Nuva Ring, Mood Reaction

[Gerardia]

I am considering switching from the pill to Nuva Ring, however much of the research I have been doing on nuva ring has turned up mixed reactions.  While I understand that this is true for any medication, I still have questions I can't find the answers to.  My biggest concern is the effect of nuva ring on emotional stability.  Of course, the company's website warns that mood swings are a possible side effect (I think that is a side effect for any form of hormonal birth control).  What I would like to know is whether the nuva ring is more likely to cause negative emotional side effects than the pill is.  I have heard mixed reviews, some people emotionally crash on it and others notice nothing; is this just something I am going to have to buckle down and test for a month?  If so, how do I monitor my own side effects to decide if it is having a negative effect on me?  

[Techchik3]

I've been dealing with the same symptoms yall have! My boyfriend thinks I've gone crazy cause I've been so emotionally unstable! I've been using the uncaring for 3 years and I'm jus now starting to experience all this..I'm glad I found this blog

[alexgirl2834]

Wow! What a relief! So glad I found this forum. I am a 20 year old college student, who works out 6 days a week and eats somewhat healthy, and have always an extremely happy personality and confident and easy going. I was on the Implenon for years, and recently i switched to nuva ring. i liked the implenon however, when i got the nexplanon, my sex drive was absolutely non-existent to the point where i didnt even want my boyfriend to touch me. so i switched to nuva ring, since my ob-gyn told me it has even less hormone than the nexplanon. WELL. suddenly, i have the most outrageous mood swings, feeling very very anxious, bad dreams, depressive mood swings, and just not like my normal self. these things would all come and go, im still mostly happy, just with these stupid symptoms. not sure which birth control to switch too since i cant do the pill..... and i seeing as i have a boyfriend a sex drive is a nice thing to have. the nuva ring also makes sex SOOOO painful. very frustrating!! Luckily my boyfriend is so supportive and reassuring, i get more upset and he doesnt at all! kudos to him for putting up with mymood swings.... honestly, im thinking about getting my tubes tied. i just feel that my ob-gyn does not understand when i tell him im experiencing all these things. has anyone tried the IUD??

[Cyndal_]

I am SO happy I found this page. This past year has been absolutely horrible for me (and my bf), but up until today I thought it was just me. I've been using the Nuva Ring for a few years now, but 2014 has been a living hell. I've dealt with depression in the past, but it was never this bad. My emotional instability has gotten out of control. I'm always angry, snap at everything (including my cats, for no reason), cry too easily, I've thrown things (need to patch the wall in a few places because of it), broken things, night sweats, zero motivation to do anything, have zero sex drive, very dry when I do try to have sex with my bf, etc. I also got fired this year from my job of almost 2 years because of my craziness. Like quite a few of the women on this page have said, my "fits" felt like an out of body experience. I know I shouldn't be freaking out so bad, but I can't control my actions or my words. It's as if my sex drive has left me, even though I'm still very attracted to my bf. Sometimes I don't want him to even touch me in a non-sexual place, like my shoulder. I could never understand why this was happening. I've holed myself up in my apartment and rarely leave, even to check the mail. I can't stand being in public and easily get panic attacks in the car or out running errands. After reading all of these comments, I took my ring out about an hour ago and have emailed my OBGYN to see if there are any other alternatives out there. I've been on the pill (multiple brands and doses of estrogen), the patch, and the depo shot, all of which (save for the depo shot, but that gave me osteopenia) have made me feel like a raging psycho. Not sure what else I can try, but I'm happy that I found the probable cause for all this. I just turned 30 last month, as well.

[NYLeoGirl75]

I am a 39 year old woman, who works for a Fortune 500 company and am physically fit and have a healthy diet.  I started using the NuvaRing in 2005 and stopped in 2011 to give my body a break.  I started using it again last November (2013) and just recently my boyfriend noticed a change in me.  According to his description, which after a lengthy discussion I realized he was absolutely right, I had become aggressive, impatient, perpetually agitated, sometimes violent.  I also noticed in my myself that I was could not sleep through the night and has lost interest in sex.  Most recently I noticed that when I try to go to sleep I would start either hearing voices as I dozed off or I would see faces as if I was dreaming but was wasn't really fully asleep and it would scare me and I would immediately wake up.  Also, most recently I decided to go see a therapist because I felt I was suffering from depression.  My boyfriend suggested that maybe I should stop using the ring because maybe the hormones were affecting my moods.  Again after a lengthy discussion and going through months of incidences I realized that I was not the person he had met 2 years ago when I wasn't on the ring.  I am due to insert the ring again tomorrow, however I am not.  I want to see if in fact the ring has caused these emotional changes.  I can almost guarantee that this will be the case based on what I have read on multiple websites (including this one) that cover this subject.  Also, when I was on the ring from 2005 to 2011 I was depressed and had no interest in sex and displayed mood changes and aggression.  If you are on the NuvaRing or are thinking about starting please have someone monitor your behavior to help you notice any changes or keep a log of your behavior, your moods, etc.  It is very possible that the side effects associated with this product could have ruined my relationship with a man that I absolutely adore and who adores me.

[ccozine]

I am so glad I found this page... Last year i was on Mirena and had bad side effects, caused cysts, horrible pain, anxiety..I had it removed in May 2013. In July 2013 I decided to try NUVARING. I thought it was the most amazing thing ever!!! I loved it, I still do besides the crazy, unbearable anxiety attacks Im having. I had anxiety way before starting nuvaring but never so much that i had an attack every day, multiple times a day. and the serious ones that came on out of nowhere, included fainting, blacking out, racing heartbeat? I had no idea what was happening to me.. in May 2014 this all started and hasn’t stopped since. I get hot, tingly, dizzy, nervous, weak in the knees, off balance I feel like i am dying. I also was just in a wreck(not a bad one either but hey ya never know); hands arms even feet got numb tingly, thought i had a pinched nerve? Wrong. and all this sometimes last for days at a time... I’ve been to doctor after doctor, chiropractor, just recently seen a cardiologist and had a 30 day event monitor placed on me to see if i had an irregular heartbeat also had an ECHO done, blood work you name it! Everything is perfect? absolutely nothing wrong? Last week was my week to have the ring out, i have started noting when i have attacks, I did not have one attack all week of my period which only lasted 4 days(unusual) but kept the ring out for 7 days(no attacks i actually felt great and normal). Yesterday it was time to put my ring back in. Once again last night i woke up to extreme anxiety and have been horrible ever since. Was up all night  decided to go back and track when i had the attacks and it clicked so of course i could not sleep and researched and now today i have found this, took my ring out 2 hours ago($69 wasted) but i already feel somewhat better? Guess I’m gonna have to give up the nuvaring and birth control for a while and pray this all goes away and i become myself once again! Scariest thing i have ever been through in my life. Mind you I’m only 21 and this has ruined my social life, and even caused big problems in my 5 year relationship because all i do is worry and complain about what is happening to me and its stressing my loved ones out just as much! Lord i hope this helps! Thanks guys!

[linst]

So glad I found this page, I thought I was going crazy.  Have been on Nuvaring for one month and took it out last night.  It is unbelievable how much better I feel this morning.....I am not someone that has ever really been depressed but the last month has been hell, agitated at the slightest thing, snapping at my poor husband and children, crying uncontrollably for hours for absolutely no reason, nausea and my sex drive was non existent.....I was not warned about the extent any of these side effects by my doctor......when I woke up this morning I felt like someone had lifted a veil or cloud off of me, I feel like myself again from the first time in weeks and feel like I need to apologize to a whole list of people for my behavior over the last month......If you are considering nuvaring as an option for birth control, DON'T, its not worth it.....haven't decided what other contraceptive we will use now, probably back to condoms again......not great but preferable to nuvaring.......