Hey SoOoO CoNfuSeD. I'm going to copy and paste a couple of posts by Judith from my thread as I noticed that Humira had messed with the birth control I take (Junel, not supposed to have a period yet with Humira I did. So far I haven't had one with Remicade but I've only just started it).
"In fact, the role of TNF in the Ovulation, the Menstrual Cycle, and Pregnancy is not fully understood. So far, researchers have shown TNF plays a Major role in each aspect of female reproduction.
TNF Blockers have been shown to cause Menorrhagia (painful, heavy periods) in some women. There is not a lot of data on this subject but treatment with estrogen / progesterone appears to help with some symptoms."
"I have not been able to find any significant warnings regarding oral contraceptive failure and Remicade therapy. There have been minimally increased rates (.01% increase) of oral contraceptive failure during use of TNF blockers and 100% of these cases occurred during the first month of therapy.
This may be one reason for the increased rates:
7.5 Cytochrome P450 Substrates
The formation of CYP450 enzymes may be suppressed by increased levels of cytokines (e.g., TNFα, IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, IFN) during chronic inflammation. Therefore, it is expected that for a molecule that antagonizes cytokine activity, such as infliximab, the formation of CYP450 enzymes could be normalized. Upon initiation or discontinuation of REMICADE in patients being treated with CYP450 substrates with a narrow therapeutic index, monitoring of the effect (e.g., warfarin) or drug concentration (e.g., cyclosporine or theophylline) is recommended and the individual dose of the drug product may be adjusted as needed.
http://www.remicade.com/hcp/prescribing-information
Cytochrome p450 induction is one of the major causes of oral contraceptive failure during antibiotic therapy.
However if you compare oral contraceptive failure rates in the general population (0.3% - 9%), an increased risk of 0.01% is quite low.
But, is still an increased risk and all of the information is not in yet.
Your risk of oral contraceptive failure increases with vomiting/diarrhea (decreased absorption of the drug), antibiotic use, and use of other medications that increase Cytochrome p450.
I would consider using a backup method of birth control the first month."