Ortho Tri-Cyclen

Ortho Tri-Cyclen is a prescription oral contraceptive used to prevent pregnancy. Oral contraceptives are also known as "birth control pills."

Ortho Tri-Cyclen can also be used to treat moderate acne in females at least 15 years old who have started to have menstrual periods.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen does not protect against HIV infection or other sexually-transmitted diseases and is not intended for use in emergency contraception.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen contains two hormones, norgestimate and ethinyl estradiol, which belong to a group of drugs called hormonal contraceptives. These hormones prevent pregnancy by stopping ovulation and by altering cervical mucus and the lining of the uterus.

This medication comes in tablet form. It is taken once daily, with or without food.

Common side effects of Ortho Tri-Cyclen include nausea, breast tenderness, and vaginal bleeding between menstrual periods.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen may cause dizziness and blurred vision. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Ortho Tri-Cyclen affects you.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen is a prescription oral contraceptive used to prevent pregnancy. Oral contraceptives are also known as "birth control pills."

Ortho Tri-Cyclen can also be used to treat moderate acne in females at least 15 years old who have started to have menstrual periods.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen does not protect against HIV infection or other sexually-transmitted diseases and is not intended for use in emergency contraception.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take Ortho Tri-Cyclen exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen comes in a blister card containing 28 tablets:

• 7 white tablets 
• 7 light blue tablets 
• 7 blue tablets 
• 7 green tablets containing no active drug

One tablet should be taken by mouth at the same time each day in the order indicated on the packaging.

Warnings: Cardiovascular Risk Associated with Smoking

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular events from combination oral contraceptive use. This risk increases with age, particularly in women over 35 years of age, and with the number of cigarettes smoked. For this reason, combination oral contraceptives, including ORTHO TRI-CYCLEN, should not be used by women who are over 35 years of age and smoke.

Serious side effects have been reported with Ortho Tri-Cyclen including:

• Blood clots, heart attack and stroke.Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms:
  • shortness of breath
  • sharp or crushing chest pain
  • weakness or numbness in an arm or leg
  • slurring of speech
  • coughing of blood
  • pain in the calf
  • sudden severe headache or vomiting
  • dizziness or fainting
• Hypertension (high blood pressure). Have your blood pressure monitored by your doctor closely if taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen, especially if you have a history of hypertension or are taking medications to treat hypertension.
• Lipid disorders. Women who are being treated for hyperlipidemia (high blood fat/cholesterol) should be monitored closely, as steroids can elevate lipid levels.
• Breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you detect a lump in the breast or experience new abdominal pain.
• Liver problems. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms:
  • severe pain or tenderness in the stomach area
  • yellowing of the skin or eyeballs
• Severe depression. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms:
  • difficulty sleeping
  • weakness, lack of energy, fatigue
  • change in mood
• Eye conditions.Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms:
  • unexplained partial or complete loss of vision
  • double vision
  • bulging of the eyes
• Severe migraine headaches. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you experience recurrent or persistent headaches.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen does not protect against HIV infection or other sexually-transmitted diseases.

Do not take Ortho Tri-Cyclen if you:

• are allergic to Ortho Tri-Cyclen or to any of its ingredients
• have a history of heart attack or stroke
• have blood clots in the legs, lungs, or eyes
• have a history of blood clots in the deep veins of your legs
• have chest pain (angina pectoris)
• have or have had cerebral vascular or coronary artery disease
• have disease of the heart valves with complications
• have severe hypertension (very high blood pressure)
• have diabetes with blood vessel involvement
• have headaches with focal neurological symptoms (movement disorders affecting a specific region of the body, such as the left arm or right leg)
• have had a major surgery requiring a long period of inactivity
• have, may have, or have had cancer of the breast
• have cancer of the lining of the uterus or other estrogen-dependent cancer
• have undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding
• have jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
• have liver disease with abnormal liver function
• have tumors of the liver
• are or may be pregnant

Serious side effects have been reported with Ortho Tri-Cyclen. See the "Ortho Tri-Cyclen Precautions" section.

• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• constipation
• gingivitis
• changes in appetite
• brown or black patches on skin
• acne
• unusual hair growth
• spotting or bleeding between menstrual periods
• changes in menstrual flow
• painful or missed periods
• swelling of the fingers or ankles
• breast tenderness, enlargement, or discharge
• vaginal discharge
• swelling or irritation of the vagina
• weight changes
• difficulty wearing contact lenses

​This is not a complete list of Ortho Tri-Cyclen side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• acetaminophen (APAP, Tylenol)
• antibiotics such as ampicillin (Principen), clarithromycin (Biaxin), erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin), isoniazid (INH, Nydrazid), metronidazole (Flagyl),minocycline (Dynacin, Minocin), rifabutin (Mycobutin), rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane), and tetracycline (Sumycin)
• anticoagulants ('blood thinners') such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
• antifungals such as griseofulvin (Fulvicin, Grifulvin, Grisactin), fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), and ketoconazole (Nizoral)
• atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• clofibrate (Atromid-S)
• cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune)
• bosentan (Tracleer)
• cimetidine (Tagamet)
• danazol (Danocrine)
• delavirdine (Rescriptor)
• diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac)
• fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, in Symbyax)
• HIV protease inhibitors such as indinavir (Crixivan) and ritonavir (Norvir)
• medications for seizures such as carbamazepine (Tegretol), felbamate (Felbatol), lamotrigine (Lamictal), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), phenytoin (Dilantin), primidone (Mysoline), and topiramate (Topamax)
• modafinil (Provigil)
• morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, MSIR, others)
• nefazodone
• rifampin (Rimactane, in Rifadin, in Rifater)
• oral steroids such as dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexone), methylprednisolone (Medrol), prednisone (Deltasone), and prednisolone (Prelone)
• temazepam (Restoril)
• theophylline (Theobid, Theo-Dur)
• thyroid medication such as levothyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid)
• verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan)
• vitamin C
• zafirlukast (Accolate)
• St. John's Wort

This is not a complete list of Ortho Tri-Cyclen interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X - are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Ortho Tri-Cyclen falls into category X. This medication should not be used during pregnancy as it has the potential to cause miscarriage.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

You should not take Ortho Tri-Cyclen if you are breastfeeding. It may be excreted in your breast milk and may harm your nursing child.

Norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol does not protect against HIV infection or other sexually-transmitted diseases and is not intended for use in emergency contraception.

Norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol can interact with certain medications such as certain antibiotics, which can reduce the effectiveness of your birth control. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to see if any of your medications may interact with your birth control.

For the first cycle, another method of birth control should be used until after the first 7 days of using Norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol.

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects from oral contraceptive use. This risk increases with age and with heavy smoking (15 or more cigarettes per day) and is quite marked in women over 35 years of age. Women who use oral contraceptives should be strongly advised not to smoke.