Quick return to fertility with monthly injectable. (Returns Within 6 Months in 53%).

WASHINGTON -- Candidates for the monthly injectable contraceptive Lunelle include women who want the ease of an injectable method with a more rapid return to fertility than that associated with Depo-Provera, Dr. Andrew Kaunitz said at the annual meeting of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.

About 53% of women on Lunelle (medroxyprogesterone acetate and estradiol cypionate) are fertile again within 6 months of their last injection regardless of their length of use. By 1 year after the last injection, fertility returns in 83% of women, said Dr. Kaunitz, who is a consultant to and has conducted clinical trials for Pharmacia Corp., manufacturer of Lunelle and Depo-Provera.

By contrast, the product labeling for Depo-Provera states that about 68% of women who do become pregnant after discontinuing the injectable high-dose progestin-only contraceptive may conceive within 12 months.

This statement is based on information from a large U.S. study of Depo-Provera users who discontinued the contraceptive because they wanted to conceive, but data are available for only 61% of these women.

Lunelle is also suitable for women who are candidates for combination OCs but would rather not deal with taking a pill every day, and women who want a private method of contraception, said Dr. Kaunitz, professor and assistant chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville.

Lunelle is a combination of 25 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate and 5 mg of estradiol cypionate contained in 0.5 cc of an aqueous solution administered in a monthly injection. The initial injection is given within the first 5 days of a woman's menstrual cycle and ideally is repeated every 28 days but can be given every 23-33 days.

If repeat injections are administered ...