Benefits

• You can take control of when your family grows by taking Nortrel and reducing your possibility of becoming pregnant.
  
  

Minor Side Effects

• Common side effects of Nortrel include headache, nausea and bloating. Some also reported weight loss or gain, rash, aches and occasional spotting.
  
  

Severe Side Effects

• More adverse effects include hair loss, cataracts and chest pain. Contact your doctor if you experience sudden weakness, trouble seeing, swelling, pain, redness or warmth, mental confusion or yellowing of your skin or eyes.
  
  

Interactions

• As with all oral birth control pills, Nortrel may interact with antibiotics, so you should use a secondary form of birth control when taking these. In addition, you may experience interactions with Cytadren and barbiturates such as Amytal or Newbutal, with symptoms such as cycle irregularity and break-through bleeding.
  
  

Considerations

• As with any medication, Nortrel may not be right for you. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if the symptoms you experience worsen or become bothersome. Side effects related to oral birth control use tend to improve during the first few cycles of use. Smoking may increase your risk.