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Brevicon Drug Interactions
If you take barbiturates, certain antibiotics, or St. John's wort while taking Brevicon, drug interactions may occur. These interactions can interfere with the effectiveness of Brevicon (increasing your risk of pregnancy) or may increase your risk of developing side effects. Make sure to tell your healthcare provider about any other medications you are taking so that you can discuss any possible Brevicon drug interactions that may apply to you.
Brevicon® (norethindrone/ethinyl estradiol) is a birth control pill that may potentially interact with several other medications. A few of these interactions can be severe enough to lead to unintentional pregnancy. A backup method of birth control (such as condoms) may be necessary in many situations.
If a backup method of contraception is necessary, you may need to use the backup for quite a while (often an entire cycle). Anytime a backup method of birth control is recommended, make sure your healthcare provider explains how long you need to use the backup. If you do not know what to do about any particular Brevicon drug interaction, make sure to use a backup method of birth control until you can check with your healthcare provider, just to be safe.
Some of the medicines that may lead to Brevicon interactions include:
- Aminoglutethimide (Cytadren®)
- Aprepitant (Emend®)
- Barbiturates, such as:
- Certain antibiotics (but not all antibiotics)
- Cyclosporine (Gengraf®, Neoral®, Sandimmune®)
- Many seizure medications, such as:
- Carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro™, Tegretol®)
- Felbamate (Felbatol®)
- Lamotrigine (Lamictal®)
- Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®)
- Phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®)
- Topiramate (Topamax®)
- Amprenavir (Agenerase®)
- Atazanavir (Reyataz®)
- Fosamprenavir (Lexiva®)
- Indinavir (Crixivan®)
- Nelfinavir (Viracept®)
- Ritonavir (Norvir®)
- Selegiline (Eldepryl®, Emsam®, Zelapar®)
- St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum).
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD