Do certrain Anti-depressants and mood stabilizing drugs stop the contraceptive pill from working?

Question

My partner is on the contraceptive pill its not the mini-pill its the other one, she also was diagnosed with a mental disorder and takes a drug named deprakot she is now pregnant is this been down to her medication?

Please note I administer all her midication she has not missed any of her pills it was the pyciatrist who put her own the anti-depressants he did not ask her if she was taking the pill, we think he should have and if he should have established this I plan to take legal action, would I be right in doing so?

Answer 1

Depakote can cause abnormal, lighter, heavier, less frequent or more frequent bleeding, or skipped periods.

Depakote can even increase hormonal levels. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the contraceptive use so that the patient doesn't have too much of the contraceptive in their body.

She needs to seek advice from her doctor about continuing the use of depakote during pregnancy. This medication can cause harm to an unborn baby.

It is unlikely that the Depakote stopped the pill working, remember that there are many, many reasons why the contraceptive pill fails - sickness, diarrhoea, missing a does, taking a dose late. In my experience, patients with mood disorders are not usually very efficient with taking medication.

Note:
If you make a claim for compensation, you would be unlikely to win. It is the patients responsibility to inform any prescribing medication that they are on other medication (including over the counter medication). It is highly unlikely that you'd find a solicitor to take on your case. In the patient leaflet that came with her Depakote will be this statement: "Before taking Sodium Valproate make sure your doctor or pharmacist knows: ... if you are taking any other medicines, including those available to buy without a prescription, herbal and complementary medicines".

Answer 2

A website dedicated to epilepsy has a lot of information about depakote. It states that the contraceptive pill will not be affected by the drug, if anything it would increase the hormones the pill introduces to the body:

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/epilepsyusa/between/birthcontrol.cfm?renderforprint=1&

It also suggests depakote can have a bad effect on unborn children:

http://professionals.epilepsy.com/medications/p_depakote_pregnancy.html

Answer 3

It could possibly effect it, but I don't know.

I'm trying to kind of get a timeline of how things happened.

If she was on the pill when she first began seeing the psychiatrist, she would have filled out a medical history, including any drugs she's taking. Either way, though, it's the patient's responsibility to inform the doctor of what meds they're on. You wouldn't have a case.

Answer 4

yes some anti-depressants can make some contraception fail but the doctor advises you of this or swaps you to compatible medications so the pill is still effective

Answer 5

I guess so or maybe she simply forgot to take a pill, if she was sepressed she may have forgotten - a few things stop the pill working but normally the doc will tell you as they should know what you are already taking.