Apri- please any information

[Longview]

Hello,
My gyno today switched me from ortho lo, to Apri due to a lot of breakthrough bleeding. I didn't really want to be switched to a generic brand but..thats what she put me on.

Is there anything i should know about this pill? Im searching on the net, and i can't find much about it. Im assuming its not to popular. Has anyone had any bad side effects from this or acne out breaks? Im kind of scared to start it. Does a generic brand mean anything..since its generic? Also..im on my placebo pills of my ortho lo...sunday when i start Apri, should i wait 7 days to have sex again or no? Please any info on this pill would help.
Thank You.

[ace8484]

Apri the generic for ortho-cept, I have never seen ortho cept in a pharmacy, but they also have desogen, solia, and reclipsen as other generics. The desogen website has a lot of good information.

So this saturday you take your last placebo pill from the OTC lo. On Sunday you should take your first Apri tablet. Since you are switching between brands of oral contraceptives, not a new user, you are protected during the first 7 days (as long as you didn't screw up the OTC lo or if you start the apri late).

Apri still has a low androgenic effect, so you shouldn't have an issue with acne. Every woman has a unique experience to each different pill. So what you experience could be absolutely nothing like what others have experienced...don't expect just because someone else had acne/bloating/weight gain/(insert anything here) with it you will too.

A word about generics....the only difference is in the inactive ingredients, usually the pills are a different color. If you have allergies to dye, then you need to be concerned with generics...if you don't you have no need for worry, they are just as effective as the brand...

[Longview]

Thank you for your response. Lots of good information

Originally Posted by ace8484

So this saturday you take your last placebo pill from the OTC lo. On Sunday you should take your first Apri tablet. Since you are switching between brands of oral contraceptives, not a new user, you are protected during the first 7 days (as long as you didn't screw up the OTC lo or if you start the apri late).

Are you 100% sure about this though? For some reason, i feel you are suppose to wait 7 days? (BTW is the wait period for Apri 7 days anyways? I haven't found any info on that.) I haven't had any bad side effects on LO except the bleeding between periods so much. My acne got better! I just don't want to switch pills and it get worse again..thats really all im worry about & Apri contains Desogestrel and the LO didn't-- i am also hoping this doesnt cause any bad side effects either. My gyno told me that this pill people have praised her about. She said they have really liked it, hardly any negative comments. BTW, is this even a popular pill, ive never heard of it or ortho-cept, is like that OTC?

I am just worried about the waiting period of 7 days. :-/ i hope you are right about this!

[ace8484]

Switching brands is just like starting a new pack of the same pills. It is the same reason you don't need to use backup during the first 7 pills of any other pack except that first original pack. To make you feel even more confident, even if you weren't on the pill those first few days after your period are not your "fertile" days, since you wouldn't have ovulated for at least another week. So the risk of pregnancy is low during this time anyways.

Ortho-McNeil is a company that makes a lot of different oral contraceptives including: Ortho-tricyclen, Ortho-tricyclen Lo, Ortho-Novum 7/7/7, ortho-novum 10/11, ortho-novum 1/35, ortho-novum 1/50, ortho-cyclen, and ortho-evra. Each of these are different drugs with different amounts of different hormones. Most Ortho-McNeil contraceptives were the original formulations that recieved FDA approval first.

I don't think ortho-cept is marketed anymore in the US or maybe the marketing rights were sold to organon as desogen. Desogen is usually considered the "brand-name" product.

Sorry this was long...just trying to give you lots of info!

I almost forgot to address the acne concern...I take Kariva (a Barr generic for Mircette) which has the same progestin (desogestrel) as Apri. My acne was significantly better on this pill than before I started taking it.

[Longview]

Well now, im confused. I went to pick up my prescription today. And instead of them giving me Apri (like my gyno wrote a Rx for) they gave me Solia.

Is this the same thing as Apri or what? On my prescription it says Ortho-Cept (the brand name?), but the name is Solia.

Should i ask the pharmicist about this since its not Apri like my gyno gave me or just take this Solia Sunday?