I'm really looking for feedback here, people.
As many of you know, I have a very sporadic period, to say the least. When my last job was really stressing me out, my period stopped for 6 months. That's enough to cause heart palpitations!
I've taken a lot of different pills to fix this problem and none of them seem to work. It all started after 2 years on Yaz. The latest idea is to give me generic progestin to see if that will at least induce a period and, whether it does or not, I basically have 2 choices left.
1. A higher-dose hormone birth control pill (my last one was already higher than Yaz)
2. NuvaRing (aka "the ring") birth control ring
I opted for the ring. My grandma was recently diagnosed w/ stage 4 breast cancer, so I'd like to avoid any extra hormones. I'm still a little apprehensive about the ring though...so those of you who've had it, used it, heard about it...fill me in! I've heard great things, but the whole putting it in and taking it out deal kinda grosses me out...and all the people I know who use it have also always used the applicator-less tampons...so I'm not sure I trust their opinions about how gross/weird it is.
Speaking of weird...the gyno who gave me the ring samples (which come in a little blue clutch, btw - hilarious!) told me they are kept in the fridge, because it prolongs their shelf life, but to make sure I take them out a day in advance so they can warm up, otherwise that could be quite a shock. Can you imagine coming to my house, looking for mustard or something in the fridge, and finding a freakin jelly bracelet looking pack of birth control rings? That thought alone had me laughing for hours. The gyno also told me you can go to the nuvaring website and sign up for them to send you a text or email reminder when it's time to take the ring out after 3 weeks. I'm having flashbacks of college classes where girls set up their phones w/ birth control alarms and they'd go off in the middle of a lecture. In a room of 500 people, it's quite noticeable and, I'd imagine, embarrassing. The worst part was, these bimbos would actually have their backpack AND purse, just so they could carry around the damn birth control pills, and they would actually bust out the pill pack and take one in the middle of class when the damn alarm went off. Not that anyone should be embarrassed about taking birth control, but for crying out loud, I don't want to know which freaking people are taking it and which ones aren't! Can you not leave them at home and take them before bed? Or maybe you're not home at night to take them, sneaky bitches! But I digress...
Anyway, thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Helpful information!?
Podcast interview on Butter No Parsnips
1 day ago
I was on the ring for a year. The taking out/putting in part is not as bad as you think. It just takes a little while to get used to it. This is also probably TMI (but hey, you're askin!), but I used to have to take it out during sex because it was kind of uncomfortable. They say you can leave it out for 3 hours and you're fine, but that means you have to remember to put it back in (not so easy after sex!). The only REAL problem I had with it was that I was getting UTI's from it. I think it must have pressed on something the wrong way? I had never had one before I went on it and haven't had one since I got off, but I had THREE while I was on it. So, that's my only warning, be careful with the pee hole!
ReplyDeleteLauren! YAY! I have been on the ring for three years and I LOVE it. I have never had any problems whatsoever with the ring, and my periods are like clockwork...every Tuesday afternoon every 28 days. They are light, non-life-intrusive, and last a whopping three days. It's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the post above about taking it out during sex...it's just kind of an odd sensation. So put it somewhere safe, do your business, rinse it off, and put it back in. Tada!
Let me know if you have any questions about it; I'd love to assist! :)