Slight nausea, mood changes, and occasional mild weight gain are common. Consult your health care provider if these symptoms occur. Serious side effects occur infrequently, especially if you are in good health and do not smoke. If you notice severe pain in chest, head, belly, or lower leg; sudden problems with speech; dizzines; yellow skin or eyes; or breast lump, call your health care provider immediately. ^ Contraceptive FAQ | ^ Top

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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); 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.

BUT: Women who take HT are generally older than women who use birth control pills, and older women have a higher risk for medical problems, such as heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. The Women’s Health Initiative showed that adding estrogen and progestin to their systems slightly increases these risks. Use of the pill is safe for most women.

Traditional birth control pills make your reproductive system mimic a regular 28-day monthly cycle. For the first 21 days, you take active pills containing reproductive hormones. For the last seven days, you take a placebo. While you're taking the placebo pills, you bleed vaginally, as if you were having a regular menstrual period. By contrast, extended-cycle birth control pills contain active hormones for every day of the month.

If you continued taking your birth control pill because you didn't realize you were pregnant, don't be alarmed. Despite years of this accident happening, there's very little evidence that exposure to the hormones in birth control pills causes birth defects. Still, the birth control pill is a potent estrogen.

It's possible to use standard estrogen-progestin birth control pills for emergency contraception, but check with your doctor for the proper dose and timing of the pills. There is a special type of contraceptive pill that's specifically designed to keep you from becoming pregnant if you've had unprotected vaginal intercourse.

Women often blame the birth control pill for weight gain. But studies have shown that the effect of the birth control pill on weight is small — if it exists at all. However, the way the hormones in birth control pills act on tissues in your breasts, hips and thighs can make you feel as if you've gained weight. This is usually due to fluid retention and not increased body mass or fat.

Scientific evidence suggests using birth control pills for longer periods of time increases your risk of some cancers, such as cervical cancer and liver cancer, but it also decreases your risk of other types of cancer, including ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. The effect of birth control pills on breast cancer risk isn't quite clear. However, some studies do show a link between pill use and breast cancer.

Birth control pills can affect cholesterol levels. How much of an effect depends on the type of pill you're taking and what concentration of estrogen or progestin it contains. The estrogen in birth control pills causes an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels (the "good" cholesterol), a decrease in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (the "bad" cholesterol) and an increase in your total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Birth control pills may increase blood pressure. The risk of high blood pressure in women who take birth control pills also increases with age and the duration of use. If you take birth control pills, have your blood pressure checked regularly. If you already have high blood pressure, consider an alternative form of birth control. If you do choose to take the pill, have your blood pressure closely monitored by your doctor.

The effects of antibiotics on birth control pills may be overstated — except in the case of one antibiotic, rifampin. Studies clearly show that rifampin decreases the effectiveness of birth control pills in preventing ovulation. However, rifampin isn't a widely used antibiotic. Chances are you wouldn't be taking it unless you had tuberculosis or had tested positive for the disease.

A woman still goes through menopause even if she is taking birth control pills. But she may not know it. Menopause occurs naturally when your ovaries stop making estrogen and progesterone. Eventually your menstrual periods stop, and you can no longer become pregnant. Signs and symptoms of decreased production of estrogen and progesterone include hot flashes, sleep disturbances and vaginal dryness.

The birth control pill usually contains 2 hormones, a synthetic estrogen and synthetic progesterone. These outside hormones turn off the woman's ovaries so her ovaries do not make an egg and cause the mucus of the cervix to thicken to prevent sperm from entering the uterus.

Consult your healthcare provider. Taking pills to skip all your periods is not approved by the FDA so you will need a special prescription and instructions. You can take to your healthcare provider the handout from our website on continuous birth control pill use and ask for a prescription like this sample prescription. You will need to buy more birth control pills/packages. Normally, with a period every 21 days for you need 13 pill packages for 1 year.

To date, there is no published evidence of difficulties with birth-control pills related to PXE. [March 2006]

All combination birth control pills use estrogen, but they do not all use the same progestin. YAZ contains the estrogen ethinyl estradiol and the unique progestin, drsp, or drospirenone. Whereas other combination pills have a progestin that is made from the male sex hormone testosterone, the drsp in YAZ is made from spironolactone. Ask your healthcare professional about the unique properties of drsp and what that may mean for you.

Birth control pills can be used safely by most healthy women. Women who may not be able to take the Pill include those with conditions, such as heart disease or stroke, breast cancer, liver disease, severe or uncontrolled diabetes, severe or uncontrolled high blood pressure, certain types of migraines, and smokers 35 and older.

No. None of the ingredients in the acne treatments reviewed on this site interfere with birth control pill effectiveness. No, it is never a good idea to to stray from the manufacturers guidelines on how and when to use their product. Most acne treatment companies have tested and have had thousands of people use their products. They are in the best position to recommend the correct usage schedule.

I am 34 years old. I never used any oral contraceptive until recently. My physician gave me a prescription for Levora®. He told me to start it on Sunday, the 5th. My regular period was due on the 8th of this month. I started the medicine on the 5th, and I noticed from about the 5th until right now, that I have had slight cramping and very light spotting. I am very bloated and feel sluggish.

Yes. Birth control pills are only prescribed to prevent pregnancy; pills do not prevent sexually transmitted infections.

Our women's health program requires you to have a current pap smear exam (within the last year). Once you've had your pap smear, the practitioner will discuss your contraceptive options. If you are a good candidate for oral contraceptives (birth control pills), she will prescribe them for you. Watch 3 video tapes prior to your first visit only. This is to educate you and hopefully answer some questions you may have.

If you have never been on birth control pills, go to one of our free Sexual Health Info Sessions first. You may then schedule a general appointment with any of our providers to obtain a prescription, or request a prescription at your annual gynecological examination if you are due for a PAP smear and/or STD screen.

Yes. The most common are nausea and spotting, especially during the first one to three months. Back to top

Birth control pills need to be taken every day in order to prevent pregnancy. The pill is basically out of your system within 24 hours and that is why it is important to take it every day and at the same time each day. The birth control shot (Depo-Provera) is given every 3 months in order to prevent pregnancy. Most women who take birth control pills will get their periods every 28 days. Most women who get the shot will stop having periods after they have been getting the shot for a while.

Birth control pills usually contain synthetic progestins. It is not recommended to take them together. Birth control pills have been known to cause many health problems when taken over a long period of time.

It's possible to prevent your period with continuous use of any birth control pill. This means skipping the placebo pills and starting right away on a new pack. Some evidence suggests an advantage to this type of pill regimen. By continuously taking the pill, you prevent hormonal fluctuations that are responsible for bleeding, cramping, headaches and other discomforts associated with getting your period. However, you're at greater risk of breakthrough bleeding — bleeding between periods.