NuvaRing and hot flashes

I am 29 years old and have SUPER heavy periods so my OBGYN prescribed me the NuvaRing. I have had trouble with pills and the patch making me feel crazy, she said this one would distribute the hormones much more evenly. HA HA HA, well I obviously don't need any more hormones than I already have. I put the ring in about 2 weeks ago and for the last 4 days I have been a raging lunatic. I am the most bubbly girl in the world, except when I'm PMS-ing. But this ring makes me feel like I'm PMS-ing 24/7. I feel irritable, sad, don't wanna get out of bed, i have hot flashes, headaches, wake up dripping from sweat, and now that I think about my sex drive has depleted. I just start crying for no reason, over-analyzing everything my sweet loving boyfriend says to me. Thought I was a freak because all BC i have tried does this to me. It makes me feel better to know I'm not alone, and I'm not crazy. I recommend talking with your Dr. before removing the ring. I'm calling tomorrow!!

I have been on the NuvaRing for about three years now. It is great, I loved it. For the past year I have been experiencing the most awful cold sweats. They last for about two weeks on and off all day. Then subside for two weeks or so. I can not seem to find an answer as to why. My gyn told me that if it doesn't coincide with my period than it has nothing to do with it. She suggested a tooth infection...it wasn't. I am beginning to think it is the NuvaRing...although not sure because I have yet to find someone with a similar symptom. I just don't understand why now after I have been on it for soo long without a problem? That's the only thing making me wonder if it is a side effect of the NR or not. I took it out about two days ago....Has anyone experienced this reaction? This has really become unbearable.

I started using the NuvaRing 5 months ago. The first month I felt great. By the second to third month I was experiencing severe vaginal itching and soreness as well has vision problems. I kept thinking that my body needed to get used to it so I used it for 2 more months. The itching and soreness did not subside so i took it out about 45 days ago. These last 45 days have been crazy. I have been an emotional mess with crazy anxiety attacks. (I am typically an easy going calm person) I am experiencing hot flashes that start in my scalp and ears and continue to my extremities as well as itching all over my body and random intense pain in my arms. I have been to the doctor twice in two weeks because I thought something was seriously wrong with me. All of my labs came back normal so he keeps reassuring me that I am going through "hormone withdrawal" and it should get better within two months. This has been a horrible experience and I will never go on it again or refer it to anyone.

This is unbelievable... i thought everything that's been wrong with me, has been in 'my head', sex drive, weight gain, fuzzy vision, mood swings...

I honestly think this should be taken off the market. I cannot believe everyone's comments about this contraception. I have taken the pill over the years, depo provera, and thought my mood swings were bad then, but what really is the kicker, is the sex drive, hot flashes and weight gain/bloating.

At 29 years old, i have never felt the way i've felt on this, i've been trying to explain to my boyfriend 'it's just me' !, now i realize why.
as for the weight gain, i have always been conscious of my diet and exercise. for the past two weeks i have especially been trying to lose weight, but to no avail. hot flashes, it's insane. Please after reading this, look for another form of birth control. This should never have been approved. I took it out immediately after reading other's comments.

I have been on the NR for almost 2 years. I hate taking pills b/c I would forget to take them on a regular basis and trying to play catch up in just crazy. But I also suffered from chronic yeast infection so my OB suggested the NR and since I have been on it I have not had anymore YI's. However, I have experienced more vaginal secretions than normal; but it has not alarmed. About 2 weeks after inserting NR ..I experienced breakthrough bleeding and I have been since being on NR and it does not alarm me. I suffer from Hot Flashes and night sweats; but that is from my Thyroid Gland. For those of you experiencing Hot Flashes and Night Sweats..have your PCP do a blood test and check your thyroid hormones. The biggest thing that I have noticed is that while on the NR my YI have virtually gone to 0...I have had more Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) than you can shake a stick at. Has anyone else experienced this and if so what are you doing about it?

I am 36 years old and my OB thinks I may have endometriosis. For the last two years I have suffered from pain during intercourse heavy periods as well as sistitis in the bladder, I also have a grape size fibroid in my uterus and suffer from night sweats and hot flashes. My Dr. decided to put me on the nuvaring to treat what she thinks is a hormone imbalance. However since starting the ring two weeks ago I am having chest pain, racing heart, shortness of breath and severe mood swings including depression, anxiety and crying spells. Even when I am resting my heart is racing and I have chest pains. There have been some good side affects however such as I think that the sistitis is clearing up and my complexion is better but I do not think it is worth the risk of having a stroke or heart attack to stay on it. It amazes me what drug companies will push through all in the name of profit. Thanks to all of you who have posted your side effects on this site it gave me the courage to call up my Dr. to look into other options of treatment. Bless you all.
Miss S

I just removed Nuvaring in May after almost 2 years of being on it. The main reason was due to the lack of sex drive and when i did have sex, there would be a pretty bad burning sensation to me and my husband. However, now that i read through your comments, i am realizing that a lot more is attributed to my health now because of the Nuvaring.
Mainly, when i was on it, i had severe headaches, couldn't lose a pound to save my life and was very moody.
The big problems I have are now, almost 4 months being off Nuvaring. My doctor informed me that i may be going through premature menopause - i'm 38 years old - due to a malfunction with my ovaries. What!?!? My mom had her period until she was almost 50 and that is a good indicator of what you will have. I also have really bad joint pain, tingling in my fingers at times, hot flashes, sleeplessness and NO period since coming off it. I am hoping that this is just my body trying to battle the jolt of being on Nuvaring and i will return to normal. My advice - if you're on it, get off it and if you're considering it, don't do it. Even a well-known radio personality here in Chicago has said the Nuvaring did awful things to her body and she experienced a lot of bleeding. This product needs to come off the market NOW!

Where should I begin? Yes, as it has been said everyone reacts to hormones/medications differently but how is it that I am finding all my symptoms on this board and there's plenty of other women out there feeling the same thing? I am driving my friends/family insane telling them that I think I'm pregnant. It's been nearly 3 months. since I last had intercourse, I haven't missed a period and have had TWO pregnancy tests come out negative! I started Nuvaring the 2nd of July (1st day of my period) and pulled it out by the 13th because I was literally SICK of it! Three days later I started my period again, horrible cramps and all. I had hot flashes throughout the day and night sweats in my sleep. I have felt bloated constantly, today I just noticed a tiny amount of clear discharge from my nipple when I squeezed it, horrible headaches that don't go away, nausea. Anything you would link to pregnancy symptoms, I've felt all of it! And my friends are sick of hearing me think I am, hell! I'm sick of thinking it. But as I've read on here, it seems even weeks after the Nuvaring has been removed women are still feeling out of whack. My only other option is to take blood test to confirm that I'm going insane and that this birth control really threw my hormones off balance. Oh yeah, and did I mention I've been suicidal lately? And have random bouts of crying or depression? This is just the beginning...so if anyone out there has thought they're pregnant because of this thing, you're probably not, but please let me know if you've felt the same, thanks!

This is my first month on the ring and Ive been good until this past week. This was the week before my period and I have had severe nausea, loss of appetite, food smells make me want to puke, tired......all the signs of pregnancy. I also woke up last night with severe cramping and sweating like crazy. I feel like Im having hot flashes all day! Im supposed to get my period tomorrow or Wednesday. Im just hoping this is a side effect of the ring and Im not pregnant.

I've been on NuvaRing since December. I was put on it for extremely bad cramping and excessive bleeding. My ob told me to put one in for 28 days, take it out and put another one in, she was trying to stop my period, and told me I would only have a period once every three months. In Jan. I developed a UTI which I have never had in my life, (I'm 31). I started spotting which lasted a week then turned into a full blown period that lasted more than a week. My ob told me to take it out, which within a couple of days my period stopped. I have been having hot flashes, I will go from being extremely cold to sweating and burning up, I have been bloated more times than I can count. I've had vaginal dryness, irritation, which is unusual. I kind of figured it was the ring, but I wanted to give it the benefit of doubt. I took my ring out tonight and am supposed to put another one in, but I rather live with my symptoms than deal with what I get with the ring. I would not recommend this to anyone.

So glad I found this site!! I have been prescribed the NuvaRing after a total hysterectomy. I took Femring (estrogen only) for about 1 year, but was still having hot flashes. I complained to my GYN and she said I would *love* the NuvaRing since it had higher levels of estrogen and some progesterone (which I was getting none with the Femring).

Well, 2 days of severe nausea and being so ANGRY at my kids...I decide to look up side effects and found this site. I'm calling my GYN back on Monday.

Thank you ladies for posting!!

I am a new to BC. I am on my 2nd ring and I am having really bad headaches. I also have been sweating. I wake up during the night drenched from sweat. While trying to exercise, walk, or shop I am so hot I am removing clothing and fanning myself for relief. This past week while shopping at the grocery store I became so hot that I had to leave my cart and stand out side in the rain for relief. I have read a few of the past entries but no one has mentioned sweating as a side effect. Oh and shall I mention I am only 27 yrs old so no chance of menopause. Could this be a side effect from the Ring?

I am sooo relieved that I found this site. OMG. I was on the NR before for about a year and 3 months. I didn't have any side effects whatsoever. I went of the NR because my boyfriend and I broke-up and I wasn't having sex. About 4 months later, I developed 2 ovarian cysts that ended up rupturing in my right ovary. BTW, I turned 30 in the same month. I was in so much abdominal pain, hot flashes, painful menstrual cycle, passing huge blood clots, depression, crying all the time, thoughts of suicide, anxiety attacks, very irritable, easily frustrated, inability to concentrate, and nausea. I had NEVER had any bouts of depression, crying all the time, thoughts of suicide, anxiety attacks in my life before. NEVER! My OB/GYN told me my hormones were all out of wack and that I should go back on the NR to regulate my hormones. So, I went back on the NR, my cysts went away and I felt 100% better immediately. Now it's 2 months later and I'm having all the same symptoms I had before the NR, although, it’s not as bad as it was before. Apparently, I'm still ovulating while on the NR although the NR STOPS ovulation. I have developed more cyst(s), haven't gone for the ultrasound yet, in my right ovary, even though my last ultrasound showed that the last 2 cysts went away. Right now, I am emotionally drained and physically in a lot of pain. I think that if I get off the NR my symptoms would be a lot worst. I’m allergic to the patch because of the adhesive, coming off of depo caused too much pain, and I forget to take the pill. So I don't know what to do.

I actually enjoyed being on it for a year with no side effects. Then the side effects started creeping up on me - but a very slow and insidious onset. I was increasingly more fatigued and was getting lots of "tension" headaches. Got increasingly more dry and itchy in the vaginal area - it got to the point of being non-stop and driving my crazy on a daily basis. I was using aquafore on a daily basis. I also had a rash at my panty line which was very annoying. I also started getting what felt like hot flashes. After 2 years of being on it the side effects were pretty bad but I still didn't link it to nuva ring, especially because I was complaining about symtoms to my gynocologist and she never said it could be side effects - pretty bad, huh? My weirdest symptom was feeling very "hot" in the uterus - almost like there was a fever in my whole uterine area and a lot of sweating in the groin area. I also had what other people described as feeling uncomfortable in their own skin. It also completely killed my sex drive. At three years I took myself off it because I was starting to get scared that it was because of the Nuvaring. Within days I started feeling better - not normal yet, but better. Within a couple of month almost all symptoms had subsided. The dryness and itchiness took the longest to subside but eventually did. I felt like myself again physically and sexually. Getting off Nuva Ring was the best thing I ever did. I only wish I did it sooner. I am very angry that it is so heavily promoted by gynocologists and that there was not more research done on it first. I have been telling people absolutely not to use it. I only hope it didn't do anything really drastic like affect my fertility. Did anyone have any fertility problems from using Nuva Ring??

I've been on Nuva for about two months. So far the only side-effects I've had is lightheadedness... and it may not be related to the ring. I'm wondering, though, why some of you have had bad experiences with it, and yet you remain on it for 2,3,4 years???