How to Start QUASENSE

QUASENSE is dispensed in an Extended-Cycle Tablet Dispenser [see How Supplied/Storage and Handling (16)]. QUASENSE should be started on a Sunday (see Table 1). For the first cycle of a Sunday Start regimen, an additional method of contraception should be used until after the first 7 consecutive days of administration.

Instruct patients to take QUASENSE once a day by mouth at the same time every day for 91 days. To achieve maximum contraceptive effectiveness, QUASENSE should be taken exactly as directed and at intervals not exceeding 24 hours. For patient instructions regarding missed pills, see FDA-approved patient labeling.

How to Take QUASENSE

Table 1: Instructions for Administration of QUASENSE

Starting QUASENSE after Abortion or Miscarriage

First-trimester

• After a first-trimester abortion or miscarriage, QUASENSE may be started immediately. An additional method of contraception is not needed if QUASENSE is started immediately.
• If QUASENSE is not started within 5 days after termination of the pregnancy, the patient should use additional non-hormonal contraception (such as condoms or spermicide) for the first seven days of her first 91-day course of QUASENSE.

Second-trimester

• Do not start until 4 weeks after a second-trimester abortion or miscarriage, due to the increased risk of thromboembolic disease. Start QUASENSE following the instructions in Table 1 for Sunday start. Use additional non-hormonal contraception (such as condoms or spermicide) for the first seven days of the patient’s first 91-day course of QUASENSE [see Contraindications (4), Warnings and Precautions (5.1), and FDA-approved Patient Labeling].

Starting QUASENSE after Childbirth

• Do not start until 4 weeks after delivery, due to the increased risk of thromboembolic disease. Start contraceptive therapy with QUASENSE following the instructions in Table 1 for women not currently using hormonal contraception.
• QUASENSE is not recommended for use in lactating women [see Use in Specific Populations (8.3) and FDA-Approved Patient Labeling].
• If the woman has not yet had a period postpartum, consider the possibility of ovulation and conception occurring prior to use of QUASENSE [see Contraindications (4), Warnings and Precautions (5.1), Use in Specific Populations (8.1 and 8.3), and FDA-approved Patient Labeling].

Tablet Dispenser Instructions:

• The Tablet Dispenser consists of 3 trays with cards that hold 91 individually sealed pills (a 13-week, or 91-day, cycle). The 91 pills consist of 84 white pills (active pills with hormones) and 7 peach pills (inactive pills without hormone).
• The cards in trays 1 and 2 each contain 28 white pills (4 rows of 7 pills). See Figure A.

Figure A

• The card in tray 3 contains 35 pills consisting of 28 white pills (4 rows of 7 pills) and 7 peach pills (1 row of 7 pills). See Figure B.

Figure B

• Advise the patient to remove the first pill in the upper left corner by pushing down on the pill. The pill will come out through a hole in the back of the Tablet Dispenser.
• Advise the patient to wait 24 hours to take the next pill, and continue to take one pill each day until all the pills have been taken.
• Advise the patient, after taking the last peach pill, to start taking the first white pill from a new Tablet Dispenser the very next day, regardless of when their period started.

Missed Tablets

Table 2: Instructions for Missed QUASENSE Tablets

Advice in Case of Gastrointestinal Disturbances

In case of severe vomiting or diarrhea, absorption may not be complete and additional contraceptive measures should be taken. If vomiting or diarrhea occurs within 3-4 hours after taking a white tablet, handle this as a missed tablet [see FDA-approved patient labeling].