Oral Contraceptives Contraindications- When to Avoid OCs?

While taking oral contraceptive drugs, one needs to know what other medications can be taken along without any adverse effect. This is because various drugs sometimes interact with each other and may produce adverse reactions.

Medicines to Be Avoided When Taking Oral Contraceptives

Here is a list of drugs for which a care should be exercised while taking contraceptive pills-

• Pain relievers like acetaminophen (APAP, Tylenol).
• Antibiotics- Don’t self prescribe an antibiotic. Consulting a doctor would be safer.
• Anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin (Coumadin).
• Anti cholesterol drugs like- atorvastatin (Lipitor), clofibrate (Atromid-S); Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune).
• Griseofulvin (Fulvicin, Grifulvin, Grisactin).
• HIV protease inhibitors such as indinavir (Crixivan) and ritonavir (Norvir).
• Medications for seizures such as carbamazepine (Tegretol), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), phenytoin (Dilantin), and topiramate (Topamax).
• Morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, MSIR).
• Oral steroids such as dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexone), methylprednisolone (Medrol), prednisone (Deltasone), and prednisolone (Prelone).
• Phenylbutazone; rifabutin (Mycobutin); rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane); temazepam (Restoril); theophylline (Theobid, Theo-Dur).
• Thyroid medication such as levothyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid).
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors such as benazepril (Lotensin), enalapril (Vasotec), and lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril).
• Angiotensin II antagonists such as irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), and valsartan (Diovan).
• Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn).
• Diuretics (water pills) such as amiloride (Midamor), spironolactone (Aldactone).
• Herbal products, especially St. John’s wort.

Medical Conditions in Which Oral Contraceptives Should Be Avoided

It is not safe to take Oral contraceptives if one is affected with any of the following medical conditions-

• History of breast lumps or cancer;
• Endometrial cancer;
• High blood pressure;
• High blood cholesterol and fats;
• Diabetes (high blood sugar);
• Asthma;
• Stroke;
• Blood clots;
• Toxemia (high blood pressure during pregnancy);
• Heart attack;
• Epilepsy (seizures);
• Migraine headaches;
• Depression;
• Liver, heart, gallbladder, or kidney disease;
• Adrenal insufficiency;
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
• Vaginal bleeding between menstrual periods;
• Excessive weight gain and fluid retention (bloating) during the menstrual cycle.