Plan B (Levonorgestrel) Drug Information: Side Effects and Drug Interactions

Pill Identifier Search

May 27, 2012

Plan B

Birth Control (Types and Options) »

Introduction to birth control types and options

If a woman is sexually active and she is fertile — physically able to become pregnant — she needs to ask herself, "Do I want to become pregnant now?" If her answer is "No," she must use some method of birth control (contraception).

If a woman does not want to get pregnant at this point in her life, does she plan to become pregnant in the future? Soon? Much later? Never? Her answers to these questions can determine the method of birth control that she and her male sexual partner use — now and in the future.

There are a number of different ways to describe birth control. Terms include contraception, pregnancy prevention, fertility control, and family planning. But no matter what the process is called, sexually active people can choose from a plethora of methods to reduce the possibility of their becoming pregnant. Nevertheless, no method of birth control av...

Read the Birth Control (Types and Options) article »

« Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Next »

Plan B User Reviews >>

Plan B

Birth Control Slideshow Pictures

font size

SIDE EFFECTS

The most common adverse events in the clinical trial for women receiving Plan B® (levonorgestrel) included nausea (23%), abdominal pain (18%), fatigue (17%), headache (17%), and menstrual changes. The table below shows those adverse events that occurred in ≥5% of Plan B® (levonorgestrel) users.

Table 3
Adverse Events in ≥ to 5% of Women, by % Frequency

Most Common Adverse Events	Plan B® Levonorgestrel N = 977 (%)
Nausea	23.1
Abdominal Pain	17.6
Fatigue	16.9
Headache	16.8
Heavier Menstrual Bleeding	13.8
Lighter Menstrual Bleeding	12.5
Dizziness	11.2
Breast Tenderness	10.7
Other complaints	9.7
Vomiting	5.6
Diarrhea	5.0

Plan B® (levonorgestrel) demonstrated a superior safety profile over the Yuzpe regimen for the following adverse events:

Nausea: Occurred in 23% of women taking Plan B® (levonorgestrel) (compared to 50% with Yuzpe)
Vomiting: Occurred in 6% of women taking Plan B® (levonorgestrel) (compared to 19% with Yuzpe)

DRUG ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE

There is no information about dependence associated with the use of Plan B® (levonorgestrel) .

DRUG INTERACTIONS

Theoretically, the effectiveness of low-dose progestin-only pills is reduced by hepatic enzyme-inducing drugs such as the anticonvulsants phenytoin, carbamazepine, and barbiturates, and the antituberculosis drug rifampin. No significant interaction has been found with broad-spectrum antibiotics. It is not known whether the efficacy of Plan B® (levonorgestrel) would be affected by these or any other medications.

Last reviewed on RxList: 5/24/2007
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.