NuvaRing and intercourse

Hi, I have been on nuvaring for 5 months and I have had some side effects but none of them out weigh the feeling of not knowing wether or not I could be pregnant bc of a missed pill or something. Recently I have had mild problems with pain during and After intercourse.Lub and removing the ring usually helps. My sex drive has dropped drastically and vaginal discharge sucks because you cant always pin point the problem! For me NuvaRing is too convenient for me to even think about switching bc i am a full time student and the mother of a 20 month old!

Where should I begin? Yes, as it has been said everyone reacts to hormones/medications differently but how is it that I am finding all my symptoms on this board and there's plenty of other women out there feeling the same thing? I am driving my friends/family insane telling them that I think I'm pregnant. It's been nearly 3 months. since I last had intercourse, I haven't missed a period and have had TWO pregnancy tests come out negative! I started Nuvaring the 2nd of July (1st day of my period) and pulled it out by the 13th because I was literally SICK of it! Three days later I started my period again, horrible cramps and all. I had hot flashes throughout the day and night sweats in my sleep. I have felt bloated constantly, today I just noticed a tiny amount of clear discharge from my nipple when I squeezed it, horrible headaches that don't go away, nausea. Anything you would link to pregnancy symptoms, I've felt all of it! And my friends are sick of hearing me think I am, hell! I'm sick of thinking it. But as I've read on here, it seems even weeks after the Nuvaring has been removed women are still feeling out of whack. My only other option is to take blood test to confirm that I'm going insane and that this birth control really threw my hormones off balance. Oh yeah, and did I mention I've been suicidal lately? And have random bouts of crying or depression? This is just the beginning...so if anyone out there has thought they're pregnant because of this thing, you're probably not, but please let me know if you've felt the same, thanks!

I am 25 years old. A mother of 2, and i have now been on the NuvaRing for 5 years. I got on the NuvaRing the day of my postpartum check up after i had my second child.. I loved the NuvaRing at first thought it was the best thing in the entire world, hell all you had to do was put it in leave it for 21 days days leave it out for 7. Go on your period and other then that everything was great. About 2 months into using the Nuvaring i started having HORRIBLE HEADACHES that would last 3-5 days at a time without letting up. I could not stand to be around noise, light or anything that had a strong smell or it would get my head pounding to where i just could not take it anymore. So i called my doctor and told him about the horrible headaches that i have had. Explained to him that before a bad headache would come on i would have this horrible burning sensation in my head that would make you want to die.. And the doctor told me just hang in there and give the Ring time to work, so i did and then as time went on i started having other side effects along with the headaches.. Such as BAD ACNE that scars after clearing up which has made my completion not so good. Breakouts on arms, back ,chest. So i got some neutrogena soap to help with that and it has worked.. But then i got more side effects such as BREAK THREW BLEEDING right after my period was suppose to be over and after intercourse.. Then i totally HAD NO SEX DRIVE which caused lots of problems in my marriage cause my husband began to think i wasn't sexually attracted to him anymore.. And i began to think that also. Cause i had lost my sex drive didn't want to do it, the thought of it made me cringe. After being on the NuvaRing after so long you began to develop this THICK DISCHARGE that is annoying then as time goes on you get another type of discharge that is thin WATERY DISCHARGE that is aggravating cause it almost feels as if you have peed your pants a bit almost feels like a yeast infection with out the smell. Which brings me to my next awful side effect which is the Yeast INFECTIONS and the number of UTI's i have had while being on the NuvaRing never had a UTI or a yeast infection before the nuvaring. Not having a sex drive because you cant because intercourse is too PAINFUL sex it hurts like FRICTION and STABBING because of the DRYNESS the Nuva Ring causes. So i called the doctor he told me that i would have dryness at first and to just use lube so i tried that. Didn't work still had pain from the dryness so i called the doctor again and told him about the pain so he wrote me a prescription for a numbing jelly that you use right before intercourse and that was suppose to help with the pain.But that didn't work either just made everything numb till where you couldn't feel rather anything was out or in so i quit using that and hoped to god that my body would adjust to the Nuvaring. Still today after intercourse it causes STOMACH CRAMPS similar to the ones when your on your menstrual cycle,and PRESSURE similar to the pressure you have when your 8-9 months pregnant. Going to the bathroom after intercourse is a total NIGHTMARE i have had times it has burned so bad that i have pinched my stomach as i peed to take some of the PAIN AND BURNING away.Dont always work! Another side effect that i have had is DEPRESSION i have noticed that i have been unhappy and just got to where a lot of times i don't care about things that matter to me because i don't feel that i have the energy to do so.. I also have ANXIETY ATTACKS which i have never had until i got on this NuvaRing. CHEST PAINS that i thought the first time i was having a heart attack it hurt so bad. I had to take little breaths to breathe which would then lead into a PANIC ATTACK cause i felt like i was unable to breathe like i am suppose to.. So yet again called the doctor who told me that i need to be on prozac to handle this. Never got on the prozac just delt with it hoping that it was just a little side effect and that my body would adjust to the NuvaRing, but guess what NO never did.. Another side effect that i always hate is getting SICK AND THROWING UP caused by a medication, guess what i still have this after 5 years i get to cramping so bad and headaches tied onto being MISERABLE and BLOATING and DIARRHEA and DRY MOUTH so bad that you cant stand it seems no matter what you drink to get rid of dry mouth nothing can quench your thirst and this is all hours of the day. So i would take Midol which would only help for a few hours and then i was right back to square one with the B.S caused by the NuvaRing. So i call the doctor and get told "well you will have that." the side effects will be less obvious the longer your on the NuvaRing." So stupid me stays on the NuvaRing hoping this is true! Which i have found out is not. The only good thing that i have noticed is the NuvaRing is easy to use and you don't have to remember take a pill everyday! I never had any weight gain or loss while on this dang thing. Pretty well maintained the same weight as i have always been. I have tried to get off the ring several times, but always get back on it, Because while the ring is out for 7 days i am miserable mostly with a headache that last 3-5 days untop of the TERRIBLE MOOD SWINGS that i get. i truly think that my body has been on this hormone so long that i have HORMONAL WITHDRAWALS when i don't have the ring in. Cause i am fine after the ring is inserted again. People can say what they want and say that this is a issue and that they haven't had problems and that is understandable and different people adjust to hormones in different ways but the time that i have my ring out i always get my sex drive back 1-2 days before i start my period. I am not asking anyone to believe me about any of this and if the ring works for you then great, i thought that it was going to work for me also but it didn't. . I have taken the nuvaring out this last past Sunday and have no intentions on putting another ring back in.. Yet again i have had 3 days of a SEVERE HEADACHES some thing that i believe is HOT FLASHES or NIGHT SWEATS,BLOATING,DEPRESSION,CHEST PAINS,ANXIETY ATTACKS,YEAST INFECTIONS, and BAD MOOD SWINGS and i am hoping that all this will pass and my body will go back to the way it was before the NuvaRing came along... I would not suggest anyone to get this as a form of birth control i would actually tell then that the pill is better off to have in the long run.. This has caused me nothing but a miserable life that i have tried to deal with and i am just not going to do it anymore. I hope to see in the near future the NuvaRing go off the markets and not able to sale anymore.. The only reason that i was put on the nuvaring is because my doctor had a hard time finding a birth control method that my body would accept I was on Ortho- Tri- Cyclin and got pregnant and had a girl... My postpartum check up with her i was given the Orthra- Evra patch and i got pregnant with my son. Tried IUD and my body rejected it. So the doctor says" lets try this new birth control"you insert yourself leave in for 21 days leave out for 7 and have your period," the longer your on this NuvaRing the lighter your period will become and the side effects which aren't many will fade also.". "So how bout it." Well i thought this NuvaRing was a dream come true, BUT IT WAS A NIGHTMARE WAITING TO HAPPEN..

I have been using Nuvaring for about 5 years now and I'm surprised to see all these posts about people being very unhappy with the method. I have nothing but positive things to say about the ring, except that it's an annoyance to have to take it out during intercourse (not due to the ring itself, but I think b/c of the size of my bf). Of course, as long as it's back inside in s not fair to blame every crying spell or pounds gained on the method. Take a good look at your mental/emotional health, physical health, stress levels, stressful events, medicines you are taking...these can all effect our bodies just the same as any hormonal method!!!

i have been on the ring for a week now, i havent had any side effects, yet. I had to get on the ring because the high estrogen level of the pill was making my hormons go crazy and creating nuts in my breats. After reading all the side effects i dont know if i want to keep using the ring. I have not had intercorse with the ring on because im scared its going to hurt me or my partner.... any help on how to avoid pain during intercose while using the ring??? will my partner feel the ring ??

I have been on the NuvaRing for almost two years. I have had several of the side effects mentioned on this site to a lesser degree - anxiety, moodiness, depression, fatigue, etc. Lately, intercourse has been painful for me, and I have no sex drive at all. Reading this site makes me feel much better because I have been completely stressed out about my loss of sex drive. Four days ago, my boyfriend and I had sex, and I started bleeding afterwards. The bleeding was very light and lasted for two days. This was a week before I was supposed to remove the ring, so I started freaking out and assumed that I was pregnant and experiencing implantation bleeding. When I was still noticing a bit of blood a couple days later, I removed the NuvaRing and repositioned it, and the bleeding stopped. I am still worried about being pregnant, but I honestly think that the NuvaRing caused an abrasion to my vaginal wall, which is what caused the bleeding. Either way, I am seriously considering taking the NuvaRing out for good. I have been on other types of birth control, and the NuvaRing doesn't seem to be any worse than the others for me, but maybe being on birth control at all is a bad idea. I'm just terrified of resorting to condoms as my only form of birth control. Is it worth it?

I was on NuvaRing from February 2007 to August 2007. The first 3 months I experienced spotting and brown discharge after sex. I almost always experienced vaginal burning during, and after intercourse (as many of you mentioned), and had about 6 different diagnosed yeast infections (which I have never had before in my entire life), but I felt like they were constant than 6 and they never went away even after mega doses of expensive medications.. I took Acidophilus supplements, bought cremes from the store, took tons of rounds of Diflucan, but I was never feeling good and healthy down there the whole time I used it. Sex was usually painful and uncomfortable afterwards, and for the next few days afterwards even not having sex.

I also experienced extreme depression and lack of confidence, whether that was chemical, or due to how the was the ring made me feel physically (unattractive and incapable of acting as a sexual being).

I tried to tell my doctor I knew that the NuvaRing had caused these side effects, but she said that "There are no studies that suggest NuvaRing causes yeast infections or creates similar symptoms." This was very shocking to me. It felt like she had said it many times before to other women, but when I researched I couldn't find any information on negative side effects until now.

Thank you all so much for sharing, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who went through this.

I was on the NuvaRing for about four months and I loved it until I asked myself why I was even on it considering my boyfriend and I had not had intercourse for as long as I could remember. I realized every time he wanted to I had no interest and would make up excuses and could not achieve an orgasm for the life of me. That's not all, I began to noticed a very unpleasant, potent smell that became increasingly noticeable as the days led on and it got to the point where I could smell it when I was fully dressed out in public and I can assure you I have never smelled anything like this. I have been off for a about a month and a half now and the smell has disappointed, and my sex drive is back but the smell won't seem to go away in full and it soaks into the skin of my partner and he has to wait for days for the smell to go away after he spends time scrubbing himself. This is no way to live! It's humiliating!! I also feel that since I have been off I get extremely tired and pass out in the middle of the day not even realizing that I've fallen asleep! I sleep for hours and I was late to work yesterday because of it. I know that I am not pregnant, and nothing has changed in my life except the NuvaRing

I was prescribed NuvaRing about three months ago. It's funny, I had a bad feeling about it as soon as I saw it. I liked the idea of just worrying about it once a month though. I tried the ring right before my wedding - bad idea. I could feel the ring during intercourse and it tore me a couple of times. But since my libido no longer exist that really isn't a problem any more. So here I am a newly wed and I don't want my husband to touch me, I have constant mood swings, I'm irritable all day, I have zero energy and I've had a headache for about a month now. I actually left work early today because of my headache. (and I can no longer go the gym)
Finally I had enough and Monday I went to the GYN and said get me off this ring. She said that these side effect do occur in some women. I asked to be put on the Yaz pill. I haven't started it yet, but I'm hoping that my life will go back to normal (before NuvaRing) and that my husband and I can start acting like newly weds. Luckily he hasn't threatened to divorce me after the three months of hell I put him through.

9/25/07 (Previous post)

I am 26 yrs old and I have been on Nuvaring for about 3-3 1/2 years. I thought this was the greatest thing not having to remember the pill and the short light periods. I have always sworn by this BC! I have been having side effects I never thought came from the ring until now. I have read a lot of the side effects others are having and I think my lack of sexual desire for the past 1 1/2 yrs. MAY be due to Nuvaring and not my getting married 2 yrs. ago. (lol) I also have headaches often, not bad ones but enough to carry Tylenol in my purse. And another is dryness before intercourse, that I never had a problem with 2 yrs. ago. I never put two and two together until I racked my brain and wondered why I struggled so badly with my lack of sexual desire. I could care less if I have sex or not! That just wasn't me 2 yrs ago! I just couldn't figure out what had changed, going back on any medicines I had taken the past 2 yrs., the Nuvaring is the only thing that was constant. I have a Dr. Appt today and I am going to discontinue use of the ring and see if the side effects subside like they have for some others. I will post again when I have an update. Please let me know if anyone else is having the side effects more than a year after using the Nuvaring!! Thanks!

UPDATE 11/8/07

I took my Nuvaring out for good on Sept 29. Started on Wed Oct 3rd. And with the advise of my OB/GYN this would be my last period with the Nuvaring. We decided to go hormone free for a while. I no longer have the dryness I did before while on the ring and my sex drive is coming back around, I actually enjoy sex again. Daily head aches are a thing of the past. Things seem to be much better now off the Nuvaring. I started this time just a few days late with a fill blown period. Not the little light "Nuvaring Period" that I had for over 3 yrs. Welcome to life without hormones! Any side effects going off the Nuvaring?? I have had is a few days of my nipples being sensitive, that went away. I am looking forward to seeing what this next month brings without all of the bad side effects. When I decide to use birth control again, I guess I will choose to choke down the pill again. Until then....I'm FREE!

I am 26 yrs old and I have been on Nuvaring for about 3-3 1/2 years. I thought this was the greatest thing not having to remember the pill and the short light periods. I have always sworn by this BC! I have been having side effects I never thought came from the ring until now. I have read a lot of the side effects others are having and I think my lack of sexual desire for the past 1 1/2 yrs. MAY be due to Nuvaring and not my getting married 2 yrs. ago. (lol) I also have headaches often, not bad ones but enough to carry Tylenol in my purse. And another is dryness before intercourse, that I never had a problem with 2 yrs. ago. I never put two and two together until I racked my brain and wondered why I struggled so badly with my lack of sexual desire. I could care less if I have sex or not! That just wasn't me 2 yrs ago! I just couldn't figure out what had changed, going back on any medicines I had taken the past 2 yrs., the Nuvaring is the only thing that was constant. I have a Dr. Appt today and I am going to discontinue use of the ring and see if the side effects subside like they have for some others. I will post again when I have an update. Please let me know if anyone else is having the side effects more than a year after using the Nuvaring!! Thanks!

well...well...I am not too pleased with the Nuva Ring either. I have been on it only for about 6 months. I got on it because I didn't want to have to take a pill every day, and due to the fact of everything being said about the Patch I switched to this ring. Well.....I got it at a local clinic and there when you get more of your prescription they ask questions. I told them that I have absolutely NO....ZERO----0---- sex drive Ya, know it's pretty horrible, and disatisfying when your parents to whom are in their 50's are having more intercorse than me at 23....yes TWENTY THREE YEARS OLD! So....I have discharge really bad, they didn't give me anything at the clinic they just said "yes, that is a side effect." I told them that my sex drive has gone from like 5 days a week to maybe if me and my parenter are lucky( to which most of the time we are not.)once a month ONE TIME and I'M 23!!! I have gained weight. and...I sleep ALOT! So.....If you want to have to wipe out your panties, every time you use the bathroom due to your increased discharge, hide your panties when you are in the process of having intercourse and having no sex at all....go ahead!!!! Be my guest, because I'm going back on the pill.

At first I thought this was great but after 18 days I awoke with some stomach tenderness & it moved to horrible back pain. I did notice a lil burning after intercourse at times. I figured it was just irritation but also got a bit concerned of UTI as they are so not fun.
The back pain though was severe so I went to check online side effects. I decided I was in too much pain to wait till the 21st day & just took it out..I've decided its definately not the method for me. I am disappointed cause it seemed initally seemed like the miracle method. Yes I too say the back pain probably is like labor even though I've not had any kids. I have been uncomfortable no matter what I have done. Its like cramping in conjunction with it. Felt like it was internal organs like Kidney's or something, I feel miserable. I had a DNC once to merely scrape the uternine wall this pain is worse than the cramping associated with that. With that they tell you not to intercourse a duration.

I have been taking the nuvaring for probably 4 years now. I had terrible side effects with the pill in terms of nasea and pms...the nuvaring elleviated these and I swore I would never try anything else. This past year, sex has been difficult, sometimes a little painful and sometimes a burning afterward...but i had thought perhaps it is just because I'm not having much sex and thought perhaps I wasn't having sex much because my husband and I are both stressed about work. People easily get under my skin but i'm not sure this is any different than my usual personality. This past week I actually had jury duty and lucky me, my period. It is rare to not go to my job and not have the nuvaring in. Surprisingly, I have seen a real difference in my mood and my desire...my husband even commented that I have been a lot of fun this week and that I really should get a new job. I'm beginning to think maybe I just need to get off the nuvaring. I just can't deal with a pill everyday and the side effects I have from that. Maybe it is time to give my system a break from hormones all together. I have been taking some kind of birth control for about 15 years now.

At first I loved my nuva ring, it was convenient, simple and I never even noticed it was there. Then I started having problems, I am very moody (although I thought I might have been bipolar before), I have depression (more severe than before), anxiety attacks (quite frequently), nightmares almost every night except for the week when I take it out. The ring has started slipping during intercourse causing some major discomfort, I am always achy and hot! I am sure there are other things that I have noticed that are different now that I have been taking it but I can't remember them. All I know is next week is my yearly appointment and I'm telling her I want to go back on the pill. ach why can't they ever get birth control right I was on the patch before this but as soon as I found out that it was no good either I stopped using it. Problem is I have PCOS and have to take birth control to keep having periods every month. Otherwise I only have them like twice a year. So yeah i wish they would figure it out!

i have been on nuva ring for 2 weeks.. i dont have any side effects, i like it alot.. im kinda worried though because i have been reading what these other women have been going through.. i guess eveyone is different right? but its only been 2 weeks.. i do get some what concerned about it coming out.. it dosent but my best friend was on it and she said it would always come out, during intercourse, while she would use the bathroom.. so im always checking if its still intact.. and it is.. so hopefully i wil get no side effects, and i will update everyone!! thanks..

I have been on Nuvaring for 2.5 months... thank god i read this. I'm not someone who usually gets side effects to drugs but Nuva Ring is a whole different story. I'm tired all the time! I used to be able to stay up all night but since I started the ring I need to sleep all the time. I'm in college my roommate convinced me to get tested for mono beacuse I was always sleeping and couldn't even stay up to study for finals! I also have been getting horrible mood swings. I have always been the nicest most easy going person until I started the ring. I have also been having back and stomach pain (like acid stomach) as well as numbness in my hand, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the ring but it started right when I started the ring.. has anyone else had these sideeffects.. Thanks!!!

I have been on nuvaring for over a year and have all sorts of issues that I never even considered to be linked to the NR. I suffer from bipolar disorder, severe anxiety and depression and all my symptoms have increased while on the NR. I have terrible headaches on a daily basis and have had alot of stomach problems. Nausea, cramps, vomiting etc but I just thought I was sick. I have also had issues with weight gain and I have absolutely zero sex drive. This has been really hard on my partner and I's relationship and is extremely frustrating. We've been together 3yrs this fall and this is really hurting us both.(I'm 20yrs old) We have been thinking my headaches were caused by grinding my teeth. I'm currently on a number of medications including lamictal, ambien CR, adderall XR, allegra. I'm always exhausted and ill tempered and just had several blood tests to try and determine what could be causing my constant exhaustion but nothing was irregular. I have an appt with my gynecologist tomorrow and I'm going to talk to her about other options but because all BC forms have about the same degree, if not worse, side effects I might stop the BC all together.

It really sucks that I am having so many issues from NR because it is by far the easiest BC I have ever used. I always forgot the pill and the patch hurt like BLEEP and always fell off.

I started the ring 3 weeks ago. I had to take it out a 4 days ago and here are the many reason:

I have been vomiting and bleeding
I have severe headaches
I am out of breath and I have numbness in my arms and legs
My parter and I felt it during intercourse and I had a constant pain in my vagina
Since I took it out, I have been bleeding full flow with severe headaches and nausea all the way to vomiting. I feel terrible and I am just hoping that it stops soon.

Wow - I have been lucky on the ring. I've been on NuvaRing for over a year now. My side effects are recurring yeast infections, spotting, and increased discharge.

I was on daily pill BC for 10 years (4 months on, one week off). I switched to Seasonale for a few months and I had terrible depression, weight gain, etc. Then I moved on to NuvaRing. At first I had some cramping and diarrhea, but it resovled quickly. I never had depression or headaches on the ring. However, I have been battling yeast infections. My doctor suggested that I clean well after intercourse and sleep without panties to keep the area as dry as possible. I've gone for 3 months without a yeast infection so I hope it continues to work.

I'm using the ring continuous, but after about 3-4 rings (9-12 weeks) I have breakthrough bleeding. The only way to rid it is to go off the ring for a week, have a light period, and then start again.

Good luck to everyone in finding a BC that works for you!

I get what Guest 14810 is saying about giving the drug a chance, but here is my scenario. I have been on the pill, and for the past 2 years maybe, the patch. The patch was a godsend because I kept forgetting to take the pill. My doctor said last month that since I had an instance of it floating away in water, to try the ring. I just took it out today which means I have tried it for one whole (3 week) month and I have not felt well at all. I've had a headache for about 2 weeks straight, chest pain, shortness of breath, extreme sensitivity in my breasts and down low, cramping, and inability to stand intercourse. There is no way I'm continuing this thing for another 2 months to waite for the side effects to subside! The weight gain and depression I can't account for because I am overweight anyway, and I have a history of depression. I havn't had any issues with the patch at all in its function, so I'm running back right away. I'm sure my effects aren't going to be the same for everyone- but here is my history: 25yrs, 210 pounds, currently taking zoloft and wellbutrin, no history of heart issues, non smoker. I hope it works better for the rest of you- sometimes it takes time to find the right drug.

I have been on "the ring" for 3 or 4 months now- I went on a couple of months after having a baby so my hormones were wacked to start with, but I have been a total crab-ass. I also had a headache for 3 days and it went away the day after I took out the ring. My husband normally has been the one with the lower sex-drive but now I dont' want him coming near me, not only is my sex-drive completely gone, but intercourse hurts. (I haven't bothered to take out the ring prior) I am going to go off for a month or so and see how I feel. Does anyone have any input on how long it takes to get out of our systems???