Sprintec

What is Sprintec?

Sprintec is a combined hormonal birth control pill that’s over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy when it’s used exactly right. And even when accounting for people missing the occasional pill (or taking it late), Sprintec is still up to 99% effective.^[1] Sprintec is taken in 28-day cycles, with a period-like bleed during the last seven days of each cycle.

Who can use Sprintec?

Sprintec is suitable for most healthy women up to age 35 who want to prevent pregnancy. It can be used by some women up to age 50, so long as you don’t smoke.^[2]

Speak to your physician about using Sprintec if you’re over 35 and smoke, or you have a history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, high blood pressure, or heart disease. If Sprintec isn’t right for you, they may be able to recommend an alternative birth control.

What are the benefits of Sprintec?

One of the major advantages of Sprintec is that it can help with painful or irregular periods. Sprintec comes in packs of 28 pills – 21 ‘active’ tablets containing hormones, and 7 inactive ‘reminder’ tablets. You’ll typically have a period-like bleed during the week you take the inactive tablets, which can help make irregular periods more predictable.

And if you’re struggling with painful periods, combined pills like Sprintec could help. Combined pills are thought to reduce blood flow into your uterus during your period, which should help reduce cramping.^[3]

How do Sprintec doses work?

Sprintec packs only come in one dosage; the blue tablets contain 0.25 mg norgestimate and 0.035 mg ethinyl estradiol, while the white ‘reminder’ tablets are inert — meaning they don’t contain any hormones (their job is to help you stay in the habit of taking a daily tablet). You’ll take one blue tablet every day for the first 21 days of your cycle, followed by one white tablet a day for the last seven. During these seven days, you should have a bleed that’s similar to a period.

There are different versions of Sprintec called Tri-Sprintec and Tri-Lo Sprintec, where the levels of hormones you take change over the month. These can be more suitable if you struggle with birth control side effects like acne, oily skin or excessive body hair, as they better mimic natural changes in hormones across the menstrual cycle.

What is Sprintec’s active ingredient?

Sprintec is a combined birth control pill. This means it contains synthetic versions of the natural hormones progesterone and estrogen. The synthetic version of progesterone (also known as a progestin) in Sprintec is called norgestimate, and the synthetic version of estrogen is called ethinyl estradiol.

How do Norgestimate and Ethinyl Estradiol work?

Combined contraceptive pills like Sprintec work in three main ways to stop you becoming pregnant:

1. Prevent ovulation. You can’t get pregnant if there’s no egg to fertilise, so the first line of defense is to stop your ovaries releasing an egg into your uterus.
2. Thicken your cervical mucus. This stops sperm from reaching the egg to fertilise it in case you do still ovulate.
3. Stop your uterine wall building up. Once an egg is fertilised, it implants itself in the thickened uterine lining to develop. By preventing this lining from building up, the egg can’t implant.^[4]

How to take Sprintec

You’ll take one Sprintec tablet around the same time every day to prevent pregnancy. You can start taking Sprintec in a couple of different ways:

• Day 1 start: Take the first active tablet in your pack on the first day of your period, continue taking one active tablet a day for the first 21 days. Then, take one inert tablet each day for seven days. Start your next cycle on the same day of the week that you started your first.
• Sunday start: Take the first active tablet on the first Sunday after your period starts. You’ll need to use an alternative method of contraception (like condoms) for the first seven days of taking Sprintec. Take an active tablet at the same time each day for the first 21 days of the cycle, and then a white inert tablet for the last seven days. Start your next pack on the Sunday after taking your last inactive tablet.

If you’re swapping from a different contraceptive method, start taking Sprintec when you would normally have started your next cycle. So if you’re swapping from a different oral contraceptive, start on the same day you would have started a new pack of tablets. If you’re swapping from a vaginal ring or patch, start on the day you would have applied or inserted your next birth control.