Eloine comes in 28 day strips. You take 1 pill daily for 28 days. Each strip contains 24 light pink active pills and 4 white dummy pills. Each pack contains 7 stickers with the 7 days of the week for each strip of Eloine. Choose the sticker which corresponds with the day you start taking the tablets. For example, if you begin taking Eloine on Monday, use the week sticker that starts with ‘MON’.
Put the sticker along the top of the strip where it says, ‘Place week sticker here’. The first day should be above the tablet marked ‘1’. The arrows show you the order you need to take the pills. Take one Eloine pill every day, with a small amount of water if needed. You should take your pill at the same time every day.
Do not confuse the tablets. You will take 1 light pink tablet every day for 24 days followed by 1 white inactive pill every day for 4 days. You will then begin a new strip straight away, there is no gap between strips.
During the 4 days when you are taking the white dummy pills, you should have a withdrawal bleed like your period. Once you have finished your strip, you should take the following strip even if you are still bleeding.
You should start each new strip on the same day of the week and your withdrawal bleed should occur on the same days each month.
When should I start taking Eloine?
You can start taking Eloine at any time in your menstrual cycle but depending on when you take it, you may not be protected from pregnancy straight away.
You should start taking Eloine on day 1 of your period, as you will be protected from pregnancy straight away. You will not need to use other types of contraception to prevent pregnancy.
You may also start taking Eloine on days 2 to 5 of your period, but you will not be protected straight away. You will need to use extra forms of contraception, such as condoms, for the next 7 days.
Can I take Eloine without a break?
You can take Eloine back to back to delay your period, but it is a little different from other combined contraceptives, as there is only a 4 day break compared to the usual 7 day break. Just skip the 4 white dummy tablets and start the next strip straight away. If you use Eloine in this way, you may have some breakthrough bleeding or spotting.
What happens if you miss an Eloine pill?
If you forget to take a placebo or dummy pill (the white ones) then this will not affect the effectiveness of Eloine. Simply throw away the forgotten dummy pill and continue to take the rest of the pills as normal.
If you miss a light pink active pill (one of the first 24) then you should do the following:
- If you are less than 24 hours late, your protection against pregnancy will not be reduced. Take the forgotten pill as soon as you remember and then take the following pill at your usual time. Continue as normal with the strip.
- If you are more than 24 hours late, then your protection against pregnancy may be reduced.
If you forget more than one tablet in the strip you should contact your doctor for advice.
If you forget one tablet between days 1 and 7 of your pack:
- Take the forgotten tablet as soon as you remember even if that means taking 2 at the same time.
- Continue with the rest of the strip and use extra protection like condoms for the next 7 days.
- If you have already had unprotected sex, contact your doctor for advice as there is a risk you could be pregnant.
If you forget 1 tablet between days 8 and 14:
- Take the forgotten tablet as soon as you remember even if that means taking 2 at the same time.
- Continue with the rest of the strip.
- As long as you have taken all the other tablets correctly, your protection against pregnancy is not reduced and you will not need to take extra precautions.
- But if you have missed more than one tablet, you should use condoms for the next 7 days.
Option one if you forget to take 1 tablet between days 15 and 24:
- Take the forgotten tablet as soon as you remember even if that means taking 2 at the same time.
- Continue with the rest of the strip.
- Instead of taking the white dummy pills in this strip, throw them away and start the next strip (please note: the starting day will be different).
Option two if you forget to take 1 tablet between days 15 and 24:
- Stop taking the light pink active pills and go directly to the 4 white dummy pills.
- Before you take the placebo pills, make a note of the day that you forgot your tablet.
- If you want to start a new strip on your usual start day, take the placebo tablets for less than 4 days.
You will be protected from pregnancy if you follow either of these recommendations. However, if you have missed more than one tablet, you must ask your doctor for advice.
Can I take Eloine to delay my period?
Yes, Eloine is a monophasic pill. That means it delivers the same amount of hormones throughout the duration of the pack. So, you can take 2 strips of active pills back to back to delay your period.
Can I use Eloine as emergency contraception?
Eloine cannot be used as emergency contraception but you can take it back to back to delay your period.
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