Natazia Hair Loss, Patient Usage Guide, and Precautions & Warnings. Our little sister, well she’s no longer little as she’s 5’8″ and is now 26 years old, decided to use Natazia birth control pills last year. It was all hunky dory until she noticed some loss of hair.
Hair loss is not listed as a side effect of Natazia in our earlier post — see Natazia Side Effects — but it is apparently one of its less common side effects according to drugs.com.
Have any of you experienced hair loss [or in other instances hair growth] when you are/were taking Natazia?
Anyhoo, for those of us (little sis included) who want to know more about this particular birth control pill, here are some important information you should know about the drug.
Do note the the following information below is excerpted from the Natazia prescribing information issued by the pill’s manufacturer, Bayer.
How to take Natazia and when does one start using the pill?. To achieve maximum contraceptive effectiveness, Natazia must be taken exactly as directed. Take one tablet by mouth the same time every day. Tablets must be taken in the order directed on the blister pack. Tablets should not be skipped or intake delayed by more than 12 hours.
You should begin taking Natazia on Day 1 of your menstrual cycle (that is, the first day of menstrual bleeding). Use a non-hormonal contraceptive as back-up during the first 9 days.
Can smokers take Natazia? What about nursing moms and those with high blood pressure? Women who are over 35 years old and smoke should not use Natazia as cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular events from combination oral contraceptive (COC) use.
It should not also be prescribed to a woman with uncontrolled hypertension or hypertension with vascular disease. Nor is it recommended for nursing mothers because it can decrease milk production.
Who else should not take Natazia? It should not be prescribed to women who have the following:
• A high risk of arterial or venous thrombotic diseases. Examples include women who are known to: have deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (now or in the past), have cerebrovascular disease, have coronary artery disease, have thrombogenic valvular or thrombogenic rhythm diseases of the heart (for example, subacute bacterial
endocarditis with valvular disease, or atrial fibrillation), have inherited or acquired hypercoagulopathies, have diabetes with vascular disease, and have headaches with focal neurological symptoms or have migraine headaches with or without aura if overage.
• Undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding
• Breast cancer or other estrogen- or progestin-sensitive cancer, now or in the past
• Liver tumors, benign or malignant, or liver disease
• Pregnancy, because there is no reason to use COCs during pregnancy
FDA-Approved Patient Labeling Guide for Using Natazia
THIS WARNING BEARS REPEATING TO WOMEN WHO SMOKE
Do not use Natazia if you smoke cigarettes and are over 35 years old. Smoking increases your risk of serious cardiovascular side effects (heart and blood vessel problems) from birth control pills, including death from heart
attack, blood clots or stroke. This risk increases with age and the number of cigarettes you smoke.
• Take one pill every day at the same time. Take the pills in the order directed on the blister pack.
• Do not skip pills or delay taking your pill by more than 12 hours. If you miss pills (including starting
the pack late), you could get pregnant. The more pills you miss, the more likely you are to get pregnant.
• If you have trouble remembering to take Natazia, talk to your healthcare provider about how to make pill-taking easier, or about using another method of birth control.
• You may have spotting or light bleeding when you first take Natazia. Spotting or light bleeding is normal at first.
• You may feel sick to your stomach (nauseous), especially during the first few months that you take Natazia. If you feel sick to your stomach, do not stop taking the pill. Th e problem will usually go away. If your nausea doesn’t go away, call your healthcare provider.
• If you vomit or have diarrhea within 4 hours of taking your pill, follow the instructions for “What
Should I Do if I Miss any Pills.”
• Missing pills can also cause spotting or light bleeding, even when you take the missed pills later. On the days you take 2 pills to make up for missed pills, you could also feel a little sick to your stomach.
Before you start taking Natazia
• Decide what time of day you want to take your pill. It is important to take it at the same time every day and in the order as directed on the blister pack.
• Look at your Natazia blister pack. The blister pack has four rows of 7 pills each, for a total of 28 pills. Find:
o where on the pack to start takin g your pills
o in what order to take the pills
Each NATAZIA blister pack has 28 pills
o 2 dark yellow pills with hormones, for Days 1 and 2
o 5 medium red pills with hormones for Days 3–7
o 17 light yellow pills with hormones for Days 8–24
o 2 dark red pills with hormones for Days 25 and 26
o 2 white pills without hormones for Days 27 and 28
• After taking the last white pill (day 28) of the blister pack, start taking the first dark yellow pill from a new blister pack the very next day whether or not you are having your period.
• Be sure to have ready at all times another ki nd of birth control (such as condoms or spermicides) to use as a back-up in case you miss pills.
• It is not uncommon to miss a period. However, if you miss 2 periods in a row or feel like you may be pregnant, call your healthcare provider. If you are pregnant, you should stop taking Natazia.
When to Start Natazia
If you start taking Natazia and you did not use a hormonal birth control method before:
• Take the first dark yellow pill on the first day (Day 1) of your natural me nstrual cycle. The first day of your menstrual cycle is the first day you start spotting or bleeding.
• Use non-hormonal back-up contraception such as a condom or spermicide for the first 9 days that you take Natazia.
If you start taking Natazia and you are switching from a combination hormonal method such as:
o another pill
o vaginal ring
o patch
• Take the first dark yellow pill on the first day of your period. Do not continue taking the pills from your previous birth control pack. If you do not have a period, contact your healthcare provider before you start Natazia.
• If you previously used a vaginal rin g or transdermal patch, you should start using Natazia on the day the ring or patch is removed.
• Use a non-hormonal back-up method such as a condom or spermicide for the first 9 days you take Natazia.
If you start taking Natazia and you are switching from a progestin-only method such as a:
o progestin-only pill
o implant
o intrauterine system
o injection
• Take the first dark yellow pill on the day you would have taken your next progestin-only pill or on the day of removal of your implant or intrauterine system or on the day when you would have had your next injection.
• Use a non-hormonal back-up method such as a condom or spermicide for the first 9 days you take Natazia.
What Should I Do if I Miss any Pills
If you forgot to start a new blister pack, you may already be pregnant. Use back-up contraception (such as condoms and spermicides) anytime you have sex. Call your healthcare provider if you are unsure whether you are pregnant.
• Do not take more than 2 pills in one day. On the days y ou take 2 pills to make up for missed pills, you may feel a little sick to your stomach (nauseous).
• If you start vomiting or have diarrhea with in 4 hours of taking your pill, take another pill of the same color from your extra blister pack.
If you are less than 12 hours late taking your pill
• Take your pill as soon as you remember
• Take the next pill at the usual time
• You do not need to use back-up contraception
If you miss ONE PILL for more than 12 hours
Days 1–17
• Take your missed pill immediately
• Take your next pill at the usual time (you may have to take two pills that day)
• Use back-up contraception for the next 9 days
• Continue taking one pill each day at the same time for the rest of your cycle
Days 18–24
• Do not take any pills from your current blister pack and throw the pack away
• Take Day 1 pill from a new blister pack
• Use back-up contraception for the next 9 days
• Continue taking one pill from the new blister pack at the same time each day
Days 25–28
• Take your missed pill immediately
• Take your next pill at the usual time (you may have to take two pills that day)
• No back-up contraception is needed
• Continue taking one pill each day at the same time for the rest of your cycle
If you miss TWO PILLS in a row
Days 1–17 (if you miss the pills for Days 17 and 18, follow the instructions for Days 17–25
instead)
• Do not take the missed pills. Instead, take the pill for the day on which you fir st noticed you had
missed pills.
• Use back-up contraception for the next 9 days
• Continue taking one pill each day at the same time for the rest of your cycle
Days 17–25 (if you miss the pills for Days 25 and 26, follow the instructions for Days 25–28 instead)
• Do not take any pills from your current blister pack and throw the pack away
• Take Day 3 pill from a new blister pack
• Use back-up contraception for the next 9 days
• Continue taking one pill from the new blister pack at the same time each day
Days 25–28
• Do not take any pills from your current blister pack and throw the pack away
• Start a new pack on the same day or start a new pack on the day you usually start a new pack
• No back-up contraception is needed
• Continue taking one pill from the new pack at the same time each da y, for the rest of your cycle You may already be pregnant or COULD BECOME PREGNANT if you had sex on the days after the pills were missed. The more pills missed and
the closer they are to the end o f the cycle, the higher the risk of a pregnancy. You should call your doctor or healthcare provider if you are unsure whether you are already pregnant.
If you are still not sure of what to do about the pills you have missed:
• Call your healthcare provider
• Use back-up contraception (such as condoms and spermicides) anytime you have sex and keep taking 1 pill each day
Who Should Not Take Natazia?
Your healthcare provider will not give you Natazia if you have:
• Ever had breast cancer or any cancer that is sensitive to female hormones
• Liver disease, including liver tumors
• Ever had blood clots in your arms, legs, or lungs
• Ever had a stroke
• Ever had a heart attack
• Certain heart valve problems or heart rhythm abnormalities that can cause blood clots to form in the heart
• An inherited problem with your blood th at makes it clot more than normal
• High blood pressure that medicine can’t control
• Diabetes with kidney, eye, or blood vessel damage
• Certain kinds of severe migraine headaches with aura, numbness, weakness or changes in vision
Also, do not take birth control pills if you:
• Smoke and are over 35 years old
• Are pregnant
Birth control pills may not be a good choice for you if you have ever had jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes) caused by pregnancy (also called cholestasis of pregnancy).
What Else Should I Know about Taking Natazia?
Birth control pills do not protect you against any sexually transmitted disease, including HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS.
Do not skip any pills, even if you do not have sex often.
If you miss a period, you could be pregnant. However, some women miss periods or have light periods on birth control pills, even when they are not pregnant. Contact your healthcare provider for advice if you:
• Think you are pregnant
• Miss one period and have not taken your birth control pills according to directions
• Miss two periods in a row
Birth control pills should not be taken during pregnancy. However, birth control pills taken by accident during pregnancy are not known to cause birth defects.
If you are breastfeeding, consider another birth control method until you are ready to stop breastfeeding. Birth control pills that contain estrogen, like Natazia, may decrease the amount of milk you make. A small amount of the pill’s hormones pass into breast milk.
Tell your healthcare provider about all medicines and herbal products that you take. You should not choose Natazia as your birth control pill if you ta ke carbemazepine, phenytoin, rifampicin or St. John’s wort, because these medicines may make Natazia ineffective. Some other medicines and herbal products may make birth control pills less effective, including:
• Barbiturates
• Bosentan
• Felbamate
• Griseofulvin
• Oxcarbazepine
• Topiramate
Consider using another birth control method when you take medicines that may make birth control pills less effective.
Birth control pills may interact with lamotrigine, an anticonvulsant use d for epilepsy. This may increase the risk of seizures, so your healthcare provider may need to adjust the dose of lamotrigine.
If you have vomiting or diarrhea, your birth control pills may not work as well. Use another birth control method, like condoms and a spermicide, until you check with your healthcare provider.
What are the Most Serious Risks of Taking Birth Control Pills?
Like pregnancy, birth control pills increase the risk of serious blood clots, especially in women who have other risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, or age greater than 35. It is possible to die from a problem caused by a blood clot, such as a heart attack or a stroke. Some examples of serious blood clots are blood clots in the:
• Legs (thromboph lebitis)
• Lungs (pulmonary embolus)
• Eyes (loss of eyesight)
• Heart (heart attack)
• Brain (stroke)
A few women who take birth control pills may get:
• High blood pressure
• Gallbladder problems
• Rare cancerous or noncancerous liver tumors
All of these events are uncommon in healthy women.
Call your healthcare provider right away if you have:
• Persistent leg pain
• Sudden shortness of breath
• Sudden blindness, partial or complete
• Severe pain in your chest
• Sudden, severe headache unlike your usual headaches
• Weakness or numbness in an arm or leg, or trouble speaking
• Yellowing of the skin or eyeballs
No serious problems have been reported from a birth control pill overdose, even when accidentally
taken by children.
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Celebrities Who Had Fertility Treatments
Health Risks of Childhood/Teenage Pregnancy
Natazia Hair Loss, Patient Usage Guide, and Precautions & Warnings. Posted 2 July 2012. Last updated on 9 August 2016.