Lybrel Birth Control is Now Discontinued

Updated December 15, 2014.

Definition of Lybrel:

Lybrel was a combination birth control pill that was the first extended-cycle oral contraceptive designed to supply an active dose of hormones every day to completely stop a woman's period for a full year. It consisted of 365, 90 microgram levonorgestrel/20 microgram ethinyl estradiol tablets. Lybrel was approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 22, 2007 as the first, and only, birth control pill that was designed to eliminate women's monthly periods.

**Lybrel is no longer available. The manufacturer of Lybrel decided to stop making it. It is important to point out that Lybrel was not taken off the market for safety reasons, and it was not recalled by the FDA. It is somewhat common for a brand-name drug to be discontinued once generic versions are allowed to enter the market.

At this time, you can buy Lybrel (levonorgestrel/ethinyl estradiol) only in generic form. Generic Lybrel is being sold under the name Amethyst.**

How it Works:

Lybrel will work just like other combination birth control pills. The difference is that it is taken 365 days of the year without a pill-free interval or placebo period. Lybrel will prevent menstruation as long as the pill is taken daily.

The most recent study of 187 women taking Lybrel found that 99 percent of the women began menstruation within 90 days (3 months) after discontinuing use. Additionally, 4 women became pregnant before their period returned, and 2 women reported a return to menses more than 90 days after the completion of the study.

No More Periods: The Safety of Continuous Birth Control

Advantages and Benefits of Lybrel:

Gynecologist, Dr. Anita L. Nelson, professor of OB-GYN at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, advises that all women using birth control can benefit from having more control over their bodies. She further claims, in regard to the withdrawal bleeding that occurs while using the pill, "women need to realize that there is no health benefit to this."
According to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (the manufacturer of Lybrel), 59 percent of women taking Lybrel stopped bleeding after six months of use.
One study reported that after seven to 13 pill packs, women on Lybrel reported less nausea and breast pain than those on a 21-day birth control pill. Researchers found, in a different study, that three months of taking Lybrel reduced PMS and associated complaints in 114 women (Source: Planned Parenthood).

Potential Risks and Disadvantages:

According to research done by Wyeth, 50 percent of the women surveyed welcomed their periods as a sign that they were not pregnant and nearly 25 percent revealed that they felt their periods were a natural part of womanhood.
The low doses of hormones used in Lybrel may cause spotting.
One of the greatest concerns is that the long-term safety of continuous contraception remains unknown. There is some apprehension that continuous hormone treatments could increase the risk of breast cancer; however, there is no evidence to back this up.
Lybrel has the same side effects as other hormonal methods.

Effectiveness:

Health-care professionals and additional data reveal that Lybrel is just as safe as other combination birth control pills and preliminary research yields that the effectiveness of Lybrel is similar to that of oral contraceptives as well.

Findings presented at the 55th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists showed that when Lybrel was compared with a traditional 21-day combination oral contraceptive:

Of the 323 women who took Lybrel, 0 became pregnant.
Of the 318 women who took a traditional 21-day oral contraceptive, three became pregnant.

Most studies, however, indicate that Lybrel (just like combination oral contraceptives) is 92 to 99.7 percent effective. This means that with typical use, only 8 out of every 100 women will become pregnant during the first year of use. With perfect use, less than 1 will become pregnant during the first year of use.