Drug Interactions With Junel Fe

Protease inhibitors, antibiotics, and several seizure medications may interact with Junel Fe. Drug interactions such as these can interfere with the effectiveness of Junel Fe, increasing your chances of getting pregnant. Some of these drug interactions with Junel Fe can also increase your risk of developing side effects. Prior to taking it, tell your healthcare provider about any other medications you are taking.

 

An Overview of Drug Interactions With Junel Fe

Junel Fe™ (norethindrone/ethinyl estradiol) can potentially interact with several other medicines. These interactions can be severe enough to cause accidental pregnancy, and a backup method of birth control may be recommended in many cases. If you are taking any medication that interacts with Junel Fe and increases the risk of pregnancy, check with your healthcare provider about how long to use a backup method of birth control (it may be longer than you would guess).
 
(Junel Fe is a generic version of Loestrin® Fe and is also equivalent to Microgestin® Fe birth control pills. The information in this article also applies to both of these medications.)
 
Some of the medicines that may lead to drug interactions with Junel Fe include:
 
  • Aminoglutethimide (Cytadren®)
  • Antibiotics
  • Aprepitant (Emend®)
  • Barbiturate medications, such as:
 
    • Amobarbital (Amytal®)
    • Butalbital (Fioricet®, Fiorinal®)
    • Pentobarbital (Nembutal®)
    • Phenobarbital (Luminal®)
    • Primidone (Mysoline®)
    • Secobarbital (Seconal®)
 
  • Cyclosporine (Gengraf®, Neoral®, Sandimmune®)
  • Dexamethasone (Decadron®)
  • Many seizure medications, such as:
 
 
 
 
(Drug Interactions With Junel Fe Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;