Drug Interactions With the Birth Control Patch

Some medications may cause drug interactions with the birth control patch. These negative interactions could decrease the effectiveness of the birth control patch, increasing your risk of pregnancy. You can help prevent these interactions by telling your healthcare provider about any other medications you are currently taking. Antibiotics, barbiturates, and protease inhibitors are among the drugs that may interact with the birth control patch.

An Introduction to Drug Interactions With the Birth Control Patch

The birth control patch (norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol) can potentially interact with several other medicines. Some of these drug interactions may be severe enough to lead to unintentional pregnancy, and a backup method of contraception (such as condoms) may be necessary. Some of the medicines that may lead to birth control patch interactions include:

Aminoglutethimide (Cytadren^®)
Antibiotics
Aprepitant (Emend^®)
Atorvastatin (Lipitor^®) or combination medications that contain atorvastatin (Caduet^®, Liptruzet™)
Barbiturate medications, including (but not limited to):