Drug & supplement interaction

Pregnenolone + Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone

Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone brand name: Yaz.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Moderate

Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone falls into 3 drug categories that Pregnenolone can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, taking pregnenolone might enhance the effects of estrogens.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions3
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Pregnenolone and Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone

These two interact in 3 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 3 Interactions?

Pregnenolone interacts with whole categories of medication. Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone falls into 3 of those categories, so it can interact with Pregnenolone in 3 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

ESTROGENS

1 of 3

Why this applies to Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone

Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone falls under ESTROGENS — the group Pregnenolone interacts with.

Theoretically, taking pregnenolone might enhance the effects of estrogens.
Pregnenolone is a precursor for several steroid hormones, including estrogens.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the thinking behind this one. Your Yaz combines two hormones: ethinyl estradiol (an estrogen) and drospirenone. Pregnenolone sits high up on the hormone ladder, and your body can turn it into estrogen-like hormones of its own. So on paper, adding it to a product that already gives you estrogen could nudge your total estrogen activity a bit higher.

I want to be honest that this is theoretical, based on how these hormones work, not on real studies in people taking both. Still, if your estrogen exposure crept up, you might notice things like nausea, breast tenderness, bloating, or headaches. Because Yaz is a hormone medication and pregnenolone is too, I'd run this by your pharmacist or doctor before combining them rather than guessing.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Devlin TM, ed. Textbook of Biochemistry With Clinical Correlations. third ed. New York: Wiley-Liss Inc., 1992.
Moderate

PROGESTIN

2 of 3

Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone also falls under PROGESTIN.

Theoretically, taking pregnenolone might enhance the effects of progestin.
Pregnenolone is a precursor for several steroid hormones, including progestin.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the simple version. Yaz combines an estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) with a progestin (drospirenone). Pregnenolone is a hormone your body uses as a starting block to make other steroid hormones, including progesterone-type compounds. So in theory, adding pregnenolone on top of the progestin in Yaz could nudge progestin-like activity a little higher. That might mean more of the usual hormonal side effects, like breast tenderness, bloating, mood shifts, or breakthrough spotting.

I want to be honest with you though: this concern is theoretical, based on how these hormones work on paper, not on solid human studies. Because Yaz is something you rely on for birth control, I wouldn't add a hormone supplement without checking first. Please run it by your pharmacist or doctor before combining the two.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Devlin TM, ed. Textbook of Biochemistry With Clinical Correlations. third ed. New York: Wiley-Liss Inc., 1992.
Moderate

PROGESTERONE

3 of 3

Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone also falls under PROGESTERONE.

Theoretically, taking pregnenolone might enhance the effects of progesterone.
In humans, some research shows that oral administration of pregnenolone can increase levels of progesterone. However, other research shows no effect on progesterone levels. It is possible the impact of pregnenolone on progesterone levels may be dose dependent.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the simple version: your Yaz pill already contains a progestin (drospirenone) plus estrogen. Pregnenolone is a hormone your body can turn into progesterone and other steroids, so the concern is that adding it might gently add to the progesterone-like effects you're already getting from the pill.

I want to be honest about how soft this is. It's a theoretical worry based on how these hormones work, and the human studies are mixed (some show a small bump in progesterone, others show nothing, and it may depend on the dose). If anything did stack up, you might notice more of the usual progestin-type effects like bloating, breast tenderness, or mood changes, but this isn't well proven. Since both are hormones, I'd check with your pharmacist or doctor before adding pregnenolone.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Ritsner MS, Gibel A, Shleifer T, et al. Pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone as an adjunctive treatment in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: an 8-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled, 2-center, parallel-group trial. J Clin Psychiatry 20 PubMed
  2. Marx CE, Keefe RS, Buchanan RW, et al. Proof-of-concept trial with the neurosteroid pregnenolone targeting cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 2009;34(8):1885-903. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Pregnenolone Also Interacts With Other Medications

Pregnenolone has 81 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 81 No known interaction 2,749 (incl. Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Pregnenolone

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Pregnenolone. Pick one to open its full report.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone

This page covers Pregnenolone only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone page lists 245 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Grapefruit (major), Siberian Cocklebur (major) and St. John's Wort (major).

By severity: 6 major · 200 moderate · 39 minor.

Open the Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Pregnenolone as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 303 real supplement products containing Pregnenolone, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Pregnenolone. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone too, on top of Pregnenolone — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Pregnenolone and Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Pregnenolone
Top 25%

#309 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone
Top 25%

#673 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Supplement

About Pregnenolone

What is Pregnenolone?

Pregnenolone
  • Memory and cognitive support
  • Anxiety and stress
  • Anti-aging
  • Fatigue and low energy
  • Mood support

Pregnenolone is a hormone your body makes naturally and a building block for other hormones like cortisol, DHEA, estrogen, and testosterone. It is sold as a supplement for memory, mood, and anti-aging, but solid human evidence for these uses is very limited. Because it is a hormone, talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using it.

Read the full Pregnenolone monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Pregnenolone

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Pregnenolone — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
81Moderate
0Minor
2,748No known interaction
81 Moderate 2,748 No interaction
Moderate

81 interactions

Showing 60 of 81 moderate interactions — see all 81 on the Pregnenolone page.

No interaction 2,748 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Pregnenolone against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,748 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Pregnenolone list.

See the full Pregnenolone interactions page
See every supplement checked against Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone, ranked by severity
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

Keep exploring
Pregnenolone monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Pregnenolone and Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone Together: Common Questions

Can you take Pregnenolone with Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 3 interactions listed for Pregnenolone and Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone?
Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone belongs to more than one drug category, and Pregnenolone interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Pregnenolone and Ethinyl Estradiol, Drospirenone interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.