Birth control and antibiotics (not worried about being pregnant, worried about the endo pain and growth).

Ok, you know how we are to be careful when taking antibiotics and birth control because of possibly getting pregnant? I am not worried about that, I am more worried about the endo pain if taking antibiotics. Will it stop the birth control ( I just started the Depo Provera shot) from working properly at keeping the endo at bay if I take antibiotics at the same time? I am rather worried about the pain level coming back or letting the endo grow during that time.

[Impatient]

The patient info for Depo states

"Antibiotics: There have been reports of pregnancy while taking hormonal contraceptives and antibiotics, but clinical pharmacokinetic studies have not shown consistent effects of antibiotics on plasma concentrations of synthetic steroids. "

You might want to call or email the manufacturer to clarify what the latest updates are on this. Or see how you get on. it's only for a short time that you take antibiotics anyway, and the Depo is there to work for 3 months usually - so it should still carry on working long after the antibiotics have hopefully done their job and cleared up any infection.

It is much more critical to complete the antibiotics and get well than to worry about the vague possibility of any endo reaction to them.

i've had antibiotics while having the mirena - it didn't stop the mirena from working.

[Hidden in reply to Impatient]

Thanks! I know the antibiotics are important (it is a sinus infection), I just was wondering if that "interaction" would mess with the effectiveness of working against the endo. Thanks again.

[ca176]

Hi, as far as I know it's only oral birth control that can be affected by antibiotics (also in the UK doctors recently have been advised that there's now only two antibiotics that affect the contraceptive pill and most of them will not affect birth control). You can take antibiotics and be on the non-oral birth control like the coil for example with no change in effectiveness of the coil. A doctor once told me the reason antibiotics can affect oral birth control is because it can upset your stomach and mean the birth control is properly absorbed from the gut. So if you're getting shots, then antibiotics shouldn't have any effect on how they work.

[Hidden in reply to ca176]

Ca176, that makes me feel a million times better!!! Hurray, bring on the antibiotics!!!