FAQs

Levonelle® One Step, also known as a morning after pill, is more effective the sooner you take it.

Where can I get Levonelle® One Step

If the tablet fails, studies have shown no harmful effects of Levonelle® One Step on the developing baby. Levonelle® One Step will not work once a fertilised egg has attached itself to the womb lining, so if you know you are already pregnant you should not use it.

Most women can use Levonelle® One Step without any problem. Although it's important to bear in mind that although most people won't experience them, no medicine is side effect free.

If you are over 16 you can buy Levonelle® One Step from most pharmacies throughout the UK. The pharmacist has been trained to treat requests for emergency contraception sympathetically and confidentially. He or she will need to ask a few simple questions before you are given it. This will help the pharmacist be sure that Levonelle® One Step is the correct treatment for you. In some cases you will not be able to purchase Levonelle® One Step and your pharmacist may refer you to a healthcare professional or clinic for emergency contraception instead.

The Nine Point Questionnaire is designed to help you prepare for your visit to the pharmacy. You can complete it on line, then print it out and take it to the pharmacy with you if you wish. If there are any questions you can't answer, just leave them blank and the pharmacist will help you.

If you're over 16, you can buy Levonelle® One Step over the counter at most local pharmacies throughout the UK. (Your local paper usually gives details of 24-hour pharmacies in your area).

You can also get it free from healthcare professionals who provide contraceptive services, from your family planning clinic and sexual health clinics throughout the UK.

Pharmacy Locator

There is 1 tablet in the Levonelle® One Step pack. It contains a high dose of the hormone called levonorgestrel.

Under 16s are not permitted to buy Levonelle® One Step at a pharmacy. If you are under 16 and want to seek advice about contraception or have had a contraceptive mishap, you should seek medical advice. Emergency contraception and contraception advice is available from your GP, family planning clinic, NHS-Walk in Centre or sexual health clinic.

More advice and support for under 16s

There is no medical reason to limit the number of times you use Levonelle® One Step, but you should not take it more than once within one menstrual cycle. Although there is no evidence of long-term ill effects on your health from taking Levonelle® One Step more than once, it is not recommended as a regular method of contraception.

Levonelle® One Step is designed for emergency use and is not as effective as long-term contraception. Levonelle® One Step does not prevent pregnancy in every woman. Levonelle® One Step may disrupt the regularity of your period that month. Your period may come earlier than usual or come later. As your period is your main way of knowing whether you are pregnant or not, you would increase your level of uncertainty if you used Levonelle® One Step regularly.

If you are sexually active (even very infrequently) then the best way to take care of your emotional wellbeing and your reproductive system, is to see your healthcare professional or family planning clinic to find a method of contraception that suits you.

I've already taken Levonelle® One Step

I want to take care of my sexual health

You should not take Levonelle® One Step in the following circumstances:

• You have had an allergic reaction to the progestogen 'levonorgestrel' contained in some contraceptives
• You have a disease of the bowel/gut which causes malabsorption such as Crohn's Disease
• You have severe liver disease
• You are taking medication that might interact with Levonelle® One Step

If you are taking any other medication, you are ill at the moment or you have a long-term medical condition, be sure to tell your pharmacist, healthcare professional or family planning clinic when you are asking for Levonelle® One Step and get advice on what to do next. If you can't take emergency hormonal contraception, please consult your doctor.

Which medications mean I can't take Levonelle® One Step

Which medical conditions mean I can't take Levonelle® One Step

There are some circumstances under which Levonelle® One Step may not work.

For example if:

• You have unprotected sex again after taking Levonelle® One Step
• You also had unprotected sex earlier in your menstrual cycle
• You vomit within 3 hours of taking the tablet. (See Side Effects/Being sick)
• Another medication that you are taking may have made Levonelle® One Step less effective such as anti-epileptic drugs and tuberculosis treatments.
• You have a medical condition which causes malabsorption, such as Crohn's disease, which you have not discussed when you asked for emergency contraception.

Levonelle® One Step will definitely not work if you were already pregnant when you took Levonelle® One Step.

Will Levonelle® One Step emergency contraceptive pills work?

It is unlikely that you will have any sudden or severe reaction to Levonelle® One Step. If by any chance you do, for example nausea or migraine, contact your healthcare professional or family planning clinic right away.

If this happens at a weekend and everything is closed, contact your doctor's Out of Hours number, or go to the Accident and Emergency department of your nearest hospital.

If you need help, you can find details of who to turn to in the following links.

Advice and Support about emergency contraception

Is there anyone I can talk to about emergency contraception?

If you answer yes to any of the questions below you should not buy Levonelle® One Step at the pharmacy but should see your doctor or family planning clinic instead.

• Are you under 16 years of age?
• Is it more than 3 days (72 hours) since you had unprotected sex?
• Is your period already late?
• Have you also had unprotected sex earlier in your menstrual cycle (since your last period)?

Where can I find a healthcare professional or family planning clinic near me?

You can get pregnant at any time during your monthly cycle. This is measured from the start of one period to the beginning of the next. Although people talk about a 'safe time of the month', it's hard to tell when this is for lots of reasons and this makes it an unreliable form of contraception.

Your most fertile time of the month is when you are ovulating (producing an egg). But most women are not aware of this happening. Also, it takes quite a long time (several days) for an egg to make its way from the ovary down the Fallopian tube and an egg can be fertilised at any point during this journey. Sperm can live for up to 7 days, so even if you haven't ovulated when you have sex, the sperm could still fertilise the egg afterwards.

Then there's the fact that lots of women don't have regular periods. The time between periods can vary, depending on what's happening in your life, whether you're stressed or upset and whether or not you're eating properly. This makes it even more difficult to calculate your 'safe' period.

When accidents happen, and you don't want to get pregnant, emergency contraception is there as a back up. It's not something you should use regularly and you should never think of it as an alternative to a long-term method of contraception.

More than 3 days (72 hours) since you had unprotected sex?
What is emergency contraception?

This is a pregnancy which develops outside of the womb, usually in one of the Fallopian tubes. It is a medical emergency. Ectopic pregnancy is very rare, but it is also serious, so if you are in any way worried, you should see your healthcare professional without delay.

Some medicines may interact with Levonelle® One Step and prevent it from working effectively. Some of these are listed below.

If you have remembered to tell your healthcare professional, family planning clinic or other provider that you take these medicines, it is unlikely that you will have been given Levonelle® One Step. If you forgot to mention this, it is important to seek advice from your healthcare professional before taking Levonelle® One Step.

• Barbiturates and other medicines used to treat epilepsy such as primidone, phenytoin and carbamazepine
• Medicines used to treat tuberculosis (TB) such as rifampicin, rifabutin
• Griseofulvin - a medicine for fungal infections
• Herbal remedies containing St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
• Cyclosporin (used to help suppress the immune system)

Is there any alternative?

If you have taken Levonelle® One Step because of missed combined contraceptive pills, discard any missed pills and the pill for the day of treatment and continue to take your pill as usual. You should use a barrier method (e.g. condom) for the next 7or 9 days (depending on the type of pill), and if those 7 or 9 days run over the end of the pack, you should continue with the next pack and miss out the 7 day break or placebo tablets, if taking every day pills.

It is important to always refer back to the patient information leaflet for your pill for information on missed pills.

Levonelle® One Step isn't suitable as a regular method of contraception because it's not effective as long-term contraception and it doesn't prevent pregnancy in every woman. Levonelle® One Step is designed as an emergency contraception.

Depending on what stage you are at in your monthly cycle when you take it, Levonelle® One Step may disrupt the regularity of your period that month. It can come earlier than usual or it can come later. As your period is your main way of knowing whether you are pregnant or not, you would increase your level of uncertainty. If you used it instead of the Pill, you would be swapping a regular low dose of hormone for an irregular high dose, which would disrupt your menstrual cycle.

Choosing contraception

No harmful effects on babies have been reported and you can breastfeed your baby after taking Levonelle® One Step. Very small amounts of the hormone in Levonelle® One Step, may appear in your breast milk. If you are at all worried, feed the baby first then take the tablet after. This way you will be taking the tablet well before the next feed. Alternatively, give a bottle for the next feed.

If you take Levonelle® One Step and you then go on to have a period, you will not know whether you would have become pregnant or not.

Most women find that their period comes early or on time, so they don't have to worry about whether they are pregnant. Some women who take the morning after pill will have a late period. This may be because they have taken the morning after pill in the earlier part of their cycle and it has delayed ovulation.

Where to have a pregnancy test

As most women are not aware of ovulation, it is unlikely that you will know exactly where you are in your cycle when you take Levonelle® One Step, so it's not possible to tell in advance what the effect will be on the timing of your period.

In most cases, it will be on time, sometimes it may come early and a number of women who take Levonelle® One Step will have a late period.

Side effects of Levonelle® One Step

The following may reduce the effectiveness of the combined pill

• Antibiotics
• St John's Wort
• Carbamazepine

The following may reduce the effectiveness of the progestogen only pill or mini-pill. These medicines are also included on the list which may reduce the efficacy of Levonelle® One Step.

• Carbamazepine
• St John's Wort
• Rifampicin

You can call the fpa (Family Planning Association) Helplines which cover the whole of the UK for confidential information on all sexually transmitted infections. They will also tell you where to find help locally, including the addresses, phone numbers and opening times of sexual health clinics near you. You can also visit their website on www.fpa.org.uk.

Clinics can also be found under the following headings in the telephone directory:

• Sexual Health
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Infections
• STD clinics
• Venereal disease (VD) Clinics

How they are listed will depend on where you live.

For information about AIDS, call the Sexual Health Helpline on 0800 567 123. Lines are open 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year.

For more information about sexual health, contraception, unplanned pregnancy and emergency contraception, go to Advice and Support

There are many different types of sexual infection. If you are at all worried about having a sexually transmitted infection, go to your nearest sexual health clinic (sometimes called GUM Clinics for Genito Urinary Medicine) for a check-up.

Advice and support