Nuvaring...

who uses it? how do you like it? experience any side effects? weight gain? mood swings?

it sounds like a great idea... i really need to get on some kind of birth control, and this one is tops on my list... i think?

can anyone get it? or do you have to have a certain body type/ blood type/ genetics... etc, how do doctors determine what birth control for you to use??

anybody can get it, it's just like the pill in terms of hormones. i've been on it for about three years and let me just say...i LOVE it. i'll never use another form of birth control again (besides condoms for other purposes, obviously). it's fabulous. i didn't really experience any mood swings or weight gain, thank god. and as far as periods go, i usually just keep it in for 30 straight days (the maximum allowed) then swap it with a new one. every 3 or 4 months i'll have a period. i never have to worry about taking a pill or anything. it's GREAT!!!

I've been on it for well over a year and a half and I absolutely love it as well. It hasn't caused any trouble in losing weight, either. I was never really moody in the first place, but as far as mood swings go, it definitely hasn't caused any. I really haven't actually seen any bad side effects.

Personally, I think it's wonderful - and I've tried pills and patches by the bunch and this is the best (for me) by far. You don't feel it, you don't have to worry about it but once a month and it's super easy to use. I just have to number the weeks on my calander to make sure I don't forget about it completely. I think that it's one of the lower estrogen ones, so that helps too. And I'm pretty sure you don't have to have any certain type of body or genes to use it - you just have to be comfortable enough with yourself to put it in and take it out :) And yeah, anyone can get it.

I highly recommend it :)

The NuvaRing was so easy to use! I loved it..They put me on it at my 6 week check up from having my son..When he was 10 weeks old, I felt sick, I went to the Dr, and I was pregnant LOL..So I am the proud momma of 2 babies that are 10 1/2 months apart....I am not saying it will happen to everyone, but it did happen to me

Jen

one thing to add to that, is for the first week (sometimes two) you need to continue to use condoms or spermicide or some kind of backup. This is true for pretty much all birth control, though. When you're switching/starting, you have to give your body time to adjust. After that first week or two, though, you shouldn't have to worry about the backup (though it's a good idea to use it anyways)

ive never been on birth control before... will i be allowed to use it as a first option, or will i be made to take pills first or something? and how much does it cost?

yeah, you can definitely use it as a first option. as for cost, that depends. with my insurance i pay 25 for it. which is the same price as the pill. 

honestly, a lot of these questions you should really ask your doctor about. you won't HAVE to use any other form of bc, but it's safer if you do - especially if you're switching partners or don't have a steady partner etc. but you definitely won't have to take pills AND be on the ring. It would be more like, be on the ring and use condoms or spermicide or a femcondom etc...

How much it costs is often entirely dependent on your insurance or lack thereof. If you're really looking for an estimate though, I pay between $20 and $30 a month.

If you're really serious about getting it, make an appointment with your gynie and bring a huge list of questions to ask them. Asking questions is awesome! They should be able to tell you ALL this stuff and write you a perscription to boot :)

the best thing ever! no weight gain no nausea no nothing bad except for the occasional "ring toss" as some users may know of if u don't take it out during happytime.

I second that you should go to your doctor for most of this info, but I wanted to offer another perspective, just so you know :)

I LOVED the idea of the NuvaRing, I couldn't feel it, no weight gain, etc.  But, in my case, I became EXTREMELY moody...literally, I cried at nothing for days, I was mean and irritable (which meant I was always annoyed at my boyfriend, which sort of negated the need for the NuvaRing anyway, hehe).  I don't know how to explain how intense this was...I felt HORRIBLE emotionally and mentally, almost into a clinical depression.  I had never had this problem in the 7 years prior, during which I took OrthoCyclen, and as soon as I switched back to the pill, the mood swings disappeared.

So, it was definitely not the right choice for me.  That said, if you discuss it with your doctor and it sounds like a viable option, there's no harm in trying it and deciding to try something else (or sticking with it!).  I know tons of women who had to go through several different brands of pills, for instance, before they found the one that was best for them.  Everybody's different!

OMG liora513 you sound just like me. I did the same thing with the NuvaRing. It was so convenient but I was absolutely crazy on it! It's hard for me to remember exactly what occured but there had to be a reason why I stopped using it because it is the most convenient out of all the birth control I've been on. I even considered taking it again but ultimately decided against it. I would love to skip my periods so that I only have 4 a year and with the nuva ring you can do that so easily, but I just don't think it's worth the mood swings. I cry easily enough and I don't want to be crying every day for no reason. Good Luck to all who try it though.

not trying to scare you... but a commercial just came on, and i remembered seeing the header. I live in NYC, so i dont know if you get the commercial by you. I think a lawsuit is going on against nuvaring for not warning their consumers about stroke, heart attack, blod clot, pulmonary embolism, etc. Im not saying this doesnt occur with other forms of BC, but nuvaring might not be around for a long time. Maybe try a different form, maybe the patch, seems just as easy