NuvaRing contains two types of hormones, estrogen and progestin, that prevent your ovaries from producing mature eggs. It provides benefits similar to birth control pills, but without the daily pill-taking routine. NuvaRing dispenses low and steady hormone delivery. This consistent release means fewer hormonal ups and downs than daily or weekly birth control methods.
Release of the hormones is activated by contact with your vagina. The walls of the vagina absorb the hormones and circulate them into your bloodstream. When used correctly and consistently, NuvaRing is 98-99.9% effective in preventing pregnancy.
How do you use NuvaRing?
Keep NuvaRing in your vagina for three weeks, followed by a ring-free week, this is when you should get your period. After that time, you insert a new NuvaRing. That’s all there is to it.
Inserting and removing NuvaRing
To insert:
Squeeze NuvaRing between your thumb and index finger and gently insert it into your vagina. It will conform to fit your body. If you can feel NuvaRing, simply slide the contraceptive ring farther into your vagina. The exact position is not vital for NuvaRing to work and the muscles of your vagina should keep it securely in place. You can put the contraceptive ring where it’s comfortable for you.
To remove:
Simply put your finger into your vagina and pull NuvaRing out.
Can NuvaRing fall out?
Your vaginal muscles will keep NuvaRing securely in place, even during exercise or sex. You can check the contraceptive ring periodically with your finger. Women with conditions affecting the vagina, such as a prolapsed (dropped) uterus, may be more likely to have NuvaRing slip out of the vagina. In the rare instance that it does slip out follow the directions below:
Out for less than three hours: If NuvaRing does slip out, and if it has been out less than three hours, you should still be protected from pregnancy. Rinse it with cool-to-lukewarm (not hot) water and re-insert it as soon as possible, at the latest within three hours. If you’ve lost NuvaRing, you must insert a new one and stay on the same schedule you would have followed if you were still using the lost ring.
If NuvaRing is out of the vagina for more than three continuous hours: During Weeks 1 and 2: If the contraceptive ring has been out of the vagina for more than three continuous hours during the 1st or 2nd week of use, effectiveness may be reduced. Reinsert NuvaRing as soon as you remember and use an extra method of birth control, such as male condoms or spermicide, until the ring has been used continuously for seven days.
During Week 3: If NuvaRing slips out of the vagina for more than three continuous hours during the 3rd week of the three-week use period, throw the ring away and choose one of the following two options.
1. Insert a new ring immediately. Inserting a new ring will start the next three-week use period. You may not experience a period from your previous cycle, breakthrough spotting or bleeding may occur.
2. Have your period and insert a new contraceptive ring no later than seven days from the time the previous ring was removed or expelled. This option should only be chosen if the ring was used continuously for the preceding seven days.
In addition, a barrier method such as condoms or spermicides must be used until the NuvaRing has been used continuously for seven days. If NuvaRing slips out repeatedly, you should consult your doctor.
What does NuvaRing feel like once it’s inserted?
You will most likely not feel it. Insert NuvaRing into your vagina, far enough inside so that you will not feel it once it’s in (while the nerve endings in your outer vagina are very sensitive, the ones in your upper vagina are not). If you do feel NuvaRing, use your finger to gently push it further into your vagina. In a survey among thousands of ring users, 8 out of 10 partners did not feel it, and those who did generally did not mind.
Is there anything I should avoid while using NuvaRing?
- Smoking
Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects when you use combination oral contraceptives, including NuvaRing. This risk increases even more if you are over age 35 and if you smoke 15 or more cigarettes a day. Women who use combination hormonal contraceptives, like NuvaRing, are strongly advised not to smoke. - Breastfeeding
Do not breast-feed while using NuvaRing. Some of the medicine may pass through the milk to the baby and could cause yellowing of the skin (jaundice) and breast enlargement in your baby. NuvaRing could also decrease the amount and quality of your breast milk. - Some medications
The hormones in the contraceptive ring can interact with many other medicines and herbal supplements. Tell your doctor about any medicines you are taking, including prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, herbal remedies, and vitamins.The blood levels of the hormones released by NuvaRing were increased when women used a vaginal medication (miconazole nitrate) for a yeast infection while the ring was in place. The pregnancy protection of NuvaRing is not likely to be changed by use of these products. The blood levels of these hormones were not changed when women used vaginal, water-based spermicides (nonoxynol or N-9 products) along with NuvaRing.
Certain drugs and herbal supplements may interact with combined birth control types to make them less effective in preventing pregnancy or cause an increase in breakthrough bleeding. You may need to use a nonhormonal method of contraception during any cycle in which you take drugs that can make oral contraceptives less effective. Be sure to tell your doctor if you are taking or start taking any other medications, including non-prescription products or herbal products while using NuvaRing.
- Diaphragm
While using NuvaRing, you should not rely upon a diaphragm when you need a back-up method of birth control because the ring may conflict with the proper placement and position of a diaphragm. - Lab tests
If you are scheduled for any laboratory tests, tell your doctor or healthcare provider you are using NuvaRing. Contraceptive hormones may change certain blood tests results.
What should I do if I keep NuvaRing in for too long?
If the ring has been left in your vagina for up to one extra week (four weeks in total or less), remove it and insert a new contraceptive ring after a one-week ring-free break.
If NuvaRing has been left in place for more than four weeks, you may not be adequately protected against pregnancy and you must check to be sure you are not pregnant. If you know or suspect that you’re pregnant, do not use NuvaRing.
Are there any health risks associated with NuvaRing?
Using combination hormonal contraceptives is associated with increased risk of several serious side effects, including blood clots, which may lead to stroke or heart attack. The risk of getting blood clots may be greater with the type of progestin in NuvaRing than with some other progestins in certain low-dose birth control pills. It is unknown if the risk of blood clots is different with NuvaRing use than with the use of certain birth control pills. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of serious cardiovascular side effects; women who use combination hormonal contraceptives are strongly advised not to smoke.
Is there anyone who should not use NuvaRing?
Do not use the ring if you have any of the following conditions:
- Pregnancy or suspected pregnancy
- Blood clots in your legs (thrombosis), lungs (pulmonary embolism), or eyes (now or in the past)
- Chest pain (angina pectoris)
- Heart attack or stroke
- Severe high blood pressure
- Diabetes with complications of the kidneys, eyes, nerves, or blood vessels
- Headaches with neurological symptoms
- Known or suspected breast cancer or cancer of the lining of the uterus, cervix, or vagina (now or in the past)
- Unexplained vaginal bleeding
- Yellowing of the whites of the eyes or of the skin (jaundice) during pregnancy or during past use of oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
- Liver tumors or active liver disease
- Disease of the heart valves with complications
- Need for a long period of bed rest following major surgery
- An allergic reaction to any of the components of NuvaRing
Tell your doctor if you have ever had any of the conditions just listed – a different birth control type will most likely be suggested.
NuvaRing does not protect against HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.
BirthControlBuzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, birth control types (prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase birth control on-line.
For more information, call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.
Birth Control Buzz is a service company that provides birth control prices, types of birth control(prescription required), health administrative services, and birth control statistics predominantly to US patients seeking to purchase pharmaceuticals on-line. For more information, call 1-866-868-8850 or visit http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/.
