Alternatives To Vestura

fearc asked

Hi! I have been on the birth control Vestura for a couple years and have loved it. Sadly they discontinued it recently and the pharmacy gave me Gianvi. So far I have only been on Gianvi a little over 1 month and my face has broken out horribly. I haven't had acne like this since high school. My question is which of the other Yaz generics would be the most similar to Vestura? What are the active/inactive ingredients in Vestura and how do they compare to Gianvi?

Answer

It can often be difficult to find a good alternative prescription product if the one you are taking is discontinued. Unfortunately, this happens with relative frequency when it comes to birth control pill products.

Vestura, a birth control pill product that is rated as therapeutically equivalent to Yaz by the FDA, has been discontinued and is no longer on the market. Therefore, if you want to stay on an equivalent Yaz generic, you must try an alternative product.

Regarding Gianvi (another Yaz generic), we have another article discussing the product and how it differs from Yaz:

• Are Yaz And Gianvi The Same?

Below are some of the highlights of that article:

• Yaz and Gianvi are rated by the FDA as therapeutic equivalents, and they can legally be substituted for each other.
• Yaz and Gianvi contain the same active ingredients (Drospirenone 3 mg Ethinyl Estradiol 0.02 mg) but contain different inactive ingredients.
• Some individuals report seeing differences in efficacy or side effects when switched from one generic to another.

If you are curious about how generic drugs or equivalency ratings work, the FDA has extensive information which can be found on their website.

In addition, they provide online access to the FDA Orange Book, which lists approved drug products and therapeutic equivalents (if they are available).

Available Generic Products Equivalent To Yaz

Below is the list of currently available products that are FDA approved generic equivalents to Yaz:

• Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol 3mg-0.02mg (Glenmark Pharmaceuticals)
• Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol 3mg-0.02mg (Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
• Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol 3mg-0.02mg (Nivagen Pharmaceuticals)
• Gianvi 3mg-0.02mg (Teva Pharmaceuticals)
• Loryna Tablet (Xiromed LLC)
• Nikki 28-Day (Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc)

Since Vestura is no longer on the market, you only have the above list to choose from in regard to an alternative.

Vestura Ingredients

Just like Yaz, Vestura contains 24 'active' (hormone-containing) pills and 4 'inactive' pills:

Active Pill Ingredients

• Drospirenone 3 mg
• Ethinyl Estradiol 0.02 mg
• Corn Starch
• FD&C Red No. 40
• Lactose
• Magnesium Stearate
• Pregelatinized Starch
• Vitamin E

Inactive Pill Ingredients

• FD&C Yellow No. 6
• Lactose
• Magnesium Stearate
• Microcrystalline Cellulose

Which Yaz Generic Is Most Similar To Vestura?

In this case, we will take 'most similar' to mean which Yaz generic contains the most comparable inactive ingredients (since the number and amount of active ingredients are always the same in FDA rated therapeutically equivalent products).

Looking through the ingredient lists for each product, 'Nikki' shares many similarities (but does not contain dyes):

Active Pill Ingredients

• Drospirenone 3 mg
• Ethinyl Estradiol 0.02 mg
• Corn Starch
• Ferric Oxide
• Hypromellose
• Lactose
• Magnesium Stearate
• Pregelatinized Corn Starch
• Talc
• Titanium Dioxide

Inactive Pill Ingredients

• Corn Starch
• Hypromellose
• Lactose
• Magnesium Stearate
• Polyethylene Glycol
• Pregelatinized Starch
• Titanium Dioxide
  

Each Yaz generic that we listed above is hyperlinked to their respective information page on DailyMed, where you can review their ingredients.

Final Words

If your pharmacy switched you to a generic product that you're not tolerating well (Gianvi in this case), speak with your pharmacist regarding whether or not any of the other approved equivalents are available to you (Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol products, Loryna or Nikki).