Dr. Arjun Srivastav What Is Yasmin Tablets?
Yasmin is a contraceptive pill for women, made up of two hormones, Ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone. Ethinyl estradiol is similar to the estrogen that Women Care naturally produce in their bodies. Drospirenone is a synthetic progesterone. It is mainly used for:
- Contraception or preventing pregnancy
- Acne treatment (to be used only when you are aged more than 14 years)
- Premenstrual Dysphoric disorder or PMDD, which usually gives signs of nausea, mood swings before periods begin.
🧪 Composition
Yasmin tablets is a mix of two generic ingredients:
- Drospirenone: A kind of synthetic hormone (progesterone) that helps control water in the body.
- Ethinyl Estradiol: A lab-made version of the hormone called estrogen.
🏭 Manufacturer
Yasmin is a brand controlled by Zydus Cadila Pharma. It looks after complete research, development, and manufacturing of the medicine.
⏱️ Onset Of Action
- As a contraception pill: It gives almost immediate action if you start taking it within 1:2 days of having your periods. However, if you take it any other time of the month usually the effects of the medicine become active within 7 days of daily use.
- For acne and PMDD management: You can start to see reduction of symptoms within 1 to 2 months of regularly using the medicine.
- Peak action: The hormones usually get absorbed in your body and attain their peak plasma levels within 2 hours of taking the medicine.
- Steady state: The changes in hormones start to become evident after about 10 days of using the medicine.
How To Use Yasmin Tablets Correctly?
- Method of use: The method to take the drug is to swallow the medicine with water and avoid crushing or chewing the tablet.
- Consistency: Taking a daily dose is vital to see changes eventually within a week or 10 days (for Acne treatment).
- Starting time: Right from the first day when your periods begin.
- Precaution of use: If your periods are already done this month, remember to use a backup contraceptive method like using condoms for at least a week.
Mechanism Of Action Yasmin Tablets
- Preventing Egg Release: The main way it works is by stopping the ovaries from releasing an egg every month. This happens because it suppresses the gonadotropins that help the ovaries work.
- Cervix Thickening: It also makes the cervix thicker. This makes it hard for sperm to get into the uterus and reach the egg. The cervix is like a barrier that the sperm cannot get through because the fluid is too thick.
- Altering the Endometrium: This process changes The Endometrium. It makes the lining of the womb thinner. This makes it very hard for a fertilized egg to be implanted in the womb.
- Anti-androgenic Activity: This has an effect, on male-type hormones. It stops these hormones from working. This helps to reduce the amount of oil that the skin produces which can cause acne.
- Anti-mineralocorticoid: It helps to fight against the salt and water that estrogens can cause feeling bloated and gaining weight from water retention.
Yasmin Tablets: How Long Does It Last?
- Half-life: Drospirenone has a half-life of around 30 hours while Ethinyl estradiol has half-life of 24 hours.
- Clearance: It usually takes about 2 to 3 days for the complete removal of the drug.
Dosage
- One yellow tablet at the same time daily for 21 consecutive days.
- When your periods begin take one white tablet daily for 7 days.
This dosage must be given to adults not below the age of at least 14 years due to risks of health complications.
What Occurs If I Overdose On Yasmin Tablets?
Excess use of Yasmin tablets does not lead to any severe side effects, but it does cause major hormonal disruptions and discomfort.
What Occurs If I Miss Taking A Dose?
A daily dose as we told you above is necessary to get hormonal actions in your body to stop pregnancy. Without it, your body will not be able to attain that steady state where the generic elements are actively present every time.
Benefits Of Taking Yasmin Tablets
➦ Physical Benefits:
- Reduce acne: Get smoother skin and avoid itching and red acne sores on the skin.
- Less bloating and hypertension: Yasmin acts like a diuretic and helps your body to get rid of excess fluids and salts. This helps to reduce high BP and stomach issues.
- Lighter and predictable periods: It helps to reduce severe menstrual cramps during periods and follow a regular timeframe each month.
- PMDD management: It helps to reduce other symptoms of menstruation in females such as fatigue, joint pain, and headache.
➦ Psychic Benefits
- Better mood: It helps avoid sudden mood swings that increase focus and concentration.
- Less anxiety and stress: Regular hormone levels help keep stress and anxiety away.
Drug Interactions
Medicines that reduce effects of Yasmin tablets:
- Antibiotics: Antibiotics like Rifampin or others like Amoxicillin, which can cause mild vomiting and diarrhea tendency.
- Seizures: Medicines to stop seizures like Topimarate usually the higher doses.
- Protease Inhibitors: Protease inhibitors like Ritonavir and some hepatitis C treatments.
Medicines that increase potassium: Yasmin tablets can increase potassium in your body thus other similar medicines can likely shoot up potassium levels severely high.
Yasmin tablets affecting other medicines:
- Lamotrigine: reduces blood levels of this seizure and bipolar disorder medicine.
- Thyroid medicines like levothyroxine, where the doctors will adjust the dose suitably.
- ACE inhibitors like Enapril
- NSAIDs like Ibuprofen or Naproxen
Side Effects
Precautions Before Starting Use Of Yasmin Tablets
➨ Mention about your health issues: It is important to inform the doctors if you are having health issues like:
- Severe blood clot disorder
- Hormonal cancer in the breast or vagina
- Very high BP
- Edema
- Severe diabetes
- Migraines
- Kidney failure
- Liver tumors
➨ Tests before starting a regular dose: The doctors will conduct different diagnostic tests as well like:
- Blood tests to figure out hormonal levels, blood glucose levels, cholesterol and calcium and potassium levels
- Liver biopsy to find out tumors or cancer
- Kidney function test to check for signs of kidney infection or failure
- BP check
➨ Informing about upcoming surgeries:
- Tell the doctors if you have any kind of major surgery coming up in the next few weeks or months. This is important especially to reduce the risk of blood clots.
Safety Advice
- Lifestyle and food changes: When using Yasmin tablets the patient has to make some lifestyle changes like:
- Alcohol: Reducing use of alcohol, which can affect the action of the medicine in your body.
- Foods rich in nitrates: Avoiding intake of grape juice or any other food item rich in nitrates to cause sudden hypertension and increased chances of stroke and heart attack.
- Smoking: Inform the doctors if you are a regular of frequent smoker as there are more chances of having blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.
- Monitoring potassium levels: The doctors will regularly check your potassium levels, especially for the first 28 days of starting the Yasmin tablets.
- Pregnancy: Use of Yasmin tablets is strictly not recommended during pregnancy. If you become pregnant despite of using the medicine, stop taking it immediately if you do not want to have an abortion.
- Breastfeeding: Use of Yasmin tablets interacts with breast milk production due to rise in estrogen levels. Thus, it is better to avoid taking the medicine if your infant is completely dependent on your breast milk.
When To Seek Medical Help?
Having signs of blood clots: Blood clot tendency is one of the severe risks you need to watch out for having symptoms like:
- Leg swelling
- Pain
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Vision changes
Allergic signs: An allergic or anaphylaxis issue is rare but possible to some females. In this case you are going to get signs of:
- Swelling on the mouth, lips and tongue
- Rashes on skin
- Signs of chest pain
Storage And Disposal Guidelines
For storage, you need to find a safe area of your house to not let the sachet reach your child or pets at home. Avoid keeping it directly under the hot sun or kitchen and bathroom areas where there is more humidity. Dispose tablets safely in a disposal bag.
Where Can You Buy Yasmin Tablets In Australia?
Yasmin tablets are available in Australia as a prescription pill only. You need to see a doctor and get the medicine recommended first before buying it from an online pharmacy like Australiarxmeds.
