Changing My Start Date

You may wish to change your start date for any number of reasons – maybe you don’t want to get your period during that holiday you’ve planned for next month. With the Pill, you can adjust your start date easily.

Finish your current pack of Mercilon, making sure not to miss any of your pills. Now choose your new start day – it must be within seven days of your last pill. Then continue with the new pack as you normally would, taking one pill daily at around the same time every day.

Here’s an example if you want to change your start day from a Friday to a Sunday. You should finish your last pill on a Thursday. You don’t take any pills on Friday and Saturday, and only begin your next pack on Sunday.

With your new start date, you hormone-free period will be less than the usual seven days. Just be aware that this means you may or may not get your period.

The most important thing to remember is not to let your hormone-free period go beyond seven days. This would compromise Mercilon’s contraceptive effect, and you would then have to use a backup contraceptive while you’re off the pill for a full month after you start a new pack.