Apri Side Effects

Some of the common side effects of Apri include headaches, breast tenderness, and nausea. Although most Apri side effects are typically minor and easily treated by you or your healthcare provider, serious side effects can also occur. Contact your healthcare provider right away if you develop more serious side effects, such as chest pain, migraines, or signs of an allergic reaction.

An Introduction to Apri Side Effects

Apri® (desogestrel/ethinyl estradiol) is a birth control pill and is a generic version of Desogen®. As with any medicine, side effects are possible with Apri. However, not everyone who uses the contraceptive will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it quite well. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can easily be treated by you or your healthcare provider.
 
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with Apri. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of side effects with you. Apri is equivalent to Desogen®, Emoquette™, Ortho-Cept®, Reclipsen™, and Solia™ birth control pills. The information in this article also applies to each of these medications.)
 

Apri Side Effects to Report

There are a number of side effects with Apri that you should report to your healthcare provider.
 These include, but are not limited to:
 
  • Depression or other emotional changes
  • Migraines (or changes in your migraines, if you have had them before)
  • Breast lumps
  • Signs of a blood clot in the leg, such as pain in the calf, leg cramps, and leg or foot swelling
  • Signs of a blood clot in the lung, such as shortness of breath, sharp chest pain, or coughing up blood
  • Chest pain or heaviness, which may be a sign of a heart attack
  • Sudden loss of vision or vision changes, which can be a sign of a blood clot in the eye
  • Signs of a stroke, such as vision or speech changes, weakness or numbness in an arm or leg, and a severe headache
  • Signs of liver damage, such as yellowing of the whites of the eyes or skin (jaundice), dark urine, and upper right abdominal pain (stomach pain)
  • Heavy vaginal bleeding between periods (light bleeding or spotting is normal)
  • High blood pressure (hypertension)
  • High cholesterol
  • Signs of an allergic reaction, including an unexplained rash, hives, itching, unexplained swelling, wheezing, or difficulty breathing or swallowing.
     
Apri Side Effects Article Continues on Next Page >
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD
 
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