Anyone use nuvaring to prevent your period?? or any kind of birth control?!
Question: I use this my gyno suggested it since my periods are horrible after having my baby. Anyone else do it? Experiences?
Answers: I use this my gyno suggested it since my periods are horrible after having my baby. Anyone else do it? Experiences?
A friend of mine used the NuvaRing for that purpose but she had break through bleeding a lot and decided to stop using it b/c of that reason. I personally think it was caused by user error, but I don't see why it wouldn't work as long as it is used consistently.
Birth control pills, patch, or ring
Examples
Generic Name Brand Name
Very low-dose pills Alesse, Linessa
Low-dose pills Marvelon, Minestrin, Min-Ovral, Yasmin
Phasic pills Tri-Cyclen
High-dose pills Ovral
Note: This is not a complete list of all brand-name birth control pills available.
Skin patch
Generic Name Brand Name
20 mcg estrogen, plus progestin Evra patch
Vaginal ring
Generic Name Brand Name
15 mcg estrogen, plus progestin NuvaRing
Birth control pills
Very low-dose pills have 20 to 25 mcg of estrogen plus progestin.
Low-dose pills have 30 to 35 mcg estrogen plus progestin.
Phasic pills have changing levels of estrogen and progestin.
High-dose pills have about 50 mcg of estrogen plus progestin.
How It Works
Birth control hormones in pills, skin patches, or vaginal rings give you a regular dose of estrogen and progestin. This controls your body's menstrual cycles and prevents pregnancy. It also helps relieve heavy menstrual bleeding, pain, and sometimes premenstrual mood problems and bloating.
In the perimenopausal years before menopause, hormone levels go up and down a lot. Using birth control hormones can help with hot flashes, sleep problems, and mood.1, 2
Birth control pills
Birth control pills come in packs. The most common type has 3 weeks of hormone pills. Some packs have sugar pills for the fourth week, and some do not. During that fourth non-hormone week, you have your menstrual period. After the fourth week (28 days), you start a new pack.
Another method is to take the active hormone pills continuously for 3 months. This is followed by 7 days of sugar pills. You then start a new pack of pills. Your doctor can prescribe this as an unlabelled use. If you have breakthrough bleeding during the 3 months, your health professional will prescribe extra estrogen.
For more information, see how to take birth control pills.
Birth control skin patch
The birth control patch is a patch [about 4 cm (1.75 in.)] that sticks firmly on your skin. You can wear it on your lower abdomen, buttocks, or upper arm. Each patch releases estrogen and progestin through your skin for 7 days. Over a 4-week period, you use one patch each week for 3 weeks, then no patch for 1 week. During this week, you have your menstrual period.
For more information, see how to use the patch.
Birth control vaginal ring (CVR)
The vaginal ring is small [about 5 cm (2 in.) in diameter], flexible, and colourless. It releases a continuous low dose of hormones into the vagina to prevent pregnancy for that month.
You insert the vaginal ring yourself and leave it in place for 3 weeks. This gives you continuous birth control for the month. On the first day of the fourth week, you remove the ring and usually have a menstrual period. The exact position of the ring in the vagina is not critical for it to work. Since the ring is not a barrier contraceptive, it cannot be incorrectly inserted.
For more information, see how to use a vaginal ring.
Why It Is Used
Birth control hormones are commonly used to:
Prevent pregnancy. Birth control hormones prevent pregnancy in three ways. They stop the ovaries from releasing an egg each month (ovulation). They also thicken the mucus in the cervix. This makes it hard for sperm to travel into the uterus. And birth control hormones change the lining of the uterus, which makes it harder for a fertilized egg to attach to it.
Control menstrual periods. Taking estrogen and progestin on a schedule keeps your menstrual periods on a schedule. You can schedule your periods to be every month, every few months, or not at all. This can relieve you of problems that flare with every menstrual cycle, like endometriosis or painful ovarian cysts.
Lighten menstrual bleeding. Normally, the uterus builds up a new lining every month, which then sheds away. This shedding is your menstrual bleeding. Taking hormones keeps the lining from getting very thick, so bleeding is lighter.
Help relieve menstrual pain. Birth control hormones lower your level of prostaglandins, which are one cause of menstrual pain.
Help relieve perimenopausal problems. In the years leading up to menopause, a woman's hormone levels are unpredictable. Taking birth control hormones helps keep hormones even. This can help relieve hot flashes, sleep problems, and depression for many perimenopausal women.1, 2
Treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) problems. Birth control hormones can help control PCOS problems. The Yasmin birth control pill is considered "potentially ideal" for PCOS hormone treatment.3 This pill has the progestin called drospirenone, which is an antiandrogen.4 It can improve PCOS acne problems, male-type hair growth, and male-pattern hair loss, which are caused by high androgen levels.
Prevent some diseases. Taking birth control hormones lowers ovarian cancer risk.5 For women with a risk of endometrial cancer, taking progestin with estrogen helps lower that risk.6 The estrogen in the pill, patch, or ring also helps keep bones strong. This lowers your risk of osteoporosis later in life.1
Premenstrual syndrome (PMD) relief. The Yasmin birth control pills have a progestin that reduces water retention (bloating) during the menstrual cycle. This type of pill may help reduce severe mood and physical symptoms that some women get before they start their monthly periods.7 These symptoms are called premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). (Yasmin is low-estrogen.)
Estrogen-progestin pills, skin patches, or vaginal rings are good choices for women who:
Need short- or long-term birth control that can be stopped at any time.
Prefer a form of birth control that does not interfere with sexual spontaneity.
Have heavy, painful, or irregular menstrual periods.
Have endometriosis or ovarian cysts.
Have a family history of ovarian cancer. Estrogen-progestin pills start lowering the risk of ovarian cancer after 1 year of use. This benefit seems to last for years after a woman stops taking the pill.5
Do not use birth control hormones if you have any of the following conditions:
Uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension)
Liver disease
History of blood clots
History of stroke
History of migraine headaches with aura
Diabetes with complications
History of breast cancer (estrogen stimulates certain types of breast cancer)
Breast-feeding in the 6 months after childbirth
Long-term bed rest after a major surgery
If you are older than age 35, do not use birth control pills if you:
Take medicine for high blood pressure.
Smoke.
Have diabetes.
Have high cholesterol.
How Well It Works
Estrogen-progestin pills, skin patches, or vaginal rings are effective methods of birth control when they are used exactly as directed. Since some women do not use their birth control as directed, pregnancy does happen in a certain number of women. This has been shown by studies of actual users.
Among pill users, 8 women in 100 become pregnant per year.8 Of women who take their pills every day, only 3 in 1,000 become pregnant per year.8 When the method fails, it is usually because of skipping a daily pill or two.
Among skin patch and contraceptive vaginal ring users, 8 women in 100 are expected to become pregnant per year. With perfect use, only 3 in 1,000 become pregnant per year.8
The pill and the patch may not work as well if you are overweight (body mass index greater than 30).9, 10
Low-dose pills are as highly effective as higher-dose pills when you take them as directed. But your risk of pregnancy is higher after missing low-dose pills than after missing higher-dose pills.5
For more information about how well estrogen-progestin birth control works for helping other medical problems, see the topics Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding, Menopause and Perimenopause, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), Uterine Fibroids, Functional Ovarian Cysts, Premenstrual Syndrome, Endometriosis, Chronic Female Pelvic Pain, and von Willebrand's disease.
Side Effects
Estrogen-progestin pills, skin patches, and vaginal rings have similar possible side effects. The pill causes hormone levels to peak and drop each day. Each weekly patch takes 3 days after application to reach a steady hormone level. The ring releases a steady dose every day throughout the day. This may explain why the ring is less likely to cause headaches and nausea than the pill or patch.
Common side effects of estrogen-progestin methods
The most common side effects are changes in menstrual periods, including:
Very light or skipped periods. If you take monthly cycles of birth control hormones for a long time, your periods might stop. This effect can last until several months after you stop taking hormones.
Bleeding between periods (spotting). This usually decreases after a woman uses a hormonal method for 3 to 4 months.
The contraceptive skin patch may cause skin irritation at the site.
The contraceptive vaginal ring may cause:
Vaginal discharge.
Irritation and inflammation of the vagina (vaginitis).
Less common side effects of estrogen-progestin methods
Less common side effects include:
Nausea and vomiting, especially during the first month of use. This side effect usually goes away after the first few months of use.
Frequent or more severe headaches. Migraine headaches may get worse.
Weight gain.
Breast tenderness for the first few months.
Depression or mood changes.
Darkening of the skin on the upper lip, under the eyes, or on the forehead (chloasma). This may slowly fade after you stop using hormonal methods, but in some cases it is permanent.
Change in interest in sex (can be more or less).
Rare but serious side effects of estrogen-progestin methods
The following symptoms, called ACHES, are rare but serious and should be reported to your health professional immediately.
Abdominal pain that is severe or persists may be a sign of blood clots (thr
I have been using it to not have my period because I have endometriosis which makes that time of the month for me unbearable and a narcotic pain killer time. I put one in the 1st of the month, leave it in for a month, and on the 1st of the next month, I take it out and put a new one in. I haven't had any breakthrough bleeding because of it, and I have been on it for nearly two years this way.