Here's What to Do If Your Birth Control Pill Was Recalled

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

Key Takeaways

• Thousands of birth control pills from the brand Tydemy have been recalled by the Food and Drug Administration due to reduced effectiveness.

• Patients currently taking Tydemy birth control pills should check the lot number on their pill pack to see if their birth control has been affected.

• Experts say those with recalled birth control pills should contact their primary care doctor or OB-GYN to ensure they are not taking an affected batch and to discuss alternative options.

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, the company that manufactures birth control pills sold under the brand name Tydemy, has issued a voluntary recall of two specific batches of their birth control products.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), certain lots of birth control pills from the brand are being recalled due to concerns about potential reduced effectiveness. Tydemy is an oral prescription contraceptive that’s a combination of estrogen and progestin.

“This potential reduction in the effectiveness of this oral contraceptive could result in unexpected pregnancy,” the FDA said in a release. “To date, FDA has not received any reports of adverse events related to using this product.”

The birth control products were distributed nationwide in the U.S. to wholesalers, pharmacies, and supermarkets from June 2022 to May 2023, the FDA said. Almost 4,200 boxes of the drug have been recalled, which amounts to about 350,000 tablets.

Here’s what else you need to know about the Tydemy birth control recall and what to do if you are currently using a recalled batch.

Why Are Some Tydemy Birth Control Pills Under Recall?

Lupin Pharmaceuticals is voluntarily recalling two lots of Tydemy birth control pills because certain batches have shown to have reduced effectiveness when it comes to pregnancy prevention, Monte Swarup, MD, FACOG, board-certified in OB-GYN in Chandler, Arizona, told Verywell in an email.

Specifically, the manufacturers identified that certain batches of pills have low levels of an inactive ingredient called ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and high levels of impurity in the pills, the company said in an announcement.

How To Check If Your Birth Control Pills Have Been Affected

Patients who are currently using Tydemy birth control pills should first check the lot number on either the blister pack or the box of pills, Kelly Culwell, MD, a board-certified OB-GYN in San Diego, California, told Verywell in an email.

According to Lupin, birth control pills that are currently under recall can be identified by their lot codes, which patients can find on the side of the product carton. The two lot numbers impacted are L200183 with an expiration date of January 2024 and L201560 with an expiration date of September 2024.

Swarup said after checking the product’s lot number, patients should still contact their healthcare provider to ensure they are not taking an affected batch, and if necessary, discuss alternative contraceptive options.

However, if you check the lot number on your birth control pack from Tydemy and it does not include the two recalled lot numbers, there is no need to do anything, said Culwell.

“There are only two lots affected according to the company and FDA, which means anyone who takes Tydemy but does not have these lots at home should not be affected,” she said.

What to Do If Your Pill Is Part of the Recall

If you check your birth control product and the pack falls under the recall, Culwell advises patients to continue taking their medication.

“Given that the recall does not mention anything about safety, it’s better to continue to take Tydemy rather than stopping birth control altogether,” she said. “Even if the effectiveness is decreased in these lots, it is almost certainly better than nothing.”

However, patients should also contact their healthcare provider, OB-GYN, or whoever prescribed them the pills as soon as possible for advice regarding other contraceptive methods, Swarup added.

“Patients should contact their OB-GYN right away to fill a new prescription and talk about other options,” Swarup said. “It’s best to speak with your OB-GYN who knows your individual history.”

If you can’t reach or quickly connect with your OB-GYN or another healthcare provider who prescribed your birth control, Culwell said a pharmacist may be able to help you switch to another brand of birth control pills with the same ingredients. However, this option will vary from state to state.

“Tydemy contains drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol as well as folic acid. There are many other brands and branded generics that contain the same active ingredients,” Culwell said. “Also, in some states, pharmacists can initiate new prescriptions for birth control.”

Considerations Before Switching Birth Control Brands

Some people may experience potential side effects when switching birth control brands, particularly, if they change the dose of estrogen or type of progestin, Culwell said. Some side effects may include nausea, bleeding, irregular spotting, and headaches.

Culwell added the most important thing to remember when switching brands is to not have a gap of more than a day or two without taking the active pills. Most combination birth control pills have either 21 or 24 days of active pills with 3-7 days of placebo pills.

“If you are concerned you went too long between active pills or concerned about efficacy when switching brands, avoiding sex or using backup birth control like condoms for one week will decrease the likelihood of birth control failure,” she said.

Other Pregnancy Prevention Methods

Besides contacting your healthcare provider to start another birth control pill, experts say several other methods can help protect against pregnancy. These include:

• Condoms (which provide STD and pregnancy protection)

• Short-acting hormonal methods (pill, mini pills, patch, shot, vaginal ring)

• Long-acting contraceptives or “LARC” methods (intrauterine (IUD) devices and hormonal implants)

If you have any questions regarding other pregnancy protection methods, talk with your OB-GYN or healthcare provider.

“They are there to provide information and help you make the best decisions for your health care,” Swarup said.

While the newly-available over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill, may seem like a good quick fix, it is progestin-only and different from the hormones in Tydemy, Swarup said. In addition, the newly approved OTC birth control pill is not yet available in pharmacies.

What This Means For You

If you are taking Tydemy birth control pills, be sure to check the lot number on your pack or carton to determine if it is a part of the nationwide recall. Those that have products under recall should continue taking their medication and contact their healthcare provider immediately to discuss other contraceptive options.