to the likelihood of an STI being contracted, a condom should always be used. More information can be found available via the Sexwise website. The emergency pill is deemed to be both effective and suitable for the majority of women — including those who are unable to use hormonal contraception. It is even suitable for girls under 16 who have had unprotected sex. Exceptions to this include those women who may be allergic to the ingredients in ellaOne or Levonelle.
If you have severe asthma or take any medicines that are known to interact with the emergency pill, you should also seek medical advice. This includes those using:. The morning after pill — in the form of ellaOne or Levonelle — is not the only form of emergency contraception that can be used. The Intrauterine Device IUD , known as the copper coil, is another solution that can be used up to 5 days after sexual intercourse. The release of copper into the womb prevents fertilisation and implantation of the egg.
One of the benefits of the IUD is that it can be inserted up to hrs after unprotected sex or after ovulation, helping to prevent pregnancy even after an egg has been released into the fallopian tubes[i]. The IUD is also commonly used as a continuous form of contraception and is both an effective form of standard contraception and the most effective method of emergency contraception.
The ovary then produces progesterone to stop the release of further eggs. It is believed that the levonorgestrel in Levonelle tricks the body into thinking that ovulation has already occurred due to the high levels of synthetic progesterone , preventing the release of the egg.
Levonorgestrel also causes an increase in the thickness of mucus in the cervix forming a barrier to make it difficult for sperm enter the womb. There are generic versions of Levonelle available. These contain the same amount and type of levonorgestrel and will be equally effective, but do not have the trade name.
Generic equivalents may be simply called levonorgestrel 1. Typically, they are significantly cheaper than the branded version of the product. EllaOne is a newer form of emergency contraceptive pill that is thought to be more effective than Levonelle in certain scenarios, including in that you have longer to take it. The active ingredient in ellaOne is called ulipristal acetate. Ulipristal tricks the body into believing that ovulation has already occurred, resulting in ovulation being delayed or completely prevented.
Both Levonelle and ellaOne are generally effective only if taken before the release of an egg from the ovary ovulation , i.
The sooner you take them, the more effective they will be. If you have unprotected sex in the 24 hour window immediately after ovulation, the period of time when the released egg can still be fertilised, then taking emergency contraception after this is unlikely to be effective, although the morning after pill may make the uterus environment less receptive to implantation, so there is a possibility that pregnancy could still be prevented.
The bottom line is if you take the morning after pill very soon after unprotected intercourse it probably does not matter which type you take, however, if it was more than 12 to 24 hours ago, then ellaOne may be more effective. Both Levonelle and ellaOne can cause some side effects including sickness, feeling dizzy and tired, headaches, tender breasts, or abdominal pain. They may also result in your period coming earlier or later than normal, or making it heavier than you would otherwise expect.
The main reason for these side effects is the relatively high dose of progesterone that the morning after pill gives. These side effects may therefore be similar to those you feel just before you get your period when your progesterone levels are naturally high.
Taking the emergency contraceptive pill three or more days before your usual ovulation date is likely to make your next period come early as well, as it tricks the body into thinking that ovulation has already occurred.
Most people can safely use the emergency contraceptive pill, but ellaOne should not be used by those with severe asthma on steroid tablets , or those with certain rare inherited problems of lactose breakdown.
There are no stated medical conditions that mean Levonelle cannot be used. Smoking does not interfere with how either preparation works. People who are on certain medications may find that emergency contraception is less effective. There is some evidence to suggest that both forms of emergency contraception are less effective with increasing body weight, but data is limited.
A high body weight is thought to be less likely to affect ellaOne, so those with a high BMI may be better off taking ellaOne dependent on other medications they may be taking. Take the medication as soon as you can with water. If you are sick within 2 hours of taking Levonelle or 3 hours of taking ellaOne, please seek medical advice as you will need a further dose or use alternative emergency contraception. There is no evidence to suggest that emergency contraceptive pills increase your risk of having an ectopic pregnancy.
Because emergency contraceptive pills reduce your risk of pregnancy, theoretically, they also reduce your risk of ectopic pregnancy too.
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