Actos and Oral Contraceptives
The co-administration of Actos and oral contraceptives has not been studied profoundly, but there are at least two guidelines which should be kept in mind if you simultaneously take Actos and oral contraceptives. The first concerns the necessity for contraceptives, the other concerns the lax effect contraceptives may have when they are administered together with Actos.
First of all, Actos therapy may require adequate contraception methods irrespective of your age and medical condition. That is why taking into consideration the bitter truth that type 2 diabetes is no longer a disease of the people advanced in years and more and more young people suffer from this type of diabetes, it is of paramount importance to exercise birth control, especially since Actos is thought potent to decrease the effect of oral contraceptives.
Even if you have entered the premenopausal phase, the phase in a woman's life before the onset of menopause, the chance of your getting pregnant while you are on Actos is high. One of the conditions requiring you to be very careful about taking oral contraceptives is determined by Actos' ability to restart ovulation in premenopausal anovulatory women. The average age for a woman to start experiencing premenopausal symptoms is 45, but it is individual and varies from woman to woman as well as the length of a premenopause can vary from one to six years. Some women taking Actos as their anti-diabetic drug start having menstrual periods even after not having a period over a long time. That is why you should remember that it can lead to an unwanted pregnancy and adequate birth control methods should be resorted to. It is advisable to speak to your doctor about the most appropriate way to reduce the likelihood of pregnancy considering all the relevant factors.
Another aspect requiring careful consideration and caution is brought about by the high degree of possibility that interaction of oral contraceptives with derivatives of thiazolidinediones, such as Actos is, can decease the concentration of certain contraceptive drugs approximately by 30% and, therefore, increase your chance of getting pregnant even if you take oral contraceptives. For example, Ethinyl Estradiol (Norethindrone) belongs to the group of medications, the effect of which can be minimized by Actos. Essentially, Ethinyl Estradiol (Norethindrone) contains two female hormones, estrogen and progestin, that prevent ovulation. It also thickens the cervical mucus preventing the sperm from entering the uterus. Actos counteracts the action of this medicine stimulating ovulation. Consequently, patients simultaneously administering Actos and these oral birth control pills may face the problem of ineffectiveness of contraception. For this reason any interaction of this type should be discussed with a professional who would give you a piece of advice as to what is a better means of contraception for you.