Oral Contraceptives

Oral contraceptives do not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) or any other sexually transmitted disease. If there is a danger of infection, use a latex condom and spermicide in addition to the pill.

If you develop a migraine or severe headache that does not let up or keeps recurring while you are taking a progestin-only oral contraceptive, check with your doctor. You may need to switch to a different type of pill.

If you miss a menstrual period but have taken your pills regularly, contact your doctor but do not stop taking your pills. If you miss a period and have not taken your pills regularly, or if you miss two consecutive periods, you may be pregnant; stop taking your pills and check with your doctor immediately to see if you are pregnant. Use another form of birth control while you are not taking your pills.

If you are taking a progestin-only oral contraceptive and you have sudden or severe abdominal pain, call your doctor immediately. There is a higher risk of ectopic (outside the womb) pregnancy or ovarian cysts with this type of contraceptive.

You should also be aware that oral contraceptives have been know to cause rare cases of noncancerous--but dangerous--liver tumors. In people prone to high cholesterol and similar problems, oral contraceptives have been known to raise triglyceride levels, leading to pancreatitis.

If you use a combination oral contraceptive, be aware that it may take a couple of months to get pregnant after you stop using it.

Possible food and drug interactions when taking Oral Contraceptives

If oral contraceptives are taken with certain other drugs, the effects of either could be increased, decreased, or altered. It is especially important to check with your doctor before combining oral contraceptives with the following:

Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Amitriptyline (Elavil)
Ampicillin (Principen)
Aspirin
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
Barbiturates (phenobarbital, Seconal)
Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
Chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin)
Clofibrate (Questran)
Clomipramine (Anafranil)
Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune)
Dexamethasone
Diazepam (Valium)
Doxepin (Sinequan)
Felbamate (Felbatol)
Fluconazole (Diflucan)
Glipizide (Glucotrol)
Griseofulvin (Fulvicin, Gris-PEG)
HIV protease inhibitor drugs such as Crixivan (indinavir)
Imipramine (Tofranil)
Itraconazole (Sporanox)
Ketoconazole (Nizoral)
Lorazepam (Ativan)
Metoprolol (Lopressor)
Modafinil (Provigil)
Morphine (MS Contin)
Oxazepam (Serax)
Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
Penicillin (Veetids, Pen-Vee K)
Phenylbutazone
Phenytoin (Dilantin)
Prednisolone (Prelone, Pediapred)
Prednisone (Deltasone)
Primidone (Mysoline)
Propranolol (Inderal)
Rifabutin (Mycobutin)
Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane)
St. John's wort
Sulfonamides (Bactrim, Septra)
Temazepam (Restoril)
Tetracycline (Sumycin)
Theophylline (Theo-Dur)
Topiramate (Topamax)
Troleandomycin (Tao)
Vitamin C
Warfarin (Coumadin)

In addition, before using the Yasmin brand of oral contraceptive check with your doctor if you regularly take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Motrin and Aleve, potassium supplements such as Micro-K, certain water pills such as Aldactone, and certain high blood pressure medications, including Avapro, Capoten, Cozaar, Diovan, Vasotec, and Zestril.