Buy Duphaston Online - Order Dydrogesterone 10mg Original Abbott Brand for Pregnancy Support & HRT
Duphaston is the original Abbott brand of dydrogesterone 10 mg tablets - a unique oral progestogen occupying a distinctive position in gynecological pharmacology as the only widely-used retroprogesterone derivative. Manufactured by Abbott Laboratories (originally developed by Solvay Pharmaceuticals before Abbott acquisition), Duphaston has been continuously prescribed for over 60 years since its introduction in 1961 and remains the preferred oral progestogen across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe for a comprehensive range of gynecological conditions and pregnancy support indications.
Dydrogesterone possesses a uniquely favorable pharmacological profile that distinguishes it from other progestogens available on the market. As a stereoisomer of natural progesterone with retro-structural configuration, dydrogesterone provides highly selective progesterone receptor activity without the androgenic, estrogenic, glucocorticoid, or mineralocorticoid side effects associated with many synthetic progestins. This selectivity translates to superior tolerability with minimal metabolic effects, no impact on lipid profiles, no clinically significant impact on glucose metabolism, and no undesirable virilizing effects on female patients or their fetuses during pregnancy therapy.
Duphaston addresses an exceptionally broad clinical spectrum including threatened miscarriage, recurrent pregnancy loss, luteal phase insufficiency, endometriosis, premenstrual syndrome, secondary amenorrhea, irregular menstrual cycles, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea, and as the progestogen component in hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women. The 10 mg tablet strength enables flexible dosing across all indications from 10 mg daily for HRT to 40 mg loading followed by 10 mg every 8 hours for threatened miscarriage.
Duphaston is available in five pack sizes - 20, 30, 40, 50, and 100 tablets - accommodating different treatment protocols from short cyclic courses through extended long-term therapy. The 50-tablet pack is the bestseller reflecting the most common monthly cyclic dosing regimens. Each Duphaston tablet contains 10 mg pure dydrogesterone in Abbott's original quality-controlled formulation trusted by gynecologists worldwide for pregnancy support and menstrual disorder management.
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Dydrogesterone exhibits pure progestogenic activity without androgenic, estrogenic, glucocorticoid, or mineralocorticoid effects - distinguishing it from most other synthetic progestins that have secondary hormonal activities. This selectivity translates to superior tolerability profile including no impact on lipid metabolism, no androgenic effects on the mother or fetus during pregnancy therapy, and no adverse effects on glucose tolerance. Oral bioavailability approximately 28 percent with peak plasma concentration at 0.5-2.5 hours. Duphaston is manufactured by Abbott Laboratories following pharmaceutical manufacturing standards ensuring precise 10 mg dydrogesterone content per tablet.
- Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: Two or more consecutive miscarriages requiring luteal phase support in future pregnancies;
- Habitual Abortion: Historical term for recurrent early pregnancy loss requiring hormonal supplementation during subsequent gestation;
- Luteal Phase Insufficiency: Inadequate corpus luteum progesterone production during second half of menstrual cycle affecting implantation;
- Endometriosis: Painful gynecological condition where endometrial tissue grows outside the uterine cavity causing pelvic pain;
- Premenstrual Syndrome: Cyclic physical and emotional symptoms occurring in the week before menstruation from hormonal fluctuations;
- Secondary Amenorrhea: Absence of menstruation for three or more months in previously menstruating reproductive age women;
- Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding: Abnormal heavy or irregular menstrual bleeding without underlying organic pelvic pathology;
- Irregular Menstrual Cycles: Menstruation occurring at unpredictable intervals due to hormonal imbalance affecting normal ovulation;
- Dysmenorrhea: Painful menstrual cramping caused by uterine contractions during monthly bleeding episodes affecting daily activities;
- Oligomenorrhea: Infrequent menstruation with cycles longer than 35 days indicating ovulatory dysfunction and hormonal imbalance;
- Hormone Replacement Therapy: Postmenopausal estrogen supplementation requiring progestogen opposition to protect the uterine lining from hyperplasia;
- Endometrial Hyperplasia Prevention: Prevention of abnormal uterine lining overgrowth from unopposed estrogen exposure during hormone therapy;
- IVF Luteal Support: Progestogen supplementation during assisted reproductive technology cycles supporting embryo implantation and early pregnancy;
- Infertility from Luteal Defect: Difficulty conceiving associated with inadequate luteal phase progesterone affecting endometrial receptivity for implantation;
- Menstrual Disorders: Broad category of cycle irregularities including timing frequency and flow abnormalities responding to hormonal regulation;
- Anovulatory Cycles: Menstrual cycles occurring without ovulation causing progesterone deficiency and cycle irregularities requiring hormonal support;
- Breakthrough Bleeding: Unscheduled uterine bleeding occurring between expected menstrual periods during hormonal therapy or contraceptive use;
- Progesterone Deficiency: Insufficient natural progesterone production affecting fertility menstrual regularity and pregnancy maintenance in reproductive age women;
- Pregnancy Support Therapy: Hormonal supplementation during high-risk early pregnancy to reduce miscarriage risk and support gestation continuation.
- Improves Successful Pregnancy Outcomes: Higher live birth rates in women with recurrent pregnancy loss receiving early progestogen therapy;
- Endometriosis Pain Relief: Reduces pelvic pain dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia from endometriosis through continuous progestogen suppression;
- Regulates Menstrual Cycles: Restores predictable monthly bleeding patterns through cyclic progestogen administration in irregular cycle disorders;
- Reduces PMS Symptoms: Improves mood physical comfort and cyclic complaints during luteal phase in premenstrual syndrome therapy;
- Restores Fertility: Improves conception outcomes in women with documented luteal phase insufficiency through progesterone supplementation;
- No Androgenic Effects: Zero virilizing effects on mother or female fetus unlike many other synthetic progestin therapies;
- No Estrogenic Activity: Pure progestogen effect without estrogen related breast tenderness fluid retention or thromboembolic risk;
- No Glucocorticoid Activity: Zero adrenal suppression or immune related effects during short or long term dydrogesterone therapy;
- Weight Neutral Therapy: Does not cause weight gain unlike many synthetic progestins causing significant fluid retention and appetite changes;
- Neutral Lipid Profile: No adverse impact on HDL LDL cholesterol or triglyceride levels during long term hormone therapy;
- Neutral Glucose Metabolism: No clinically significant effect on blood sugar insulin sensitivity or diabetes control during therapy;
- Oral Tablet Convenience: Easy oral administration avoiding vaginal or injectable progesterone alternatives during pregnancy support and cycle therapy;
- Restores Ovulatory Cycles: Reestablishment of normal ovulation in women with anovulation improving fertility and cycle regularity;
- Endometrial Protection HRT: Prevention of endometrial hyperplasia during postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy protecting uterine lining safely;
- Reduces Heavy Bleeding: Controlled menstrual flow in dysfunctional uterine bleeding through cyclic hormonal balance restoration and endometrial stabilization;
- Safe During Pregnancy: Only oral progestogen widely approved for pregnancy support indications with over 60 years safety experience;
- Excellent Tolerability Profile: Minimal side effects compared to other progestogen therapies for gynecological conditions and pregnancy support;
- Original Abbott Brand Quality: Manufactured by Abbott Laboratories original brand identity with pharmaceutical quality standards trusted worldwide;
- Better Quality of Life: Successful pregnancy support endometriosis pain relief and cycle regularization dramatically improve quality of life.
Generic Duphaston (Dydrogesterone 10 mg) Medication guide:
🧭 Meet Duphaston - Dydrogesterone for Cycles, Pregnancy and HRT
👋 Duphaston is the brand name of dydrogesterone, a progestogen taken by mouth. A progestogen is a hormone that acts like progesterone, the hormone your ovaries make in the second half of the cycle and the placenta makes in pregnancy. 💊 The page sells it as a 10 mg tablet in packs of 20 to 100, and the tablet is round, white and scored, with the number 155 pressed into one side.
📋 What the tablet is licensed for depends on the country. The Irish label lists conditions linked to low progesterone: painful periods, endometriosis, infertility, irregular cycles and premenstrual syndrome. With an estrogen it is also used for abnormal bleeding, missing periods and menopause hormone therapy. 🌱 The Israeli label from Abbott adds threatened and repeated miscarriage. That difference matters, and a whole block of this guide is about it.
🧪 The sources behind this guide are the Irish and Israeli product labels, two Cochrane reviews, the two Lotus trials in IVF, a placebo-controlled trial in 406 women with early bleeding, the French cohort on breast cancer and a 2024 national study on meningioma. 🔎 Where the Duphaston page says more than they do, this guide says so, and the table shows the main places.
| 📋 What the Duphaston page says | 📝 What the sources say | 🚦 Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Only oral progestogen widely approved for pregnancy support | The Irish label has no miscarriage indication at all. The Israeli label has one. Other oral progestogens are used in other countries | Depends on the country |
| Zero adrenal suppression, zero virilizing effects | The label calls the drug non-androgenic, non-estrogenic, non-corticoid and non-anabolic, which supports the idea, though not the word zero | Mostly supported |
| Safe during pregnancy | No sign of harm after more than 10 million exposures, but the label still says use it in pregnancy only when clearly indicated, and the hypospadias question is not closed | Reasonable, not absolute |
| Reduces miscarriage risk | Older small trials said yes. The best placebo trial said 12.8 against 14.3 percent, which is no real difference | Contested |
| Restores ovulatory cycles and fertility | The label says the drug does not suppress ovulation. It does not say it starts ovulation | Overstated |
| 40 mg first, then 10 mg every 8 hours | This is the Israeli label regimen and the one used in the Hong Kong trial | Matches a label |
⚠️ How to use this guide.
🔹 It does not replace a diagnosis dydrogesterone only helps when the problem is a shortage of progesterone, and a bleeding problem needs its cause found first.
🔹 Doses are quoted from labels they show what regulators accepted, not what suits you.
🔹 Pregnancy use is the weakest part of the evidence the guide treats it with that in mind.
Related reading: Susten (progesterone), Provera, Aygestin and getting the menstrual cycle back on track.
🧬 How Dydrogesterone Differs From Natural Progesterone
🧬 Dydrogesterone belongs to a small family called retroprogesterones. It has the same building blocks as progesterone, but part of the molecule is flipped in space and it carries one extra double bond. 🔬 The label points out what that buys: it works by mouth and it lacks the 17-hydroxy group that gives other progestins estrogen-like or androgen-like side actions.
💊 Dydrogesterone
💠 Tablet, taken by mouth. About 28 percent of a dose reaches the blood, and the main active product is called DHD
🛡️ No estrogen, androgen, corticoid or anabolic action according to the label
🔁 Does not stop ovulation, so it is used in the second half of the cycle
🌿 Micronized progesterone
🎯 The same molecule the body makes. Taken as a vaginal capsule or gel, or as an oral capsule in some countries
📍 The progestogen behind the UK guideline for early bleeding after a previous miscarriage, used vaginally
🛒 On this site: Susten
🧪 Other synthetic progestins
📚 Different chemical families. Medroxyprogesterone acetate belongs to the 17-hydroxyprogesterone group and norethisterone to the 19-nortestosterone group
⚖️ Different side actions. Some have androgen-like effects that dydrogesterone lacks
📘 This split comes from the classification by Schindler and colleagues, which places dydrogesterone alone in the retroprogesterone class. 🧩 It explains why doctors reach for it when they want a progestogen without androgen-type effects such as acne, and why it is not simply interchangeable with the others on the list.
💡 Two points that save confusion.
🔹 Natural does not mean better micronized progesterone and dydrogesterone each have trials in IVF, and neither wins outright.
🔹 Retro does not mean reversed the name describes the shape of the molecule, not the way the drug acts in the body.
⏱️ How Long One Duphaston Tablet Works in the Body
⏱️ After a tablet is swallowed the drug is turned into a second compound, 20-dihydrodydrogesterone (DHD), within about an hour and a half. DHD is the main active product and its blood level is about 25 times higher than that of the parent drug. 📈 That explains why the half-lives below matter more than the dose.
💡 A half-life of 14 to 17 hours fits the two doses a day that the label asks for in most cycle schedules, and it means the first days of treatment may behave differently from the fourth. 📌 Steady levels are reached after about 3 days, so a bleeding pattern judged on day 2 is not the pattern you will live with.
| 📏 Measure | 🔢 Value on the label | 💡 What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute bioavailability | 28 percent (20 mg by mouth against 7.8 mg by vein) | Most of the dose is broken down before it reaches the blood, which is normal for hormones taken by mouth |
| Peak level after 10 mg | Parent drug 2.1 ng/mL, DHD 53 ng/mL | DHD does most of the work |
| Protein binding | More than 90 percent | Little free drug is floating about at any moment |
| Elimination | 63 percent of the dose in urine, finished within 72 hours | No build-up in the body between cycles |
| Dose range tested | 2.5 mg to 10 mg, levels rise in proportion | Doubling the dose roughly doubles the exposure |
✅ What this means at the kitchen table.
🔹 Spread the tablets evenly the label says higher daily doses should be taken evenly across the day.
🔹 Do not judge it by day two give the schedule at least a cycle before deciding it fails.
🔹 Missed tablets matter more than late ones see the section on missed doses for the 12 hour rule.
📅 Which Cycle Days to Take Duphaston
📅 Duphaston is a cycle-timed medicine. Most schedules say take it from day 11 to day 25, which means you count from the first day of full bleeding as day 1 and start the tablets on day 11. 🧭 Skipping the first ten days is deliberate: the first half of the cycle belongs to estrogen.
📝 The schedules differ by condition, and the two labels do not always agree. The table follows the Irish label, with the Israeli variant where it differs. 🔎 If you are told something else by your doctor, the doctor knows your chart and the label does not.
| 📋 Condition | 🗓️ Schedule on the label | 💡 Note |
|---|---|---|
| Irregular cycles | 10 mg twice daily, day 11 to 25 | Israeli label: 1 tablet daily, day 11 to 25 |
| Missing periods (secondary amenorrhea) | 10 mg twice daily, day 11 to 25 | Only works if the lining is already primed with estrogen |
| Premenstrual syndrome | 10 mg twice daily, day 12 to 26 (Irish) or 11 to 26 (Israeli) | The dose may be raised if needed |
| Painful periods | 10 mg twice daily, day 5 to 25 | Israeli label: 1 to 2 tablets daily |
| Endometriosis | 10 mg two to three times daily, day 5 to 25, or continuously | Israeli label: start at the highest dose |
| Infertility from a short luteal phase | 10 mg twice daily, day 11 to 25, for at least 3 cycles | Israeli label: day 14 to 25 for at least 6 cycles |
| Menopause hormone therapy | 10 mg once daily for the last 14 days of each 28 day estrogen cycle | Raised to twice daily if bleeding starts early |
📌 Dose counts add up quickly. Twice daily on days 11 to 25 uses 30 tablets per cycle, and day 5 to 25 uses 42 tablets. 💰 The pack and price section shows what that means in money.
🔁 Duphaston for Irregular or Missing Periods
🔁 Irregular periods and missing periods are the most common reasons for a first Duphaston prescription. Dydrogesterone has one job here: to turn the lining of the womb from growing to ripe, so that it sheds when the tablets stop. 💡 That only works if the lining has already grown under estrogen, which is the first thing to check.
📘 The Irish label puts it plainly: bleeding after the course occurs if the lining has been primed with estrogen, whether made by the body or taken as a medicine. A withdrawal bleed is therefore both a treatment effect and a small test.
- 🧪 Ask about thyroid and prolactin tests if cycles are irregular without an obvious cause. A raised prolactin level is treated differently, see Dostinex (general advice)
- 📆 Keep a simple cycle diary for 2 to 3 months before the visit: first day of bleeding, length, heaviness, spotting
- 💊 Bring the full list of your medicines, including supplements and herbal products, because some of them weaken Duphaston
- 🚫 Do not repeat the course on your own if there was no bleeding. That is a signal to be tested, not a reason for another round
💧 Duphaston for Heavy or Unpredictable Bleeding
💧 Abnormal uterine bleeding is on the label under the older name dysfunctional uterine bleeding. The idea is simple. When ovulation does not happen, the lining keeps growing under estrogen with no progesterone to stabilise it, and it sheds in an erratic, sometimes heavy way. Dydrogesterone supplies the missing signal.
🛑 Do not start Duphaston for bleeding that has not been explained.
🔹 Undiagnosed irregular vaginal bleeding is a contraindication the Irish label lists it, and the Israeli label does too.
🔹 The label asks for the cause to be found first an organic cause such as a polyp, fibroid or a thickened lining has to be excluded.
🔹 Bleeding after menopause always needs an examination before any hormone is given.
✅ The label also says blood loss falls considerably within a few days. ⏰ That is your marker: if heavy bleeding goes on well past that point, call the clinic rather than extending the course yourself.
🥚 Duphaston for a Short Luteal Phase and Infertility
🥚 The luteal phase is the stretch between ovulation and the next period, usually 12 to 14 days. When progesterone is low in this stretch the lining may not hold an early pregnancy. 💡 Duphaston is given in that window as a substitute for the missing progesterone, and it is one of the few progestogens that does not interfere with ovulation.
| 📋 Label | 🗓️ Schedule | ⏳ How long |
|---|---|---|
| Irish label (Mylan) | 10 mg twice daily on days 11 to 25 of the cycle | At least 3 consecutive cycles |
| Israeli label (Abbott) | 1 tablet daily on days 14 to 25 of the cycle | At least 6 consecutive cycles, then the early months of pregnancy at the habitual loss dose |
⚠️ The weak point is on the first chip. Dydrogesterone does not cause ovulation. If a cycle has no ovulation, the tablets cannot repair that, and a different drug is needed: see Clomid, Clofert or Fertomid for the clomiphene group, always under a doctor. 🔎 A simple ovulation test helps you see whether the first chip is happening: how to use an ovulation test.
⚠️ An honest note on luteal phase defect.
🔹 The diagnosis itself is debated no single blood test or biopsy has been accepted as a reliable way to prove it (general medical knowledge).
🔹 Treatment is often given on suspicion which means the label schedule is an attempt, not a guaranteed repair.
🔹 Check for other causes first thyroid, prolactin, sperm quality and tubal factors are all easier to test than the luteal phase.
🔥 Duphaston for Endometriosis, Period Pain and PMS
🔥 Three conditions share one list on the label, and they do not share the same evidence. A short look at each helps set expectations. 🧩 The label doses are real and the usage is widespread, but the trial base is thin.
🩺 Endometriosis
📋 Label: 10 mg two or three times a day, days 5 to 25 or continuously
🧪 Trial: in 1994, 62 women with minimal to mild disease took 40 or 60 mg for 12 days of each cycle for 6 months. Pain fell on 60 mg and stayed down at 12 months, but the disease and the pregnancy rate did not change
📚 Review: 19 studies in 1,709 women, rated very low quality, with possible advantages over some alternatives
🩹 Period pain
📋 Label: 10 mg twice daily, days 5 to 25
🔎 Evidence: the sources used for this guide did not include a controlled trial for this use
💡 In practice: simple pain relief and heat are tried first (general advice)
🧠 PMS
📋 Label: 10 mg twice daily, day 11 or 12 to day 26
📚 Evidence: a 2022 safety review found studies in endometriosis and PMS to be scarce
💡 In practice: a two cycle trial with a symptom diary shows whether it helps you
📌 In plain terms, Duphaston does not cure endometriosis and does not shrink it in the trial that looked. It can reduce pain for some women while on treatment. ✅ That is a real benefit, and it is worth separating from the claim that it treats the disease itself.
📘 Where to read more.
🔹 Endometriosis when hormones drive pain and how balance restores control and what drugs are used to treat it.
🔹 Painful periods what dysmenorrhea is and how to treat it.
⚖️ Duphaston and Threatened Miscarriage - What Placebo Trials Found
🌱 Threatened miscarriage means bleeding in early pregnancy while the pregnancy is still alive on the scan. Duphaston has been given for it for decades, and the Israeli label includes a regimen. 🔎 The question that matters is whether the tablets change the outcome, and the best test of that is a trial against placebo.
📊 The trial used exactly the label regimen: 40 mg first, then 10 mg three times a day until 12 completed weeks or one week after the bleeding stopped. ⚖️ Miscarriage was 26 of 203 on the drug and 29 of 203 on placebo, and live births were 81.3 against 83.3 percent.
| 📚 Source | 🔢 Result | 🚦 How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong trial, 2021 (Chan) | 406 women. Miscarriage 12.8 vs 14.3 percent, relative risk 0.90 (0.55 to 1.47) | No benefit seen, but a smaller true benefit cannot be fully ruled out |
| Thai trial, 2024 (Kuptarak) | 100 women, 20 mg a day. Pregnancy continued past 20 weeks in 90 vs 86 percent | Small, no significant difference |
| Cochrane review, 2018 (Wahabi) | 7 trials, 696 women, any progestogen against placebo or nothing: miscarriage risk ratio 0.64 (0.47 to 0.87) | Moderate evidence of a benefit, but six of the seven trials had a high risk of bias, and it predates the Hong Kong trial |
| Cochrane network review, 2021 (Devall) | Dydrogesterone, one trial, 406 women: live birth risk ratio 0.98 (0.89 to 1.07) | Probably little or no difference in live birth |
💡 Why older summaries looked more hopeful.
🔹 Older trials were small a 2012 review pooled 5 trials in 660 women and found 13 against 24 percent miscarriage, with controls on bed rest or placebo.
🔹 Bed rest is not placebo comparing a tablet with nothing at all tends to flatter the tablet.
🔹 The newer trial was larger and blinded neither the women nor the doctors knew who had the drug.
What does have support: seeing an early pregnancy team for a scan and, in the UK guideline NG126 (2021), vaginal micronized progesterone for women who bleed and have also had a previous miscarriage. That guideline does not name dydrogesterone.
🔬 Duphaston for Repeated Miscarriage and a Retracted Trial
🔬 Recurrent miscarriage means three or more losses in a row. It is rare and distressing, and women are right to look for anything that could help. 📖 Dydrogesterone is offered for it in several countries, so the evidence deserves a careful look.
⚠️ A trial that many articles still cite was retracted.
🔹 Kumar 2014, Fertility and Sterility an Indian double-blind trial of oral dydrogesterone in recurrent pregnancy loss.
🔹 Retracted in 2023 the journal ASRM Publications Committee reviewed concerns about the accuracy of the data in Table 2, and the authors could not provide the original data to correct the errors.
🔹 What this means any page or article that still quotes that trial as proof rests on data the journal no longer vouches for.
| 📚 Source | 🔢 What it found | 🚦 Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Systematic review, 2015 (Carp) | 13 reports, 3 comparative trials, 509 women: miscarriage 10.5 vs 23.5 percent, odds ratio 0.29 | Encouraging on paper, but small studies and a mix of designs. We could not check if the retracted trial is in it |
| Cochrane network review, 2021 | Dydrogesterone against placebo in recurrent miscarriage: very low certainty, effect unclear | The honest answer is that nobody knows yet |
| Same review, vaginal micronized progesterone | 826 women (the PROMISE trial): live birth risk ratio 1.04 (0.95 to 1.15) | A large trial, and no benefit |
- 🧪 Find the cause first. Blood-clotting antibodies, uterine shape and thyroid disease can be tested and treated (general medical knowledge)
- 📅 Ask about the plan before pregnancy. The Israeli label says treatment should preferably start before conception
- 💬 Ask what the evidence is for your clinic recommendation. A good doctor will say if it is a trial-supported choice or a judgement call
- 🤝 Care and early scans matter. Frequent contact and reassurance have supported outcomes in studies of this group (general medical knowledge)
📋 Duphaston Pregnancy Doses on the Label and Their Limits
📋 Two labels, two different stories. The Irish label has no pregnancy regimen. The Israeli one does, and it is the source of the numbers that circulate online. 🔎 The sequence below follows the Israeli label for threatened miscarriage.
- 🩺 Confirm that the pregnancy is alive. The label says viability has to be checked before and during treatment
- 💊 Start with 4 tablets (40 mg) at once, then 1 tablet every 8 hours, spaced across the day
- 📈 If symptoms persist, add one tablet every 8 hours
- ⏳ Keep the effective dose for one week after symptoms stop, then reduce gradually
- 🔄 If symptoms come back, return at once to the dose that worked
| 📝 The page says | 📋 The label says | 💡 Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Threatened miscarriage: 40 mg load, then 10 mg every 8 hours | Same regimen on the Israeli label | Matches. The Hong Kong trial gave this schedule and found no benefit |
| Recurrent loss: through the first trimester | 1 tablet daily until week 20, then reduce slowly | The page also says through 20 weeks in a table. The two statements disagree |
| Endometriosis for 6 months or more | Days 5 to 25, or continuously, no duration given | The 6 months comes from a trial design, not the label |
| Twice daily dosing generally needed | Twice daily for most cycle schedules | Consistent |
💡 Three habits that protect you in pregnancy.
🔹 Never start from a web page a doctor should confirm the pregnancy with a scan first.
🔹 Keep the tablets even across the day spacing is part of the label instructions.
🔹 Tell every clinician you see including the one who delivers the baby, so the record is complete.
🌱 Is Duphaston Safe for the Baby After 10 Million Pregnancies
🌱 Safety is the question every pregnant woman asks, so the answer needs to be exact. The label estimates that more than 10 million pregnancies have been exposed and says there are no indications of a harmful effect. 📌 That is reassuring, and it is also not the same as proof in a controlled trial.
| 📚 Evidence | 📝 What it shows | 🚦 Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Label exposure estimate | More than 10 million pregnancies exposed, no indication of harm | Wide experience, but uncontrolled |
| Birth defect reports, 1977 to 2005 (Queisser-Luft) | 28 reports of a possible link, very different defects, no pattern | Reassuring for a spontaneous reporting system |
| Safety review, 2022 (Ott) | 32 clinical studies; no maternal complications or birth defects could be linked to its use in early pregnancy or IVF | Industry-linked authors, but systematic |
| Hypospadias | Some progestogens were linked to it in the literature; no conclusion can be drawn. In rats, high doses caused it | An open question, not a proven risk |
| Cochrane review, 2018 | Birth defects: risk ratio 0.70 (0.10 to 4.82), two trials, 337 infants, very low quality | Too few events to say |
💭 Anita Sharma, MD, FACOG, on what safe means here
When a patient asks whether it is safe, I separate two questions. Is the drug known to damage a baby? On the evidence we have, no pattern of harm has emerged after very wide use. Does it improve the outcome of the pregnancy? That is a different matter and the best trial says it may not. So I only agree to it when there is a clear reason, I keep the course as short as the label allows and I write it in the notes, so that the baby team knows. Reassurance is not a reason to take a drug that is unlikely to help.
✅ The label allows use when clearly indicated, and that wording is the right level of caution. 💬 If a clinic prescribes it, ask what the reason is, how long it will last, and who will stop it.
🧪 Duphaston in IVF - Oral Tablet Against Vaginal Progesterone
🧪 In IVF the ovaries are stimulated and the corpus luteum cannot be trusted to make enough progesterone, so luteal phase support is routine. The standard has been vaginal micronized progesterone. Abbott funded two large trials to test whether Duphaston by mouth could replace it.
📌 In both trials the tablet was non-inferior, which means it did not do worse than the comparator by more than a set margin. 🔢 Live births were 34.6 against 29.8 percent in Lotus I and 34.4 against 32.5 percent in Lotus II, and the authors of the first trial asked for caution on that outcome.
💊 Oral dydrogesterone
📆 30 mg a day, as 10 mg three times
👍 Easy to take, with no vaginal irritation or discharge
⚠️ More headache, dizziness, nausea and abdominal pain reported in studies
💧 Vaginal progesterone
📆 600 mg a day as capsules or 90 mg a day as gel
✅ The long-standing standard with the most experience
🚨 Local irritation and discharge, and some women dislike the route
| 📚 Study | 🔢 Result | 💡 Note |
|---|---|---|
| Meta-analysis, frozen transfers, 2025 (Stavridis) | 5 trials, 636 women. Ongoing pregnancy odds ratio 0.90 (0.59 to 1.35); live birth 1.08 (0.67 to 1.75) | Similar outcomes, low to moderate certainty |
| Lotus II design | Open label, because a placebo gel applicator was not possible | May bias subjective outcomes |
💬 Who chooses the protocol.
🔹 Your clinic decides IVF support is part of a protocol, and swapping drugs without telling the team can change the schedule of tests.
🔹 Ask about the plan for stopping most protocols continue to 10 or 12 weeks.
🍼 Duphaston and Breastfeeding - Why the Label Says Avoid It
🍼 Both labels give the same advice: dydrogesterone should not be used during breastfeeding. The reason is a gap, not a known harm. 🔍 No one has measured how much passes into milk, and other progestogens are known to pass in small amounts.
💡 So the real-world question is what a woman who is nursing and bleeds irregularly should do. 📑 The answer is a conversation with the doctor: options for cycle control and contraception in the months after birth are wide, and some are easier to match to breastfeeding than a drug with no milk data.
📋 What the labels say about the nursing period.
🔹 Irish label no data on excretion in milk; other progestogens pass in small quantities; whether this poses a risk to the child is not known; should not be used while breastfeeding.
🔹 Israeli label no research has been done on excretion in milk; the drug should not be used while breastfeeding.
🔹 Both agree the advice follows from missing data, not from a reported injury.
🗓️ If you are planning a pregnancy soon after delivery, or wish to start HRT later, say so at the visit. 📌 A plan made early avoids a gap where nothing is working.
🛡️ Duphaston Is Not a Contraceptive - Ovulation Continues
🛡️ The Israeli label states that dydrogesterone does not suppress ovulation, and that conception stays possible in women of childbearing age. 💡 That is the opposite of how a contraceptive works, and it is often misunderstood because the drug has a hormone name.
- 🥚 You can ovulate while taking it. The tablets work after ovulation, not instead of it
- 🚫 It gives no contraceptive cover. If you do not want a pregnancy, you need a method that does, such as a barrier method or a pill like Yasmin prescribed by your doctor
- 🧪 A late period on Duphaston needs a pregnancy test, because a missing bleed is not proof of anything
- 💬 If the test is positive, call the prescriber. The label allows use in pregnancy only when clearly indicated
⚠️ The opposite mistake.
🔹 It does not lower fertility either the Irish label says there is no evidence of a fall in fertility at therapeutic doses.
🔹 Does not mean it raises it the claim that it restores fertility has no support on either label.
📉 Reducing and Stopping Duphaston in Pregnancy
📉 If Duphaston was started for early bleeding, the label does not set a fixed stop date. It sets a rule that depends on symptoms, and the rule is worth knowing so you do not stop too early or carry on for months for no reason.
✅ What a calm stop looks like.
🔹 Bleeding has stopped for a week the label holds the dose for that long before any cut.
🔹 Dose falls step by step not a sudden stop.
🔹 A scan and a call you know who to ring and what counts as a reason to ring.
🧠 Headache, Migraine and Nausea on Duphaston
🧠 In the trials behind the labels, which covered 3,483 patients taking dydrogesterone without an estrogen, the most reported effects were headache or migraine, nausea, menstrual changes and breast pain. 📊 All four are rated common, meaning they affect between 1 in 100 and 1 in 10 users.
- ⚡ Headache or migraine — first on the label list of the most reported effects. It often fades after the first cycle, and a sudden change in a migraine pattern is worth a call
- 🍽️ Nausea — common, vomiting is less so. Taking the tablet with food usually helps (general advice)
- 💢 Breast pain or tenderness — usually mild and linked to the second half of the cycle, which is when the tablets are taken
- 📅 Cycle changes — spotting, heavier or lighter bleeds, a shorter or longer cycle. Often settles after the first months
- 🌀 Dizziness — less frequent, and mostly in the first hours after a dose
| 📋 Effect | 🛠️ What helps | 🚨 When to call |
|---|---|---|
| Headache | Regular meals, fluids, rest. Spacing doses evenly across the day | A migraine for the first time, or an exceptionally severe headache. The Israeli label says consider stopping |
| Nausea | Take with food, split doses more evenly | Vomiting that stops you keeping the tablets down |
| Breast tenderness | A supportive bra, cutting caffeine (general advice) | A new lump or discharge needs examination regardless of the tablets |
| Spotting | Wait, and keep a note of the dates | Spotting that persists after the first months, see the bleeding section |
💡 The usual pattern is that the nuisance effects come in the first one or two cycles, and settle. 📌 If they do not settle, say so: a lower dose or a different schedule is a normal answer.
🩹 Breakthrough Bleeding and Spotting on Duphaston
🩹 Both labels warn that breakthrough bleeding and spotting may occur during the first months. This is the effect people notice most, and it causes the most worry. 📌 The line between expected and not is about timing and amount.
🚨 Tier 1 — call the same day
Heavy bleeding that soaks a pad in an hour or two · dizziness or fainting · bleeding in pregnancy with severe one-sided pain or shoulder pain · a fever with bleeding
🟡 Tier 2 — tell the prescriber within a few days
Spotting that continues after the first months · spotting that carries on after treatment is stopped · bleeding after sex · a change in pattern after a stable spell
🟢 Tier 3 — usually expected
Light spotting in the first cycles · a lighter or heavier period than before · a period a few days early or late · spotting around the day the tablets start
🔎 The label itself spells out the reason for Tier 2: if the bleeding continues after some time on therapy, or after treatment has stopped, the cause should be looked for, which may include an endometrial biopsy to rule out cancer of the lining. ✅ It is rare, and it is a check not a verdict.
✅ What helps with the first months.
🔹 Take the tablets at the same hours a steady level cuts down erratic bleeding.
🔹 Do not skip doses the label notes that missed tablets raise the chance of breakthrough bleeding.
🔹 Write the dates down a short diary makes the visit useful.
🚨 Duphaston Side Effects by How Often They Occur
🚨 The label sorts effects by how often they occurred in the trials, with 3,483 patients taking dydrogesterone for indications that did not include an estrogen. 📝 Effects reported only after the drug was on the market are classed as rare, even when they were never seen in a trial, because the sample was not large enough to see them.
| 📊 How often | 📋 Effects listed | 💡 What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Common (1 in 100 to 1 in 10) | Headache, migraine, nausea, menstrual disorders (spotting, heavy, scanty or irregular bleeding, painful periods), breast pain or tenderness | Usually fade. Report if severe or persistent |
| Uncommon (1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100) | Depressed mood, dizziness, vomiting, abnormal liver function with tiredness, jaundice or abdominal pain, allergic skin reaction (rash, itch, hives), weight gain | Call the prescriber. Yellow skin or eyes need a same-week review |
| Rare (1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000) | Growth of a progestogen-dependent tumour such as meningioma, haemolytic anaemia, allergy, drowsiness, swelling of the face or lips (angioedema), breast swelling, worse porphyria, fluid swelling | Stop and get advice. Swelling of the face or lips is an emergency |
🛑 Stop the tablet and get medical advice at once if:
🔹 The face, lips or tongue swell or breathing becomes hard. This is angioedema, listed as rare.
🔹 Skin or eyes turn yellow the label links liver function changes to jaundice and abdominal pain.
🔹 Signs of a blood clot a swollen painful leg, sudden chest pain or breathlessness.
🔹 A migraine or an exceptionally severe headache that is new, or any sign of poor brain blood flow.
💬 Add to this list the effects that appear when Duphaston is taken with an estrogen: breast cancer, endometrial changes, blood clots, heart attack and stroke. Those come from the estrogen-progestogen combination, and they are covered in their own sections.
💛 Duphaston and Your Liver - Warning Signs and Checks
💛 Liver changes are listed as uncommon on the Irish label and described as seen infrequently, sometimes with clinical symptoms. 🔎 Two different rules apply, and they sound close but are not the same.
| 📋 Situation | 📝 What the Irish label says | 📝 What the Israeli label says |
|---|---|---|
| Acute or past liver disease | Use with caution until liver function tests have returned to normal | Contraindicated for serious liver disorders, or a history of them, until the values are normal |
| Severe hepatic impairment | Treatment should be discontinued | Contraindicated (see above) |
| Signs during treatment | Abnormal liver function, with tiredness, malaise, jaundice or abdominal pain, is possible | Disturbed liver function with jaundice, tiredness or abdominal pain |
| Liver problem in earlier pregnancy | Closely supervised | Cholestatic jaundice and severe itching in pregnancy are monitored conditions |
📑 Emily Chen, MD, MPH, on liver tests with hormones
Most of the liver questions I get with a hormone tablet are about a blood test that is slightly off, not about jaundice. My approach is to repeat it once, in 4 to 6 weeks, with a list of everything else the patient takes, including supplements and herbal products. If it settles, we carry on. If it climbs, or if there is itching, dark urine or pale stools, I stop the hormone and look for another cause. The label wording of caution and then discontinue is a sensible way to run it in practice.
🟡 Tier 1 — stop the tablet and be seen the same day or the next
Yellow skin or eyes · dark urine with pale stools · severe abdominal pain with vomiting · itching all over together with tiredness
🧴 Tier 2 — call the prescriber within a week
Unusual tiredness with mild abdominal pain, the combination named on the label · nausea that does not settle · a liver test that came back raised
📑 Tier 3 — mention it at the next visit
A past liver illness that has fully resolved · regular use of alcohol or of other medicines that load the liver · a family history of liver disease
🚗 Drowsiness, Mood and Driving on Duphaston
🚗 The Irish label lists a minor influence on driving and machines. Dydrogesterone may rarely cause mild drowsiness or dizziness, especially within the first hours after taking it. 💡 That means timing matters more than the dose.
- 🕥 Watch the first two to three hours after a tablet, the window the label names for drowsiness and dizziness
- 🌙 Evening dosing can fit better if you notice drowsiness. Ask the prescriber before moving a dose (general advice)
- 🧠 Low mood is listed as uncommon. The Israeli label says patients with a history of depression need close monitoring, and the tablet should be stopped if severe depression returns
- 📓 Track mood on the tablet days if you have a history of PMS or depression, because the same days may carry both
⚠️ Mood is a two-way question.
🔹 PMS and low mood overlap the schedule for PMS runs from day 11 or 12 to day 26, the same days in which the symptoms occur.
🔹 A change of tablet is not a failure if mood gets worse on treatment, tell the prescriber and do not push on.
🔹 Severe mood changes need care thoughts of self-harm call for urgent help.
📌 Porphyria is also flagged on both labels as a condition to supervise, because it can worsen. 💬 If you have ever been told you have porphyria, say so before the first tablet.
🩸 Blood Clots and Stroke When Duphaston Joins Estrogen
🩸 Most of the blood clot warning on the Irish label sits under hormone replacement therapy, where Duphaston is taken with an estrogen. The label figures belong to that combination, and the progestogen alone is not singled out. 📌 The risk is highest in the first year.
| 📋 Risk | 📝 What the label says | 💡 Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Blood clots in veins (VTE) | HRT carries 1.3 to 3 times the risk, most likely in the first year | Higher with older age, obesity, major surgery, long immobility, cancer, pregnancy or after birth |
| Ischemic stroke | Up to 1.5 times the risk with combined or estrogen-only therapy | The baseline risk rises with age, so the absolute risk is higher in older women |
| Coronary heart disease | Relative risk slightly raised with the combination | Very few extra cases in healthy women near menopause, more with age |
| Before surgery | Stop HRT 4 to 6 weeks before planned surgery with long immobilisation | Restart only when fully mobile |
📌 Robert Hayes, MD, FACC, on reading a relative risk
A risk that doubles from a very small starting point stays small, and the starting point is the whole story. In a woman of 50 who is slim, active and does not smoke, 1.5 times a small number is still a small number. In a woman of 70 with high blood pressure and a family history of clots it is a different conversation. I ask about the personal and family history first, and I look at blood pressure, weight and smoking. The estrogen route also matters and that decision belongs with the HRT prescriber.
- 🦵 A painful swollen leg — the typical sign of a deep vein clot
- 💨 Sudden chest pain or breathlessness — a clot in the lung until proved otherwise
- 💢 Sudden severe headache, weakness or speech trouble — call emergency services
🚨 The first two are named in the label as symptoms to report immediately. ✅ Stop the HRT and call: that is the rule.
🎗️ Breast Cancer Risk With Dydrogesterone in HRT
🎗️ When doctors discuss HRT and breast cancer, the type of progestogen matters. The best-known comparison comes from the French E3N cohort, which followed 80,377 postmenopausal women for an average of 8 years and recorded 2,354 invasive breast cancers.
🔎 Read the dydrogesterone bar for what it is. It sits between micronized progesterone and the other progestins, and its confidence interval includes 1.00, so the study cannot say it differs from no added risk. 📌 The authors suggested that progesterone or dydrogesterone might be the preferable choice.
📘 What the Irish label adds.
🔹 Duration matters the excess risk of combined HRT becomes apparent after about 3 years of use.
🔹 It fades after stopping the risk returns to baseline within a few years, at most five.
🔹 Mammograms are harder to read combined HRT raises breast density, so screening schedules matter.
🔹 A 2022 safety review found breast risk with dydrogesterone to be minimal in regimens lasting up to 260 weeks, which is five years.
💬 HRT should be reviewed at least once a year, with the lowest effective dose for the shortest time, as the label advises. 📖 More on the menopause side: menopause symptom relief.
📢 Duphaston and the Meningioma Warning of 2024
📢 A meningioma is a usually benign tumour of the membrane between the brain and the skull. Some progestogens have been linked to it, and 2024 brought new action from European regulators. 🔎 The question for a Duphaston user is whether dydrogesterone is among the risky ones.
✅ In the French study the odds for dydrogesterone were 0.96 (0.81 to 1.14), so no excess, and this held for both short and longer use. A 2026 pooled analysis of 14 high-quality studies likewise found no signal for dydrogesterone.
| 📚 Source | 📝 What it says | 🚦 Meaning for you |
|---|---|---|
| Irish label (text of 2017) | Contraindicated in known or suspected progestogen-dependent tumours such as meningioma. Growth of such tumours is listed as rare | The warning was already on the label before 2024 |
| European regulators, July 2024 | For products combining dydrogesterone and estradiol, a causal link is at least a reasonable possibility. Meningioma or a history of it was added as a contraindication | Applies to the combination products, and stops treatment if one is found |
| French national study, 2024 | Dydrogesterone: no excess risk of meningioma surgery | Reassuring for the single drug |
| Pooled analysis, 2026 | No signal for dydrogesterone. Higher risk for cyproterone and depot medroxyprogesterone | Consistent |
- 👁️ Changes in vision such as double vision or blurriness
- 👂 Hearing loss or ringing in the ears
- 🧠 Headaches that worsen over time, memory loss or seizures
- 💪 Weakness in the arms or legs, or loss of smell
🛑 Tell your doctor straight away if you notice any of the symptoms above.
🔹 The leaflet language for these products says to report such signs promptly.
🔹 If a meningioma is found the medicine is stopped, and shrinkage has been seen after stopping.
🍷 Alcohol and Duphaston - What the Labels Do Not Say
🍷 Neither the Irish nor the Israeli label lists any interaction with alcohol. That is a fact about the labels and not a clearance. 💡 The practical advice below is general medical advice, built from the three things the labels do say: the liver, drowsiness and pregnancy.
| 📋 Situation | 🍺 Practical advice | 📝 Why |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional drink, cycle use | Usually not a problem. Keep it modest | No interaction is listed. Alcohol can worsen headache and sleep |
| Heavy or daily drinking | Talk to the prescriber before starting | The label flags liver disease, and heavy drinking is itself hard on the liver |
| Early pregnancy or planning | None is the safest choice | No safe level has been established in pregnancy |
| Taking it with an estrogen as HRT | Keep to low intake | Alcohol is a recognised breast cancer risk factor, on top of the HRT figures |
| Before driving | Avoid, especially in the first hours after a tablet | Both can cause drowsiness or dizziness |
💡 A short rule of thumb.
🔹 If your liver tests were ever abnormal skip alcohol until the prescriber says otherwise.
🔹 If you get headaches on the tablets alcohol is a common trigger worth testing.
🔹 If a night out is planned do not skip a tablet to make room for a drink.
📌 This section is deliberately short. A missing warning on a label is not a promise, and the honest answer is that nobody has studied the pair.
🔗 Medicines and Herbs That Weaken Duphaston
🔗 Dydrogesterone and DHD are broken down by liver enzymes called CYP3A4 (and CYP2C19 on the Israeli label). Medicines that speed those enzymes up make Duphaston wear off sooner. 💡 The label says the effect may be a weaker response and a change in bleeding pattern.
🚨 Strong enzyme boosters
💠 Anticonvulsants: phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine
🦠 Anti-infectives: rifampicin, rifabutin, nevirapine, efavirenz
🌿 Herbal products
☀️ St John Wort, a common one in over-the-counter mood supplements
🌿 Sage and ginkgo, and valerian root on the Israeli label
💬 Tell the prescriber about teas and capsules, not only tablets
✅ What does not interact
🧪 Dydrogesterone and DHD do not inhibit or induce CYP enzymes at the doses used, per the label
💊 Other medicines are unaffected by Duphaston in this way
💊 Sarah Mitchell, PharmD, on the two interactions people forget
The first is a herbal mood tablet bought at a pharmacy counter, which turns out to contain St John Wort and quietly cuts the dose of anything else the patient takes. The second is the antiretroviral pair of ritonavir and nelfinavir: they are usually strong enzyme blockers, but the label points out that with steroid hormones they act as enzyme boosters. If bleeding becomes erratic after a new medicine is added, I look at the medicine list before I raise the dose.
| 📋 If you start | 💡 Possible effect | 🛠️ What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A seizure medicine | Weaker effect and unpredictable bleeding | Ask the prescriber if the schedule needs changing |
| A tuberculosis or HIV medicine | Faster breakdown of the hormone | Report the course to the gynaecologist |
| A herbal mood product | May reduce the effect | Stop it or tell the prescriber |
| An antibiotic for a short course | Only rifampicin and rifabutin are named on the label | Carry on, and mention it at the visit |
🍂 Duphaston With Estrogen in Menopause Hormone Therapy
🍂 In menopause hormone therapy (HRT) Duphaston has a different job. A woman with a womb who takes estrogen alone has a higher risk of thickening and cancer of the lining, and a progestogen cancels that excess. 📌 The label says it must be given for at least 12 days of each 28 day cycle for that protection.
| 📋 Situation | 📝 Label schedule | 💡 Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Standard sequential HRT | 10 mg daily for the last 14 days of each 28 day estrogen cycle | Bleeding usually follows at the end |
| Early bleeding or an inadequate biopsy response | Raise to 10 mg twice daily | Decided with the prescriber |
| Switching from a cyclic regimen | Start the day after the previous regimen ends | No gap |
| Switching from continuous combined HRT, or no HRT with long-standing amenorrhea | May start on any convenient day | Seek advice if unsure |
| Still having periods | Start within 5 days of the start of bleeding | Counted from the first day |
🩸 The label gives numbers on what to expect. With estradiol 1 mg, regular withdrawal bleeding occurred in 75 to 80 percent of women, lasting about 5 days, with breakthrough bleeding in about 10 percent and no bleeding at all in 10 to 25 percent of cycles in the first year. 📈 With estradiol 2 mg, around 90 percent had regular bleeding and 5 to 15 percent had none.
💬 Three points to settle at the HRT visit.
🔹 Review once a year the label says to keep HRT only as long as the benefit outweighs the risk.
🔹 Lowest effective dose, shortest time especially for symptoms that start after menopause.
🔹 The estrogen has its own label see Estrace and Premarin, and read osteoporosis and menopause for bone protection.
⏰ What to Do If You Miss a Duphaston Dose
⏰ The Irish label gives a clear rule for forgotten tablets, built on a 12 hour window. 💡 It works the same for the twice daily and the three times daily schedules.
| 📋 Situation | 📝 What to do | 💡 Why |
|---|---|---|
| Remembered within 12 hours | Take the tablet at once | Keeps the level steady |
| More than 12 hours late | Skip it and take the next dose on schedule | Doubling up is not advised |
| Missed several in a row | Restart the schedule and tell the prescriber | Breakthrough bleeding is more likely |
| Pregnant, on a three-times-daily regimen | Do not double. Resume the usual timing and mention it at the next visit | The effective dose is held for a week after symptoms stop |
✈️ For travel, count the tablets and carry them in hand luggage. When crossing time zones, move the doses gradually to the new clock over a day or two (general advice). 📱 An alarm tied to a daily habit works better than good intentions.
⚠️ The label warning that goes with this rule.
🔹 Breakthrough bleeding or spotting may be more likely after a forgotten dose.
🔹 It does not mean the cycle is ruined the usual next step is to carry on and keep the diary.
📑 Duphaston for Teenagers, Porphyria, Lactose Intolerance and Liver Disease
📑 Some groups need extra thought. The labels give clear lines for a few of them, and none for others. 🔎 The table sets out what is written and where the label is silent.
| 📋 Group | 📝 What the label says | 💡 Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Before the first period | There is no relevant use | Not used |
| Teenagers 12 to 18 | Safety and efficacy have not been established. No dose can be recommended | A specialist decision only |
| Lactose intolerance | Each tablet contains 111.1 mg of lactose. Not for people with galactose intolerance, Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption | Small amount; most lactose-intolerant people tolerate it, but the rare hereditary types must avoid it |
| Porphyria | May recur or worsen. Close supervision, stopping to be considered | Say so before the first tablet |
| Depression | Close supervision. Stop if severe depression recurs (Israeli label) | Keep a mood diary |
| Liver disease | Caution if past or acute. Contraindicated in serious disease on the Israeli label | See the liver section |
| Older women | No age limit is given. HRT risk figures rise with age | Review the HRT plan annually |
- 📑 Tell every doctor you see which hormones you take. It prevents surprises with surgery, scans and new drugs
- 🧬 Hereditary conditions travel in families. If a relative has porphyria, ask before starting
- 📅 Tablet splitting: the score line eases swallowing but does not divide the tablet into two equal doses, so do not use half tablets to adjust the dose
📦 Duphaston Pack Sizes and Price per Tablet
📦 The page lists five pack sizes of the 10 mg tablet. 💰 Buying a bigger pack lowers the cost of each tablet a little, and the best choice depends on the schedule you were given.
| 📋 Schedule | 🔢 Tablets per cycle | 💵 Pack that fits |
|---|---|---|
| Day 11 to 25, twice daily | 30 | One 30 pack, $80 a cycle |
| Day 5 to 25, twice daily | 42 | One 40 pack plus 2, or a 50 pack for $135 |
| Day 14 to 25, once daily (Israeli label) | 12 | A 20 pack covers one cycle and part of the next |
| HRT, last 14 days, once daily | 14 | A 100 pack lasts 7 cycles, about $38 each |
⚠️ Check before you buy a large pack.
🔹 Do not stock up before the dose is settled schedules change after the first visit.
🔹 The page shows no stock status ask support before a long wait for a pack that is not available.
🔹 Large packs are not a reason to use more the label dose does not rise with the pack.
🌡️ Storing Duphaston and Checking the Pack
🌡️ Storage is undemanding. The Irish label asks for no special condition, and the Israeli leaflet says to keep tablets in a dry place below 30 C. The shelf life on both is 5 years. 💡 The strip itself is the best protection, so leave the tablets in it until needed.
- 🏷️ Read the name and strength: Duphaston 10 mg film-coated tablets, with dydrogesterone as the active substance
- 🔍 Look at the tablet: round, biconvex, white, scored, with 155 on one side, about 7 mm across
- 📦 Check the blister: aluminium and PVC strips, intact, with no moisture and no loose tablets
- 📅 Read the expiry date and the batch number, and keep the carton
- 🏠 Store in a dry cupboard away from heat, such as a hot car or a window sill
📝 Pack sizes differ by country: the Irish label lists cartons of 42 or 60 tablets, the Israeli one lists 20. 🔎 The page sells 20 to 100 tablets, so the carton in your hand may differ from either, and that is why reading the pack matters.
🛑 When to throw a pack away.
🔹 Past the expiry date or if the strip is torn or damp.
🔹 The tablets look different in colour, shape or marking from what you received before.
🔹 A seller will not state the maker or the batch. Report to your national medicines regulator.
🔍 The Duphaston Page Claims - What We Checked
🔍 The product page repeats a number of statements. Some are accurate, some are not supported and some could not be checked. 📋 The list below separates them so you can see which is which.
| 📝 Claim on the page | 📚 What we found | 🚦 Result |
|---|---|---|
| Oral bioavailability of about 28 percent | The label gives 28 percent | Correct |
| Regimen of 40 mg then 10 mg every 8 hours for threatened miscarriage | On the Israeli label; the best placebo trial using it showed no benefit | Matches a label, benefit unproven |
| Recurrent loss: through the first trimester | The Israeli label says up to week 20. The page contradicts itself | Inconsistent |
| Endometriosis: 6 or more months | The label gives days 5 to 25 or continuous with no duration | Not on the label |
| FAQ: side effects are mild stomach upset, dizziness or allergy | The common ones on the label are headache, migraine, nausea, cycle changes and breast pain | Incomplete |
| Safe during pregnancy | No sign of harm in wide use; the label says use only when clearly indicated | Overstated |
| Restores fertility | Not on either label; the drug does not suppress ovulation | Not supported |
| No effect on lipids or glucose | Not stated in the labels we read | Not checked |
| Withdrawn from the US in 2008 | We could not find a source for this | Not checked |
📘 A fair reading of the page.
🔹 The dose and pharmacology facts are mostly sound they match the labels.
🔹 The strongest claims are the weakest ones those about miscarriage, fertility and safety.
🔹 Wording like zero and only should be read as marketing language.
⛔ Duphaston Contraindications When to Avoid Dydrogesterone
⛔ Contraindications are the cases where the label says not to use Duphaston at all. They come from the two labels, which differ a little, so both lists are combined. 📌 The relative cases are different: the label allows the drug but asks for close supervision.
⛔ Do not take Duphaston if:
🔹 You are allergic to dydrogesterone or to any ingredient in the tablet.
🔹 You have, or may have, a hormone-dependent tumour the Irish label names meningioma as an example. Both labels cover sex hormone dependent cancers.
🔹 You have vaginal bleeding that has not been explained both labels list this.
🔹 You have serious liver disease, or had it until tests return to normal this is on the Israeli label.
🔹 You take it with an estrogen and the estrogen is itself forbidden for example after a clot or breast cancer.
📋 Allowed, with close supervision.
🔹 Porphyria or depression both can return or worsen.
🔹 Abnormal liver values from acute or chronic disease severe hepatic impairment means stopping.
🔹 Past pregnancy-related itching, jaundice or herpes gestationis the Israeli label lists these for monitoring.
🔹 Otosclerosis or a new severe migraine the Israeli label asks you to consider stopping if the headache is exceptionally severe.
🔹 Breastfeeding the labels say it should not be used.
✅ Not on the contraindication list.
🔹 Pregnancy use is allowed when clearly indicated.
🔹 Light spotting in the first months expected and not a reason to stop.
🔹 Taking other common medicines dydrogesterone does not alter their breakdown, though some medicines weaken it.
| 📋 Situation | 🚦 Verdict | 💡 Why |
|---|---|---|
| Unexplained bleeding | Do not take | The cause must be found first |
| A meningioma, now or before | Do not take | Progestogen-dependent tumour |
| Past depression | Supervised | May recur |
| Spotting in the first months | Carry on | Expected, keep a diary |
Duphaston — Frequently Asked Questions
-
What is Duphaston?
Duphaston is a synthetic hormone medication used to treat a range of conditions related to progesterone deficiency, including menstrual disorders, infertility due to luteal phase insufficiency, and specific cases of miscarriage. -
How does Duphaston work?
It mimics the action of natural progesterone, a key hormone in regulating menstruation and pregnancy, helping to correct hormonal imbalances and support the endometrium (uterine lining). -
What conditions is Duphaston used to treat?
Duphaston is used for irregular menstrual cycles, dysmenorrhea (painful periods), endometriosis, infertility due to luteal phase problems, threatened or habitual miscarriage, and as part of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). -
How should I take Duphaston?
The dosage of Duphaston depends on the individual's condition and prescription. It's typically taken once or twice daily, starting from a specific day of the menstrual cycle or pregnancy, as advised by a healthcare provider. -
Can Duphaston help me get pregnant?
Duphaston can be used to treat infertility caused by luteal phase insufficiency by preparing the uterine lining for pregnancy and supporting early pregnancy. -
Does Duphaston prevent miscarriage?
It's prescribed to support early pregnancy in women with a history of recurrent miscarriages due to progesterone deficiency, potentially helping to prevent miscarriage. -
Are there any side effects of taking Duphaston?
Side effects can include mild gastrointestinal symptoms, dizziness, or allergic reactions. Severe side effects are rare but should be reported to a healthcare provider.
See all Duphaston questions (32)
📚 Drug Description Sources:
The information in this Duphaston guide is compiled from authoritative medical, pharmacological and regulatory sources covering the Irish and Israeli product labels of dydrogesterone 10 mg tablets, the European regulators position on meningioma, the placebo-controlled trials and Cochrane reviews in threatened and recurrent miscarriage, the two large trials in IVF luteal support, and the cohort and case-control studies of breast cancer and meningioma. Regulatory text differs between countries, so the pack in your hands and the advice of a gynaecologist govern product specific details such as indications, doses, tablet appearance, storage and batch information.
🏛️ Regulatory and government agencies
- Duphaston 10 mg film-coated tablets, Summary of Product Characteristics (Mylan IRE Healthcare; Health Products Regulatory Authority, Ireland; authorisation PA2010/010/001; first authorised 28 January 1985; text revised June 2017) - cycle-day schedules, forgotten dose rule of 12 hours, contraindication for progestogen dependent neoplasms such as meningioma, breakthrough bleeding, hormone replacement warnings and the undesirable effects table from 3,483 patients
- Duphaston prescribing information (Abbott Healthcare Products BV; Ministry of Health, Israel; registration 129-45-30880-00; approved July 2014) - threatened abortion regimen of 4 tablets then 1 tablet every 8 hours, habitual abortion regimen to week 20, luteal insufficiency regimen on days 14 to 25 for at least 6 cycles, and the statement that ovulation is not suppressed
- Duphaston labels, Clinical Pharmacology - absolute bioavailability of 28 percent, time to peak of 0.5 to 2.5 hours, terminal half-lives of 5 to 7 hours for dydrogesterone and 14 to 17 hours for 20-dihydrodydrogesterone, steady state after 3 days, and excretion complete within 72 hours
- European Medicines Agency, CMDh position on dydrogesterone / estradiol (PSUSA), July 2024 - meningioma or a history of meningioma added as a contraindication and a monitoring warning added to the product information of the combination products
- National medicines regulator reporting systems - the routes for reporting a suspected adverse reaction or a faulty batch
📚 Professional societies and clinical guidelines
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage: diagnosis and initial management. NICE guideline NG126, 2019, updated 2021 - vaginal micronised progesterone 400 mg twice daily for women with early pregnancy bleeding and a previous miscarriage; dydrogesterone is not the named drug
- ESHRE Guideline Group on RPL. ESHRE guideline: recurrent pregnancy loss, update 2022. Human Reproduction Open 2023 - evidence-based recommendations on the investigation and treatment of recurrent pregnancy loss
🔬 Landmark clinical research
- Tournaye H, Sukhikh GT, Kahler E, Griesinger G. A Phase III randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy, safety and tolerability of oral dydrogesterone versus micronized vaginal progesterone for luteal support in in vitro fertilization (Lotus I). Hum Reprod 2017;32:1019-1027 - 1,031 women; ongoing pregnancy at 12 weeks 37.6 vs 33.1 percent; live birth 34.6 vs 29.8 percent
- Griesinger G, Blockeel C, Sukhikh GT, et al. Oral dydrogesterone versus intravaginal micronized progesterone gel for luteal phase support in IVF: a randomized clinical trial (Lotus II). Hum Reprod 2018;33:2212-2221 - 1,034 women; ongoing pregnancy 38.7 vs 35.0 percent; open label
- Chan DMK, Cheung KW, Ko JKY, et al. Use of oral progestogen in women with threatened miscarriage in the first trimester: a randomized double-blind controlled trial. Hum Reprod 2021;36:587-595 - 406 women; dydrogesterone 40 mg then 10 mg three times daily; miscarriage before 20 weeks 12.8 vs 14.3 percent
- Kuptarak A, Phupong V. Oral dydrogesterone for prevention of miscarriage in threatened miscarriage: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2024;37:2333929 - 100 women; 20 mg a day; ongoing pregnancy 90.0 vs 86.0 percent
- Wahabi HA, Fayed AA, Esmaeil SA, Bahkali KH. Progestogen for treating threatened miscarriage. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018;(8):CD005943 - 7 trials, 696 women; miscarriage risk ratio 0.64; oral progestogen 0.57
- Devall AJ, Papadopoulou A, Podesek M, et al. Progestogens for preventing miscarriage: a network meta-analysis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2021;(4):CD013792 - 7 trials, 5,682 women; dydrogesterone in threatened miscarriage live birth risk ratio 0.98; very low certainty evidence in recurrent miscarriage
- Carp H. A systematic review of dydrogesterone for the treatment of threatened miscarriage. Gynecol Endocrinol 2012;28:983-990 and A systematic review of dydrogesterone for the treatment of recurrent miscarriage. Gynecol Endocrinol 2015;31:422-430 - miscarriage odds ratios of 0.47 (660 women) and 0.29 (509 women)
- Kumar A, Begum N, Prasad S, et al. Oral dydrogesterone treatment during early pregnancy to prevent recurrent pregnancy loss. Fertil Steril 2014;102:1357-1363. Retracted, Fertil Steril 2023;119:518 - retracted because of errors in the data that the authors could not correct
- Queisser-Luft A. Dydrogesterone use during pregnancy: overview of birth defects reported since 1977. Early Hum Dev 2009;85:375-377 - 28 reports between 1977 and 2005 with no pattern of malformations
- Fournier A, Berrino F, Clavel-Chapelon F. Unequal risks for breast cancer associated with different hormone replacement therapies: results from the E3N cohort study. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2008;107:103-111 - 80,377 women; relative risk 1.16 with estrogen-dydrogesterone against 1.69 with other progestagens
- Roland N, Neumann A, Hoisnard L, et al. Use of progestogens and the risk of intracranial meningioma: national case-control study. BMJ 2024;384:e078078 - 18,061 cases and 90,305 controls; no excess risk for dydrogesterone
- Overton CE, Lindsay PC, Johal B, et al. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of luteal phase dydrogesterone (Duphaston) in women with minimal to mild endometriosis. Fertil Steril 1994;62:701-707 - 62 women; pain reduced on 60 mg, disease unchanged
- Peng C, Huang Y, Zhou Y. Dydrogesterone in the treatment of endometriosis: evidence mapping and meta-analysis. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2021;304:231-252 - 19 studies, 1,709 women; evidence of very low quality
- Stavridis K, Balafoutas D, Kalampokas T, et al. Oral dydrogesterone versus vaginal progesterone for luteal phase support in frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles. J Clin Med 2025;14:3238 - 5 trials, 636 women; ongoing pregnancy odds ratio 0.90
- Ott J, Egarter C, Aguilera A. Dydrogesterone after 60 years: a glance at the safety profile. Gynecol Endocrinol 2022;38:279-287 - 32 clinical studies; no maternal complications or congenital anomalies linked to early pregnancy use
- Hudelist B, Roux A, Huet-Mignaton E, et al. Progestogen use and the risk of intracranial meningioma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine 2026;92:103791 - 14 high-quality studies; no signal for dydrogesterone
📖 Medical references and textbooks
- Schindler AE, Campagnoli C, Druckmann R, et al. Classification and pharmacology of progestins. Maturitas 2008;61:171-180 (republished from Maturitas 2003;46 Suppl 1:S7-S16) - places dydrogesterone in the retroprogesterone class and compares the biological effects of the progestin families
Note: This information is educational and does not replace consultation with qualified healthcare providers. Duphaston is a prescription hormone, and the indication, the dose, the cycle days, the length of treatment and the plan in pregnancy or menopause must be decided with a gynaecologist who knows your history, your tests and your scans.
🩺 Medical Expert Review:
Content reviewed for accuracy by authorities in reproductive endocrinology, obstetrics, hormone therapy epidemiology and medicines safety with particular expertise in dydrogesterone. The following experts represent authoritative research perspectives on the use of dydrogesterone in threatened and recurrent miscarriage, in IVF luteal support, in menopause hormone therapy and in the question of meningioma.
D. M. K. Chan
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen Mary Hospital — Hong Kong SAR (at the time of the study)
First author of the randomised double-blind trial of 406 women with first trimester bleeding who received dydrogesterone 40 mg then 10 mg three times daily or placebo, which found miscarriage in 12.8 and 14.3 percent and did not support routine use.
Georg Griesinger
Department of Gynecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lubeck — Lubeck, Germany (at the time of the studies)
Author of the Lotus I trial of 1,031 women and first author of the Lotus II trial of 1,034 women, which tested oral dydrogesterone against vaginal progesterone for luteal support in IVF and found it non-inferior.
Howard Carp
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sheba Medical Center — Tel Hashomer, Israel (at the time of the reviews)
Author of two systematic reviews of dydrogesterone, one in threatened miscarriage covering 21 reports and 1,380 patients and one in recurrent miscarriage covering 13 reports, with lower miscarriage odds in the pooled randomised data.
Agnes Fournier
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale and Institut Gustave Roussy — Villejuif, France (at the time of the study)
First author of the E3N cohort analysis of 80,377 postmenopausal women that compared breast cancer risk by type of progestagen and reported a relative risk of 1.16 for estrogen-dydrogesterone against 1.69 for other progestagens.
Noemie Roland
EPI-PHARE Scientific Interest Group, French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety and National Health Insurance — Saint-Denis, France (at the time of the study)
First author of the national case-control study of 18,061 meningioma cases that found no excess risk for dydrogesterone or progesterone, and high risks for cyproterone, nomegestrol and chlormadinone acetates.
Disclosure: Expert names and credentials are cited for educational reference. This content is not endorsed by named experts. Content prepared by RXshop editorial team based on published literature and regulatory documents.
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