What you need to know about Diane pills as contraceptive: Benefits, side effects and price

Diane pills is a brand of oral contraceptive. This contains progesterone and estrogen hormones that serves as contraception.

The active components in this drug include cyproterone and ethinyl estradiol. Antiandrogens are a class of drugs that include cyproterone. Estrogens are a class of drugs that include ethinyl estradiol. They are used together to treat certain severe kinds of acne in women who have failed to respond to antibiotics and other therapies. This drug works by modulating hormones that have an impact on the skin.

This drug may be sold under a variety of brand names and/or in a variety of dosage forms. This medication’s brand name may not be available in all forms or approved for all of the ailments listed below. Furthermore, some types of this medicine may not be appropriate for all of the illnesses listed.

Diane pills benefits

• More regular and lighter menstruation helps lessen the chance of anemia or iron deficiency
• Less pain brought by menstruation or dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps)
• Helps to lessen the oiliness of the skin and hair
• Lessens the chance of having pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancy, lumpy breasts and cancer in the uterus and ovaries

Diane pills benefits in addition to being contraceptive

Aside from being a contraceptive, women usually recommend this pills as a beautifier. This is because there have been a lot of testimonies that comments on the good effects on their skin and body.

This is not only popular to women but to trans women as well. These are being used to lessen the physical male characteristics brought by the male sex hormone androgen. This includes severe acne and excessive facial or body hair growth called hirsutism.

Diane pills side effects

But Diane pills shouldn’t be used for an extensive period especially if it’s being used as a contraceptive. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, this could increase the chances of having venus thromboembolic disease.

This is a disease that affects the blood and veins that could bring serious complications to the health. The recommended usage is every 3-4 menstrual cycles.

Diane pills side effects

Aside from the increased chance of having venus thromboembolic disease, other side effects are the following:

• Nausea
• Stomach pain or discomfort
• Change in weight
• Headache and migraines
• Mood changes including depression
• Breast tenderness or breast pain

If you experience the following from drinking Diane pills, immediately go to your doctor:

• Chest pains or right under the collar bones
• Difficulty breathing
• Swollen or painful hip
• Sudden lethargy or weakness or pricking sensations to the face, arms and legs especially on just one body part
• Difficulty walking suddenly because of dizziness, loss of balance, and coordination
• Extreme stomach pains
• More painful headaches and migraines
• Difficulty talking or difficulty understanding others

The said symptoms are signs of blood clot or thrombosis that needs immediate attention from your doctor.

Aside from the ones listed above, the following could also be experienced from consuming Diane pills:

• Jaundice
• Coughing up blood
• Breast lumps
• Unexplained vaginal bleeding

If you experience any of the side effects, go and inform your doctor immediately. This is to avoid anymore complications.

The said are the recorded side effects of Diane pills. Not all that uses the medicine experience the said negative effects.

Proper use of Diane pills

To try the positive effects of Diane pills on the body, one should know the proper way of drinking these. Most of all, one would need prescription from a doctor that would serve as guide in drinking these pills.

One can buy a pack of Diane pills for the amount of P690. This includes 21 tablets that would need to be taken everyday. You would need a rest for 7 days before starting with another pack.

The primary ingredient or content of Diane pills is the Cyproterone Acetate and Ethinyloestradiol that could cause an allergic reaction to those that are allergic to these.

Continue taking this medication if spotting or breakthrough bleeding happens during the three weeks you’ve been taking it. Spotting or breakthrough bleeding is usually only a transient occurrence. Contact your doctor if bleeding persists or lasts for an extended period of time.

Do not start the next medication if your period does not occur during the 7-day tablet-free interval. It’s critical to follow your doctor’s instructions when using this medication.

• If you miss doses, the drug will be less effective.
• Forgot about a dose of this medication but realized it within 12 hours? take it.
• If it’s been more than 12 hours since you last took a tablet, toss it out and keep taking the rest of the pack at the same time.
• To make up for a missing dose, do not take a double dose.

If you’re not sure what to do if you’ve missed a dosage, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

How to take Diane pills

Like other oral contraceptives, Diane pills should be taken everyday on the same time. It doesn’t matter if this is taken before or after meals. This is as long as it is taken on the correct time and is followed by a glass of water.

If you’re going to use Diane pills as alternative combined oral contraceptive pills, start drinking this only after drinking the last active tablet of the previous pill pack. Do expect that your menstruation would be delayed or would only come after finishing the first pack of Diane pills.

The active pills are the first 21 tablets of the pill pack and are usually color yellow. 

• To those that use vaginal rings, you should start drinking Diane pills on the very day the vaginal ring is removed.
• To minipill users or progesterone-only pills, you could stop drinking these anytime prior to drinking Diane pills.
• If you use injection, implant o intrauterine device o IUD, start drinking Diane pills on the next schedule of injection or on the same day that the implant or IUD is to be removed.
• To make sure that you wouldn’t get pregnant, use other forms of contraceptives like condoms on the fist few times of using Diane pills.

What if I can’t take the pills at the correct time

We strongly recommended drinking the pills at the right and same time every day to avoid getting pregnant. But if it skips your min, you should immediately drink one for 12 hours within the regular time of drinking. Drink the next pill on a regular time. This means that you can drink 2 pills within a day.

Diane pills price Philippines: Where to buy

Diane pills price: It is strongly recommended to consult with your doctor first. This is to get the correct information and guide in taking this. You can buy Diane pills in the Philippines in Mercury Drug and other drug stores for the price of PHP 600-700.

Diane pills price in Mercury drugs

In the Philippines, Diane pills are a widely used form of birth control. As one of the most trusted drugstores in the country, Mercury Drug offers a choice of Diane pills to its consumers. However, a number of factors can affect the cost of these pills.

Diane pills price in mercury drugs

Customers can choose from a variety of Diane pills at Mercury Drug. Diane-35, Diane-35 ED, and Diane-35 Protect are the three most popular varieties. Depending on the packaging and dosage, these tablets’ costs can change. For instance, a pack of 21 Diane-35 tablets will run you about Php 750, while a pack of 28 Diane-35 ED tablets would run you about Php 1,000.

Additional information by Margaux Dolores

Here at theAsianparent Philippines, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advise or medical treatment. TheAsianparent Philippines is not responsible to those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend to consult your doctor for clearer information.