Duphaston Tablet: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Precautions and Alternates

Quick overview

Duphaston Tablet contains dydrogesterone, a man-made hormone similar to natural progesterone. It belongs to the progestogen drug class and is used to treat menstrual conditions and to support pregnancy. It works by replacing progesterone the body may be lacking, helping correct hormonal imbalance and supporting the womb lining when used with estrogen.

What is Duphaston Tablet

Duphaston Tablet is a hormonal medication. It contains dydrogesterone, a man-made hormone that is very similar to the natural hormone progesterone. It is used to treat menstrual conditions and to support pregnancy.

Duphaston Tablet uses

• Unusual menstrual bleeding or pain
• Irregular periods
• Premenstrual syndrome
• Endometriosis
• Female infertility due to low progesterone
• Threatened abortion (bleeding in early pregnancy)
• Habitual abortion (repeated pregnancy loss)
• Hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms
• Painful periods
• Heavy or long periods
• Restarting periods that have stopped before menopause

Benefits of Duphaston Tablet

• Helps relieve painful periods
• Helps relieve symptoms of endometriosis
• Helps treat infertility due to low progesterone
• Helps control irregular periods
• Helps relieve premenstrual syndrome symptoms
• Helps restart periods that have stopped before menopause
• Helps stop or prevent unusually heavy or long periods
• Helps treat menopause symptoms as part of hormone replacement therapy
• Helps maintain pregnancy and reduce risk of miscarriage

How Duphaston Tablet works

Duphaston works by acting like the natural hormone progesterone in the body. It replaces missing progesterone that is normally made by the ovaries, which helps treat problems caused by hormonal imbalance and helps prevent the womb lining from thickening too much when taken with estrogen.

Duphaston Tablet dosage

Duphaston can be taken with or without food. Swallow the tablet with water. Try to take your tablet at the same time each day so there is a constant amount of medicine in your body and to help you remember. If you have to take more than one tablet, spread them evenly over the day, for example one in the morning and one in the evening. The score line on the tablet is only to help break it for easier swallowing and should not be used to take half a tablet. Follow your doctor's instructions about how long to take the medicine and do not stop without talking to your doctor first.

This medicine is not usually given to children before their first menstrual period, and safety and effectiveness in young people aged 12-18 years is not known. Older people (over 65) can use this medicine for hormone replacement therapy following the same instructions as adults.

Available forms and strengths

Duphaston is available as a film-coated tablet, 10 mg.

Side effects of Duphaston Tablet

Common

• Nausea
• Abdominal pain
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Dry mouth
• Indigestion
• Rash
• Itching
• Cough
• Breast pain
• Depression
• Mood swings
• Difficulty falling asleep
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Breast tenderness
• Weight gain
• Abnormal and/or painful menstruation
• Migraine
• Feeling bloated
• Spotting or bleeding between periods

Serious

• Bad allergic reaction with swelling of the face and throat causing difficulty breathing
• Liver problems, including yellowing of skin or eyes and abdominal pain
• Signs of a blood clot such as painful swelling in the leg, sudden chest pain, or difficulty breathing
• Low levels of red blood cells (haemolytic anaemia)
• Increase in the size of tumours affected by progestogens, such as meningioma
• Worsening of porphyria

Warnings and precautions

• Do not take this medicine if you have a tumour that is made worse by progestogens, unusual vaginal bleeding that hasn't been checked by a doctor, or a serious allergy to any ingredient.
• Do not take this medicine if you have or have ever had meningioma, a usually non-cancerous tumour between the brain and skull.
• If you get unexpected vaginal bleeding or spotting that lasts more than a few months, starts after you've been on treatment a while, or continues after stopping treatment, see your doctor right away, as it could be a sign your womb lining has thickened.
• Tell your doctor before starting if you have depression, liver problems, or porphyria, as these can get worse with this medicine.
• If taken together with estrogen for hormone replacement therapy, this medicine can increase the risk of blood clots, stroke, heart disease, breast cancer, and (with estrogen-only use) cancer of the womb lining or ovarian cancer.
• Duphaston should only be taken during pregnancy on your doctor's advice. 
• There is no evidence so far that taking it during pregnancy is harmful, and it has been used by many pregnant women.
• Duphaston is not recommended while breastfeeding because it is not known if it passes into breast milk or affects the baby.
• Use with caution if you have liver problems, as this medicine can make the condition worse. It should not be used if you have serious liver disease.
• It is not known how this medicine interacts with alcohol, so ask your doctor before drinking alcohol while taking it.
• This medicine may make you feel dizzy or sleepy, especially in the first few hours after taking it. Do not drive or use tools or machines until you know how it affects you.

Storage

• Keep out of the reach and sight of children
• Do not take the tablets after the expiry date shown on the outer carton and blister strip
• Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste; ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use
• This medicinal product does not require any special storage condition

When to see a doctor

• Get medical help right away if you notice swelling of the face and throat with difficulty breathing, signs of liver problems (yellow skin or eyes, stomach pain), or signs of a serious allergic reaction.
• Get medical help right away if you have painful swelling in your leg, sudden chest pain, or difficulty breathing, as these can be signs of a blood clot.
• Get medical help right away if you have chest pain that spreads to your arm or neck, as this could be a sign of a heart attack.
• Get medical help right away if you have a severe, unexplained headache or migraine, with or without vision problems, as this could be a sign of a stroke.
• See a doctor as soon as possible if you notice changes in your breast such as dimpling of the skin, changes in the nipple, or lumps, as these could be signs of breast cancer.
• Tell your doctor right away if you notice vision changes, hearing loss or ringing in the ears, loss of smell, worsening headaches, memory loss, seizures, or weakness in your arms or legs, as these could be signs of meningioma.

Alternatives

• Micronized Progesterone
• Medroxyprogesterone Acetate
• Progesterone Capsules