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Pill Choice
Pill Choice
Pill packets come in quite a few different shapes and sizes but there are some simple initial rules that will help you to tell what sort of pill it is. In general:
- 28 pills that are all the same= POP (all pills are hormone pills)
- 21 pills that are the same plus 7 pills that look different= 28 day COC (the 7 different pills are the placebos)
The one exception to this is a COC called Yaz, which has 24 hormone pills and 4 placebo pills. There are also packets of COCs with 21 days of active pills, designed to allow packs to be taken back-to-back to avoid periods altogether.
Women usually still have a period when they are taking the hormone pills in the POP. They have a hormone withdrawal bleed when they move on to take the placebo pills with the COC (or take a break after a 21 day packet). Running packets together/back to back and avoiding the placebo pills gives better contraception and does not increase side effects. A woman would need to miss more than 8 pills in a row to be at risk of pregnancy with the continuous pill taking method. When you go to your Family Planning visit ask the nurse to also teach you this way of taking the COC.
Pill Packets
The first pill prescribing document from the UK Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health has different pill teaching for 20 μg pills than for 30 μg pills but in NZ we have simplified it and have the same teach for both of these. When you go to your family Planning clinic you will be taught these -make sure that you are taught this for the combined pill, the low dose progestogen only pill and the high dose progestogen only pill (Cerazette) as they are all different!
As we have said just by looking at a pill packet you should be able to tell what sort of pill it is -whether a progestogen only or a 21 or 28 day combined pill. Move your mouse over these pill packets and have a look.
There are 2 different styles of 28 day pack -often called 1 track and 2 track. When you go to your family planning clinic visit do make sure that you get taught the pill teach for both of these.
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Activity: Pill subsidies-have a look at this table-subsidised pills ($5 for 6/12) are marked with *)
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