The blister pack of Sprintec contains both active and inactive pills. The active pills are blue; the inactive are white. The blue pills are taken for 21 days, the white pills are taken for 7 days.

Start taking active pills on the first day of your period. Take them at a time that works for you — it might be first thing in the morning, for example. You don’t need to take the pill with food, but if you do have an upset stomach while you’re using hormonal birth control, this might subside when you take it with food.

It’s important to take the pill at the same time every day. This makes sure the pill is as effective as possible.

Sprintec itself is available just in one dosage. But there are other versions that have different levels of hormones, including Tri-Sprintec and Tri-Lo-Sprintec. These are phasic pills, where the levels of hormones change throughout the course of the month. Phasic pills work well for women who are trying to control menstrual symptoms. The physician can help you settle on the right version of Sprintec during your consultation.

In Sprintec, the blister pack you receive and take contains 28 tablets. 21 of them are active and 7 are inactive. Each active pill contains 0.250mg norgestimate and 0.035mg ethinyl estradiol.

When taken correctly, Sprintec is around 99% effective. No method of birth control is completely perfect. This level of effectiveness relies on the pill being taken as directed — at the same time, every day — and making sure you don’t forget any of your active pills, in particular.

If you do take your pill late, or if you don’t stick to the routine of taking it at the same time each day, the effectiveness will drop. Any gaps in your usage will have the same result. If you have any concerns about the effectiveness of Sprintec, you can use another method to boost your protection. Back-up birth control methods should be non-hormonal (think condoms and diaphragms). It’s not safe to take multiple forms of hormonal birth control.

Side effects are possible with any kind of hormonal contraception. Common side effects happen for as many as 1 in 100 people. The side effects will most likely go away over time, so you don’t have to worry

You might experience headaches, stomach pain, or vaginal infection and discharge. Some women have found they have tender breasts, their moods have changed, they’ve felt nervous or they have had rashes.

Taking your Sprintec pill as directed will help reduce your chances of side effects.

The most common side effects are short-term, as your body gets used to taking the pill. These side effects should not interfere with your day-to-day life and should subside after a couple of months.

When you start using Sprintec as your birth control method, you should read through any information in the packet. You might not experience any side effects, but you should be aware of any possibilities

If you get any mild side effects that persist when using Sprintec, you can message a US licenced doctor through your EveAdam account. They may recommend switching to a different pill.

Your doctor should know if you experience any concerning side effects.

Serious side effects when using Sprintec are pretty rare. But you should read through all of the literature in the Sprintec pack thoroughly so you’re aware of any potential problems that could arise. It’s important to know when you need to go to the emergency room, such as if you have an allergic reaction to the birth control pill or get any signs of a blood clot.

Ortho-Cyclen, Mono-Linyah, MonoNessa, Estarylla, Previfem, Femynor, Mili and VyLibra. These pills all contain (or did contain) the same level of active ingredients as Sprintec. They’re clinically the same treatment, or bio-equivalent. So they’re just as effective at preventing pregnancy as each other, and have the same side-effect profile.

MonoNessa and Ortho-Cyclen are no longer available. But Sprintec does the same job, so if you used to take these pills, Sprintec should work just as well for you.

Sprintec is a monophasic pill, while Tri-Sprintec is a multiphasic (triphasic, to be specific) pill. Monophasic pills deliver the same amount of active ingredient over the active 21-day pill period, whereas the amount of hormones in a multiphasic pill depends on what “phase” of your cycle you’re in. In the case of triphasic pills like Tri-Sprintec, there are three different strength phases.

Multiphasic pills are used to help control quite specific hormonal side effects, such as heavy menstrual bleeding or water retention.

Clinically, they’re the same. The only differences are the manufacturer and the excipient (non-working) ingredients, like the pill colouring. Estarylla is manufactured by Sandoz, while Sprintec is manufactured by Teva. Theoretically, because they’re bio-equivalent, they should work just the same and be no more or less effective than each other when used correctly.

Yes, for the most part. It’s the same hormonal make-up in both pills. They’re just made by different companies. Sprintec is made by Teva, while Femynor is by Johnson & Johnson. There may be variations in appearance, but the way they work in the body shouldn’t be any different.

If you can’t use Sprintec or experience side effects when taking it, there are other combined pill options available. The mini pill or progestin-only pill is a method to consider too if you have a condition that means you’re sensitive to estrogen, or are more at risk of having a blood clot.

Consult with a doctor through EveAdam to get pill recommendations specific to your medical profile.