Nuva Ring Side Effects (Page 1)

Just took it out after 5 days because it made me anxious, depressed, uninterested in sex and I forgot to mention there, fatter too- in that short time! My depression subsided within 5 hours, which shocked me. I can really feel a difference between me this morning and me this evening. Weird, but there it is.

I was on the Nueva ring for Only 6 days.. THIS IS THE WORST birth control EVER.
I felt Sever Anxiety, totally not myself, immediate acne, developed a UTI infection.
I woke up on the 6day and took it out. Today is day 2 of having it out and I immediate
am feeling back to my normal happy bright self.
I'll restate it WORST BIRTH CONTROL EVER!!!!!

Was wondering if anyone has had this happen - I have been on the ring for over a year and in the past few months, have started seeing dramatic hair loss. A trip to the dermatologist later and he is suspicious it could be the ring, having ruled out all other possibilities. Please, any one out there - have you had a similar experience? I am trying to get this under control before goign bald!!!!
Help!

hi
ive been using nuva ring for a few months and have started to question it as have no sex drive, super lethargic an anxcious. I never thought about hair loss but have noticed that when i have been brushing my handfuls have been coming out so i guess ill add that to my complaints to!! Sure not using it no more!!

I've been using the NuvaRing over 4 years now. I was diagnosed with a low thyroid around the same time and given Synthroid to regulate it. For years, I've been loosing my hair, had a severe lack of consentration or what I call brain fog (being a computer programmer, this is not an issue I need!), no sex drive,.. no drive to speak of really. I blamed all these symptoms on my thyroid even though I've been tested many times and I'm regulated (good TSH).

Last month, while on an unplanned trip with no NuvaRing so I went without.

I feel like a cloud has lifted around me, I can concentrate like better than I have in years, could the NuvaRing have been the cause all this time?!

I have been on the ring for 3 yrs and have just also stared noticing my hair is getting thin! I have always had thick beautiful hair.. the only thing I can think of is it being the ring! I am done with it! I am gettng married in 6 months and DO NOT want to have thin hair. I Just hope it comes back!

AYGLER- I had the patch do the same thing to me when i wad on it many years ago. I was on the patch for about a year when I noticed alot more hair in the shower drain and on my hair brush than was normal for me. Also my sister noticed that my hair didnt look as thick as it had, months earlier. I went online and found that the problem could be my bc so I stopped taking it. So yeah my hair is back to normal( it did take a few months) and I'm happy, so very happy about that. But I am also concerned, I have just recently started Nuva ring and just now have seen these posts that it may cuase this problem again...

I was on nuvaring and switched because of lack of interest in sex. I moved onto the pill (Natazia). I have been on the pill for 3 months and have noticed loosing a LOT of hair, especially in the shower. My problem is I do not know if it is caused by coming off of the high hormones on Nuvaring or the several hormones in my pill. Yikes!

I have an upcoming doctors appointment to try and sort this out, but my research shows many ladies have hair loss problems on all types of birth control...

I was on nuvaring and switched because of lack of interest in sex. I moved onto the pill (Natazia). I have been on the pill for 3 months and have noticed loosing a LOT of hair, especially in the shower. My problem is I do not know if it is caused by coming off of the high hormones on Nuvaring or the several hormones in my pill. Yikes!

I have an upcoming doctors appointment to try and sort this out, but my research shows many ladies have hair loss problems on all types of birth control...

i have been on nuva ring for two years and for the past 8 months i have notic major hair los as well. i went to many different doctors to figure out what is going on and no one has an answer.

i have been on nuva ring for two years and for the past 8 months i have notic major hair los as well. i went to many different doctors to figure out what is going on and no one has an answer.

Yes it is a side effect. I had a Mirena IUD placed in Feb 2010 and within 4 weeks I was losing an amazing amount of hair. By April I had lost more than 1/3rd of my hair and it appeared that I was developing a male pattern baldness. My family physician doubted that the Mirena had caused the hairloss but when I saw my OB she confirmed that these types of birth control can cause hairloss and that they are not required to list hairloss as a negative side effect because it isn't a health hazard.

Fast foreword. I had the IUD removed and went on Marvelon ocp, but after a year had break through bleeding too often, so I was switched to Nuva Ring. Lo and behold within days I was retaining 10+lbs of fluid, felt horribly depressed, foggy, irritable and my hair began falling out again in clumps. 8 days I had it in. I pulled it out last night at midnight. my mood had improved by morning and I was peeing like crazy and the boosting was dissipating.

I am 100% done with hormonal birth control.

Yes it is a side effect. I had a Mirena IUD placed in Feb 2010 and within 4 weeks I was losing an amazing amount of hair. By April I had lost more than 1/3rd of my hair and it appeared that I was developing a male pattern baldness. My family physician doubted that the Mirena had caused the hairloss but when I saw my OB she confirmed that these types of birth control can cause hairloss and that they are not required to list hairloss as a negative side effect because it isn't a health hazard.

Fast foreword. I had the IUD removed and went on Marvelon ocp, but after a year had break through bleeding too often, so I was switched to Nuva Ring. Lo and behold within days I was retaining 10+lbs of fluid, felt horribly depressed, foggy, irritable and my hair began falling out again in clumps. 8 days I had it in. I pulled it out last night at midnight. my mood had improved by morning and I was peeing like crazy and the boosting was dissipating.

I am 100% done with hormonal birth control.

yes!!! i have the same experience. i went on the ring in October 2010 and only 8 months later started noticing how thin my hair looked and how much of my hair were on the bathroom floor! Did not put the two together until yesterday, 3 months later after i read up forums of women complaining of the same problem. Took it off immediately last nite and am putting myself on hair vitamins etc hoping to stop the loss. i made an appt to see my gyne for next week. in one forum, someone suggested taking prenatal vitamins to reduce the hair loss. wonder if that will work?

Yes! I am experiencing hair thinning since I've been on the Nuva Ring! I have also had shingles and been on so much medication and thought it was from the meds for the shingles...however, I'm not taking any meds for shingles and my hair is still thinning! What have you done for your hair loss? Are you still on the Nuva Ring?

Yes! I have a type of alopecia that is balding in several spots! I noticed it after using the nuva ring!!! I got a total of 10 bald spots on my head. I recieved shots from the dermatalogist and my hair grew back. I am now getting new balding spots again!

I've been on NR for 4mo and I just started noticing same terrible scary side effect. All else is fine but hair loss other BCP had me same side effect plus more. NR only the hair loss idonno what to do myself, cause I need to be on BPC to balance my hormones otherwise I would go insane.

My hair fell out in clumps as well. So you aren't the only one. Like a lot of bc,it does make you lose hair. I hope this helps:)

I talked to my hair dresser about losing my hair while on birth control. She said that it was an affect of the bc, but not to be too worried about it. Good luck

I have been using nuvaring for almost a year, and I too feel like i've experienced abnormal hair loss, mainly at the crown. I can see my scalp more than before. I'm thinking about swearing off birth control all together!

I was actually relieved that other people were experiencing this side effect too! I have been on it for only 2 weeks, and within that time I went from being happy to crying daily and completely losing my sex drive. I had been noticing some hair loss this week, and didnt think to connect the two.

So you are not alone, its happening to me too. Thanks for the advice, i'm going off of it today and back on yasmin. Shorter periods are not worth turning into an emotional wreck. :cry:

I'm glad to know that i'm not the only person having problems with the ring. I have been having headaches and i'm so so sad. I don't like anything about myself or anyone else. I have been very ill. And I have also had some hair loss.

After three cycles, I removed mine half-way through the fourth cycle. I could not bear to look in the sink, shower, brush, comb, or even worse yet, the mirror. My hair is not very thick to begin with, but after two cycles, I started losing so much hair that I was referred to a dermatologist.

What I find is amazing is that the ob/gyn's and the nurse practitioners are clueless (or pretend they are) about this well-known side effect. With just a little research, I found well-respected physicians recommending the nuvaring be avoided if hair loss is an issue or one has a predisposition for hair loss.

Also, my face began to break out badly, i.E., five to eight painful blemishes at any given time.

Check out web md's recent article on this topic. Nuvaring is one of the four hormonal contraceptives most likely to cause hair loss because of the androgens.

On a positive note, my cycles were more regular, lighter, and cramps became history, but i'll deal with cramps and an irregular cycle any day over baldness and blemishes!

Good luck, ladies! Buyer be aware!

I have been on it for a week and two days now and I have already noticed slight weight gain and involuntary urges to cry. It's so annoying! I'll just be sitting there and I will have to fight back tears...
I'm starting to wonder if I should just go on orthotricyclen lo

Ortho Tri Cyclen-lo made me pregnant, so that's one I will no longer use. Loestrin made me feel like I was pregnant (tired, morning sickness, cramps) despite that it was working fine. Lo Ovral caused me extreme mood swings despite that it didn't do anything else to my body. Yaz made me break out horribly. The ring has been the better one; the only problem is a slight increase of weight in my lower abdominal region, but at the same time I'm very athletic so is not really noticeable. I still haven't experienced hair loss but if it appears, is goodbye to the ring.

What we have to remember is that any hormonal birth control method tricks your body into thinking that you're pregnant, hence the moodiness, breakouts, hair loss, nausea etc. It's different for every person.

I've been on the nuva ring for about 4 months. I originally was prescribed the ring because I was having 2 to 3 periods per month, not fun! And the hormonal changes that go along with the periods are enough to make you crazy considering you're pms'ing practically all the time. The constant worrying if I felt another period start and running to the bathroom, praying I had a tampon in my purse, was horrible.

I have been on 3 different types of pill to try and regulate my periods and none stopped the bleeding so I gave up hope and figured i'd just have to live like this. Then, I went to a new gyno and was prescribed the ring, it works like a charm. I only menstruate once per month and my periods are very consistent although, I have turned into a raging demon from hell! I feel like that scary girl in the movie "the ring"! My boyfriend and I have broken up 3 times in 4 months, he has seen a distinct change in my personality and behavior. I notice that I have zero patience for people or much of anything anymore. I am very depressed and down on myself, I have very little motivation to do anything unless I have to be somewhere.

I have suffered with depression my whole life and have been able to control it for the most part, but not to this extent, and this consistently. I found that within 2 days of removing the ring, my thought process actually changes completely! For example, I made the decision to end my relationship (yet, again) and after the hormones were out of my system, I completely changed my mind! That's not normal, even for me. There are obviously some issues in my relationship that need to be addressed, i'm not that irrational, but I really and truly think that this thing is contributing to my major mood swings and inability to make logical decisions.

Anyone else feelin' me here?

Ps- for those who are experiencing acne problems, I use proactiv and I swear I would do a commercial for these people. It really, really works, I promise. I suffered with acne starting at about age 25 and tried everything out there, dermalogica, over the counter stuff, murad, etc. It didn't go away until I tried proactiv 3 years ago and hasn't come back since. I won't skip an application. As long as you're consistent and use it properly (it takes about 2 months to really see any results), I sound like an infomercial but i'm telling you, the stuff works!

I am currently on my 3rd cycle of the ring and I'm feeling totally depressed, moody and unmotivated. I had recently lost 22 lbs and the weight is creeping back up, I lost my motivation to workout. I'm pretty tired. I have had other symptoms in the beginning of my start on Nuva such as numbness in my right leg, right side of my vagina and butt. I also had a day where I had bad lower back pain. It went away.

Now I'm stuck with the blues. I'm pretty prone to depression but I was doing well for a while. Eating better and exercising helped but now I'm feeling pretty down. NO sex drive, this is effecting my relationship. I don't even really want to kiss.

I'm thinking of going off of this for a month to see what happens and then I will restart to see if the symptoms return. I don't like feeling sad, because I feel so alone and I don't want to be around anyone. I hope it's the Nuva ring and not just me.

I went on nuvaring for three months and felt like i'd finally found the perfect contraceptive for me--until my hair started coming out. I am outraged that this apparently very common side effect is not listed anywhere on the nuvaring or organon website, or anywhere in the literature I was given! I am making it my personal mission to inform every woman I know that this side effect could happen to them. I took my third nuvaring out today, one day early, because after gathering up all the hair in the shower and the tub, I nearly started to cry. I'm absolutely furious that the manufacturer is getting away with not disclosing this possible side effect, and that my healthcare providers neglected to mention it. I know it's all about the money, but where is the fda in all this?

I have been on the nuvaring since, I think, august of 2006. When I first started, I noticed a major increase in "wetness" throughout the day, it didn't really bother me to much though. That was the only problem I found so I started going every other month with just skipping my period (leaving the ring in for four weeks then switching). It was going good and everything but this month i've been on my period for over two weeks and it was supposed to be my month off. The first few days it was a dark brown and fairly light but now its red and a bit on the heavier side. It's starting to get really frustrating for both me and my boyfriend. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I be concerned? I really would have gotten to the doctor about it but it's hard to get out there...

The Nuva Ring does state that you will have increased 'wetness' I am experiencing this too. I noticed you typed "it was supposed to be my month off" Did you mean 'week off'? Because you are supposed to keep it in for 3 weeks and take it out for only one week. Hope this helps!

I have been on the nuvaring for a little over 2 years now and have just given up on trying to skip my periods completely. There were a couple of instances where I spotted for the whole month rather than having no period (which in my opinion is worse than just having a regular period). And a couple more instances where I just went ahead a had a regular period, even though I left the ring in for the 4 weeks and switched on the 4th. Maybe it's just me, but the whole skipping periods is not what my body wants to do.

I didn't realize until today that my severe mood swings and problems that I think that I have with my boyfriend could be caused by this side effect.
I've noticed that I have also become a lot more moody towards everyone at work, even the customers, and when your job is supposed to make those people happy it can be really bad. I try to just overlook everything as I used to, but it becomes harder and harder each day. I don't know if it is worth it.
Has anyone been on the ring long enough, with the same problems to know if this goes away eventually?
I have not noticed any of the other side effects mentioned. I was accually just noticing earlier this week that my hair seems to be stronger, not weeker like many of you have mentioned. No headaches, which I have experienced with every other birth control that I have tried! My sex drive is about the same, I have not noticed a difference (other than my mood when it comes to that, but I am still as interested in sex).
This is pretty much my last option for birth control, I have tried almost everything else and I was getting migranes everyday, sometimes multiple times a day, or they would not subside for a few days at a time (especially on ortho try cyclen). I want this to work but not at the expense of my sanity!

I honestly feel I might be experiencing the same situation. I have been manifesting problems in a near perfect relationship, severe mood swings that I cannot shake and I just have an overall feeling of frustration and anxiety. I found this website the first day I started Nuvaring and was very aprehensive about trying it. However, everyone is affected differently so I stored the info I read and pressed on. I will say the hair loss has been a bit (thinner) but nothing noticable. My overall feeling of mental health has severely declined. I do feel that your brain is powerful and can manifest issues based on information. I don't feel like that is the case. This hormonal roller coaster is terribly tough on my well being. I feel anxious, lower self esteem and weak minded. Lame. I feel that I gave it two months. I'm no longer willing to risk my health, relationship and sanity on this mind control. I'd rather have my sex drive back and my happiness/confidence level back. Overall, I'm finding birth control to really be a disappointment. It's like the commercials that advertise they can fix your headache but then you have to deal with bloating, anal leakage, insomnia and god knows what else. Trade one thing for a slew of other problems. Plus, who even knows the long term effects of this drug. Lets be honest.

At this point, the pill and now this do the same thing to me mentally. I'm done with the mind control, anxiety and stress. I'd rather have kids.

I have been on the Nuva Ring for almost a year. I was so happy with my results because I didn't have to "think" anymore about birthcontrol except once a month. Lately I have been really tired and I have no motivation to anything but sleep. I started to get down on myself and question my life and just get really depressed. My cousin told me that mood swings were a side effect of the Nuva ring..I was so in denial because of the easy method of the ring that I ignored it..until now. Thank you all for you honest posts becuase I would have thought I was nuts if it was not for them. I am still on it and I am really thinking about going off...even though I have exprienced no other side effects this one is just enough for me !

I had alot of issues with the nuva ring also. I noticed the hair loss which at the time I assumed was because I had just had a baby, etc. But I also had issues with the ring falling out, being uncomfortable, etc.

Hi,


i've used the nuvaring for 3 months. About 2 months ago, I noticed some thinning in the front of my forehead. Hair loss is a sign of aging so I was really concerned. Then this month, I started looking closely only to notice bigger gaps between my hair. I was using my laptop when I noticed that even my short baby hairs were falling off. I think I've lost a whopping third of my total head of hair. This is sad because I normally have a ridiculously full head of hear.

Also, my breasts have gotten smaller. I will definitely never use it again. Now my only concern is how can I get my hair to regrow? Will it all regrow?


S

Hi I was on NR for 1.5 yr. I gain weight for the first 3 mo. than took me another 3 to be back to my true weight.Great skin ,thats the only good thing.Problems with moods or sex drive will not go away.Some months those are worse.Those will stay with you for as long as loong u r on NR.Breast pain,headaches etc.I drop NR 3 weeks ago,to have a life -!!! I got super depressed after 1.5 weeks,still no signs of weight changes.Too early ,I guess.Sex drive = zero! hope I can be happy back asap.Its make me and my husband very tired.Never again.

Hi I was on NR for 1.5 yr. I gain weight for the first 3 mo. than took me another 3 to be back to my true weight.Great skin ,thats the only good thing.Problems with moods or sex drive will not go away.Some months are worse.Those will stay with you for as long as loong u r on NR.Breast pain,headaches etc.What kind of life is that?!! I drop NR 3 weeks ago,to have a life -!!! I got super depressed after 1.5 weeks,still no signs of weight changes.Too early ,I guess.Sex drive = zero! hope I can be happy back asap.Its make me and my husband very tired.Never again NR or other bc.done with that .Amen

Thank goodness for this site! I've been on Nuvaring for 4 years now and when I think back, it was apx 6 months or less after I began it that my sex drive plummetted (It was the beginning of a new relationship with my still-boyfriend) but I still put it down to the end of the honeymoon period and because my Dr had told me it's low-dose I never considered the ring could give me these kinds of problems..until I found these pages and honest posts!! It feels like sex doesn't exist to me anymore (with my boyf of solo). Everything else is great between us but the way I'm feeling (or NOT feeling in this case!) is affecting us. Because I work irregular hours I too was drawn in by the appeal of not having to remember to take a pill every day and I would be worried about relying on condoms long-term. I just wanted to share my experiences with others so they're aware and don't put up with this for as long as I have; constantly thinking it was my diet (which hasn't changed since I started on Nuvaring) or exercise...or tiredness from work...or the myriad of different things which have stayed the same over the past 4 yrs while my sex drive has waned and brought issues to an otherwise very happy relationship. It makes me sad. This is why I'm off to get a consultation in regards getting a non-hormonal IUD fitted. I feel it's the only answer to this problem for me. Thanks to everyone who posts here; now I know I'm not odd and I was able to find a (hopefully!!) successful solution.

I used to use nuvaring, and when I was using it I was concerned about breast cancer (since I have heard here and there that hormones from birth control can cause breast cancer) and I found a useful article about this that goes over what studies have been done on birth control and breast cancer. Hope it helps.