I was on the Nuvaring for 9 months. I took it out in the 10th month because I was pissed off all the time, had no sex drive, and got fat (I gained almost 20 pounds, and nothing I could do would get it off). Since taking it out I have lost 10 pounds and am much happier. The only problem now is I get headaches all the time and my periods have become irregular. I've skipped my period this month, and I'm definitely not pregnant. I didn't experience hair loss, but the other effects were bad enough. Beware of this bc, even after you take it out.

Update: I've been off NuvaRing for one month now and my hair is falling out MORE, just as others have warned. My body has gone through some very strange changes over the last few weeks, from days of water retention to sore boobs, sore ovaries (no lie), and two weeks of being HIGHLY irritable. My BF said my boobs actually look bigger now than they did when I was on the Ring. I sure wasn't expecting that!

The hair loss is damned depressing but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that eventually this torture will stop.

In the meantime, I'm looking for an OTC contraceptive that will not cause an allergic reaction. I've already been warned off of the IUD.

I'll post again in a few months and let you know how it's going.

Good luck everyone!!

I started the Nuva Ring in 2006 when I turned 25. I used this birth control for three years and never really experienced any severe side effects, or at least none that I ever associated with the Nuva Ring. My main concern now is that I have stopped using NR, but within the space of 7 months after stopping I have gone from having irregular periods to having no periods at all. Before taking NR, I was having regular periods. Now It has been 3 months and I have not had a period. A planned parenthood clinic confirmed that I am not pregnant. I am seeing a gynecologist about this at the end of this month, but in the meantime I have been cautioned about a chance of polycystic ovarian syndrome.

After reading the comments on this site, I am also now wondering whether the nuva ring should be blamed for the hair loss I experienced a year ago. It coincided with an infection that formed in a pilar cyst I'd had on my scalp since I was 18. I lost all my hair in the area where the cyst had ruptured, so I attributed it to that and stress in general (first year working as a teacher). My hair has since grown back and grew back while I was still on the nuva ring for a few months afterward.

I am hoping I do not have anything serious and I'm wondering if anyone else has had trouble having periods after stopping this form of birth control.

I have used Nuva Ring since Jan. 2009. After 3 months I noticed my hair getting thin. I thought it was stress because I was going through a divorce so I ignored it. It got worse. I went to a doctor who did a blood work up and found me to be completely normal. No problems with iron or anything. Then, I thought, birth control... I have been doing research on Nuva Ring. There is a LOT of information out there indicating Nuva Ring causes A LOT of hair loss! BE aware!!! I HAVE BEEN ON BIRTH CONTROL FOR 20 YEARS (ALL TYPES OF DIFFERENT PILLS). Nuva Ring is the worst. Nuva Ring is the ONLY birth control that made my hair fall out. This company should be sued.

I was on Nuva ring for 3 months and both my husbands and I noticed a RADICAL change in my mood after starting the nuvaring, I was angered quickly, moody, and mean. I have never had similar problems with any other pill contraceptive. I stopped using it and it is a ton better now.....My advice: immediately stop using if you have noticed a change in your mood or behavoir

I just took my nuva ring out for good, about 5 minutes before I found this site. I had it in for 3 months, and noticed crazy mood swings, depression, headaches, and a severe lack of interest in sex. I live with my boyfriend and I think we've had sex about 3 times in the last two months. There's GOT to be something better out there!

I was on nuva ring about a year ago, and noticed the same side effects - though not as severe - which is why I stopped taking it then. When I went to my doctor for an exam this year, I asked her about different birth control options, and all she had to offer was the pill (which I can never remember to take every day), an IUD, which she discouraged me from getting due to expense, and the ring, which she said was the best option for a forgetful person. I told her about my previous side effects, and she acted like she had never heard that before - how is that possible? Shouldn't doctors be aware of what medications can do to their patients?

I'll never take it again. We are going to use condoms while patiently waiting for a male birth control pill. (It's gonna be a long wait!)

hey all.... i just removed my ring... i was wearing it for 2 days... i was scared from all the comments i read. I havent use any kind of contraception ever before.
Im 26 years old and my circe and hormons are in a purfect level. Never had a problem with my circe and never had an unwanted pregnancy. Athough i am a smoker. Not a heavy one. I use to smoke 5 to 7 cigarettes a day. My doctor recommended the ring as the one with the less side effects guarrantee!! I have to admit that i already experience mood swings which are bad during the night, and i fee stressed and scared. I also fee nauteus.
I came to the conclusion that i shoudnt play with hormones. and i dont want to be 'trapped' in the contraception game...
I also dont want to damage my relationship with all the mood swings. Not that he is not supportive. The contrary but i cant stand to feel this way. Unsecure and stressed. I will stick with the condom and be carefull.
Thank you all for your time.

take care x

I have been losing a ton of hair(23 years old no history of alopecia in family). I have very fine hair already so this is horrible. I was on the Nuvaring for 2 months. About 5 weeks into the ring I noticed a lot of hair loss. I am still losing my hair and I have been off of it since August. The government needs to take this away. How are doctors still prescribing this? This makes me want to switch gynos. I told my gyno about this and he just looked at me. On top of the hairloss I had bad headaches and they seem to be coming back. After reading the comment form ivsthetruth I think I'm going to get checked out for bloodclots too. I cannot believe with all of the comments on here that hairloss isn't part of the class action lawsuit. I have contacted a few of the websites and they all have turned me down.

I have been on the Nuva Ring for over a year and a half, I really liked it, it was the best birth control for me because I was terrible at the pill and the damn patch kept falling off.

I had been having problems with my libido with any hormonal birth control, so I wasn't really too too surprised about that.

But then my hair started falling out. It has been falling out for 6 months now, the last 2 being the absolute worse, my hair is so thin now, and finally I saw a competent doctor, and she reccomended I go off birth control all together for 3 months, and see what my 'base line' is for hormones, if my hair loss stops and my libido comes back.

Also yes, like many of you, I gain weight no matter what I do particularily on my stomach. I sometimes think that I am pregnant because of how round my tummy is.

After 1.5 yrs, I took my Nuva Ring out yesterday. We will see how it goes.

I recently started using the NuvaRing and I have been feeling sad and depressed a lot lately. I started losing interest in daily activities I usually enjoy doing. I don't feel like going anywhere. I am tired all the time. I am gaining weight. The other day I started noticing that I had a lot of hair coming out when I brushed it. Especially after showering. I was going to call my hair stylist and ask if it could be a product I was using. I was wondering what was wrong with me. I never feel this bad. I have a history of depression but with the antidepressants I have been doing okay. I can't concentrate in school anymore. I have been feeling like why even bother doing anything. I want to feel normal again!

I have used the NuvaRing for over 5 years now & I always LOVED it, I never had any problems with it - it was easy and convenient & it made me 'wetter' down there - so sex felt amazing.

I have always taken a break from bc though, at least 1 or 2 months every year, I started using the Ring again after a 2 month break & suddenly I'm having problems with it.

I had to take the ring out mid cycle because sex was becoming more & more painful - no matter how much Lube I used, I would always tear really easily inside & out. I have a BIG appetite for sex so this has actually hurt so much it made me cry or need to stop in the middle of intercourse with my boyfriend.

In the meantime, I've been exhausted all the time, I constantly feel like a fever (my temp is normal though) and I have put on weight even tho I have NO appetite !
I'm afraid to go back on it ! I don't know what I will do...

I'm 20yrs old and have been on nuvaring for almost 3 years now. When i first got on it i was moody and cranky but soon adjusted, now i'm wondering if anyone else is having the same problem i'm having...I'm having diarrhea anywhere from 1-4 times a day. I've been to every specialist you can think of and ruled out just about every disease....Is anyone else having these symptoms?? Or do you think it's not related?? My obg is so hard to get in touch w/ but i only just now had a friend link my sickness (that's been going on for over a year now) to the ring...that maybe it's causing it?? Anyone have any advice??

I've been on the nuvaring for..i'd say a year and some months, i've noticed a change in my wieght, which i work at mcdonalds and just assumed that was why. I've also noticed that I've been tired all the time, which i just thought was cuz of work also however i've worked there for three years and wasn't like this before. the hairloss isn't really something that's happened to me, or so that i've noticed. However, the sexdrive is completly gone which is unusual because me and my boyfriend used to do it all the time, if you know what i mean haha. You guys have really helped me realize i'm not crazy. thanks bunches

Has anyone else experienced a lot of vaginal dryness & irritation from it ? I'm freaking out thinking maybe I have something else wrong with me because sex hurts so much, but my gyno said everything is fine, & suggested lube - (which hasnt helped)

All I've ever been on in the Ring, and I'm not ready for kids yet - so which kind of bc should I use ?

I started on the Nuva Ring 3 years ago and stopped about a year and a half ago to be in to be in a new contraceptive ring study. Before I stopped Nuva Ring, I loved it. But after I finished the study, I switched back to Nuva, and I have noticed severe mood swings, depression, loss of hair (shows up horribly in photos of me...), and bleeding during sex. I know most of these symptoms have the potential to resolve but the hair loss specifically is getting much worse. I want to be able to stop the ring knowing that it will all eventually grow back I wish the people who wrote on this forum years ago would return to let us know how their hair regrew.... Convinced I should abandon hormonal contracpetives all together. Looks like condoms for me until I decide to have kids.

Update:

I've been off the NuvaRing for 5 months now (I believe). I still have hair loss but with the help of women's Rogaine and biotin pills, I am no longer pulling hair out each time I run my fingers through.

I've been using contraceptive film for protection but it's messy and my BF gets worried he might ingest it when he's...you know.

This month I had a scare, my boobs got really sore but my period didn't show up for another week past the due date, so I was beginning to freak out. Guess I'll have to go back onto some kind of reliable birth control. Bummer, because I was really hoping to avoid synthetic hormones again!

I will post again in a few months - about the 8-month mark, and let you know if the hair loss has stopped.

Thank you so much dflynn, I look forward to your update!

I went off the ring less than a month ago and already I am noticing a difference in the hair loss. I lost some weight and my sex drive is better I also am in a better mood. I will update when I have been off it for longer.