Final answer:
Common adverse effects of oral contraceptive therapy include an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, blood clots, and certain cancers. Nausea is a more immediate common side effect for those starting the therapy while polyuria and tingling in the extremities are not typically associated with oral contraceptives.
Step-by-step explanation:
When teaching a patient who is taking oral contraceptive therapy for the first time, the nurse should inform the patient that adverse effects may include a range of symptoms. The negative side effects common to oral contraceptives can include an increased risk of stroke or heart attack, blood clots, cancers such as breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancer, and gall bladder disease. Among these nausea can be a relatively common immediate side effect for individuals starting oral contraceptive therapy, and as such is a recognized potential adverse effect. It is also important to consider that each person may react differently to medication and other side effects such as dizziness, depression and potentially dementia could also occur.
Therefore thorough counseling on recognizing and managing any adverse effects is critical. In general, while risks such as polyuria (excessive urination) and tingling in the extremities are associated with other medical conditions such as diabetes and neuropathy they are not commonly recognized as direct adverse effects of oral contraceptive therapy.