Norgestrel: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Norgestrel is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Tablet
- Sold as
- Opill
- Prescription?
- Over the counter
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How norgestrel is dosed
From the FDA label for Opill (application NDA017031). Other norgestrel products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Directions take 1 tablet at the same time every day this product will work best to prevent pregnancy when taken exactly as directed you can start on any day of the month use a condom (or another barrier method) every time you have sex during the first 2 days of use (48 hours) after you start your first pack of this product, because it takes 2 days for this product to start working See the enclosed leaflet for more information on how to switch from another contraceptive method. never skip your daily tablet to prevent pregnancy, take this product every day, even when you bleed or have spotting when you finish this pack, start the next one the following day without a break if you are more than 3 hours late taking your tablet or miss taking your tablet on 1 more days: take 1 tablet immediately, as soon as you remember that you missed it then go back to taking your daily tablet at your usual time use a condom (or another barrier method) every time you have sex during the next 2 days (48 hours), because it takes 2 days for this product to start working again if you vomit for any reason or have severe diarrhea within 4 hours of taking your daily tablet, use a condom (or another barrier method) every time you have sex for the next 2 days (48 hours), because the medicine may not have been fully absorbed you should continue to see your healthcare provider(s) for routine healthcare…
Every norgestrel product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Opill.
What norgestrel pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
| Imprint | Strength | Colour | Shape | Maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG;75 | 0.075 mg | yellow | round | — |
Combination products containing norgestrel
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
What people report to the FDA about norgestrel
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 549 reports naming norgestrel, and the FDA flagged 65% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- unintended pregnancy62 reports
- metrorrhagia38 reports
- depression30 reports
- nausea30 reports
- vomiting26 reports
- headache24 reports
- fatigue22 reports
- abortion spontaneous21 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean norgestrel caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is norgestrel?
Opill (Norgestrel) is a medication supplied as a tablet.
Can you take norgestrel with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run norgestrel against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does norgestrel come in?
Across the brands we track, norgestrel is currently marketed as tablet, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic norgestrel?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled norgestrel product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Norgestrel: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/norgestrel
- MLA
- “Norgestrel: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/norgestrel.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for norgestrel on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.