i don't know about every other woman, but as for me, ever since my first period when i was 11 or 12 i've had really really bad cramps. thes cramps were to the point that my mom gave me a vicodin AND an muscle relaxer and it didn't help hardly at all. i ended up crying in my sleep. allways have been a heavy bleeder. as far as bc goes i've been on nuva ring (vaginal ring), seasonique (a pill, an off brand of seasonal which should have had less side effects, but didn't), ortho tri cyclen lo (another pill), and finally Ortho evra (a patch)

the pills weren't that bad. i didn't like the seasonique though. i used it a little over a year ago. yeah the thought of 4 periods a month would be nice but also when i was finishing my period when i first started my first pack of pills, stuff just kept coming out of me for about 2 weeks. not blood but like the lining of your uterus and made me really sick. i stopper at the end of the month and didn't use it anymore. also having to remember is such a pain! but i never erally had a problem with ortho tri cyclen lo. i did start it wrong the first time taking it and that made me sick a little, but once i used it more i felt fine. my sister used the same bc and ended up pregnant though. (then again she didn't use condoms..)

as for the patch (ortho evra) i don't really like it. the adhesive leaves marks on me, if it wears off on the top or bottom it tends to stick to anything and everything. it's gotten stuck on my underwear and pants (i only wear it above my butt) it also itches, just like when you have a ban-aid on for too long. also when using it i've had chest pain that could be from the bc. also have to remember once a week to take it, better then once a day but still i'm kinda brain dead some times. i for one hate it and going BACK to the nuva ring.

and finally for the nuva ring. i took it once before about 7 or 8 months ago. i had really bad burning and cuts and all on my vagina. it hurt to have sex and then the discharge got really bad. (which even worse for me is that i was camping ...) but even when i stopped the bc it continued. right now i guess it because i'm having an allergic reaction to latex. not many people know but you can develop an allergy any time in your life. you're not always born with it. it was also nice because even just using it on the first day and my cramps went away! the first day was my senior graduation day, first day of my period too. (that's the only day i get cramps btw) anyways haven't been able to find some latex free condoms yet but since i know it wasn't from the ring i'm going back to it. less worry and less thought for it. only 2 times a month, putting it in and taking it out.

sorry it's really long but i hope it's helped anyone that is looking for help. also if you're thinking of going on the patch. look up online about it. there is a lot going on with the new warnings. another reason i'm stopping.
start NR tomorrow!

OM Goodness! I was so shocked that I found this page - how many women out there are going through my bc issue with the ring. First of all - it refuses to stay inside! I told my doc and he said my muscles were to tight- What? I am no virgin and have one child - okay my sex life is dead but I was under the impression that once size fits all!

I am on the second month with it and I am so psycho! I want to cry one min then the next I am full of pure hellish rage. My friends think I am losing it - not to mention the weight gain in the tummy! I just lost 15 pounds working out hard and eating well for two months and now there is this pudgy stuff from no where?

Does anyone suggest how to come off of this crazy thing - I rather deal with the pill!

Thanks

Just take it out. That's it, that's all you have to do to "come off" it.

HA i've just been on the nuva ring for 4 days (it's my second time trying it though) and i'm already getting cramps when i don't have my period, REALLY BAD headaches, and i feel like i need to throw up all the time. no i'm not pregnant, but hell i though it would be different this time. i'm coming off of it when i can. i know that all you have to do is take it out but then for this month i'll just be worried the whole month if i'm pregnant now. this damn thing has given me mood swings as well. good bye nuva ring. for good this time.

I have been using Nuva Ring as a last resort of birth control; all other pills such as yasmin caused weight gain and painful swelling of the breasts. Not to mention that I kept forgetting to take the pills.

Well I have been using Nuva Ring for 8 months now and have started to get urinary tract infections that last forever and am starting to realize that I am experiencing severe depression. I took the ring out today after searching on the web for similar stories.

I'm usually the life of the party, a real joker and notorious for my funny humor, however now I seem a different person and its effecting my relationships all around me.

My advice is to keep a watchful eye on your moods, if you notice that you are more teary and health forum than usual STOP NUVA RING. I'm sure It works for some people without side effects, however my experience has been life changing and has effected me very badly. I want my money back, in Australia we pay $120 for a course of 3 months.

You can't get your money back for KNOWN side effects. This is stuff your doctors should be discussing with you. Why are only MY doctors good? :/

i was on the nuva ring for a year right after i had my first child. I was a little apprehensive about going on the bc because of all of my other past experiances with other forms of bc. I tried lots of pills and the patch and i always start out okay then get the side effect months later, but after you pop put a child you'll try anything to make sure another doesn't follow so soon. at first it was great. Husband couldn't feel it. Did have a lack of sex drive though, and had trouble losing the baby weight, but everthing else was fine until 8 months into it i started to get the headaches everyone seems to be talking about. Really bad across the top of my head and. 3 months after that i couldn't take t and got off just like that. i wound up have anxiety and panic attack and getting depressed. Everyone was trying to tell me it was just stress. From what? i stay home with my baby whom i love. It's been three months since i have been on it. i don't feel depressed or get panick attack, but i still feel a little anxious still. My doctors want me to take some pills, but i think old fashion exercise is starting to work for me. I also loss that extra fifteen lbs of left over baby fat. I you have a history of side effects with other bc don't think this one will be any better.

I have been on the Nuva Ring for about 4 months now. My body has adjusted to the birth control and I love it! The first couple of days, I had was a little moody, but I had NEVER used any kind of birth control, so my body didn't know how to handle the extra horomones. My cycle is SO regular that I get my period on the exact day and the exact hour! My husband can not feel the ring during intercourse, but sometimes the ring does come out, although I can feel it, so I never had any problems with forgetting to put it back in or anything.
HOWEVER, for about the past 3 days, I have been so much more moody (with no significant changes in eating, exercising, lifestyle, etc), I have been urinating about 3x more daily than usual, I am really tired all the time but can't get a good nights sleep, and I have been getting really sharp abdominal pains. This has never happened before and I am concerned that maybe I am pregnant. I put the ring in a week ago, so I still have 2 weeks before I am supposed to get my period. Do these sound like normal pregnancy signs or do they sound like symptoms to the Nuva Ring?
I LOVE the Nuva Ring-- no complaints about it-- unless I AM pregnant ::knock on wood::

i started out on the nuva ring just fine too. never had a problem with it slipping out or anything and my husband never felt it. It did cause me to have a lower sex drie and even vaginal dryness. These are not big things to worry about though. If you suspect you are pregnant you should go out an buy a pregnancy test to make sure. The hormones in any bc can harm your baby if you are pg.I don't think you are pg though. you don't really get an over active bladder when your pg until your far enough along for the baby to press on your bladder. Your symptoms do sound like mine though before i had to get off the ring. Next will come migraines and then mild anxiety. Don't let it get as far i did. It's been 3 months since i've been on the ring and my body still isn't right. My doctor wants to put me on lexapro for anxiety but my counselor thinks i can work this out with vitamins and exercise. I don't want to scare you i just don't want you to go through what i am. There are lots of other forums out there with many many confessions of how the ring and all other forms of bc have ruined there bodies. Please be safe.

Thank you very much for your information. I actually do have some mild anxiety, but that started a while before I started using the Nuva Ring, and this has been my only form of birth control. I really want an IUD, but since I haven't already had a baby, my doctor told me she wouldn't recommend one. I have a really hard time taking any pills and the patch sort of scares me. The shot also scares me because I have heard it is really hard on your body. I realize that everyone's body is different and is going to react to types of birth controls differently, but I feel like the Nuva Ring is the only thing for me! I really hope none of this is because of my birth control!
I think I am going to talk to the doctor! See what other options I have.
Once again, Thank you very much for your advice!

wow she didnt know he took it out?

I was on nuvaring for 6 months and LOVED IT!! It was worry free birth control. It kinda freaked my husband out alittle b/c he could feel it during sex. I read on the package it was okay to remove it for an hour so we did take it out. However dont do that b/c I'm not sure anymore if I read that right. The only problem I had with it is that it made my vagina hurt the first week of putting it in.

Now, since my husband is going to deploy to Iraq in a year and a half we are trying to get pregnant and Im not sure how long it will take me to ovalate again. If anyone knows please let me know. TY.

I have been using the Nuvaring for a couple weeks now after I had told my doctor I wanted to try it, I have had a little a little prob at first with a discharge and some itching but had done some reading about it and there are many woman that have that at first, it will go away and if not you may not want to use it because you may have a reaction to it.. It was very easy to put in and I found that it is easier to put it into a figure 8 and fold it down into a empty tampon applicator and insert it that way! just incase u feel as if you will not get it in far enough.. You shouldnt even feel it but if you do you may have to push it is farther with ur finger.
I havnt been on it long enough to know alot about it but I do like it alot and sure beats the pill! especially when I always forget to take it the same time everyday, this way the ring is already there and you wont have to forget at all with hormones and things like thst I have not had alot but have noticed a little but may be normal for the first couple weeks since it would be new to your body but every woman is different and will go through it differently..My boyfriend says that he can feel it a little but not enough that it bothers him but for people that want to try it i would read about it and ask your doctor first..
~Hope this will work for you and good luck!~

I've been using the nuvaring for almost 2yrs now. I went on it after having a bad migraine headache episode from being on the patch for a year. After being on the nuvaring I haven't experienced any bad side effects. Sometimes my partner can feel it during sex but I will take it out if it gets too annoying. I haven't heard anyone mention this in this forum but my doctor told me that it can be out for no more than three hours. I've had experiences where I couldn't find it, because it was up so high and once it got pulled out during sex. All in all I've been pretty happy with this method of birth control. I don't like taking pills and am bad at always remembering.

Hi all, I just email dr. oz from the oprah show. Will you send him an email telling your story about anxiety after birth control too? I think it's time we get some answers instead of just taking anti-depressants. If you want to send him an email go to OPRAH.com scroll down the page and on the left had side is a ask dr. oz box. Click it then go to the blue topic about anxiety and panick attacks. Click that and fill out your info. and tell him your story.
thanks.
Tell all you hormonally unbalanced friends to do the same.

I have been on the ring for approximately 2 years now. I have always had a white milky thick discharge since using it. I also have had periods of a burning sensation. Sometimes so bad, that I want to pull it out. I actually have even gotten tested for STD's and urinary tract infections and everything came back clear. Has anyone ever experienced this before? I love the Nuva ring, but lately the burning sensation has become almost unbearable. I would love to hear if someone else has gone through this because I am starting to think that I am losing my mind!!

I have been on NuvaRing for about 9 months now. I really love the convenience of it. I have had no complaints until now. About two months ago I was having some issues with insomnia. I tried a prescription sleeping pill (rozerem, I'm not sure how to spell it) for about a week and after I got off of it I was back to my usual sleeping habits. It didn't even cross my mind that it could be the ring. I thought it was just stress from school. I might have been that and not the ring.

I have put on about 15 pounds but again I attribute that to my eating habits, not the ring. However, the past month and a half I have been on a strict diet and meeting with a personal trainer 2-3 times a week. On top of meeting with the trainer I go to the gym for a least an hour everyday. In spite of all this, I gained 3 pounds (on top of the 15). My doctor said it could be my thyroid but I just got the results of my blood test and my thyroid is normal. So I think it must be the ring.

The problem is that I really like the ring and I don’t want to get off it. Has anyone gained weight from the ring but been able to lose it while staying on the ring?

Hey Everyone. I know some people love the ring, and some don't. Just thought I would share my experience with everyone. I started the nuva ring March 22, 2008. I had it in for 9 days and began experiencing extremely bad migraines, muscle cramping, my whole body and face were extremely swollen, vomiting, high fever (over 103), rapid heart rate, and really low blood pressure - my body was in shock. I went to the ER and they admitted me, diagnosing me with Toxic Shock Syndrome from the Nuvaring. I know this is extremely rare, but I would never want anyone to experience what I went through. Luckily they caught it at the beginning stage but I was still hospitalized for over a week and had to leave work for 4 weeks. I'm getting married in 6 weeks and had started birth control for that reason. All the doctors and nurses recommended to not insert anything into your body that doesn't belong there because there are way too many risks to take... even a tampon (eww back to pads!).

Hi! I'm 27 and just had my second child in October 2007. I decided to try the NuvaRing at my six week checkup. I have been reading these posts and noticed some people have had the same problems I had while on it. I was on it for 6 months and decided to switch to Nordette. I had absolutely NO sex drive and also experienced the burning around the vagina. Those were the only two negative side effects, however the loss of sex drive was unacceptable. I definitely did not gain weight and it did result in lighter shorter periods.

I have been on at least 10 diff types of BC in the past 12 years -- had problems with all of them (mood, bad cramping, really erratic periods) but continued taking to keep mood swings and acne under control. Under my last BC, Diane, I would have acute depression for at least 1.5 weeks after my period. That period increased till I felt like i was under water most of the month and was starting to feel a bit desperate. My doctor suggested i can't tolerate the high hormone levels and switched me to Nuvaring 1.5 months ago. Major changes included: my sex drive returned instantly, at a higher level, my mood improved greatly, and maybe because of the improved mood I found it easier to get out and do excercise, which helped weight gain. Downside: both months I've had 3-4 days of intense pain in the vagine/anal area that feels like I've got a tumor in there. It's very swollen and hard to sit down even. I'm also concerned about what I've been reading about the knee pain some people have - I have lymphodema in one of my legs so I may just stop Nuvaring because of fears it might exacerbate that.

IT's a shame, because -my mood has been so much better, I can't tell you what a relief it has been. I feel like I got part of my life back. Geez, guys have no idea what kind of crap we put up with every month just to keep ourselves feeling "normal."

I'd be interested to hear if anyone's had similar mood experiences on BC because that's been a bugaboo of mine for years. This process of choosing BCs is a bit of a mine field.

Hi All,

Just wanted to let everyone know that there is another form of birth control that is great for those who have trouble taking the pill regularly. I had an implanon for around 2 years and 10 months. The implanon is great, it just sits beneath the skin in your arm releasing hormones slowly (at around the same level as the pill). It can, however, play havoc with your periods. I didn't have my period at all for the first two years that i was on it (which was wonderful) but during the last ten months have been getting periods very irregularly, and very often.

I have gotten the implanon taken out for this reason and am now trying the nuva ring, which seems to be working fine so far. I would recommend the implanon to anyone who asked me. I have had friends who have gotten spotting continuously with it inserted and so have had it removed, but it is worth a go, it is also very cheap (AUD$30 doctors fee). I didnt experience any negative symptoms from taking it whatsoever, besides the periods.

Some people may find it invasive to have this implanted in their skin, and it is strange for a while but bear with it and you will get used to it, and if you can't the removal is quite simple and can be performed in a regular doctors appointment.

Anyway, just thought i would mention this as it hasnt rated a mention yet and is a viable form of birth control (other than the patch and injection) that you do not have to take every day.