Norplant (Levonorgestrel Implants (Unavailable in US)) Drug Information: Description, User Reviews, Drug Side Effects, Interactions

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May 26, 2012

Norplant

Birth Control (Types and Options) »

Introduction to birth control types and options

If a woman is sexually active and she is fertile — physically able to become pregnant — she needs to ask herself, "Do I want to become pregnant now?" If her answer is "No," she must use some method of birth control (contraception).

If a woman does not want to get pregnant at this point in her life, does she plan to become pregnant in the future? Soon? Much later? Never? Her answers to these questions can determine the method of birth control that she and her male sexual partner use — now and in the future.

There are a number of different ways to describe birth control. Terms include contraception, pregnancy prevention, fertility control, and family planning. But no matter what the process is called, sexually active people can choose from a plethora of methods to reduce the possibility of their becoming pregnant. Nevertheless, no method of birth control av...

Read the Birth Control (Types and Options) article »

Norplant

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NORPLANT® SYSTEM
(levonorgestrel) Implants

This product's label may have been revised after this insert was printed. For further product information and current package insert, please visit www.wyeth.com or call our medical communications department toll-free at 1-800-934-5556.

Patients should be counseled that this product does not protect against transmission of HIV (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as chlamydia, genital herpes, genital warts, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, and syphilis.

DRUG DESCRIPTION

The NORPLANT SYSTEM kit contains levonorgestrel implants, a set of six flexible closed capsules made of silicone rubber tubing (Silastic® , dimethylsiloxane/methylvinylsiloxane copolymer), each containing 36 mg of the progestin levonorgestrel contained in an insertion kit to facilitate implantation. The capsules are sealed with Silastic (polydimethylsiloxane) adhesive and sterilized. Each capsule is 2.4 mm in diameter and 34 mm in length. The capsules are inserted in a superficial plane beneath the skin of the upper arm.

Information contained herewith regarding safety and efficacy was derived from studies which used two slightly different Silastic tubing formulations. The formulation being used in the NORPLANT SYSTEM has slightly higher release rates of levonorgestrel and at least comparable efficacy.

Evidence indicates that the dose of levonorgestrel provided by the NORPLANT (levonorgestrel implants unavailable in us) SYSTEM is initially about 85 mcg/day followed by a decline to about 50 mcg/day by 9 months and to about 35 mcg/day by 18 months with a further decline thereafter to about 30 mcg/day. The NORPLANT (levonorgestrel implants unavailable in us) SYSTEM is a progestin-only product and does not contain estrogen.

Levonorgestrel, (18,19-Dinorpregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one, 13-ethyl-17-hydroxy-, (17α)-(–)-), the active ingredient in the NORPLANT (levonorgestrel implants unavailable in us) SYSTEM, has a molecular weight of 312.45 and the following structural formula: