What should I avoid while taking my birth control pills?

• Avoid smoking. It greatly increases your risk of a heart attack, stroke, and blood clot formation
  
• Birth control pills do not protect you from sexually transmitted diseases including HIV or AIDS. Using a condom is the only way to
  protect you from these diseases
  
  

What are the possible side effects of my birth control pills?

If you experience any of the following serious side effects, stop taking your birth control pills and seek emergency medical attention

• an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of your throat; swelling of your lips, tongue, or face; or hives);
• a blood clot in the lung (shortness of breath or pain in the chest);
• a blood clot in an arm or leg (pain, redness, swelling, or numbness of an arm or leg);
• high blood pressure (severe headache, flushing, blurred vision); or
• liver damage (yellowing of the skin or eyes, nausea, abdominal pain or discomfort, unusual bleeding or bruising, severe fatigue).
• Other, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to take your birth control pills and talk to your doctor if you experience
• headache or dizziness;
• nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;
• breakthrough bleeding; or
• breast tenderness.

These side effects may disappear or be less noticeable after 3 to 6 months of birth control use. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice if you find any side effect very bothersome.

The side effects listed below generally occur very rarely and are not considered serious. If you experience any of the following, talk to your doctor

• depression,
• changes in weight or appetite,
• vaginal yeast infection,
• changes in your menstrual cycle,
• oily skin or acné,
• changes in your sex drive,
• lethargy or fatigue,
• bloating,
• changes in your skin color, or
• changes in your blood sugar.

Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is
especially bothersome

What other drugs will affect my birth control pills?

Some drugs may decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills which may result in pregnancy. Use a second form of birth control if you are taking

• a penicillin antibiotic such as amoxicillin (Amoxil, Polymox, Trimox, Wymox, Utimox, A-Cillin, Larotid, Augmentin, others), ampicillin (Principen, Omnipen, Penamp, Polycillin, Amplin, Amcill, Totacillin, others), bacampicillin (Spectrobid), carbenicillin (Geocillin), cloxacillin (Cloxapen, Tegopen), dicloxacillin (Dynapen, Dycill, Pathocil), nafcillin (Nafcil, Nallpen, Unipen), oxacillin (Bactocill, Prostphlin), or penicillin (Veetids, Pen Vee K, Bicillin, Permapen, others);
• a tetracycline antibiotic such as demeclocycline (Declomycin), doxycycline (Doryx, Doxy, Vibramycin, Vibra-Tabs, others), minocycline (Minocin), or tetracycline (Sumycin, Teracyn, Achromycin, Robitet, Panmycin, others);
• rifampin (Rifadin);
• phenytoin (Dilantin);
• carbamezepine (Tegretol); or
• griseofulvin (Grisactin, Grifulvin V, Fulvicin PG).
• a barbiturate such as amobarbital (Amytal), butabarbital (Butisol), mephobarbital (Mebaral), secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton);

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.

Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.