Some medicines can interact with the pill and reduce its effectiveness. This may mean that you need to use additional contraception, such as condoms.
Interactions
When you take two or more medicines at the same time the effects of one medicine can be changed by the other. This is known as an interaction.
Some medicines can interact with some forms of hormonal contraception, such as the combined contraceptive pill or the progestogen-only contraceptive pill.
For example, a medicine may change how much of the contraceptive pill your body absorbs, which could mean your contraception is no longer effective.
Medicines that interact with the pill
Medicines that can interact with the pill include:
- some types of antibiotics, called rifampicin and rifabutin: for more information, see Will antibiotics stop my contraception working?
- some herbal remedies, such as St John's Wort
- some anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) used to treat epilepsy, such as carbamazepine
- some antiretrovirals (ARVs) used to treat HIV, such as ritonavir
Most contraception methods need to be prescribed. The healthcare professional who prescribes your contraception can advise on whether your chosen method of contraception will be affected by other medicines and what those medicines are.
If you need to start taking another medicine while you’re on the pill, make sure your GP or pharmacist knows that you take the pill. They can advise you if the other medicine will make your contraception less effective.
If you become pregnant while taking the pill, it will not affect your health or that of your baby but you should tell your GP if you think you may be pregnant.
