Levonorgestrel+Ethinylestradiol

When should one not use Levonorgestrel+Ethinylestradiol

• If you are allergic to levonorgestrel or ethinylestradiol or any other ingredients of this medicine.
• If you have a history of any blood clot formation or bleeding disorder.
• If you have heart or blood vessel problems like stroke, heart attack or chest pain, or serious or uncontrolled high blood pressure.
• If you have or had a history of migraine attacks.
• If you had or have pancreas or liver problems.
• If you have a history of vaginal bleeding (cause not established), absent periods for more than 3 months (amenorrhea).
• If you have or are suspected of having breast cancer or cancer of the genital organs (private parts).
• If you are taking treatment for Hepatitis C with a medicine that contains Ombitasvir/Paritaprevir/Ritonavir plus Dasabuvir.

Common side effects of this drug are:

• Headache
• Acne
• Nausea
• Nervousness
• Stomach discomfort like pain, bloating
• Depression
• Weight gain
• Painful menstruation

Other General Warnings

• You have a family history of breast cancer, diabetes, fits or other brain disorders.
• You have diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol.
• You have a disease of the liver, gall bladder or inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis).
• You have a blood disease that damages the kidneys (hemolytic uremic syndrome).
• You have an immune system disorder like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
• You have a history of pregnancy patches especially on the face (chloasma).
• You have a disease that first appeared during pregnancy like porphyria (a rare inherited metabolic disorder), hearing loss, gestational herpes (vesicular skin rashes during pregnancy) and Sydenham's chorea (rapid, irregular movements of the body).
• You have a family history or previous history of serious allergic reactions causing swelling of the face and throat, breathing difficulty, skin rashes and blisters (hereditary angioedema).
• You should let the doctor or the laboratory person know that you are using this medicine while going for a lab test, as this medicine may interfere with the lab tests.

How Does It Work?

Interactions with other medicines

• Levonorgestrel+Ethinylestradiol may interact with other medications and provide an altered response to the treatment. Please notify your doctor if you are undergoing any other treatments, over-the-counter medications (that you buy without a prescription) and herbal preparations.
• Concomitant use of Levonorgestrel+Ethinylestradiol along with medicines used to treat fits (phenytoin, carbamazepine, etc), anti-HIV medicines like ritonavir, anti-infectives like penicillin, herbal supplements like St. John's Wort (used to treat a psychiatric illness), may alter the effects of Levonorgestrel+Ethinylestradiol.
• Concomitant use of this medicine with certain antiviral medicines may affect your liver enzymes. Thus, this medicine should be stopped and can be restarted 2 weeks after completing the treatment.
• Other medicines that should be used with caution are anti-tuberculosis medicines like rifampicin and anti-epileptic medicines like carbamazepine, immunosuppressants like ciclosporin, etc.

Overdose

Missed a Dose