Ladies: Birth Control Patch or Nuvaring?? Need quick help :(

[Kalika]

Hi ENA ladies,

 

I need your help with something - I am currently using Mirena but I am literally bleeding 3 weeks out of a month and so my doctor is recommending a switch to either the BC patch or Nuvaring (I cannot take oral contraceptives). I need to make this decision relatively quickly.

 

I'm leaning more towards the patch but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with either one? Nuvaring just seems awkward to me, I'm thinking it could pop out during sex or just make me question whether it's in properly or not .. but I do like the fact that it's not weekly like the patch is. Then again, I really don't know how effective I feel the patch is ..

 

Any advice or experiences with these methods of BC?? Good or bad, either way - feedback is much appreciated!!

 

Thanks!!!

[Mercurial Girl]

You can take the nuvaring out for up to 3 hours during sex, sometimes I would leave it in and it would show up rung around the guy's penis hahaha I thought it was funny! I really liked it aside from the hormonal side effects, it was very comfortable and I never felt it.

 

The thing I didn't like about the patch was it's visibility - not that I'm ashamed but meh looks like a smoking cessation patch to me - and it got fuzzies around it and hurt to remove.

[buddha55]

people thought my patch was a nicorette patch. it would sometimes itch and with the amount i shower and work out it wasn't always sticky enough

 

nuva ring could come out during sex. it wasn't so bad but when i initially put it in I would feel bloated for the first few days, and I really can't stand that. otherwise it was nice to not really thing about it, but i did switch abck to the pill.

[Moontiger]

I like the patch. I have friends who tried the ring and not one of them reported anything good about it. But, hey, everyone is different.

 

I would try the patch and if you find you don't like it you can switch to the ring (or vice versa).

[tinkerbellkj]

I was on the nuvaring for a while and I really liked it, though I remember initially I did bleed for a while (seriously a month, but it was very light, but enough to be annoying). I will say that you need to be very careful about not keeping it in past the 21 days. I got pregnant with both my kids for NOT being careful enough with my nuvaring. It was completely a user (me) error and not the rings fault, but because it wasn't like the pill that I saw every day I didn't think about it enough. Plus I swear it gave me a 'jump start' at getting pregnant which is probably all in my head, but hey! If you use it correctly, it's a great BC IMO.

 

I am going to be getting an IUD once I pop this baby out, because I'm having 2 babies 12 months apart and I really think I'd lose my mind if I had a 3rd!

[midnightdeirdre]

Have you considered the Implanon implant? It's a thin rod that is implanted underneath your arm, and prevents pregnancy for 3 years.

 

I used Nuvaring and the Patch. I stopped the Patch when I heard it was causing health problems. The Ring was ok, but sometimes it was a bother. (I could feel the tip of it edging out my vagina a little bit, due to improper placing; took a few tries before I got it to stay in correctly.)

 

A common misconception I think some people have is that the vagina is a hollow tunnel (like the rectum) but this is not true at all. The walls of the vagina touch each other, like if you were to take a slab of clay and roll it together. (The vagina also does not go straight up into the body; it is slanted back.)

 

I also recently read that when you sit down, the vagina is horizontal. I decided to try inserting a tampon by sitting on the toilet with my legs wide apart (before I was always squatting on the floor with a mirror beneath me. This resulted in bad placing of the tampon almost every time) and, low and behold, the tub position worked perfectly. I suppose I should've tried this position when I used the Ring.

 

Still, I think the Implanon would worth a try for you.

[OptomisticGirl]

 

I also recently read that when you sit down, the vagina is horizontal. I decided to try inserting a tampon by sitting on the toilet with my legs wide apart (before I was always squatting on the floor with a mirror beneath me. This resulted in bad placing of the tampon almost every time) and, low and behold, the tub position worked perfectly. I suppose I should've tried this position when I used the Ring.

 

Still, I think the Implanon would worth a try for you.

 

Off topic but I'eve never been able to insert a tampon while say down - always had to have a foot propped up.

[midnightdeirdre]

I have friends who tried the ring and not one of them reported anything good about it.

 

What did they say about it? Just curious.

[midnightdeirdre]

always had to have a foot propped up.

 

Propped up on the toilet?

[OptomisticGirl]

Propped up on the toilet?

 

If I'm in pubic yeah - at home I use the tub.

[buddha55]

the thing with the implanon or the shot- if you have negative effects, it's harder to reverse.

[Kalika]

Thanks for your insights, everyone. I do have an appointment next week to have the mirena removed and will try the patch.

[hidden_kitten]

the thing with the implanon or the shot- if you have negative effects, it's harder to reverse.

 

Don't mean to derail Kalika's thread but can you expand on this? Do the side effects just take longer to go away or do you have evidence that they can be permanent?

[redrose85]

I have been on nuvaring for I think a couple of years now... it’s been great! No side effects, no children, no nothing. Very infrequently I’ll pull it out during sex because it’ll be bumping around (ouch) but I think it’s a great invention!