Please inform your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms: high blood pressure, angina, or heart disease, had a stroke, a bleeding or blood-clotting disorder, breast, uterine, or another hormone-related cancer, liver disease or a history of jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) caused by use of birth control in the past, undiagnosed, abnormal vaginal bleeding, migraines, asthma, or seizures or epilepsy. You may not be able to take birth control pills, or you may require special monitoring during treatment if you have any of the conditions listed above.

Some drugs may decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills which may result in pregnancy. Use a second form of birth control until you talk to your doctor or clinic if you are taking an antibiotic, a barbiturate such as amobarbital (Amytal®), butabarbital (Butisol®), mephobarbital (Mebaral®), secobarbital (Seconal®), phenobarbital (Luminal®, Solfoton®), rifampin (Rifadin®), phenytoin (Dilantin®), carbamazepine (Tegretol®), or griseofulvin (Grisactin®, Grifulvin V®, Fulvicin PG®).

Drugs other than those listed here may also interact with birth control pills. Talk to your doctor and pharmacist before taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicines, including herbal products.

Please note that birth control pills are in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that birth control pills are known to cause birth defects in an unborn baby. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can have serious negative effects on a developing baby. Do not take birth control pills if you are pregnant or think you might be pregnant.

Moreover, the hormones in birth control pills pass into breast milk and may decrease milk production. Do not take birth control pills without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Additionally, smoking cigarettes during the use of oral contraceptives has been found to greatly increase the chances of these serious side effects occurring. To reduce the risk of serious side effects, do not smoke cigarettes while you are taking oral contraceptives. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects from oral contraceptive use. The risk increases with age and with heavy smoking (15 or more cigarettes per day) and is quite marked in women over 35 years of age.

 

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