Dr. Kate is an OB/GYN at one of the largest teaching hospitals in New York City who’ll be answering your medical questions here regularly. After her recent post on the NuvaRing, a lot of you asked for more information on this birth control device, so here goes:
The NuvaRing is one of my favorite forms of hormonal contraception — all of the benefits of the Pill, without the daily hassle of remembering to use it. But since the Ring hasn’t been around as long as the Pill, many women have a lot of questions about using it. So I thought I’d address the most common Ring issues that come up in my office. When using the Ring….
What’s okay to put in your vagina:
- A penis. Intercourse will not push the ring up into your pelvis, or to any place where you can’t retrieve it. And semen/sperm will not diminish the ring’s effectiveness.
- A vibrator or other toys. Same as above.
- Tampons. Ditto.
- Medication. It’s fine to treat a yeast infection with over-the-counter creams like Monistat, or to treat vaginosis with prescription MetroGel. You don’t need to rinse the ring off afterward, either — the medication will all absorb eventually.
What’s okay to come out of your vagina:
- The ring before sex. If sex is uncomfortable with the ring in place, just take it out. It sounds counter-intuitive, to take out your birth control before having sex. But the ring works its magic by turning off your ovaries — and the hormones will remain in your system after the ring comes out. You can remove the ring for up to three hours without losing effectiveness (and if anyone is having sex longer than three hours, please share your good fortune with the rest of us!). Just be sure to put it back in before you roll over and go to sleep.
- Increased discharge. It doesn’t mean you have an infection — it’s just your vagina’s way of reducing friction with the ring in place. Think of it as more lubrication for sex.
Still have more questions about the NuvaRing? Then check out Dr. Kate’s follow-up post, “Everything You Need to Know About the Nuva Ring“
Dr. Kate of Gynotalk.com is an OB/GYN at one of the largest teaching hospitals in New York City. She also lectures nationally on women’s health issues and conducts research on reproductive health.
I took my nuvaring out on the 14 for my 1week break I was to put it back in on the 21 and now its the 27 and I just remeberd that I did not insert it and I had unprotected sex on thusday what should I do
I encountered the so thats how many months? thing today. I tried to shrug it off but then she stood there questioning me. 5 months? 6 months? When are you due again?
I had the ring in for 3 weeks and I didn’t take it out because I was going to skip my period but I still got my period with the ring in. I put a new ring in a few hours. I’ve had blood clots for a couple days then just blood and now I’ve been having brown discharge. Its been over 2 weeks and it hasn’t gone away. Why won’t this brown discharge go away? Or could this mean the ring wasn’t working right?
is my vagina too small for the nuva ring…i think it shrunk
I would NOT recommend this form of birth control. I actually got pregnant and had a miscarriage while using this. And I did use it correctly.
I can’t completely rememeber when I put my ring in, but it was in the very beginning of last week, I was on my period. I took my nuva ring out because I thought it was stop my period, but it didn’t. My period has been going on for like, a full week now. Wtf is suppose to happen?
Dr. Kate, I took my ring out on Oct 13th and got my period on Oct 16th. I was sick and forgot to put my ring back in the follow week. That week I also had a Doctor’s appointment and my Dr. advised not to put the new ring back in because I had past the 7 day window and could possibly have conceived already. She advised not to put another ring in until my next period which I still have not gotten yet. My fiance and I have continued to have unprotected sex every week since my last period. On the ring I normally would have a 26-28day cycle. When I’m not on any hormones my cycle is 21-25days. I haven’t had any spotting or bleeding but I did have a light brownish mucus like discharge about a week or 2 ago. In the last day or so I’ve had mild cramping, which I never get with my periods and bloating after I eat. Normally my regular pms symptoms are nausea, constant bloating for about a week and headaches which all I get the week before my period. I havent had those usual symptoms. I took a pregnancy test 2 days ago and it was negative and I have been going to bed earlier than usual. During my first pregnancy (7yrs ago) I had no symptoms at all except for me missing my period. How much longer should I wait before I test again and could it be that my period is late from me not putting my ring back in?
I messed up the dates and took the nuvaring out a week early. i then just started a new cycle, so i put a new ring in the following week. in the middle, i started my period like i normally would. now it’s about two weeks later and i’m bleeding again. should i just take the ring out and start fresh next week? and is it normal to bleed again since i messed up the proper cycle?
Hi everyone,
Dr. Kate compiled all the most common questions she gets about the Nuva Ring and answered them in a post called “Everything You Need to Know About the Nuva Ring” — read it here:
https://www.emandlo.com/2009/10/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-nuva-ring/
So fyi, she will no longer be answering any Nuva Ring questions in this or any other comments section. The lady only has so much time.
— Em & Lo
Ive been using nuvaring for about two months now, an hav had regular periods until now. I was supposed to start on sunday an its now friday my cycle ends on this comin sunday. im alil worried so i took two at home pregnancy tasts both came back negative. if my period doesnt start what should i do?
I just started the NuvaRing and don’t like the feeling during intercourse, but hate the idea of taking it out/putting it in at my guy’s place. Call me crazy, but I just don’t like that. If I knew I would be taking it out, let’s say, tomorrow night, could I take a birth control pill (I still have my white Ortho Tri-Cyclen pills and a pack of Loestrin) tomorrow morning and still be protected?
I forgot to takr the ring out.It was supposed to come out on 10/7 I took it out 10/12. I had unprotected sex 10/10. Is it possible that I may be pregnant?
HI there,
I was using the Nuva Ring for 3 weeks on back to back with starting a new ring every three weeks, so now I have NOT gotten a period since taking the ring out FOUR weeks ago, normally after removing a nuva ring a period is supposed to arrive in 5-10 days, is this correct and is in normal to have a period in 5-10 on an on going back to back 3 week cycle of the Nuva? Is it nomal to not have a period for 4 weeks after removal of the nuva ring?
Can you get pregnant while on ure period and still get youre period the next month and than notice spotting while on the nuvarig?