Dianette

It is a best seller, sold around the entire world, and it has been prescribed to 315,000 women in the UK alone because of the three uses of this extremely reliable contraception.

It is primarily used as an anti-acne treatment. In addition, it also works against hirsutism. As well as this, it works excellently as a contraceptive, and can be used as such by women who suffer from acne and wish to benefit from Dianette’s three separate benefits.

For example, women who use it as an anti-acne treatment cannot take another oestrogen-progestogen combined hormonal contraception, since Dianette already acts as one. It has excellent results, making it an extremely reliable means of contraception!

Dianette is an anti-acne contraceptive pill manufactured by the Bayer laboratories and has been on the market since 1987.

Its composition is based on a combination of active ingredients, a progestin, cyproterone acetate and an oestrogenic hormone, Ethinyl estradiol, so it is a mini-pill. Its cyproterone acetate content is 2mg to 0.035mg of Ethinyl estradiol. It is hence an oestrogenic drug.

Please consult the page on Choosing your contraception for more information on different methods and contraceptives available today.

Benefits of Dianette pill

The anti-acne and anti-hair growth drug, Dianette, is for women with significant to severe acne. These women often have an androgen hypersensitivity, so they produce it in excess. This is a very similar hormone to male hormones such as testosterone, which is responsible for male characteristics and increased sebum secretion. In this context of hyperandrogenism, the estrogenic pill Dianette is particularly suitable for women who have high progestin levels (a tendency to produce too much androgen).

An excellent treatment against acne and body-hair growth

This excess secretion of the androgen hormone also results in women developing excess hair growth, called hirsutism. This is again because of androgen’s similarity to testosterone.

Acne affects 80% of young people in their teens and still manifests itself for a long time afterwards for many women. As for hirsutism, it has numerous causes (hypersecretion of androgens, hypersensitivity to androgens), and it affects 5 to 10% of women. Hirsutism can become very complicated for women who suffer from it due to mocking and possibly feeling an effect on their sense of femininity (altered beauty, having masculine characteristics that are difficult to own, etc.) As acne and hair-growth are caused by the same hormonal imbalance, the two problems often come together and cause feelings of distress amongst women both young and older, who might even isolate themselves and develop social phobias.

This is accompanied, in some aggravated cases, by psychological disorders and obsessive compulsive disorders.

Dianette anti-acne medication is also used as a treatment for male-pattern hair growth (or hirsutism). It works by balancing the levels of androgen in women who produce too much of it. It is, therefore, useful for women who suffer from a hormonal imbalance. The progestin in the pill acts against androgen hormones that are naturally produced by the patient.

It significantly reduces body hair and acne by neutralising the effects of androgen, and eventually the hair will completely disappear. Body hair is prevented from growing by the cyproterone acetate, which acts against the androgen hormone and inhibits sebum secretion.

Its therapeutic effectiveness varies depending on the severity of the acne, but women often see a real improvement in just a few weeks of treatment. The spots and hair will reappear as soon as the treatment is stopped.

Dianette is a  very effective method of contraception

Dianette also affects the hormonal balance because of the progestin, which alters ovulation and the menstrual cycle. It stops the ovaries from producing anything useful to conception, which is why we say it has an anti-gonadotropic effect. As well as this, Dianette has an anti-trophic effect on the endometrium, which makes it unsuitable for potential implantation.

Therefore, Dianette is proven to be an effective contraceptive, which means that women taking it as an anti-acne treatment do not need to use an additional contraceptive method, whether combined or not. In terms of contraceptive effectiveness, Dianette is 99% effective, making it one of the most reliable contraceptives on the market!

Dosage: How to take Dianette

Dianette should be taken long term before you see significant effects, which should appear at least three months after taking the first pill. Therefore, taking this anti-acne treatment involves a follow-up appointment with a doctor shortly afterwards.

This drug is in the form of a single-phase packet of 21 pills, meaning that all tablets have the same content and composition of active ingredients.

You start Dianette on the first day of your period, regardless of the hormonal birth control that you were taking before. Then you take one pill at the same time every day for 21 consecutive days, which should lead you to the end of the packet. At this point, you must stop taking the treatment for 7 days. This therapeutic pause is necessary and is related to its effect on the menstrual cycle. After a 7-day break, you should start a new pack and resume your regular schedule.

You will experience withdrawal bleeding during your break, which may continue beyond 7 days. You still have to restart your pill-taking schedule after 7 days.

Even though Dianette is prescribed as an anti-acne and anti-hirsutism treatment, you are also completely protected from the risk of pregnancy because of its contraceptive effect; therefore, you must not take another hormonal contraception. If you are relying on this as a contraceptive method, you must remember that oversights put you at risk of getting pregnant. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt certain procedures to minimise this risk if you realise that you have forgotten to take a pill.

What if I forget my pill?

If you remember within 12 hours after the forgotten pill, you are still protected from a possible pregnancy and should simply take the pill as soon as you remember. Continue to take the pill as usual after this.

If you only remember after 12 hours, its contraceptive efficacy is impaired and cannot be guaranteed for the remainder of the cycle. You must take the missed pill immediately and take the next one at the usual time (even if you have the
take them very close together, or even at the same time), and also use a non-hormonal contraceptive device (condoms, spermicides, diaphragms, cervical caps) until your next pack, including during the 7-day break.

Be aware that if you had sex in the 7 days before the missed pill, there is a feasible risk of pregnancy, in which case we advise you to perform a pregnancy test.

These provisions also apply in cases of acute diarrhoea and vomiting that occurs within 3 hours after taking a pill, resulting in the same consequences as if you forgot your pill.

Side effects of Dianette

Taking Dianette can cause side effects that can either be serious, or frequent and systematic. Also, it varies depending on the woman, as well as how prone they are to developing problems.

Firstly, Dianette can be responsible for the onset of migraines and headaches, nausea and vomiting. This contraceptive and anti-acne treatment can also give you breast pain or tension, especially if it causes them to increase in size.

Dianette can also cause bleeding and vaginal discharge during your cycle, which tends to fade and disappear.

There is also the potential to gain or lose weight because of a reduction or increase in your appetite. To avoid this, try to refrain from succumbing to an unusual appetite, or follow a diet until the effects on your hormonal balance have stabilised.

It may also have an effect on your libido, again either positively or negatively.

Finally, in some rarer cases, you could experience dermatological disorders such as erythema (skin rash with lesions) whether they are knotty (accompanied by hard swellings) or multiform (in a circle or ring), or hives or rashes (red spots).

Women who are intolerant to fructose, glucose and lactose cannot use this pill because it contains these ingredients.

Other side effects and avoidable risks

Dianette is often prescribed as a second intention after the patient has already tried other treatments for acne beforehand that have not proven effective. It is also necessary to eliminate all of the risks associated with taking this contraceptive & anti-acne drug. Your doctor will do tests and assess your condition (in particular by taking your blood pressure) as well as conducting a questionnaire about your history and lifestyle, in order to determine whether or not this anti-acne and anti-hirsutism treatment is suitable for you.

In addition, remember that if you are able to use Dianette, it has a very favourable risk-benefit ratio. There is the same low risk of thromboembolism as for 2nd generation pills. There is no need to worry, as this risk is very low. All birth control pills have the same ‘summary of product characteristics’, which is a term used by the National Agency of Drug Safety—and health authorities in general—and the same precautions of use. Therefore, you aren’t taking any risks if a healthcare professional recommends Dianette!

However, Dianette will not be recommended to you if you have any known predisposition, whether hereditary or acquired (by declaration and diagnosis) of the conditions below, or if your lifestyle exposes you to risks.

If you or a family member suffers from venous thromboembolism (phlebitis, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) or arterial thromboembolism (stroke, myocardial infarction): thrombosis describes the formation of a blood clot that can obstruct a vein and migrate to the lungs, creating an embolism. If a member of your family has been diagnosed with one of these disorders, you are not advised to use Dianette.

The risk of thrombosis is higher if you have risk factors linked to other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (coronary artery disease—which involves constriction of the coronary arteries—heart valve lesions, or angina) or heart issues (high blood pressure). These problems, whether you have a history or currently suffer from them, could also trigger arterial thrombosis.

Diabetes should also be monitored because it can cause cardiovascular complications and vascular lesions. Finally, abnormalities related to blood flow in the brain or in the eye may increase the risk of embolic arterial thrombosis. You will only be prescribed Dianette if you have never experienced one of these antecedents, in order to avoid any risk to your health.

All of these predispositions could trigger thrombosis, including those related to blood coagulation (resistance to active protein C, or protein C and S deficiency).

Among other predispositions are hyperlipidaemia or excessive levels of different lipid classes in the blood. This concerns people with high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia), including induced dyslipoproteinemia (lipoprotein excess in the blood carrying cholesterol). This also applies to the presence of excess triglycerides in the blood (hypertriglyceridemia).

Finally, other factors linked to your lifestyle or situation can increase the risk. Thromboembolic risks, therefore, increase with age and with smoking, in that they cause strokes. In addition, obesity plays a role, particularly because it carries a series of aggravating factors affecting blood circulation and cardiovascular risks by increasing the level of fats in the blood (hyperlipidaemia) by excessive consumption of fats, etc.

Knowing the symptoms are also a good way to minimise the risk and occurrence of these thromboembolic events. They signal a possible complication, especially if they occur when taking Dianette. You should stop taking it immediately and consult a doctor.

Pay attention to any unusual event that occurs suddenly and brutally, especially strong and aggressive migraines with vision problems (diplopia, or the perception of the same object in two images, or extended total or partial blindness). These can be clinical signs of a stroke. There is also the sudden onset of pain in a leg or foot, with numbness and / or oedema, which can be a sign of phlebitis. Sudden and violent pain in the chest and left arm can also be a prodromal myocardial infarction.

You should be alerted by the appearance of other occurrences, including elevated blood pressure, sudden trouble breathing for no apparent reason, or a sudden cough.

Partial loss of motor skills, such as paresis, paralysis or numbness in the body or face (left or right) should be considered as serious. Also watch out for tongue problems leading to difficulty speaking (confusion of words) or total inability to speak, aphasia. These are signs of a central nervous system disorder. Finally, if you have repetitive dizzy spells if you faint suddenly—with or without convulsions—these may be related to taking Dianette and are signs of a stroke.

There are also other conditions that make you unfit to take the anti-acne treatment Dianette, which are all contraindications.

Contraindications of Dianette

This drug should not be used in cases where you have a risk, or have already developed, the following diseases, or if you already suffer from one of the following hazardous situations:

Contraindications of Dianette

In addition, do not take Dianette in combination with certain active ingredients of anti-epileptic, anti-convulsive and anti-tuberculous drugs, (containing rifampicin), migraine treatments (containing flunarizine), HIV treatment with these active ingredients (rifabutin, griseofulvin, modafinil, topiramate), or if you are using an herbal medicine such as St John’s wort.

(*) Note from HAS

Dianette was withdrawn from the market in 2013 in order to shed light on its involvement in thromboembolic diseases, but it has since been reintegrated into the commercial space (January 2014) by the opinion of the European Commission, which imposed specifications on its conditions of use, as well as tighter restrictions on prescription.

This decision was made after the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment (PRAC) conducted an investigation and its findings pointed to a positive benefit / risk ratio. In other words, the risk does not outweigh the treatment’s benefits or provide a reason to stop its use, which must be accompanied by stricter prescription rules and conditions of use.

However, although Dianette presents some risks, just like all hormonal contraceptives, it remains an excellent means of contraception, which is used every day by hundreds of thousands of women who do not experience health problems in the large majority of cases. It is simply necessary to be well informed, and not to buy it in any old place.

How should I buy Dianette online & in UK?

In order to obtain a birth control pill in UK, women usually go through their gynaecologist. These specialists are the most competent in prescribing birth control pills. The latter will thus be able to advise women on the most suitable pill for their condition of health.

Buy Dianette Pill in a UK pharmacy

The only problem is that getting an appointment with the gynaecologist is sometimes very complicated. They are often overbooked. In some cases, women must, therefore, find another way to renew their contraceptive pill.

Buy Dianette Online

The alternative is to buy Dianette online. Some clinics do allow women to conduct a remote medical consultation. This consultation aims to determine if the pill represents any potential danger to the woman. If the medical consultation is validated by the doctor, the woman can then buy Dianette online.

While buying online has many advantages, you should know that selling prescription medication on the internet is regulated. The laws differ among member countries of the European Union. Before ordering, please inquire at your country’s health agency.

You should also know that drug counterfeiting is widespread on the Internet. Before ordering Dianette online, check the website’s reputation. Have a look at patients’ reviews, the quality of writing…

Do not hesitate to ask us for more information.

What is the price of Dianette Pill online & in UK?

In UK, like all pills, Dianette is only available on prescription. Pharmacists are then allowed to choose the price of the pill at will.

Dianette price: Buy in a UK pharmacy

In a pharmacy, the price for a month’s treatment of Dianette ranges from £7.48 to £36.70, with its average price being £19.45. It is also necessary to add the cost of your doctor’s consultation to this price, which could range from £35 to £60.

Dianette price: Buy online

The prices for the pill can be relatively attractive online. They range from £20 to £25 for one month of treatment. Depending on the website, the prescription and the delivery charges are included.

Caution: Alfadoc always recommends that you go to your doctor to perform a medical examination and obtain the prescription for you to purchase the drug in a pharmacy. However, if you wish to order online, pay attention to sites offering low prices with promotions such as “cheap Dianette”, “cheaper Dianette” or “without a prescription”. These sites often offer counterfeit drugs.

Sources

• What is Dianette Pill: Medicines
• Dianette (cyproterone acetate and ethinylestradiol): Netdoctor
• Dianette Oral Contraceptive reviews: Acne.org

Other information

Medical review on January 18, 2021 by Dr. Davis Taylor

Reviews for Dianette Online & in UK

9.5

Effectiveness

9.9/10

Side effects

9.2/10

Ease of Use

9.5/10

Price

9.5/10