Ortho Evra
The below information on Ortho Evra has been taken from official FDA sources, but we cannot guarantee it's accuracy. Please use this site for educational purposes only. This site does not replace a proper discussion with your doctor.
| Brand Name: | Ortho Evra |
| Generic: | Norelgestromin, Ethinyl Estradiol |
| Availability: | Prescription |
| This drug was approved by the FDA in one form or another on: 2001-11-20 , | |
| This drug is made in one form or another by the following companies: Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. | |
| This drug is available in the following forms: Transdermal Film, Extended Release | |
| View the actual FDA approved label for this drug at the following links: PDF Label |
About Ortho Evra
Ortho Evra is a contraceptive (birth control) skin patch used to prevent pregnancy. It is called a combination hormonal contraceptive because it contains two hormones, estrogen and progestin. It does not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Precautions for Ortho Evra
For the majority of women, Ortho Evra can be used safely. But some women are at high risk of developing certain serious diseases that can be life threatening or may cause temporary or permanent disability or death. The risks associated with using Ortho Evra increase significantly if you:
- smoke
- have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol
- have or have had clotting disorders, heart attack, stroke, chest pain (angina pectoris), and cancer of the breast or reproductive organs, jaundice, or malignant or benign liver tumors
Ortho Evra may be less effective in preventing pregnancy in women weighing more than 198 pounds.
Side Effects of Ortho Evra
Some common side effects with combination hormonal contraceptives like Ortho Evra are:
- breast tenderness and enlargement
- headache
- nausea
- menstrual changes
- abdominal cramps and bloating
- vaginal discharge
Ortho Evra may also cause skin irritation at the application site.
Who Should Not Take Ortho Evra
Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious adverse effects on the heart and blood vessels from the use of hormonal birth control methods. This risk increases with age and with heavy smoking (15 or more cigarettes per day) and is quite marked in women over 35 years of age. Women who use hormonal birth control methods should not smoke.
Ortho Evra should not be used by women who have a history of:
- heart attack or stroke
- blood clots in the legs, lungs (pulmonary embolism), or eyes
- blood clots in the deep veins of the legs
- chest pain
- known or suspected breast cancer or cancer of the lining of the uterus, cervix or vagina
- current unexplained vaginal bleeding
- yellowing of the whites of the eyes or of the skin (jaundice) during pregnancy or during previous use of hormonal contraceptives
- liver tumor (benign or cancerous)
- current or suspected pregnancy
- severe high blood pressure
- diabetes with complications of the kidneys, eyes, nerves, or blood vessels
- an allergy to Ortho Evra or to any of its ingredients
Recent Forum Posts on Ortho Evra
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patch
i was on the patch for about3months.i was having alot of pains in my head,eyes. also i was having yeast infection all the time.when i had sex it always hurt.i also had black spot where ever i put the patch.it was okay to use the patch for your period to come on. but i had to stop.because it had to many side affects.i use to hurt all night long and i could not sleep.so the patch is not for everone.
Posted By lisa at Wed 6 Jul 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
bleeding
I have been on the patch for 3 weeks. I have had thick mucus looking bloody discharge that started about 2 days into my 3rd patch and now (5th day) I seem to have started my period, yet I thought you werent supposed to start until the end of patch free week? Has anyone experienced this?
Posted By Unregistered at Sat 3 Dec 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
pregnancies
How long does it take to get pregnant after stopping ortho evra? Any replies would be welcome.
Posted By trix at Mon 26 Sep 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
No Subject
i have been on the patch for almost 3 years now, and so far no side effects have occured. however if i put the patch anywhere but on my buttocks, i have severe itching and rashs even months after i remove it. i have also noticed that i am never interested in sex. i used to crave sex and now it doesnt bother me to go weeks without it. this not only bothers me but makes my fiancee feel like i dont find him attractive... hell of a method for birth control though if u dont have sex, you cant get pregnant.
Posted By tonja at Thu 6 Sep 2007, 3:09 PM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
PAIN
I used the patch for 2 months this past spring and have experienced problems ever since that time. I now have terrible pain due to the continual growth of multiple, large cysts on my ovaries. I even had surgery, but they keep coming back! Has anyone else had or heard of someone else having these problems?
Posted By Lisa at Mon 6 Jun 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
SIDE EFFECTS
Hello there,
its been the first day of my second week today, and since the first day, I have been feeling dizzy all the time, heaving headaches time after time.
And the worst thing that from the first day, I had vision problems, like all blurry, and terrible hair loss...I had never have this problem before. and I am very afraid:( its been the very first time i used the birth control at all.what do i do?
Posted By Natlie at Tue 5 Jul 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
Severe Headaches
I started using the patch because i was having irregular periods, and wanted to be protected for awhile against getting pregnant. But these headaches are off the wall. They are so severe, they mess with my vision and I begin to cry from the pain.Will this eventually go away? Or should I discontinue the patch and work on something else?
Posted By Simira at Wed 12 Oct 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
No Subject
I have been on the patch for 1 week now and totally freaked out about all the health risks. So far the only thing that has happened has been extreme moodiness, and breast tenderness. Well tonight my patch fell off and i don't know if it has been off all day or just fell off. Should I go home and put a new one on or will this screw everything up. Please help.
Posted By Chanda at Sat 3 Dec 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
I HATE IT!!
Hi Ladies,
I am so happy to have come across this site!! I have been on the patch for about three months now. My doctor put me on it because I have a very, very painful cyst on my left ovary. He says the patch will "put the cyst
to sleep". I am 48 years old and have had a tubal ligation, so I am not
using the patch for birth control. I am absolutely NOT HAPPY with the patch for soooo many reasons. I have insomnia, I have this horrible, horrible red itcy rash from head to toe. This rash is unlike anything I
have ever experienced. It sometimes feels like someone is stabbing me with a big poker, it hurts really bad. I scratch and scratch and scratch,
until I feel like I am going to scratch my skin completely off!!! I even
bleed from the scratching!!! I can't lie still at all because of this rash!! I am having severe headaches, and no medication relieves the pain.
I have been EXTREMELY tired, have been EXTREMELY moody and angry, irritable and mean. I now have acne, and severe hair loss. My eyes are
constantly bothering me. I now have blurred vision, red itchy, watering and goopy eye discharge every single day. The only good side of this patch
is that all my life I have suffered from extremely heavy periods that keep
me home for days because I have to change my pad and tampon every 10 to 15 minutes. Now on the patch I barely have any bleeding with my period, but
the bleeding is brown instead of red, which worries me. It just doesn't seem normal or healthy to me at all. My breasts are very tender now and I also have the abdominal pain and bloating. I took my 3rd week patch off today (Monday) when it should stay on until Friday. I just can't stand the
rash any longer and I would rather suffer the extreme pain of the cyst than
to be this incredibly miserable. I realize that this works for some women,
but definitley NOT FOR ME. Ladies please listen to your body and follow
your instincts, if you feel something is being caused by this patch...then
just tear it off and forget about it. It is just not worth losing your
quality of life for!!!
Posted By Susan at Thu 6 Sep 2007, 3:09 PM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
Patch Bad.
I started usin the patch over a year ago, but didn't start having bad side effect until about 5 months ago. Now i have reacuring yeast infections (which i never had before i started), headaches, moodswings, and I eat way more than usual. The symptoms just seem to get worse the longer im on the patch.
Posted By Jennifer at Sat 18 Oct 2003, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 1 Reply
abnormal cervical cells
Hi, my daughter has been on this patch since Jan. 2004 and 2weeks after being on it she had a pap done and it came back abnormal. She had to go thru a biopsy and then surgery to scrape the bad cells off. A very very painful procedure. Her 6 week check up after surgery came back clear. It's now been 3 months since the surgery and another pap has been performed and u guessed it, the abnormal cells are back which means going thru the whole procedure again. It is very very painful by the way.
Other symtoms she has experienced are: nausea, loss of hair and breast enlargement.
I was just wondering if any one else has had an abnormal pap smear.
Thanks for listening.
MOM
Posted By concerned mom at Fri 2 Dec 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 1 Reply
Bad Experience
I am 22 yrs old and have been on the patch for almost 2 years. Recently I have experienced severe abdominal pains, nausea and vomiting for the last 3 months when I put my 3rd patch on. My doctor things I just get sick and its just a coincident but now I am convinced it is due to the patch. I have also experienced hair loss, headaches, and moodiness. I am taking this patch off tonight and will never again put one on. STAY AWAY FROM THE PATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted By Candy at Sun 9 Sep 2007, 7:20 PM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
headaches
i think it has given me a headache on one side of my head,,, has this happened to anyone else?
Posted By tanya at Fri 2 Dec 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 1 Reply
headaches
I am wondering if anyone experiences severe headaches during the week that the patch is OFF. I have not had any other problems and love the patch overall. My patch change day is Sunday. When I am off of the patch I usually make it until Thursday-Friday and on one occasion Saturday until the headaches come. My doctor felt that as the hormones leave my body, one of the side effects are severe headaches. She recommened an estrogen patch but my headaches continued. If you have this same problem and have conquered it, please help.
Stacy
Posted By Stacy Gray at Sat 18 Oct 2003, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 10 Replies
bad drug
hello my name is rachel i had takein evra in june of 2004 to nov 2004 and the next month dec 25 2005 i had to have sergury for a huge blood clot around my overy and i just found out that it was conected i would like some answers to this and what will happen now emai lme back and let me know
rachel
Posted By rachel at Sat 3 Dec 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
good but bad
I was on the patch for 4 months. It was great while I was on it, but I stopped taking it because of the health risks. I am also a smoker, so that also made the health risks bigger. I noticed on my last month while I was on it, I started feeling chest pains. It hurt every single time I breathed in, and sometimes I was able to feel it in my back. The doctors said that I had an inflammed muscle by my lung, and it wasn't anything serious. I don't know if it actually was from the patch, but all I know is that I haven't felt it in a while, and I have been off it since 12/03. I really regret it, because I had switched from ortho cyclen to the patch, and it was great while I was on it. I never forgot to change it. It did itch where the patch was on, and that was like the only side effect I had, until I felt the chest pains. But I am off birth control now, and I am not really sure if I care to get pregnant, I've been with my boyfriend for 3 years and I live with him too.
Posted By Jessica at Sat 11 Jun 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
I don't know what to do....
I have been having a lot of side effects while on Ortho I Have Headaches ,shortness of breath, chest pains, and Vision problems. I'm considering contacting a law firm to review potential liability. But first, I'm trying to find an experienced atty with experience in pharmaceutical litigation. Are you considering, or have you filled a law suit
Posted By Melissa at Sun 9 Sep 2007, 7:41 PM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
Stroke-like headaches
I used Ortho Evra for almost two years and at first I loved it. There was no inconvenience at all involved in slapping a sticker on my butt once a week and I only had two fall off in all that time. I wasn't a big fan of the band-aid dirt ring it left but once I found a 'sweet spot' so to speak, it wasn't such a big problem. The only thing I had to deal with was scratching my butt in public every so often. But then after a couple months (I can't believe I stayed on it so long) I started getting these terrible headaches...always on the left side of my head and so bad I would generally just not be able to move. Blurred vision, sensitivity to light, but scariest of all, FACIAL DROOP! I am a paramedic and recognized the signs of stroke or TIA each and every month, sometimes 2 or 3 times. I had no insurance and never went to the hospital but it has always made me wonder what was going on. Then I began to gain weight until eventually I had reached the magic 198 pound mark and was taken off my nurse practitioner because she said the patch would then be less effective. Since then I have started using the Nuva Ring (for 8 months now) with NO adverse effects at all, neither my fiancee and I feel it during sex, NO HEADACHES!!! I have had a little trouble losing the excess weight and I'm not sure why that is, but to make a long story longer, I will never be using the patch again! A potential death is NOT worth it!!
Posted By Kristen at Fri 11 May 2007, 7:14 PM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
patch
As of this very moment I am severly tired , have done absolutely nothing for 3 days,had a terrible miagraine all last night , think I need someone to talk to or I feel I may be depressed. I am almost positive it is my patch. I do not know what to do. I have more to do in life than lie in the bed 3-5 days a month(the first week of my patch)I guess the only good thing is that I have bigger breats ,regular period, andI am not pregnant.(this has been going on for the past 5 months)
Posted By Lisa at Tue 5 Jul 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies
Irregular Bleeding
I've used the patch for 5 months and had NO side affects and I stopped for 5-6 months. I recently started back on the patch and now I have irregular bleeding and my breats well nipples are REALLY sensitive!!
Posted By Amy at Fri 2 Dec 2005, 12:00 AM in Ortho Evra || 0 Replies