NuvaRing and tiredness

I started using the nuvaring on August 24 for the first time. That was the first day of my period. My periods usually last four days but I have bad cramps. My gyno prescribed the nuvaring to stop the cramps. Well this month I had the worse cramps that I have ever had. My period lasted for six days and then started the brown smelly discharge, headaches, lower back pain, tiredness and irritability. I got on the internet to research the side effects of the ring and could not find my symptoms on any of the medical sites. I found this site and found that my symptoms have been experienced by most women using the ring. It has been years, approximately 9, since I used any kind of birth control and I know my body well so I know that the nuvaring is causing these problems. I am going to talk to my gyno about it and will probably seek some other method of relieving the extreme cramping that does not cause other problems. I do not see the sense in stopping one problem but causing 10 others.

I am 44, have had an endometrial ablation surgery to try to put a stop to heavy, ridiculous, debilitating periods (I also have a tipped uterus...) and had very intermittent periods for a couple of years after surgery. Now they're back on a 28 day cycle and I reluctantly went back on birth control. Since on nuvaring two weeks I've had a heavy discharge, low back pain-- and the worst of it is breast tenderness, moodiness and tiredness that mimic the symptoms of pregnancy. I, like many contributors here, feel like condoms and spermicides are a better option. My GYN whom I trust a great deal is a big fan of NuvaRing

Well...i'm only 17 years old and i have been trying EVERYTHING to get rid of my 2 week long heavy period and extremely severe cramping. I have been on 3 different kinds of oral BC and i would still bleed for 2 weeks. So i tried the Mirena IUD and that was the worst idea of my life. It went in fine but about 10 minutes later i was in a extreme amount of pain (and i have a very high pain tolerance, broke 3 ribs and didn't cry) i called my gyno back and he prescribed me a pain medication but it didn't work. After trying 3 different pain medications and an antibiotic i had enough. I went to the hospital and was prescribed percocet and that helped. I went back a few days later and had it taken out so now i am trying the NuvaRing. I put it in and a few hours later started cramping and having back pain. The next morning i had very bad nausea and cramping. Its about a week later now and i am experiencing headaches, nausea, quite bad cramping, bloating, tiredness all the time and i just don't feel myself anymore. I am calling my gyno back to see what he suggests but i'm looking for any ideas or suggestions until i get a hold of him. Thanks

I just started my second month on the nuvaring before starting I had been off birth control for about a year the first month I put the ring in before the fifth day of my period like I was told to after the first week my period continued in fact I kept bleeding anywhere from light spotting to like a full period for the whole three weeks I had it in I thought maybe it was just my body trying to get used to the birth control I took the ring out for the seven days I was supposed to had a period for a couple days then stopped bleeding I thought maybe by body finally straightened itself out when I put my next ring in three days ago everything was fine then I started bleeding again this evening I've also experienced headaches nausea tiredness lack of appetite

I have been using the NuvaRing since October 2005. I never had any problems with it. I thought it was great!! Unfortunately, I was dating this guy for the past two years that never wanted to have sex and all we would do is fight. I had no sex drive of course and I was always feeling depressed, anxious, or stressed out. However, we broke up in December, and now I have a new partner. I thought these symptoms would cease to exist now that the other guy is out of my life, but I am still feeling this way. And I thought my sex drive would return, but it has not. Well, last month I started bleeding out of nowhere, in the middle of my cycle, which had not occurred before and I became concerned. I went for a pap smear, and of course, the gynos are dying to get that ring off the shelves and into millions of healthy women, so she told me that my bleeding had nothing to do with NuvaRing (and then attempted to send me for an $1100 ultrasound). If something wasn't up, why would I need an ultrasound? I wasn't pregnant, at that point, which brings me to my next point. It was almost like a normal period when I bled out of nowhere, then my actual period was suppose to arrive 2 weeks later, and did not. But the gyno still said I was fine and there is nothing to worry about! So as far as I know, I'm not pregnant. I've just screwed up my reproductive system with this new BC.

Okay, after reading these blogs, I think it's time to trash the NuvaRing and go back to something else. Now that I think back on it, whether or not the NuvaRing has anything to do w/ these symptoms, either way I didn't have them before I started it: migraines, depression, weight gain, hair loss, anxiety, mood swings, loss of sex drive, and tiredness. I am 24 years old, and way too young to feel this way!

OK...I thought I was CRAZY, but after reading this I realized I am not alone in my experiences with the NuvaRing. I have been on it for 3 yrs, but last month after I took it out, I did not put a new one in. I had been noticing heart palpitations, tiredness, was mean as all get out, excessively thirsty, and not able to wear my contacts. When I out the ring back in this month, ALL the symptoms came back! Also, I had experienced a drop in my sexual appetite, with no ring, I was back to the 'norm'.
It will be coming out tonight and not going back in.

I started taking Nuvaring last week and I'm 5 days in to it, yesterday I started feeling very neurotic...and fearful... teary and tired. The night before i hadn't slept well, so thats what I put it down to... had a lot going through my mind, my thoughts were racing...i waited until really late / early hours this morning to go to sleep so that i would sleep properly.. and i did... i read some of the symptoms last night before going to bed on this site because of the way I was feeling, I wanted a reason to be feeling the way i did....the comments scared me a little bit... I do have a tendancy to get slightly depressed and think too much... and do have a few reasons to be feeling a bit down at the minute so extra help in this department is definitely not needed.... but these feelings were way too extreme to be normal....so I was kind if glad to be able to put it down to something...anyway today i have an overwhelming tiredness. it hit me when i walked in the door this afternoon after popping out of the house for an hour and i literally lay straight down on the couch and slept for over an hour.... i haven't had a day nap for years...i usually couldn't if i wanted to. i could have then gone straight to bed and slept for hours.. but have managed to pull myself out of it....my vision was also really blurry whnen i woke up and couldn't see properly... i have had a few pains to the right of my chest over the last few days and twitches in my left arm... but i may have only noticed these due to reading about other peoples symptoms... i don't really want to take it out early.. but if i carry on feeling this tired during the week then I might... and will also see how my feelings go...i haven't taken the pill for years so it might be just my body's way of reacting to new hormones....we'll see.

I have been on NR for several years. I wanted a hassle free birth control. The first side effect I experienced was breakthrough bleeding. I never linked my mood swings, emotions, tiredness to the NR because it releases a low dosage of estrogen. After reading these blogs it completely dawned on me. My boyfriend of four years gets overly frustrated w/ me each month. Sometimes sex would be extremely painful and my body would not work properly. I did not re-insert the NR because I thought that my body needed a break. It has been about two weeks now and my nipples are extremely sore. It hurts to wear a bra and the shower water just kills them. Hopefully my body, my relationship, my sexlife and myself will get back to normal soon. The only thing great about the NR was you did not need to worry about it for three weeks.

I put the NR in on Monday and have had severe dizziness, tiredness, head rushes and cramps. I took it out and won't be using it again.

WOW....I cant believe all im hearing...beacuse alot of it is exaclty how I feel. I started taking the ring a few month ago and the fist side effect i noticed was the sex drive it droped completly, and I was the crazier one in our realtionship for sex....and now its the last thing on my mind. Its sad beacuse I just got married a few months ago...and I want to have sex with my husband and I keept on telling him its the ring ...and I just found this website and I told him all about it....other side effects are dipresson, sadness...and tiredness. Im taking the ring out tonight....Do any of you know any other BC that is natural??? pls respond.