The New Progesterone-Only Mini Pill Is Way Less Likely To Give You Blood Clots

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A new mini pill has launched today – its name is Slinda and it has a lower risk of blood clots and is liberated from that pesky three-hour window that other mini pills have.

How is this one different?

Slinda is a progesterone-only pill which can be taken within a 24-hour window. The original pill was progesterone-only but it caused heavy periods. “So back in the 1950s, they worked out that you add a little bit of oestrogen into the mix, you could control the bleeding better,” says Dr Terri Foran, Sexual Health Physician and Conjoint Senior Lecturer at UNSW.

“But it’s the estrogen in the pill that’s associated with most of the worrying side effects, particularly the big ones – things like [blood] clots in the legs or the lungs and stroke and heart disease and those sorts of things — they all oestrogen related,” says Dr Foran.

So by taking estrogen out of the mix, it becomes safer for people who have high blood pressure, who are at risk of blood clots, who smoke or have a higher BMI, along with women who get migraines with aura (sensitives to light and sound, along with dizziness).

Since the discussion around vaccine-related blood clots has increased during the pandemic, some women have reconsidered the risks of clots from the contraceptive pill, “even though the causes are actually quite different,” says Dr Foran. But this new Slinda pill doesn’t carry the same clotting risks. “In the studies we’ve done there were no blood clots.”

Dr Foran also points out that the new Slinda pill has a mild diuretic effect. “So some women late in their cycle also get things like breast tenderness and fluid retention, [constipation] and that sort of thing. And that should be helped a little bit by the hormone in this pill.”

Less hormones

As a mini pill, Slinda has a lower dose of hormones, which Dr Foran says she is seeing young women increasingly ask for. Currently the only internal contraceptive that has no hormones is the copper IUD, but it also causes heavier periods. The Mirena has low and localised hormones, but isn’t ideal for everyone as it’s a long acting option. “And I think this [Slinda pill] probably fits in there,” says Dr Fora.

But a couple of notes

Clinical studies found that Slinda use can be associated with increases in acne, abnormal bleeding, headaches and breast pain. Also, Slinda doesn’t come under PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme)so it will probably cost around $30 a month.

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For more on the pill, read our interviews with women who shared their experiences of what happened when they stopped taking the pill right here.