Nikki^®

As with many other hormone-based birth control pills, Nikki® uses a combination of progestin and estrogen to simulate pregnancy in your body so you don't actually become pregnant. Take a single pill once a day. Pick a time of day that's easy to remember and stick with it. Most women choose to take Nikki® just after dinner or before bed to cut down on any nausea that may be experienced.

Nikki® is a generic alternative to Yaz®. If this generic form doesn't work for you, you can try similar generic options, including Gianvi®, drospirenone-ethinyl estradiol, Loryna®, and Vestura®.

While the odds of your experiencing an allergic reaction to Nikki® are quite low, there's still a slight possibility. Allergy sufferers will probably recognize most of the symptoms — rashes, hives, itching, trouble breathing, dizziness, and swollen lips, tongue, or throat. Those with certain issues in their medical history may want to consider other options. This is why it's important to discuss your medical history with your doctor or one of our knowledgeable Nurx professionals before starting Nikki®. If you've ever had troubles with diabetes, high blood pressure, blood clotting, heart disease, or cancer, be especially sure to bring them up.

Nikki® is most efficient at preventing pregnancy when taken daily. If you miss an active pill, take two pills the next day, then resume taking one pill daily. If you miss a reminder pill, just take your next single pill as normal on the day you remember. If you miss two or more active pills, use a backup method of birth control for at least seven days. You won't need backup birth control to prevent pregnancy if you miss your reminder pills because they are only there to keep you in the habit of taking your pill.

While taking Nikki®, there's a chance that your period will be so light it's practically not there, especially since Nikki®'s active cycle is so long. It may even go away completely. If you're interested in getting rid your period or making it seasonal instead of monthly, we recommend an extended-cycle pill (such as LoJaimiess®) instead.

As with just about any prescription drug out there, Nikki® carries a very slight chance of negative side effects. Some of the milder ones that have been documented include headaches, nausea, vomiting, breast tenderness, and swollen ankles or feet. Nikki® may also raise your blood pressure or blood sugar levels, so diabetics should keep this in mind. Serious side effects are even less common, but do exist. Some of these are heart disease, blood clotting issues, sudden shortness of breath, migraines, severe headaches, and stroke-like symptoms like slurred speech, numbness or pain on one side of the body.

Any drug, even those that don't require a prescription, can react with other things in your system. Be sure to discuss anything you already take (including recreational drugs and herbal supplements) with your physician or Nurx consultant. If you take medications for chronic hepatitis C, HIV, seizures, tuberculosis, or cancer, it's important that you bring them up before starting Nikki®.

Any weight gain you experience when starting this medication is likely due to fluid retention, and should decrease after your body adjusts. If you experience significant weight gain or loss after starting a new contraceptive, it's important to let your healthcare provider know.

While not originally intended to treat acne, studies have found that some birth control medications can reduce breakouts and inflammation. If you're interested in learning more about what birth control might help your acne symptoms, visit our Birth Control for Acne page to get started.

Your Nurx medical provider will partner with you to find the best care for your symptoms and medical concerns. As medically appropriate, a Nurx provider may prescribe birth control to help manage symptoms associated with PMS (Premenstrual syndrome) and/or PMDD (Premenstrual dysphoric disorder), or to help with cycle control (delayed period). In some cases, birth control may also be used to help manage symptoms of endometriosis and/or PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome), to assist with improving acne. While the use of birth control is considered “off-label” for these listed purposes, a licensed Nurx clinician may prescribe birth control if they deem doing so medically appropriate.

Consultation
Anyone who requests a birth control prescription will be charged a $28 consultation fee. Please note that at this time, we do not submit claims to insurance for the medical consult fee.

Medication
For those with health insurance, your prescription will be free in most cases if it is covered by your health insurance, and we accept your plan. Insurance companies set the “copay” for prescriptions and depending on your plan and the prescription, this will usually be $0. Please connect with your insurance company if you would like to learn more about your copay. If you do have a copay, Nurx will authorize a $30 hold at checkout. If your copay is over $30, you will receive a notification to approve the updated amount.

Support Fee
Nurx will charge a flat $3 support fee each month one or more of your orders are processed. This fee covers your unlimited, on-demand access to our customer care team as well as certain processing fees. This fee will only be charged once in any month, even if you have multiple orders processed that month. This fee applies whether the order is filled through Nurx or at your local pharmacy. If your order is filled via Nurx, the support fee is billed at the time of fulfillment. If your prescription is sent to a local pharmacy, a support fee will be applied at that time. In the future, the support fee will be applied on a cadence that matches your medication refill cadence.

Yes, we accept most forms of private health insurance for medications. If you’d like to know if we accept your health insurance plan, please connect with our team at [email protected]. Please note that at this time, we do not submit claims to insurance for the medical consult fee.
Nurx does not accept any federal or state government insurance plans, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, or any of their affiliated managed care plans, nor can Nurx service such patients. We recommend that you find a local provider in your community that participates in your government payer program.