ellaOne - morning after pill

Taking ellaOne can sometimes give you a headache, tummy ache, make you feel nauseous or be sick. It can also make your next period earlier, later or more painful than usual.

ellaOne is only effective if taken before ovulation. ellaOne, when compared with Levonorgestrel, has been shown to continue being effective later in the menstrual cycle.

You can take ellaOne more than once in a menstrual cycle, however it’s important to remember it shouldn't be used as your regular form of contraception. 

Some women may bleed after taking ellaOne, but it is a small percentage (less than 10%). In most cases the bleeding is just spotting.   

The only way of knowing if the morning after pill has worked is when your next period arrives.

After taking the tablet, it is normal for your next period to be a few days late. However, you may be pregnant if:

• Your period is more than 7 days late
• Your period is unusually light or unusually heavy
• You experience symptoms such as abdominal (stomach) pain, breast tenderness, vomiting or nausea

You should do a pregnancy test right away. If you are pregnant, it is important that you see your doctor.

If you’ve taken ellaOne you should wait at least 5 days before taking your next contraceptive pill. Make sure you use another form of contraception, such as condoms, if you have sex prior to restarting your pill. ellaOne can make contraceptive pills and patches less effective, even if you’re using hormonal contraception, you should use condoms every time you have sex until your next period.  

ellaOne only protects against pregnancy, not sexually transmitted infections (STIs). If you have had unprotected sex, you may be at risk of having an STI.

If you are worried you might have a STI, you can visit our STI test clinic for advice, at-home tests and treatments.

If you would like to avoid a face to face appointment or need emergency contraception quickly, you can request the morning after pill through us. You can also access the morning after pill through the NHS and most high street pharmacies. Find out more about where you can get the morning after pill.

No, men cannot buy the morning after pill. When you request the morning after pill either through an online doctor or in a pharmacy, you have to answer a series of questions to assess your suitability for it. 

Taking ellaOne should not affect fertility, even when taken regularly. 

You should be able to take ellaOne alongside other medicines. However, it is important that you let us know which prescription, over-the-counter medicines and recreational drugs you are taking so that we can prescribe ellaOne safely.

You might be wondering about ellaOne and alcohol. There is no evidence to suggest that alcohol interacts with the effectiveness of ellaOne.

An effective alternative to the morning after pill is the copper coil (also known as an intrauterine device (IUD). This can be fitted by a trained medical professional but must be done within 5 days of unprotected sex to be effective.

We recommend taking the morning after pill, even if you wish to have a coil fitted, in case this doesn't happen within 5 days or unprotected sex.