NuvaRing and mom

I just removed Nuvaring in May after almost 2 years of being on it. The main reason was due to the lack of sex drive and when i did have sex, there would be a pretty bad burning sensation to me and my husband. However, now that i read through your comments, i am realizing that a lot more is attributed to my health now because of the Nuvaring.
Mainly, when i was on it, i had severe headaches, couldn't lose a pound to save my life and was very moody.
The big problems I have are now, almost 4 months being off Nuvaring. My doctor informed me that i may be going through premature menopause - i'm 38 years old - due to a malfunction with my ovaries. What!?!? My mom had her period until she was almost 50 and that is a good indicator of what you will have. I also have really bad joint pain, tingling in my fingers at times, hot flashes, sleeplessness and NO period since coming off it. I am hoping that this is just my body trying to battle the jolt of being on Nuvaring and i will return to normal. My advice - if you're on it, get off it and if you're considering it, don't do it. Even a well-known radio personality here in Chicago has said the Nuvaring did awful things to her body and she experienced a lot of bleeding. This product needs to come off the market NOW!

I have to say the nuvaring has been pretty good for me. I am so thankful not to have had any major side effects from it. For a very long time I was not given any Bc that had hormones because my mom had a stroke from estrogen in the BC pill. It was in the 70's and MUCH higher doses of estrogen were in the pill. But anything with estrogen was off limits to me. I was in the need of some form of BC after 10 years not being sexually active.My husband died of cancer and was not dating until 10 years later. I went for BC counseling and the doc. recommended the Nuvaring. yes it has a tiny bit of estrogen but sh was not worried. I also complained that my period was always so heavy I had to wear the depends underwear because if I didn't I would have to change a tampon or a pad every 8-10 minutes. And I had extreme cramps so bad they went down the front of my legs. She was like "have I got a deal for you'! Well... she put me on the nuva ring and had me change it every 28 days no break in between. Result: NO PERIOD! I love that woman. Ok on to the side effects...I had spotting for like 3 months here and there, The first few months I lost a clump of hair to the side of my part by my forehead..it grew back..I get leg cramps every once in a while and they are doosies (sore for 2 days after) If I forget to remove it during sex my vagina burns after. and yes I have more wetness in my vagina. My b/f jokes it is I just think about him too much! Ladies to all of you that have the terrible side effects my heart goes out to you. I hope you find the BC that works for you. Keep trying others there will be a good fit for you sooner or later.

I must say I love the NuvaRing. I've been on it for almost 3 years. It is extremely convenient. I do have some issues with weight and depression, but I've had those for a while so I don't think I can blame them on NuvaRing. I was previously on Depo for 3 years, and before that various pills (which I could never remember to take). I loved the Depo for it's convenience, but I think it caused a lot more weight gain and loss of sex drive than any other birth control method I've tried. I also tri-cycle my rings (I only have my period after every third ring cycle). The less periods the better in my opinion. I have very very light bleeding during my period. The only drawback is I have one day of horrible cramps that I never used to have. I just take some Ibuprofen and remember that it's only one day every three months.

Unfortunately I have crappy health insurance that won't cover NuvaRing, so I'm thinking about switching to Mirena. I'll miss the Ring, but hopefully Mirena will be good to me.

Hi all, I've been using the nuvaring for about 2 months now. I had twin boys in Feb, and DO NOT want to get preg for a long time. I originally wanted the Mirena IUC, but my dr ended up having a medical emergency and is no longer practicing. Anyway, for my 6 wk checkup I got a male dr who "doesn't do the Mirena thing." I was so mad. My mom has had a pulmonary embolism from estrogen therapy before and I shouldn't be taking estrogen because of that. This doctor said that isn't a problem for me and I believed him. Now I'm having the worst headaches I've EVER had in my life. I am so dizzy all the time, I almost dropped my son this morning and did drop him the other day. I am unable to focus on anything or remember anything that i need to do. I'm also experiencing vision problems which ****** states could be a bloodclot in my eye. YAY, at least I have an AWESOME family doctor and he is going to see me asap tomorrow morning. I hope these headaches go away soon, I took it out today after what is now the 6th day of barely being able to keep my eyes open. I'm wearing sunglasses now so I can look at the computer!! Hope everyone gets their situations with this resolved and we all find something BETTER.

I've been using Nuvaring for about 8 months and have gained at least 10 pounds. Also, my cholesterol went from 200 to 250 and LDL from 120 to 168. Has anyone else experience increase in cholesterol? I too have expererieced memory problems and have noticed that I wake up more often feeling as if my arm or hand "fell asleep".

I have been off the NR now for a few weeks after being on it for a year and a half. It feels so good to laugh again. I feel so giddy and happy. Like night and day. I have no more numbness in my sholders and my hands are not cold as they were constantly. The feeling of being lost is gone. The hase is gone. I'm up and active. There is a smile on my face again. My kids are getting thier Mom back. My husband is getting his wife back!!

A week ago I got a prescription for the Nuva Ring with the idea it would be easy and convenient.Thankfully from the advice of my mom,I decided I should get more information about it before starting it.After reading a bunch of posts about side effects of it,I've decided I DO NOT want to try it!
But am now trying to figure out what instead??Anyone have a recommendation?

I've also experienced many of the same side effects. I was on NuvaRing for 3 years and on the pill for 5 years before that. For me I found the changes very subtle. My sex drive was not effected right away, but it just kept getting lower and lower. I was doing grad school so I was getting more and more stressed and thought that that had something to do with it, so I ignored it. I was also much more anxious, depressed, short tempered, unmotivated, fatigued and oh, did I mention depressed! I honestly thought it was all due to the stress I was experiencing in grad school, but I did feel like something may be up. A lot of my symptoms were similar to hypothyroidism (oh yeah, I also gained 30 lbs after switching from the pill to NuvaRing) so I got tested, but my thyroid was fine. I had heard about the increased risk of blood clots for the patch, so I wanted to find out if the risk was also heightened for NuvaRing, so I googled a bit and came across some other sites like this one and saw how similar other peoples situations were to mine. I went off it 3 weeks ago (after only having a new ring in for one week) and I got a really long and heavy period right away. Since then I've been having mild cramps until today where they are the worst I've ever had. On the bright side, everyone has noticed how much happier I am - I really feel like my old self again. I haven't been depressed or stressed since I've been off NuvaRing!! It's so awesome. We've switched to non-hormonal contraceptive methods - I wanted to give my body a break and I may be trying for babies in the next year. Anyway - for those of you considering going off - TRY IT!! It can't hurt (except maybe for some cramping :D) If you don't start to feel better you can always go back on. It has made a huge difference in my life. I too was considering suicide at 26 when I'm normally a really happy person. My mom has also noticed that my moods are much more stable - apparently I was going a bit bipolar before!

It just occurred to me yesterday that the NuvaRing was probably causing me to go crazy...so I googled side effects and 800 results were found EXACTLY like mine!!!
I feel like it's my duty to warn people they if they are on the ring they aren't going crazy, and for people who are thinking about going on it--be warned! Pay attention to your body and emotions and if you think you are going crazy, it's probably the ring.
My experience is much like everyone else's here...I have always suffered from depression, so have been on meds for like 3 years and have been completely stable for about a year. Then I put in the ring and I literally thought I was going crazy. I would call my mom in the middle of the night telling her I wanted to kill myself I was so depressed. Seriously, this thing is crazy! I assume most people won't be as severe as I was unless you were depressed before (esp be warned if you are taking a combo of Wellbutrin and Lexapro), but if anyone feels a 10th of what I felt, you need to consider that it's the NuvaRing doing it to you.
I've had a headache for about three days straight and didn't connect it to the ring until I read it's common. I had my period for two weeks straight while the ring was in. I just now realized that I didn't even want to have sex with my boyfriend, which was the main reason I got the stupid thing in the first place.

I have been on the ring for 4 months now. After using it for about a month I became depressed and angry. Often being verbally abusinve with my boyfriend and my mom for things that werent their fault. I have spent so much time thinking about why...why am I so unhappy when I have a wonderful boyfriend, a great mom, and a daughter that I ADORE!!!! I have a good job, a decent car, friends, love...there was no reason I shouldnt be happy. Worse than that-- I have no sexual desire at all, and it irrates me so bad when my boyfriend touches me. Which is definietly hurting our relationship! I have been considering seeing a doctor about getting some type of prescription for my emotional instability (even though I am very against those types of drugs.) Two weeks ago it was time to take my ring out. I took it out and when I called my pharmacist I didn't have any refills. So I have been without it for 2 weeks and I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!! My sexual desire is returning and instead of fighting all day, me and my boyfriend are getting along much better. I don't feel 100% back to normal, but I am hoping to get there soon!! Relieve yourself...throw the ring away!!!

Hi, when I first started NUVARING I loved it. I didn't have to remember if I took a pill everyday, my migraines were gone, and my boobs were getting bigger. However, I was always irritated, crying, anxious, and annoyed. I thought it was just because I didn't like my roommate and I missed my life at home (I'm currently in college). I would call my mom at least two times a day crying my eyes out, I never associated my sadness with my birth control. About a month ago I started getting curious about these side effects because I felt like I was having an allergic reaction. I am a clean person, especially in my special regions and I was having intense itching and I also had little red dots down there.

When I talked to my mom today, I was crying once again, and she said that she really thought that my crazy bipolar emotions were because of the NUVARING. So I decided to type NUVARING side effects into Google and see what came up. When I saw what other girls were experiencing to be honest I was relieved. I was so happy to find out that I'm not crazy, I'm just having side effects to my birth control. I've never been so happy to have been so sad haha.

I just called my doctor to see if I can get back on the pill. Everyone who said they stopped taking NUVARING says in about 4 months they got back to the old them...I'm only hoping this is true, for my sake and for my boyfriends sake.

I started the nuva ring about 4 weeks ago recommended by my OB-Gyn for ovarian cysts. Since starting the ring, I have experienced just about every side listed. I actually ended up in the ER last night for severe abdominal/back pain and cramping, dehydration and nausea. Of course, the doctors said they could not find anything wrong with me, and sent me home with painkillers. But on the positive note, my ovarian cysts are gone. But I would rather put up with the discomfort of the cysts, than having to experience these side effects. My OB is insistent that my problems are not due to the nuva ring , and is encouraging me to ride it out for three months. But I can't do it. I am a mom to three kids under the age of four, and I can't live with myself like this. My poor husband does not know what to do with me, I am soooo moody. And the cramps are so bad that the heating pad has become the only thing I will let get near me, so don't even think about sex! I am glad that I have read other postings, I only wish that I had read them BEFORE trying the ring. I had thought that I was going crazy because I know that something is not right with my body, and every doctor is telling me that it can not be related to the ring. But I know that this all started with the use of the ring. I would not recommend this type of birth control to others. Please let me know if anyone else feels the same way.