Contraceptives

I LOVE all things grapefruit but after reading the package leaflet of my Lipitor medication I have abstained from enjoying even a glass of the delicious juice. Why? Simply because grapefruit can reduce the effectiveness of Lipitor.  Damn it……grapefruit can also reduce the effectiveness of your combined low dose birth control pill too. You’re OK if you take the progestin only pills - they are not affected by grapefruit as they do not contain estrogen.

Apparently, grapefruit and its juice hinders the absorption of estrogen in the body -  not a good thing if you’re paying out for a reliable birth control method that contains estrogen.  We need maximum estrogen absorption from our oral contraceptive pill to stop us from getting pregnant. In the previous post I listed other ‘compounds’ that can reduce the effectiveness of an oral contraceptive pill. The jury is still out on whether taking antihistamines alongside birth control pills containing estrogen may also affect  the performance of the pill. Anticonvulsants and antifungal medications should also be checked out with your doctor.

What happens in my body when I combine grapefruit and drugs?

There is a certain enzyme in your intestines and liver that help you to absorb  the drugs that you swallow and then excrete them when you’re body’s got what it can from them. Normally your doctor will prescribe a quantity/dose of a drug that is appropriate for
your body mass. This dose, say 40mg, should be absorbed into your body at a certain rate and excreted at a certain rate.  Enzymes in your gastrointestinal tract (gut) break down food and oral medications to enable them to be easily absorbed into your body.

Grapefruit juice seems to affect both the rate of the drug coming into your body and how quickly it is removed. The end result can be an overdose of the drug, even if you’re taking the correct dosage for your size. Where estrogen is the ‘active’ hormone that prevents pregnancy, you would be risking reducing the AMOUNT that your body would absorb and therefore ‘reducing’ your maximum protection.

What Can I Do To Avoid Dangerous Drug Interactions? Eat oranges instead!

If you are on medications that interact with grapefruit, unfortunately, like me, you’ll just have to avoid eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice. If you think you can cheat by having grapefruit for brekky and taking your contraceptive pill at bedtime,  you’re out of luck as this will NOT solve the problem; the grapefruit juice effect remains even after you’ve stopped having it. Oranges are looking pretty good at this point if you like a ‘fresh’ start to your day.  A can of tomato juice has just 41 calories and more than
70% of the vitamin C for the day.

In the same way that your other medication can affect your birth control, remember that your birth control can also affect your other medication. Avoiding negative drug interactions is important whichever way you look at it so always ask your doctor or
pharmacist about drug interactions when you get a new prescription.

NB.These interactions apply to other methods of hormonal birth control including the Patch, the vaginal ring and Depo-Provera.