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:
Dr. Kate,
I’m writing you because I’m a bit confused about NuvaRing. I would like to try it and I’m fitted to do so (no weight, age, smoking issues…) but I can read a lot of negative testimonies on the internet and it seems that many lawyers are trying to do a class action against this product. The abundance of negative info makes me confused. Do you think that they are just motivated by greed and that the product being FDA-approved should not present more dangers than any other contraceptives? Do you think that these lawyers are right and that NuvaRing presents more dangers than other contraceptives?
— Wannabe Ringer
Dear Ringer,
Birth control in all its forms is a magnet for negative feelings, bad press, and class-action lawsuits. So many folks find the idea of birth control abominable at heart, that it’s not “natural,” or that women shouldn’t be interfering with their fertility in any way. And these feelings influence how they talk about their experiences — or worse, about what’s “right” for other women. You’ll often find that unhappy people are the ones motivated to blog about their experiences, or talk to reporters, or approach lawyers. And if it makes for a good story, or a possible case in court, they’ll find reporters and lawyers who are only too eager to listen.
The FDA, for all its faults, puts all birth control methods through a rigorous approval process — manufacturers seem to have even more hoops to jump through than makers of other drugs and devices. So once a contraceptive has been FDA-approved, you can take some comfort in what the studies must have shown about its efficacy and safety. I can tell you that the studies of the NuvaRing — and there are many — are all in agreement about both the effectiveness and the safety of the ring. While all contraceptives carry rare to small risks of serious side effects, the NuvaRing is no worse than the others. So I would say try it!
Best of luck,
Dr. Kate
[[Editors’ note: 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,” so she will no longer be answering any Nuva Ring questions in this or other comments sections. The lady only has so much time.]]
Dr. Kate 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. Check out more of her advice and ask her a question at Gynotalk.com.
Sorry submitted by accident let me finish…….
It HURTS like a bitch, I hate having sex cause it hurts so much I feel soooo sensitive. Not only that I have noticed that the last 4 months that I got my period SEVERELY HURTS. Every time my period is going to come down it feels like I’m going to get a bladder infection, and it almost seems like my period does not want to come down and eventually it will….but boy does it HURT… So I am kinda afraid I might get a blood clot, Oh and I have been more touchy feely about things and I want to cry than the usual cry at everything when your on your period. So for these reasons I have decided to see my Dr. this coming Monday and tell her the side effects I have been having. And Ladies I have decided to go back on the pill, I love getting down and I want to ENJOY it not only that but this nuvaring HURTS. Ladies in life we have to remember that the perfect thing doesn’t exist out their and sometimes actually all the time when we want something we have to give up something. Like I want stop crying, enjoy sex, periods don’t HURT. So in-order to do that I have to give up the wannabe magical pill and go back to the pill. Remember Ladies we are all giving our opinions and advice but at the end of the day it is up to you to decide and which one you feel more comfortable with…. Hope I was helpful..
Well ladies,
Let me tell you, I was on birth control (the pill) for about 4 years I took it always at the same time I mean I was pretty much anal about it seeing as I didn’t want to get pregnant. But it does get tiring taking a pill everyday so I decided to talk to my doctor about other forms of birth control. The patch first of all is a bit sketchy, come on a patch that is suppose to stick onto our body’s no matter what and you can put it on the same place when you replace it SORRY don’t buy it if that’s the case let me have the magical pill that I only have to take once a month. The Depo shot to many people say that they have gained weight and quite frankly as ladies we don’t want that. Plus I did some research on it and they said yeah you might gain weight but only 10 pounds the most, NO THANKS. Ok then we have the IUD, Ladies out of all birth control don’t do this one if one day you want to have kids I have heard that this can actually leave you sterile. Think about it who the HELL wants to have a piece of copper or whatever by their cervix for a couple of years at least the other forms of birth control we have control over them. So to the point, I told my Dr. you know what I will try the nuvaring like most of you I was excited WOW something that I have to do only twice a month remove old put new one it, It sounded great. So I started it, Yeah its a little weird placing something up their that you really don’t know how to so I went on the internet and educated myself on how to place it, actually on the nuvaring website they have pics on how to do it. During sex my bf says he cant feel it so I was like cool. But now I have been on it for 7 months and Ladies at this point I really don’t care how close the nuvaring might be to the magical pill. Sex sucks and no it is not my partner. It HURTS like a bit
Madison, as long as you use the ring on a consistent schedule – it’s in your body for at least 3 weeks (but no more than 5), then is out for no more than one week – you’re protected against pregnancy. He can then ejaculate inside you, whether the ring is in or not. The one precaution – during your first cycle of using the ring, you should use condoms for the first week, to give the ring a chance to get going.
Dear dr.kate,
I just got a sample of the nuvaring and although it’s 99% effective, my boyfriend and I would like to know if it is safe to ejaculate inside of me while on the nuvaring?
Susan, yes, you’re at risk of pregnancy: when you put the ring in late, you may have already ovulated…and not having a ring in for 3 full weeks may lead you to ovulate this month. So use condoms till you can get your next ring, and use it for the full 3 weeks…and take a pregnancy test if you don’t get your next period as expected.
dear dr kate
i put my last ring in a week late and this ring fell out a week early and i can’t find it to put it back in. at my pharmacy they can’t fill it until the sunday i put it in. can i get pregnant? only been on the ring for three months
I have to agree w/ Lacy. I have a copper IUD and I really like it. I have never handled hormone BC well. It always cut my sex drive way back and I never really felt “right.” The IUD is expensive upfront but it is there for the long haul. I get regular periods and I’ve never had big PMS issues on or off the IUD (I know I’m lucky). And you don’t have to even remember it monthly. It is a one time deal in and one time deal out.
For me, it is reassuring that the plumbing is still working, but that I’m not getting pregnant until I’m ready to. When I’m ready I can have it removed and my body is good to go the next month. I don’t have to wait months and months for the hormones to cycle out of my system. Even though I wasn’t protected from pregnancy the lingering hormones were still there and affected me for months and months when I got off hormone BC.
NuvaRing was the first HBC I tried. It was a couple years ago. I used it for about a month and ended up in the hospital with pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in my lungs). Despite what you’re probably expecting, I actually recommend the product. The blood clots were the result of a genetic issue that makes me more susceptible to any increase in estrogen. All I really want to say is try what sounds good to you but be aware of the possible side effects. And don’t be afraid to see your doctor if you think something isn’t right!!
I have never been a fan of any sort of hormonal birth control, I hate the idea of having to experiment with my hormones, and I think there is something eery about tricking your body into thinking its pregnant. But, I also don’t want to get pregnant, so I pushed my doctor to give me a copper IUD, which I’ve had for three years and am thrilled with. I feel that not a lot of info is ever given on the IUD in the states but everywhere else in the world they give em out like candy. In fact, if you’ve had a contraceptive accident you can have an IUD placed in up to seven days after the incident, without the risk and side effects of heavy dose of hormones. But, I digress, with an IUD you have in placed in utero and then you NEVER worry about it for ten years! Most stuides have shown that its the most reliable form of birth control on the market, and I think you get the most bang for your buck with the least amount of outside influence on your system. It can be tricky finding a doc in the US that wants to give on to unmarried lady, (which I think is judgmental and weird) but in that situation you just have to maintain your desire to get one.
Please post any other questions you may have and I’ll share my experience with it.
Oh, and the sex drive…yeah, I can concur…I’m definitely not the same
I have to add something on this one…I used to take the nuvaring about 6 years ago, and I don’t really remember associating any mood swings with it. But looking back, I guess it could have been possible.
I just started again and it’s only been two weeks and I am an emotional wreck, kinda like what Tom above describes. It’s like you can cry at anything, I’m not even this bad when I’m not on BC. My boyfriend and I are fighting a lot and he’s pretty positive it’s not the “real me”. I’m gonna do the three months that I bought and hope that this mood evens itself out, but believe me that if it doesn’t I will be back on this site writing another update…
Tom – do you know for sure that your gf was having mood issues because of the ring? I mean, I realize that it happened soon after she started taking it, but honestly, it sounds like a LOT more than just birth control. Especially if it didn’t stop. Did she talk to a doctor about it? Or a psychologist or something? It just seems VERY extreme.
And I have to say, I realize you have had a bad experience, but the Nuvaring has been much much better for me than other types of birth control. Not about the whole taking pills thing – that’s not that big of an issue with me. It’s honestly because it uses a lower dose of hormones than the pill does to be effective. I haven’t had problems with mood swings at all – and I did all the time with hormones. I really hope they don’t take it off the market… Because bad issues like the ones that happened to your girlfriend are rare. It really really sucks that it happened to her, and I truly hope that there is some way to fix it. And yes, everyone should know that there are risks, and some very serious risks to the Ring… but it works out fine for most of us.
Listen, I know that not everybody has had a terrible experience with the Nuva Ring, but not everybody dies from a bullet to the brain either! My girlfriend was on it for six months before all hell broke loose, and had been on different forms of birth controls most of her life (severe PMS symptoms) and she is bad at taking pills too. The doctor taught her how to insert it and told her exactly how long to have it in. After about (ONLY) a week, she started having severe mood swings. Not anger, just bouts of depression, then laughter. Slight anger, but only because she was upset at the mood swings. Then, after two months, everything seemed a bit normal. After six months, however…all hell broke loose. She would be driving her car, then suddenly veer off the road narrowly missing traffic just to sob, sob, sob, sob, sob. About nothing. She’d be crying because she was going two miles an hour over the speed limit. Or because she was sad that a bug hit the windshield. Then she’d laugh at herself. I’d chuckle with her, then she’d cry that I was laughing with her. Then I’d stop laughing, calm her down, she’d start laughing again, I wouldn’t laugh, and she’d start sobbing because she was laughing alone. I’d finally get her normal again, and she’d start screaming at the top of her lungs because she hated what the ring was doing to her. Yeah, it’s great, but it’s not for all people. There are worse stories I can think of, but I really don’t want to say (like, nearly being stabbed and her talking about suicide). She really hasn’t been the same since she stopped using it either. She is nowhere near as bad, but now, even regular bc affects her. Oh well, just proceed with caution until they take this thing off the market as I hope they do.
After reading through this article, I feel that I need more information on the topic. Can you share some more resources ?
im 22 and i’ve been using the pill for the past year. since then i’ve noticed i was swollen down there and it was harder for me to get in the mood. and when i finally got in the mood it was painful. i never had this problem before and for me to have this problem so young bothered me. i didnt have any infections or anything like that so my doctor suggested nuvaring. i had my doubts but since i started i had no swelling and my sex drive went up. im extremely satisfied with this method of bc.