Is it possible that my bipolar meds (Lamictal and Depakote) could affect my birth control pills?
Yes. “Liver-enzyme inducing” pills, of which Depakote is one, can increase the breakdown of estrogen and progesten causing birth control pills to be less effective. On the other hand, birth control pills seem to either increase or decrease the effectiveness of Lamictal. When taking any meds that will potentially affect your birth control pills, make sure to use a back-up method when having sex. More info can be found http://www.crazymeds.org/lamictal.html and http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/epilepsyusa/between/birthcontrol.cfm. The first website is an excellent resource for mental health meds – easy to understand and has a good sense of humor.
