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Anon1 and Anon 2 - Ok, you're both essentially asking if taking antibiotics will have an effect on oral contraceptives. Good question.

Here's what the Mayo Clinic says:

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 used widely. Chances are you wouldn't be taking it unless you had tuberculosis or had tested positive for the disease.

Hypothetically speaking, other antibiotics, particularly penicillin and tetracycline derivatives, could impair the effectiveness of birth control pills in a small percentage of women. Researchers can't rule out this possibility, but no large studies have proved such an effect.

If you're taking a newer, extremely low-dose oral contraceptive, you could be more susceptible to this potential antibiotic effect. If you're concerned, consider using a barrier method of contraception for the duration of your antibiotic prescription.

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Other resources offer varying opinions. Some are adamant that a second measure must be taken, while others say there's no risk at all. An article published in the Journal of Gynecologic Surgery stated that women who experience breakthrough bleeding while taking both birth control pills and antibiotics could be at higher risk of contraceptive failure and that women who take low-dose birth control pills may also be at higher risk than women taking birth control pills with higher levels of synthetic estrogen and progestin.

It's believed that antibiotics may interfere with birth control pills by changing the way the liver metabolizes the synthetic estrogen in birth control pills. The bottom line seems to be that the data isn't really clear, and since oral contraceptives aren't a 100% guarantee to begin with, there may be a risk involved in combining them with antibiotics.

Does this provide the information you need? Best wishes to both of you. Pat

March 4, 2010 - 5:42pm

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