Make sure your doctor knows if you are using antibiotics (such as ampicillin, rifampin, tetracycline, Omnipen®, Rimactane®) or antifungals (such as griseofulvin, Grifulvin V®), medicine for seizures (such as phenobarbital, phenylbutazone, phenytoin, carbamazepine, felbamate, oxcarbazepine, topiramate, primidone, Luminal®, Dilantin®, Tegretol®, Felbatol®, Trileptal®, Topamax®, Mysoline®), modafinil (Provigil®), or medicine to treat HIV or AIDS (such as ritonavir, Norvir®).
Tell your doctor if you are also using St. John's Wort, atorvastatin (Lipitor®), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), acetaminophen (Tylenol®), itraconazole (Sporanox®), ketoconazole (Nizoral®), cyclosporine (Gengraf®, Neoral®, Sandimmune®), prednisolone (Delta Cortef®, Prelone®), theophylline (Theo-Dur®, Slo-Phyllin®, Gyrocaps®), temazepam (Restoril®), morphine (Astramorph PF®, Duramorph®, Avinza®, MS Contin®, Roxanol®), or salicylic acid.
Make sure your doctor knows if you are breastfeeding, or if you have lupus, edema (fluid retention), seizure disorder, asthma, migraine headaches, or a history of depression. Tell your doctor if have breast lumps, high cholesterol, gallbladder disease, liver disease, kidney disease, or irregular monthly periods.
This medicine will not protect you from getting HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. If this is a concern for you, talk with your doctor.
If you smoke while using birth control pills, you increase your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or blood clot. Your risk is even higher if you are over age 35, if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or if you are overweight. Talk with your doctor about ways to stop smoking. Keep your diabetes under control. Ask your doctor about diet and exercise to control your weight and blood cholesterol level.
Tell any doctor or dentist who treats you that you are using this medicine. You may need to stop using this medicine several days before you have surgery or medical tests.
Check with your eye doctor if you wear contact lenses and you have vision problems or eye discomfort.
You should see your doctor on a regular basis (every 6 months or 1 year) while taking birth control pills.
If you miss two periods in a row, call your doctor for a pregnancy test before you take any more pills.
It is best to wait 2 or 3 months after stopping birth control pills before you try to get pregnant.
Do not use this medicine together with medicine to treat hepatitis C virus infection, including ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir, with or without dasabuvir.
Some medicines can affect how levonorgestrel/ethinyl estradiol works. Tell your doctor if you are using any of the following:Acetaminophen, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), atorvastatin, bosentan, cyclosporine, phenylbutazone, rifampin, St John's wort, theophyllineMedicine to treat an infection (including ampicillin, fluconazole, griseofulvin, tetracycline, troleandomycin)Medicine to treat HIV/AIDS (including indinavir, modafinil, ritonavir)Medicine to treat seizures (including carbamazepine, felbamate, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, primidone, topiramate)
Your risk of heart disease or stroke from this medicine is higher if you smoke. Your risk is also increased if you have diabetes or high cholesterol, or if you are overweight. Talk with your doctor about ways to stop smoking. Keep your diabetes under control. Ask your doctor about diet and exercise to control your weight and blood cholesterol level.
This medicine may also increase your risk of certain types of cancer. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about this risk.
You might have some light bleeding or spotting when you first start using this medicine. This is usually normal and should not last long. However, if you have heavy bleeding or the bleeding lasts more than seven days in a row, call your doctor€™s office. You should not have a "normal" menstrual period until you start taking the white pills. The white pills are the last seven pills in your package and do not contain hormones.
Call your doctor for a pregnancy test if your menstrual period does not start when you take the last seven white pills.
Tell any doctor or dentist who treats you that you are using this medicine. This medicine may affect certain medical test results.
Your doctor will check your progress and the effects of this medicine at regular visits. Keep all appointments.
This medicine will not protect you from getting HIV, AIDS, or other sexually transmitted diseases. If this is a concern for you, talk with your doctor.