Chewing vs. swallowing Generess pills

[agentscuiy.livejournal.com]

I posted a few weeks ago about crazy bleeding on Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. Well, the crazy bleeding never stopped, so I went to my gyno today and she decided that triphasic pills are not for me. She gave me Generess FE, a pill I'd never heard of. I was on Femcon FE for 5 years, which I loved, but the estrogen dosage was unnecessarily strong for my size. Generess is basically a lower-dose Femcon, with the same active ingredients, just in different amounts.

When I got home and read all the packaging, I realized these, like Femcon, are chewable. My doctor didn't mention that to me, which is where my question lies. The prescribing information says to chew and swallow the pill without water. It says nothing about swallowing the pill whole - either that it's okay or not okay. Femcon has detailed directions to chew and swallow with a LOT of water, or to just swallow it whole. When I took Femcon, I always swallowed it whole. I have no desire to chew my birth control, so I'm wondering why - if it's practically the same pill - the ingestion methods are so different.

I'll have to wait until Monday to ask my doctor and I want to start taking the pills tomorrow, so I figured I'd ask here... Does anyone else take Generess and have a straight answer? Will the effectiveness be compromised if I swallow it whole?

Thanks!

Comments

[banyangirl1832.livejournal.com]

I chew mine all the time (they're even flavored with mint so they're tasty!) and I haven't gotten pregnant yet. :)

[agentscuiy.livejournal.com]

The directions are to chew it, I was wondering if it was okay NOT to chew it :)

[archangelbeth]

I would chew it, because it's made to be chewed and might not dissolve well in your system otherwise, until asking a doctor. If the packaging says to chew and swallow without water, I'd do that. Well, I would probably take at least a sip of water to wash it down...

Basically, till you can ask the doctor, go with what the packaging instructions say. ( https://www.generess.com/emarketing/womenshealth/generess/patient/using.page agrees )

[agentscuiy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I was planning on doing. It seems so odd not to drink it with any water though! To not wash it down, and if I brushed my teeth afterwards like half the pill would go down the drain. :/ I guess I will take it before I eat or something...

[paperdolls-tear.livejournal.com]

Generess FE is just a generic of Femcon FE same dosage (released a few months ago). Follow directions for administration until you find otherwise from your doctor.

[agentscuiy.livejournal.com]

It's not a generic but a patented brand with a different dosage and ratio of the hormones - that's why she put me on it because it has a lot less estrogen, which is what I don't need, and more progestin, which I do need :) It's .8mg/25mcg norethindrone to ethinyl estradiol while Femcon is .4mg/35mcg.

[mmmapplebanana.livejournal.com]

Did you ever find out what you doctor said? The exact same thing happened to me and I'm not sure if swallowing it is alright.

[agentscuiy.livejournal.com]

You know, I totally forgot to ask. I ended up just chewing them every day because it is easier most of the time. Except the inactive ones, they taste so bad, they go right in the trash! If you get a straight answer, let me know!

[mmmapplebanana.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, thanks! Will do!

How do you like it?!

[gretchenerika.livejournal.com]

I am in the same boat exactly with being on FemCon for years and prior to that was on Yasmin and loved it. Can't do tri phasals and also can't do super low dose pills. Femcon is so expensive I need to switch - $90/ month!! My doctor suggested Generess but i read bad reviews online about acne and weight gain... How has it been for you since we have similar situations? Was so happy to find your post thank you for sharing!!!

Re: How do you like it?!

[agentscuiy.livejournal.com]

Yikes, that is expensive! I've tried a ton of pills and other methods in the past and I LOVE Generess. I've never been prone to weight gain on pills and this has been no different, I actually lost weight since I started. And unfortunately I've been moderately acne-prone since I turned like 23 (I used to have perfect skin) which I thought was due to Femcon but I switched to Yaz (which is supposed to help acne) and even went off pills for 6 months and nothing changed, so I don't think it has any effect. Nothing but Femcon has allowed me to skip my periods (even with Seasonique I had tons of breakthrough bleeding) and I seem to be able to do it with Generess no problem. The placebos are only 4 days too so my periods are short and easy. It's definitely ideal for me, I hope it works for you too!