All About Orilissa

What are Orilissa’s side effects?

Like most drugs, Orilissa may cause mild or serious side effects. The following lists describe some of the more common side effects that Orilissa may cause. These lists don’t include all possible side effects.

Keep in mind that side effects of a drug can depend on:

• your age
• other health conditions you have
• other medications you’re taking

Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you more about the potential side effects of Orilissa and ways to help reduce them.

Mild side effects

Here’s a short list of some of the mild side effects that Orilissa can cause. To learn about other mild side effects, talk with your doctor or pharmacist, or read Orilissa’s prescribing information.

Mild side effects of Orilissa that have been reported include:

• night sweats
• hot flashes
• headache
• nausea
• insomnia (difficulty sleeping)
• joint pain
• diarrhea
• stopped periods
• weight gain

Mild side effects of many drugs may go away within a few days to a couple of weeks. But if they become bothersome, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Serious side effects

Serious side effects of Orilissa can occur, but they aren’t common. If you have serious side effects of Orilissa, call your doctor right away. But if you think you’re having a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number.

Serious side effects of Orilissa that have been reported include:

• mood changes, including feeling anxious or depressed, and in rare cases, thoughts of suicide
• liver injury
• bone loss
• allergic reaction

What does Orilissa cost?

Whether you have health insurance or not, cost may be a factor when you’re considering Orilissa. What you’ll pay for Orilissa may depend on several things, such as your treatment plan and the pharmacy you use.

Here are a few things to consider regarding Orilissa’s cost:

• Cost information and savings coupons: You can visit Optum Perks to get price estimates of what you’d pay for Orilissa when using coupons from the site. Optum Perks is a sister site of Healthline. Optum Perks coupons cannot be used with any insurance copays or benefits.
• Savings program: If you have questions about how to pay for your prescription, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Savings options may also be available on the Orilissa manufacturer’s website.

What is Orilissa’s dosage?

Your doctor will recommend the dosage of Orilissa that’s right for you. The following text describes the commonly used dosage, but always take the dosage your doctor prescribes.

Form and strengths

Orilissa comes as a tablet that you swallow. It’s available in two strengths:

• 150 milligrams (mg)
• 200 mg

Recommended dosage

To treat pain caused by endometriosis, you’ll likely take Orilissa once or twice each day. Your doctor will work with you to determine whether you’ll take the 150-mg or 200-mg tablets.

You should not take Orilissa for more than 24 months. If you take Orilissa twice each day or have liver problems, you should not take the drug for more than 6 months.

Questions about taking Orilissa

Here are some common questions about taking Orilissa.

• Can Orilissa be chewed, crushed, or split? The manufacturer of Orilissa hasn’t stated whether this drug may be chewed, crushed, or split. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist if you’re having difficulty swallowing Orilissa tablets. They may suggest other treatment options for you.
• Should I take Orilissa with food? You may take Orilissa with or without food.
• Is there a best time of day to take Orilissa? You may take Orilissa once or twice per day. Taking this drug around the same time or times each day helps to keep a steady level of the drug in your body. This helps Orilissa work effectively. If you take the drug twice per day, try to take it about 12 hours apart.
• What if I miss a dose of Orilissa? If you miss a dose of Orilissa and it’s still the day the dose was due, take it as soon as you remember. Then, go back to your regular dosing schedule. But if you miss the dose and it’s the next day, skip the missed dose. Take your regular dose at your usual time.
• Will I need to take Orilissa long term? Because of the risk of bone loss, you should not take Orilissa for more than 24 months. If you take Orilissa twice per day or have liver problems, you should not take the drug for more than 6 months. See “What is Orilissa used for?” for details.

Overdose

Do not take more Orilissa than your doctor prescribes. Taking more than this can lead to serious side effects.

What to do in case you take too much Orilissa

Call your doctor if you think you’ve taken too much Orilissa. You can also call 800-222-1222 to reach America’s Poison Centers or use its online resource. However, if you have severe symptoms, immediately call 911 (or your local emergency number) or go to the nearest emergency room.

What are some frequently asked questions about Orilissa?

Find answers to some commonly asked questions about Orilissa.

Does stopping Orilissa cause withdrawal symptoms?

No, stopping Orilissa isn’t known to cause withdrawal symptoms. (Withdrawal symptoms can occur when you suddenly stop taking a drug your body depends on to function like usual.) But some people’s endometriosis symptoms worsen after stopping Orilissa treatment.

If you have questions about stopping Orilissa, talk with your doctor. Do not stop taking the drug unless they recommend you do so.

How does Orilissa work?

Orilissa’s mechanism of action (how it works) for treating endometriosis pain is to block the release of certain hormones in your body. These hormones include follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone.

Blocking these hormones lowers the levels of estrogen and progesterone in your body. This decreases tissue buildup outside your uterus.

For more information about how estrogen, progesterone, and endometriosis are related, see “What is Orilissa used for?”

If you have more questions about how Orilissa works, talk with your pharmacist or doctor.

What is Orilissa used for?

Orilissa is used in adult females to treat moderate to severe pain caused by endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a condition that causes tissue usually found lining the uterus to grow outside the uterus. The tissue may grow on surrounding organs, such as your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the lining of your pelvis. The most common symptoms of endometriosis are pelvic pain and infertility.

It’s not fully understood why endometriosis develops. But it’s known that the hormones estrogen and progesterone, sex hormones that your body makes naturally, are involved. They play a major role in your menstrual cycle, including sending signals that make the lining of your uterus grow. Orilissa works by blocking these signals from being sent. This helps stop the growth of both the lining of your uterus and endometriosis tissue.

Your doctor may recommend taking Orilissa by itself or with other drugs. For example, your doctor may recommend taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), as needed.

Note: The use of binary terms such as “male” and “female” or “men” and “women” in this article reflects the language of the sources we’ve used. Unless otherwise noted, it’s unclear whether the research we reference included participants with expansive gender identities.

Limit of use

You should not take Orilissa for more than 24 months, due to the risk of bone loss. If you take Orilissa twice each day or have liver problems, you should not take the drug for more than 6 months.

It isn’t known whether bone loss caused by Orilissa is completely reversible, even if you stop taking the drug. And it isn’t known whether this bone loss increases the risk of broken bones as you age.

Taking a higher dosage of Orilissa increases your risk of bone loss. This risk increases the longer you take Orilissa. Your doctor may recommend that you take a vitamin D and calcium supplement while you’re taking Orilissa. They may also suggest other ways to support your bone health.

Before you begin taking Orilissa, tell your doctor if you’ve ever broken a bone. You should also tell them about all the medications you take, so they can see whether any cause bone loss. Your doctor may order an X-ray to check your bone health.