Other
Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular events from combination oral contraceptives (COC) use. This risk increases with age, particularly in women over 35 years of age, and with the number of cigarettes smoked. For this reason, COCs should not be used by women who are over 35 years of age and smoke. [See CONTRAINDICATIONS (4)]
DayseeTM (levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets USP, and ethinyl estradiol tablets USP) is indicated for use by women to prevent pregnancy.
Take one tablet by mouth at the same time every day. The dosage of Daysee is one light blue tablet containing levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol daily for 84 consecutive days, followed by one mustard ethinyl estradiol tablet for 7 days. To achieve maximum contraceptive effectiveness, Daysee must be taken exactly as directed and at intervals not exceeding 24 hours.
Instruct the patient to begin taking Daysee on the first Sunday after the onset of menstruation. If menstruation begins on a Sunday, the first light blue tablet is taken that day. One light blue tablet should be taken daily for 84 consecutive days, followed by one mustard tablet for 7 consecutive days. A non-hormonal back-up method of contraception (such as condoms or spermicide) should be used until a light blue tablet has been taken daily for 7 consecutive days. A scheduled period should occur during the 7 days that the mustard tablets are taken.
Begin the next and all subsequent 91-day cycles without interruption on the same day of the week (Sunday) on which the patient began her first dose of Daysee, following the same schedule: 84 days taking a light blue tablet followed by 7 days taking a mustard tablet. If the patient does not immediately start her next pill pack, she should protect herself from pregnancy by using a non-hormonal back-up method of contraception until she has taken a light blue tablet daily for 7 consecutive days. If unscheduled spotting or bleeding occurs, instruct the patient to continue on the same regimen. If the bleeding is persistent or prolonged, advise the patient to consult her healthcare provider.
For patient instructions regarding missed pills, see FDA-Approved Patient Labeling.
For postpartum women who are not breastfeeding, start Daysee no earlier than four to six weeks postpartum due to increased risk of thromboembolism. If the patient starts on Daysee postpartum and has not yet had a period, evaluate for possible pregnancy, and instruct her to use an additional method of contraception until she has taken a light blue tablet for 7 consecutive days.
Daysee is available in Extended-Cycle Wallet, each containing a 13-week supply of tablets: 84 light blue tablets, each containing 0.15 mg of levonorgestrel and 0.03 mg ethinyl estradiol, and 7 mustard tablets each containing 0.01 mg of ethinyl estradiol. The light blue tablets are round, biconvex film-coated tablets, debossed with "LU" on one side and "V21" on the other side. The mustard tablets are round, biconvex film-coated tablets debossed with "LU" on one side and "V22" on the other side.
Do not prescribe Daysee to women who are known to have the following:
- A high risk of arterial or venous thrombotic diseases. Examples include women who are known to:
- Undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.8) ].
- Breast cancer or other estrogen- or progestin-sensitive cancer, now or in the past [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.2) ].
- Liver tumors, benign or malignant, or liver disease [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.3) and USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS (8.6) ].
- Pregnancy, because there is no reason to use COCs during pregnancy [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.9) and USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS (8.1) ].
- Use of Hepatitis C drug combinations containing ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir, with or without dasabuvir, due to the potential for ALT elevations [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.4) ].
- Serious cardiovascular events and smoking [see BOXED WARNING and WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)]
- Vascular events [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)]
- Liver disease [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.3)]
- Irregular uterine bleeding
- Nausea
- Breast tenderness
- Headache
* Smoke, if over age 35 [see BOXED WARNING and WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)].
* Have deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, now or in the past [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)].
* Have cerebrovascular disease [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)]
* Have coronary artery disease [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)].
* Have thrombogenic valvular or thrombogenic rhythm diseases of the heart (for example, subacute bacterial endocarditis with valvular disease, or atrial fibrillation) [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)].
* Have inherited or acquired hypercoagulopathies [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.1)].
* Have uncontrolled hypertension [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.4)].
* Have diabetes with vascular disease [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.6)].
* Have headaches with focal neurological symptoms or have migraine headaches with or without aura if over age 35 [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS (5.7)].
The following serious adverse reactions with the use of COCs are discussed elsewhere in the labeling:
Adverse reactions commonly reported by COC users are:
No drug-drug interaction studies were conducted with Daysee.
There have been no reports of serious ill effects from overdose of oral contraceptives, including ingestion by children. Overdosage may cause withdrawal bleeding in females and nausea.
Excretion
About 45% of levonorgestrel and its metabolites are excreted in the urine and about 32% are excreted in feces, mostly as glucuronide conjugates. The terminal elimination half-life for levonorgestrel after a single dose of Daysee was about 34 hours.
Ethinyl estradiol is excreted in the urine and feces as glucuronide and sulfate conjugates, and it undergoes enterohepatic recirculation. The terminal elimination half-life of ethinyl estradiol after a single dose of Daysee was found to be about 18 hours.
Race
The effect of race on the pharmacokinetics of Daysee has not been evaluated.