NuvaRing and low sex drive

i posted previously about my (possibly) bad experience with nuvaring. i don't want to discourage others from trying it. it seemed great the first year or so. its hard to remember now. i really like that i don't get so nauseous on nuvaring. i could barely take BC pills. i like that it is low hormones and i only have to deal with it every three weeks. it's so convenient. i do think it might have been affecting my emotional state but i can't be completely sure. it's also great for my skin. i don't break out like i did when not on BC. however, i'm beginning to believe it is the cause of my low sex drive (another thing that might have caused my breakup) i thought it was just that we'd been together for 7 years but maybe not. anyway, i also get the extra discharge and i do remember the burning after sex and that sex could be painful but i had a bartholin cyst that i was dealing with and i thought that was the cause but the pain/burning kept happening after the cyst was taken care of. Now after reading the other posts, i'm wondering if that is the cause.

anyway. i emailed the doctor about going off of it temporarily. i was wondering if it was unhealthy to take a break from BC. i heard in the past that it was but she said it was fine. so i think i'm going to finally go off of nuvaring. i wish i had tried that before but i really didn't make the connection till recently.

I used Nuva Ring after the birth of my first child in 2003 until I decided to get pregnant again in 2007. I've always had a low sex drive, so I never suspected Nuva Ring could be the culprit, but after reading some of the testimonials, I'm wondering...By the way, after I stopped taking it, my sex drive soared - I was having the time of my life and so was my hubby. We got pregnant right away.

I just went back on the NuvaRing 2 months ago after the birth of my second child, which was a scheduled c-section (no harm done to the vaginal area in other words). We've had sex about four times since I started birth control again and it has been extremely painful every time. When I'm not on my period, I'm experiencing a yellow discharge accompanied by some minor irritation. I have been wearing a pad around the clock for literally 3 months! I started bleeding (a period I guess) the day after I started the NuvaRing for the first time. When I called my ob, she said it was a normal side effect of the Ring and to keep it in business as usual until I was scheduled to take it out again in 3 weeks. I bleed the entire 4 weeks until inserting my second NuvaRing. We've had sex twice since and it was almost unbearably painful both times. Now, I am experiencing a yellow discharge again accompanied by some minor itching and discomfort. My ob again said it is a normal side effect but just in case, prescribed a yeast infection med. I completed the course and still have the symptoms.

I loved this product and highly recommended it to my friends for the past 5 years - it is so easy! Now I'm wondering if they've changed it over the past year? Plus, the last thing I need is an even lower sex drive.

If you want to punish yourself, feel hallow inside, get fat, hate sex, get horrible headaches, have an itchy vagina, and feel like throwing up all time, then I would recommend nuvaring to you.

I took nuvaring for 10 months. During this time I got headaches all the time, increasing in severity and frequency the longer I was on nuvaring; esp. during the week I took it out to have a period. I had very angry mood swings and felt apathetic towards everything. I have been depressed before, so I figured it was just me and it would pass soon, it did not.
I also ate out of boredom. I wasn't hungry per se, I just felt like eating all the time, so I did and I gained about 15 lbs. I was on the same regular exercise routine, and I still gained the weight.
I felt nauseated at the beginning and end of every cycle. I had zero sex drive, it hurt to even have sex most of the time. My husband could feel it inside of me the months it would not stay in place. Some months I could hardly feel the ring,and other months I would have to reinsert it almost every day. I ended up taking the ring out during sex and putting it back in afterwards. This helped some, but I still had no interest. I had abdominal cramps ALL day EVERY day reguardless.
I had vaginal itching and irritation as time progressed, and mild vaginal dryness which caused us to use a lubricant during sex.
It does not get better, it gets worse over time.
I have been off nuva ring for 3 weeks and I feel so much better! I'm happy and interested in things again. I don't have as many headaches and I don't have intense abdominal/low back pain any more. Sex drive is back, and it feels normal now. I don't feel nauseated or as angry. I don't feel the need to mindlessly eat. My nipples have been very sore for a week now, though and I have not yet gotten my period. I have all the signs of it: normal moodiness, mild cramping, really really light (like pastel) pink spotting, so I am just waiting for it come. Hopefully I will be regular, but as I have been reading on here, that's not always the case.
The ONLY benefit from nuvaring was a shorter and shorter period.
I will never use nuvaring again.

I went on NuvaRing when it first came out a few years ago and loved it! No side effects that I can remember, but went off of it as I wasn't actively having sex. Fast forward to Mar 08, I decided to go back on as my periods were very irregular, PMS was lasting for two weeks or more and my period was very light and went on for another two weeks. While NuvaRing eliminated all these symptoms, I'm now wondering after reading all these comments if it is responsible for my incredibly low sex drive. I had been suffering from depression after a very hard year in 2007, but although my depression is under control, my sex drive is still non-existent except during the week of my period when NuvaRing is out. I think I'm going to go off and see if it helps.

Hello ladies....I had taken Nuvaring for a little over a year and removed it in August to get pregnant. I too, had the extreme low sex-drive and extreme dryness as well as some initial vaginal discharge, but I had to deal with it until my wedding. It's now the end of September and I am noticing feelings of pregnancy...ie: sore breasts, extreme hunger and my hair is falling out like crazy....in the shower, every time I brush, it's all over the back of my clothes and several times throughout the day I can see my hair just hanging off the bottom of my ends. My hair is fine and thin to begin with and I'm a hair stylist so I am freaking out a bit. I read on another Nuvaring website that anyone who has diagnosed Bipolarism, Depression and other Mental issues should not take Nuvaring because it intensifies feelings of suicide. I will say that taking Nuvaring was very convenient and I inserted the ring after my period and took it out in between and it sounds like for those of you who are keeping it in during your period and/or starting it on the first day of your period are experiencing the worst of the side effects. I hope someone comes up with something someday equivalent to the convenience of Nuvaring without all of the nasty side effects.

I just started with my first ring yesterday afternoon at 2pm. By 7pm, I was complaining to my husband that I must've had too much caffeine that day because my heart was palpitating out of my throat and I had a weird headache setting in.

So far today, the heart palps and jitters were getting so bad I had no choice but to take the NUVARING out. I'm going to call my doctor on my lunch break from work, but this is NOT what I was hoping for when I switched from the pill. I'm a 27 year old newlywed and all I want is a birth control option that doesn't KILL my sex drive. I'd rather have a low sex drive and feel physically NORMAL than to deal with the heart palpitations. They didn't start until I put the ring in yesterday. I'm hoping in a few hours they hormones will get out of my system and I'll start feeling back to normal.

I definitely could relate.
i like nuvaring. It is the first birth control i've ever been on. i started it when i was 28 - just gotten married..
the only thing recently that have made me doubt it is that i heard in the news that some young woman have suffered blood clots and just die.
But im also reading the other birth controls effects and they are pretty wild as well..
the only side effect so far after 2 yrs and a few month is about 10lbs heavier.., i had mood swings my first week of being on it., occasional headaches when my period is about to start which lasts up to 4 days, low sex drive ( but i still manage to have sex and enjoy it), some dry moments ( i use to be a fountain) so it is different but eventually it goes back to normal. ( harder to have orgasms.., )
so overall nuvaring has worked for me. I just pray it continues to do so.. now i feel like there's no point in switching right now especially - going through a career change.. now is not the time to try a new one just because i hear someone died ( although that 's a pretty good darn reason).
Eventually my goal is once i start having kids God willing.. that i can stay off all these darn drugs and either tell my husband to go tie his dingy or condom it is.. its so not fair that we have to put all that crap in our bodies.. and then we wonder why we have certain weird complications.. "Lord take care of all us..we are just not trying to have 15 little kids running around...".. the researcher..

This is the first time I have actually looked up side effects to NuvaRing. I have been on it since March of 2006, so about 2.5 years. I never really noticed side effects, and I have been to the doctor more than once and told them about the same side effects that have been discussed here. They blamed it on lack of vitamins, lifestyle changes and other random facts of life. Maybe that is the cause of my problems, however, why would they all happen at once???

Until today, I was soooo happy with NuvaRing, and I still am. I am just more aware of why I feel the way I do....It is soo easy to use!! I would NEVER remember to take a pill everyday, I would not like the patch, and the shot wouldn't go with me very well either.

Seems as if every birth control has side effects...here are mine from NR

EXTREME fatigue..
I asked my doctor about this. It has been going on since January. I sleep for 13 hours a day and am still exhausted. I cannot get enough sleep. I am a 20 year old that used to lead a pretty active lifestyle, but it seems the last few months that I have slowed waaaaaaay down. It isn't like me. I usually stay busy

Weight gain
I can accurately say that I have not been as active as I was in the past...but in one year I have put on about 17 lbs, and no matter what I do, the scale keeps climbing....I joined a gym for about 4 months, and I didn't lose a single pound. Before, I was able to LOOK at a treadmill and get in shape, now I spend an hour a day on it, and it does nothing for me.

SEVERE Headaches...with sensitivity to light and sound
I have not had this bad of headaches. EVER. It usually starts in the back of my head and moves to only one side. My doctor told me to wean off the caffeine. I did and they are still there. I drink no caffeine daily and I still am getting these terrible headaches. I work at a casino, so sometimes it really interrupts my daily life, with the lights and sounds and everything.

I AM ALWAYS THIRSTY!!!!!

I have NO sex drive
My boyfriend and I used to have sex every single day when I just started the NR, but now I NEVER want to. I have to pretend that I want to have sex, just so his feelings are not hurt. Sometimes I even catch myself thinking "is it over yet??" That is SOOOO not like me. I was an animal the first few months I was on NR. Now I have no desire.

I feel as if I am just living the motions of life sometimes instead of participating in it. Like I am just here everyday, not always feeling what is going on around me. I am semi moody, but nothing out of the ordinary. Week 3 of the ring is ALWAYS emotional, but the week before my period has ALWAYS been like that. I find it very normal.

My periods are WONDERFUL. I used to have a full 7 day period from hell. Now they last only 3-4 days, and I can basically tell you when I am going to start to the hour. It is AMAZING.

All in all, I love NR still. I am not going to stop taking it yet. I am just glad I found this site so I know the reason behind all of these changes in me. I have never put two and two together....that NR was causing all of these things...but now I know it could be. Or maybe it isn't. Who knows, but as long as I keep an eye on symptoms, I think I will be okay...

If any of you have any questions I have been on NR for quite a while, so feel free to email me at ******

Well I've taken the Nuvaring for the last four months, 23 yrs old. I DO NOT RECOMMEND. I just recently woke up w/ a severe headache, numbness in hands and let side of my face and tongue. I went to the ER, which informed that it was a mild stroke. This was my 1st time on any contraceptive. I think I stick w/ the condoms. Due to the NR I've had vaginal infections, dryness, low sex drive, burning, and itching.

whoa...this site should be called Nuvaring Nightmares!! I'm 26 years old and got switched to Nuvaring because I had headaches and low sex drive from the pill. 2-3 weeks after inserting the ring, i started feeling extremely depressed to the point of wanting to commit suicide! what is it with this ring??. I did notice that my hair grew and became much shinier though. I just don't know if it's worth the cost...Anyways, i decided to no longer use it and have been off birth control for a year! My sex drive is great, my boyfriend is having a hard time keeping up!

I have been on nuvaring for 2 years, switched from the patch because I was having this wierd discharge that resembled blood but not red enough to be sure that it was spotting. I love the ring; I do have a low sex drive but I blamed that on my being tired from working 2 jobs and going to school full time, plus household responsibilities and stuff...So now I'll have to see somehow if the ring is what is really taking that away. But am I the only one on here that is experiencing a super dry irritated itchy vagina? I have had this problem for the last 3-4 months, and I have had a pap and exam and I don't have anything bacterial...this itch is borderline yeast-infection intense. I have been on BC since I was 16 (I'm 29 now) and I have tried everything..I will get pregnant on the pill since I will forget to take it, the patch problem is mentioned above, the shot made me spot FOREVER, I must agree with the girl that said this may be God's way of telling her it's time for a baby, cuz this itch is about ready to make me throw in the towel. If it were not for the itch I wouldn't have any complaints.

I've been on NuvaRing for 3 weeks now and I know after reading the other posts here that I am experiencing major side effects. I have been having horrible headaches off and on for 2weeks now. I've also been very depressed, isolating my husband and my kids. I can't seem to ever get full enough I could eat all day long. I also have random cramping and bleeding. I have no energy and could sleep all day and night if left to. I also have had the itching all over and low sex drive.The headaches are so awful I can't get rid of them, nothing works.I just pray that this headache and pain in my abdomen go away asap,I'm taking this thing out right now.I wasn't on it for BC I had my tubes ties 18 yrs ago I was having a lot of cramping so they said I have endometriosis so they treated me hormonally like that was smart I'm just gonna get a hysterectomy and be freaking done.Thanks to all and to all good luck

lower than low sex drive, occasional sharp pains in the uterus/ovaries... I'm actually considering going to the doctor pretty soon about it-- I mean, aside from the convenience of not having to worry about taking a daily pill, I don't feel as healthy as I did before starting the prescription. I'm still weighing the odds of whether or not I should stop using it. It's almost as if I feel swollen.

I'm glad I've stumbled across this site... now I know I'm not the only one dissatisfied with the product

I've been on NuvaRing for almost a year now and am I realizing my low sex drive and depression is the cause of the Ring.

Since starting the ring I've had the following symptoms:
- low sex drive
- leg cramp (restless leg)
- depression/moodiness
- lack of energy/sleepy
- breast/nipple tenderness

I also have a microscopic amount of blood in my urine and I'm being tested next week- but this could be unrelated.

The depression thing just hit me when I visited this site- for months I've been detached and in an emotional slump. I don't want to talk to anyone at work, and I'm dying to get home at the end of the day just to lock myself in my room and not answer the phone if anyone calls.

I also feel completely uninterested in my boyfriend of 8 years emotionally and sexually - this is unusual since our relationship has been getting better over time - because of the Ring I feel detached from him and sometimes feel like I could care less if I go weeks without seeing or talking to him which is very unusual for me.

I've also had about a 15 lb. weight gain in the past 5 years from using birth control- I'm nervous to stop NuvaRing because I've heard it actually helps with weightloss.