Katya: Buying combined birth control pills online in the UK

Katya is a birth control pill that is developed and marketed in the UK by Stragen pharmaceutical company. As a 21-days pill, it is intended to be taken once daily over the first three weeks of menstrual cycle, with additional week without any pills before the new cycle starts again. As a branded medication, Katya is 99% effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy and is also commonly prescribed for regulation of heavy periods. As a combined oral contraceptive, it contains two active ingredients, namely ethinylestradiol and gestodene which are synthetic versions of naturally-synthesised sex hormones oestrogen and progestoren. Both of these play crucial role in regulating menstrual cycle and preparing the body for pregnancy. Katya works by mimicking their activity and interfering with those processes.

What’s on this page?

How oral contraceptives work?

Practically all birth control pills share the same mechanism of action. They all contain synthetic versions of sex hormones – although some are combined contraceptives, while others are progesterone-only pills, also known as mini-pills – which act by mimicking the activity of naturally-occurring sex hormones. By simulating the activity of oestrogen and progesterone, these pharmaceutical compounds can interfere with natural processes within the female body and prevent pregnancy in a variety of different ways.

Progesterone and ovulation

Progesterone plays a crucial role in preparing the body for pregnancy. Specifically, it acts as a kind of signal to the ovaries to release the egg cell to the fallopian tube where it can get fertilised by sperm. So, birth control pills utilise this connection and mimic the activity of progesterone (in case of Katya, through synthetic hormone gestodene) in order to trick the body into “thinking” that ovulation already took place and there is no need for the ovaries to release what is perceived by the body as yet another egg cell.

Role of oestrogen in oral contraceptives

Synthetic oestrogen is not always present in birth control pills. In fact, the whole category of oral contraceptives called mini-pills contains only synthetic progesterone and they are still successful in preventing unwanted pregnancy. The role of synthetic oestrogen in contraceptives such as Katya is twofold. First, they help preserve the hormonal balance and thus decrease the risk of experiencing side effects. And secondly, they contribute to the thickening of the cervical fluids as well as changing conditions along the uterine wall, thus making it harder for the sperm to reach the egg cell and also for the fertilised egg cell to implant into the womb. However, these measures mostly serve as backup options in case the primary contraceptive mechanism fails – which shouldn’t occur at all if you are using the treatment properly.

How reliable is Katya?

Katya is advertised as 99% efficient in preventing unwanted pregnancy, just like a majority of other birth control pills. However, as a combined contraceptive pill, Katya is somewhat more reliable than progesterone-only mini-pills. When used properly, it should, for all intends and purposes, completely eliminate risk of unwanted pregnancy, but 100% protection cannot be advertised due to risk of certain unforeseen circumstances or maybe unidentified conditions which can potentially impair the function of Katya pills.

However, there are also a number of identified medications and remedies which can adversely affect the efficiency of these birth control pills. So, in order to ensure maximum level of protection, you should pay special attention and if you have to take any of the following, be sure to use barrier contraception in case Katya efficiency has been compromised:

• Epilepsy medications
• Barbiturates
• HIV or AIDS treatments
• Antibiotics
• Antifungal medications
• St John’s wort

Can I buy Katya online in the UK?

Yes, it is possible to buy Katya birth control pills online. However, you should keep in mind that in the UK, contraceptive pills are prescription-only medications. As such, they can be obtained only with a valid prescription issued by a certified medical professional. However, this is no obstacle to buying Katya online. Thanks to numerous online clinics legally operating in the UK, you can easily consult with a doctor without leaving the comfort of your home.

After choosing the online clinic of your choice, you can use the functionality of the website to contact the doctor. Most commonly, you will be presented with a detailed and customised medical questionnaire that you will be asked to fill in. The doctor employed at the online clinic will use the information obtained that way to get a detailed insight into your medical condition and profile which will allow him to make an informed decision regarding your suitability for using Katya contraceptive pills.

If everything checks out, the prescription will be issued and used that very same moment to have the birth control pills delivered from the partner pharmacy to your address. Alternatively, the doctor might recommend you some other contraceptive pill available in the UK markets, including Levest, for example.

What are Katya side effects?

All prescription medications come with certain risk of side effects. And while not everyone using the medicine will necessarily experience some of these adverse effects, it is still important to get familiar with them so you will know how to act in case they do manifest. It is of uttermost importance to be able to differentiate between those side effects which might be as serious to require you to halt treatment and seek immediate medical attention and those which might be uncomfortable, but not really serious.

The side effects that are undoubtedly the most serious are allergic reaction, blood clot, breast or cervical cancer, heart attack, stroke or a serious liver disease. For additional information regarding the symptoms of these, please consult the official patient information leaflet that is issued within every pack of Katya contraceptive pills.

Other documented side effects of Katya include:

Please note that this is not a complete list of all documented side effects. For a more comprehensive overview, please refer to the official patient information leaflet that you can find within your pack of Katya contraceptive pills.