Reported Reactions

Drugs › Progestin

Generic name

Norethindrone: adverse event reports filed with FDA

797 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2005–2026. Class: Progestin. Also reported as Norethindrone /00044901/, Norethindrone Tablets 0 35mg, Norethindrone Tablets Usp.

797
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 38 a year
52
reports, 12 months to June 2026
57 in the 12 months before
52.1%
marked serious by the reporter
41.9% across the class
1%
record death among outcomes, as reported
8 reports · not verified by FDA

797 adverse event reports received by FDA list norethindrone, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product, from April 2005 to June 2026. A further 2,414 reports list it only as a concomitant medication, and those are not counted in the figures on this page.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 52 reports listed it, close to the 57 of the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Over its reporting history that is about 38 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 0.3% of the reports for the progestin class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

The MedDRA terms listed most often are off label use (6.5%), drug ineffective (6.1%) and vaginal haemorrhage (6.1%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 256 different terms appear across these reports. Off label use is recorded in 6.5% of these reports, a larger share than in the median progestin drug (0.9%).

52.1% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (41.9% across the class); 1% record death among the outcomes and 19.2% record hospitalisation, as reported. 55.1% of the reports came from consumers, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (37.1%). FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event."

Reports by month, five years

01428Jul 2021: 3Aug 2021: 8Sep 2021: 7Oct 2021: 2Nov 2021: 2Dec 2021: 62022Jan 2022: 10Feb 2022: 2Mar 2022: 5Apr 2022: 7May 2022: 5Jun 2022: 2Jul 2022: 10Aug 2022: 2Sep 2022: 12Oct 2022: 8Nov 2022: 1Dec 2022: 282023Jan 2023: 11Feb 2023: 1Mar 2023: 10Apr 2023: 0May 2023: 10Jun 2023: 6Jul 2023: 6Aug 2023: 16Sep 2023: 9Oct 2023: 11Nov 2023: 3Dec 2023: 22024Jan 2024: 4Feb 2024: 1Mar 2024: 2Apr 2024: 6May 2024: 9Jun 2024: 6Jul 2024: 5Aug 2024: 3Sep 2024: 14Oct 2024: 6Nov 2024: 4Dec 2024: 12025Jan 2025: 9Feb 2025: 3Mar 2025: 3Apr 2025: 0May 2025: 3Jun 2025: 6Jul 2025: 3Aug 2025: 10Sep 2025: 4Oct 2025: 5Nov 2025: 3Dec 2025: 72026Jan 2026: 1Feb 2026: 4Mar 2026: 3Apr 2026: 3May 2026: 7Jun 2026: 2

Reports by the month FDA received them. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases.

By year received

046922005: 320052007: 12008: 22009: 1420092010: 142011: 152012: 2520122013: 202014: 392015: 4920152016: 432017: 462018: 5520182019: 532020: 492021: 5520212022: 922023: 852024: 6120242025: 562026: 20

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Norethindrone reports recording the termmedian drug in progestin

  1. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label6.5%52
  2. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected6.1%49
  3. Vaginal haemorrhagevaginal bleeding6.1%49
  4. Headachehead pain5.4%43
  5. Nauseafeeling sick5%40
  6. Hot flusha hot flush4.8%38
  7. Arthralgiajoint pain4.3%34
  8. Fatiguetiredness3.8%30
  9. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label3.8%30
  10. Haemorrhagebleeding3.6%29
  11. Abdominal painstomach or belly pain3.5%28
  12. Purpura3.1%25
  13. Rash maculo-papulara rash of flat and raised spots3.1%25
  14. Haemoglobin decreasedlow haemoglobin3%24
  15. Rash erythematousa red rash3%24
  16. Hepatic adenoma2.9%23
  17. Metaplasia2.9%23
  18. Melaenablack tarry stools2.8%22
  19. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines2.6%21
  20. Dyspnoeashortness of breath2.4%19
  21. Painpain, site not specified2.1%17
  22. Product dose omission issuea dose was missed2.1%17
  23. Weight increasedweight gain2.1%17
  24. Anxietyanxiety1.9%15

Top 30 of 256 MedDRA preferred terms recorded across these reports, with a plain-language gloss where one is available. One report can record several terms. The hollow bar is the median share across the 17 drugs in the progestin class; it describes the reports, not the patients. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Outcomes recorded

Death1%8
Life-threatening3.4%27
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)19.2%153
Disability2.1%17
Congenital anomaly0.9%7
Other serious41.4%330
Not serious47.9%382

Outcome flags as the reporter set them; a report can carry several, and "other serious" is FDA's own category for serious reports outside the named outcomes. Grey bar: all 293,492 reports in the class. FDA has not verified any outcome and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Patients and reporters

Patient age

Under 20.5%4
2 to 110.6%5
12 to 174.5%36
18 to 4437.1%296
45 to 649.2%73
65 to 741.8%14
75 and over0%0
Age not given46.3%369

Patient sex

Female71.6%571
Male0.9%7
Not given27.5%219

Who reported

Physician15.8%126
Pharmacist3.1%25
Other health professional22%175
Lawyer0.4%3
Consumer or non-health professional55.1%439
Not given3.6%29

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 77.9% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Contraception9511.9%
Endometriosis708.8%
Oral contraception293.6%
Heavy menstrual bleeding283.5%
Gender dysphoria232.9%
Hormone replacement therapy182.3%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 797 reports.

In context

MeasureNorethindroneProgestinAll reports
Reports as suspect product797293,49220,646,523
Share of that pool—0.3%0%
Reports, latest 12 months52—1,332,454
Marked serious52.1%41.9%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports10491
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports19252213
Consumer-filed share55.1%46.4%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsOff label use 6.5%median 0.9%4.1%

Shares are of reports, not of patients treated. The number of people taking a product is not in the data, so none of these figures is a rate, and differences between columns reflect who takes a product, who reports and how long it has been sold. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Other drugs in the progestin class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Mirenabrand129,4793,43340.6%
Nexplanonbrand43,75183624.8%
Plan B One-Stepbrand35,3243274.9%
Proverabrand20,4002698.6%
Depo-Proverabrand18,66911,38387.1%
Lilettabrand10,5678508.2%
Medroxyprogesterone acetategeneric8,62181889%
Kyleenabrand8,07569440.4%
Skylabrand5,31012541.7%
Medroxyprogesteronegeneric3,03016573.8%
Levonorgestrelgeneric2,71121972.2%
Take Actionbrand2,550208.1%
Etonogestrelgeneric2,11225589.7%
Afterabrand818195%
Norethindrone acetategeneric722835.9%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic." A brand and its generic are separate rows because reporters name them separately.

Questions about Norethindrone reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Norethindrone?

797 reports list Norethindrone as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 52 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 2,414 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Norethindrone reports?

off label use (6.5%), drug ineffective (6.1%), vaginal haemorrhage (6.1%), headache (5.4%) and nausea (5%). These are MedDRA preferred terms coded from what the reporter described; a report can list several, and a term's presence is not a finding that Norethindrone was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

52.1% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 1% of reports include death and 19.2% include hospitalisation. FDA has not verified these outcomes and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence" of the events.

Who files these reports?

consumer or non-health professional (55.1%), other health professional (22%) and physician (15.8%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Norethindrone rising?

52 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 57 of the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Counts also move with how many people take a product, its time on the market and publicity.

Do these reports show that Norethindrone was responsible for these reactions?

No. FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event." The reaction may relate to the condition being treated, to other medicines, or to something else.

Is this a list of the side effects of Norethindrone?

No. It is a count of what was reported to FDA. The adverse reactions observed in clinical studies are printed on the FDA-approved label, which a pharmacist or clinician can go through with you.

How do I report an adverse event?

Consumers and health professionals can report to FDA through MedWatch (Form FDA 3500 online, or 1-800-FDA-1088), or to the manufacturer, which must pass reports on. See the guide on how to report.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Drug Adverse Event (FAERS) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 30 Jun 2026. Drug names are as reported, resolved to the brand or generic name on the FDA label where openFDA's harmonisation matched them; classes are the pharmacologic class (EPC) from the label and the National Drug Code Directory of 17 Sep 2026. A report counts here when it lists Norethindrone as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (2,414) are excluded. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.