Temp Emergency Contraception in Lebanon

Comments (9)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

1. Kiki says:

   February 15, 2012 at 1:06 PM

   Hi Nasawiya, the microgynon dosage can be 4 tablets taken 12 hours apart actually, for more info and awareness about this for reference check this site, choose drug brand name or by country: http://ec.princeton.edu/worldwide/default.asp#country
2. Rola says:

   February 15, 2012 at 2:19 PM

   Hello Kiki,

   Thats not true. The Microgynon they have on that website is half the dose of the one available in Lebanon. Microgynon is combines oral contraception that has two components: levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol. The full dosage that should be taken for a true emergency contraception is 50 µg ethinyl estradiol and 250 µg levonorgestrel that get repeated every 12 hrs for 2 days. The reference you have used (and in many other references online too) says microgynon 30 (same brand name as in Lebanon) is 60 µg of levonorgestrel and 120 µg of ethinyl estradiol. That isnt true, what we have here is the Microgynon that is composed of 30 µg of levonorgestrel and 150 µg of ethinyl estradiol. Taking two pills of this will be the closest to 50 µg ethinyl estradiol and 250 µg levonorgestrel (it’d be 60 and 300 respectively).

   I have asked gynocologists here in Lebanon, and they know the meds that are sold here, they have confirmed that its 2 pills each 12 hrs.

   Best
3. Kiki says:

   February 15, 2012 at 3:12 PM

   Rola,

   If you look carefully at the website it is the same exact medication. Microgynon 30 is a standardized drug dose wherever sold worldwide, each pill containing levonorgestrel 0.15mg and ethinylestradiol 30 micrograms, exact same dosage specified on the emergency contraception site and sold here in Lebanon.

   When they say the dose -0.6 mg of levonorgestrel and 120 mg- to be taken twice they are talking about 4 pills! and not the dosage of each pill like you thought. It can get confusing.

   This reproductive health info website done by reproductive experts at a research university, says take 4 tabs 12 hours apart, a total of 8 pills, same total as in the info from Nasawiya.

   My comment concerned the regimen to take..I am not sure which regimen is best, 4 pills taken twice, or 2 pills taken 3 times. But this is info from a research university that I guess has been reviewed by experts.

   It would be good to have more views about this from people in the know, gynecologists.

   I am not sure about other doctors you mentioned, but those are my research references,

   Best!
4. Kiki says:

   February 15, 2012 at 4:23 PM

   Wippss, meant 4 pills taken twice or 2 pills taken 4 times..for which regimen was best..

   Ok, discussion back to the floor!
5. Rola says:

   February 15, 2012 at 4:52 PM

   Kiki,

   All these references you have mentioned and the maths and gynecologists’ recommendations have been revised before the making of the above infographic.

   What we want to do here is decrease the confusion around this and avoid debating a method that does not have further research (the 4 pills at once or 2 pills at once are not documented in terms of which is more effective; however what is certain is that taking that combined dosage within a 120 hr time frame is what is required for emergency contraception to take place). Since there is loads of evidence based data (and that is because the yuzpe method is a really old one) about needing to take those pills within 120 hours and the severe nausea side effect, then i would suggest that there is no added benefit in increasing the sense of nausea due to ingesting 4 pills together… especially if it has the same desired outcome.

   In order to simplify this process, we have chosen the oral contraceptive (OC) available, appropriate, recommended, and affordable in Lebanon and made one infographic rather than make 5 about all the OCs in Lebanon and the different combinations they require for emergency usage. Also the Princeton reference you posted above lists many types of OCs in Lebanon that can be used for emergency contraception, but most of these meds are no longer sold/available in Lebanon, we called and checked about that.

   Thank you for your input really what you are saying is true but we just want to make this simple, safe, and non-confusing for the masses. We want no room for misinterpretations, especially when it comes to health and meds.
6. C says:

   February 15, 2012 at 5:59 PM

   The info in this post is wrong! contact your DR or pharmacist before attempting any emergency contraception (with drugs that are not designed for this purpose such as microginon).
7. Emergency Contraception in Lebanon: The Morning-After Pill – The Scientific Reality « A Separate State of Mind says:

   February 16, 2012 at 11:09 AM

   [...] by Christian Sawma, a pharmacy student at the Lebanese American University, in reply to the Nasawiya post on the [...]
8. sam says:

   February 16, 2012 at 2:34 PM

   Can we inquire as to why NorLevo is no longer available in Lebanon? When will it be back in pharmacies, if ever?
9. Rola says:

   February 16, 2012 at 3:34 PM

   I’d called Union Pharmaceutique d’Orient, they’re the official distributors of NorLevo in Lebanon. The person in charge of this is called Khalil (Herbay? – Not sure of his family name cause my handwriting is terrible). He said that NorLevo is definitely not being pulled out of Lebanon, especially that there is no other actual emergency contraception. He assured that in 2 weeks it would be back, but they had been called before and said so.

   Basically this isn’t permanent or purposefully malicious this is just plain old fashioned lazy laborers.