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Going off Nuvaring, how long until I'm back to normal?
It took me way too long to figure out that the terrible way I've been feeling for the past couple years has been side effects from my birth control. I've been dealing with major fatigue, hair thinning, weight gain (about 25-30 lbs over the last two years), etc. and thought it was thyroid related (as I have a family history of thyroid problems). After all tests of my thyroid came back normal, I just thought it had to be all in my head. Another year went by and I started investigating the symptoms again and I'm pretty sure it's all a result of the birth control, now that I think about it the side effects started about 3 months after I started the ring.
So I took my last ring out two weeks ago, I'm wondering how long it'll take to feel normal again? I am so looking forward to the days where I am not exhausted all the time. Anyone dealt with a smiliar situation? Anything I can do to speed up the process, get rid of the hormones faster?
One other question, anyone using a diaphragm? I am considering this for BC because I am very wary of hormones now.
Re: Going off Nuvaring, how long until I'm back to normal?
Just be careful; I got pregnant with DS#1 two weeks after stopping NuvaRing. It was no biggie for us, as we were ready for a baby, but I expected it would take longer for the hormones to "clear out". I didn't experience the kind of symptoms you describe, but I was moody on NR.
I've never used a diaphragm, but I believe you have to use them with a spermicide for maximum effectiveness. Many women have a reaction to spermicides (myself included). There are some new IUDs with trace amounts of hormones which are supposed to be very effective.
Within hours of taking the Ring out, the hormones were out of your system. I think it's sad that so many women don't understand how birth control works.............the hormones don't stay in your system, that's why you either have to take a pill EVERY day or wear the Ring/Patch EVERY day.
The reason that you're feeling wonky is because your body is trying to adjust it's own hormone levels. There's nothing that you can do to "speed" the process up, your body has to figure things out for itself.
When I took my Ring out 2.5 years ago to TTC, my cycle was regular that first month off (so I hope that you're using some sort of birth control if you don't want to be pregnant). But my skin broke out horribly, I got really crampy and moody, gained about 5 lbs, and just felt blah. It was another month or so before I started feeling normal again (for me, just in time for a positive pregnancy test). It might take you a good month to feel normal again..........it might take longer. It all depends on how quickly your body regulates itself.
I don't know anyone who uses a diaphragm. My friend was thinking about one and asked her GYN (who is also my GYN) about one.............he said that his office didn't even have the stuff needed to measure and fit for one, since no one uses them anymore. They could order everything, but even that would be hard because NO ONE uses them anymore.
Have you thought about a non-hormonal IUD?
We are using condoms, I realize pregnancy can still happen. I really wish you didn't feel the need to call me "sad" for not realizing how long the hormones remained, that was unnecessary. I did, however, just read that it can remain for a few days, not just hours. Regardless, messing with them can really make you crazy for months after you've stopped. I haven't felt better/worse since discontinuing use, but crappy for the two years I was on it. Just wondering how long it took others to adjust post BC.
Diaphragms are still out there, my aunt works in a gyno office in FL and says they really encourage it because it is non-hormonal. It depends on the Dr and the office, I guess. I just saw my Dr. yesterday and she was able to provide me with a bunch of information on it and offered to fit me for it during my visit. My DH and I haven't decided how we want to proceed from here. I am really leery of any hormonal methods, as I was before I started them in the first place.
I have considered paraguard, we will probably go with either that or the diaphragm, but I am leaning more towards the diaphragm.
This is not true. It takes roughly 5 half lives (the time for the concentration of drug in your blood to decrease by half) for a drug to be gone from the system completely. For Yaz, for example, where the active ingredient has a 30 hour half life, it would take 150 hours (6.25 days) for the drug to be out of your system completely. Even with the mucosal (vaginal) delivery of Nuva Ring, the drug itself still has a half life (29 hours for one active ingredient and 34 hours for the other active ingredient), meaning you're still looking at roughly 6 days until the drug is out of your system completely.
This exactly. I had to recently stop my NuvaRing because of the side effects the hormones were having on me. I took mine out 3 days ago, and while my nausea (which was my biggest side effect) has definately decreased it has not gone away entirely. It can tke several days for the hormones to be out of your system completely.
OP has been off the pill for 2 weeks now. The drugs are out of her system.
If the drugs from hormonal contraceptives stayed in your system for weeks after you stopped taking them, there wouldn't be nearly as many accidental pregnancies and you would have to take a pill every single day.
Even if you still have trace amounts of the drug in your sytem a few days after you took it, it's not going to be high enough to be causing you symptoms.
I was merely responding to the your statement about the drugs 'being out of her system within a few hours of taking the ring out.' This is absolutely inaccurate. I never stated I believed she still had drugs in her system two weeks after removing the ring.
A drug is effective only when it is at a certain concentration in the tissues that it is supposed to target (which is proportional to how much is in the blood). My statement did not relate to efficacy, but rather presence in the blood. Think about ibuprofen: When you're in pain and you take it, the pain returns in 4-6 hours. If you take no more, the ibuprofen will still be in your system for about a day, even though it's not preventing you from feeling pain.
When you are at those lower concentrations (after not taking a pill for a few days), the hormone is not at a high enough level to cause enough negative feedback on the ovaries (and hence prevent your body from cycling naturally). Hence, when you take your week of placebos, you get withdrawal bleeding 2-3 days after you stop taking the pill.
*Note: Just because you're taking the placebos does not mean you're not protected. The one week of placebo pills (during which you still have adequate drug in your system for 2-3 days) is not enough time for your body to mature a follicle and ovulate.
Side effects are most often related to the amount of drug within the body. However, the level of drug necessary for the drug to be effective may not be the same at the level of drug necessary to cause side effects. And the presence or absence of side effects is purely individual.
Hear hear. They tell you that there will be side effects, but they don't really make you understand how much the side effects can hit you. I've been on BC for 6 years, and the Ring for the last 2 1/2, and while I gained some weight initially, in the last couple years I've packed on 50lbs. It's shameful. I thought it was thyroid too, but mine were normal as well. DH and I are talking about the Implanon, so I'll go see my gyno about it.
Good luck with your Diaphragm, or whatever you choose to do. And I hope you feel normal again soon.
Hello! I also just got off NuvaRing. I took it out for my period, like usual, but decided not to put a new one in. On the ring, I'd experienced a lot of crazy mood swings, especially the week before my period. On the NuvaRing, there was always a day before my period that I was SURE I was pregnant (my sister has the same experience and she is on it too).
I was on it for 6 years. I just got married and am definitely not TTC (trying to conceive?) yet, however I am trying to go as natural as possible - eating really healthy and getting rid of anything artificial in my body. My husband and I have been using condoms AND the ring for awhile. Anyhow, I got off it officially a week ago. Its been a wild ride of emotions. A couple of times in this one week, I've reached my lowest emotional lows EVER. (Thank god my husband loves me). But here we are, one week later, and I am starting to feel normal and slightly balanced again. Other than this board, I haven't found much helpful info on stopping birth control, which is frustrating. I feel like I am taking a huge leap into the darkness and hoping to land on my feet. I was very happy to find your posts. I'd love to know how everyone is doing now (2 months later than most of these posts).
Did you gain/lose weight? Gain/lose sex drive? Get acne? Feel a significant difference between being on and then off the NuvaRing? What has been the hardest thing for you getting off the ring? What's been the best improvement?
Thank you!
em
Hey guys,
I recently went off Nuvaring, and haven't had any horrible symptoms yet; but for everyone saying they're fed up with horomones I know how you feel! I chose Nuvaring because it was supposed to be the lowest amount of horomones but then a month ago I found out about copper IUDs. It's horomone free, has a 99% effectiveness rate, and last 5 years (for about $70 in Canada, seeing as I was paying $55 for 3 months of NuvaRing that was a big selling point)! The only downside is that it can apparently make your periods heavier. But for me, I'd rather take ibuprofen a few days a month, then horomones everyday. I haven't had a period with it yet, so I can't say forsure...but so far so good! (I've had it about a week).
But I just thought I'd share that there is something non-hormonal and effective. I was so excited when I found out! There's also Mirena which is a lower-hormone-than-NuaRing version too.
Soooo happy to have found this page. I'm 28 years old, been on the ring for a year and half (with no insurence, BTW). While on it, I must admit, the 2 day period has been nice, however, the 40lbs I put on over about the first 6 month of starting has been aweful. And so has the changes in mood, low sex drive, oily hair, and loss of energy! The only up side has been clear skin and having to upgrade from a 34B to a 36D!
Sorry, but the cons outweigh the pros. I'll risk the side effects of the hormones leaving my system. I miss wearing my size 3 jeans!
When I went on Nuva Ring 2.5 yrs. ago I spotted and bled pretty consistently for 8-9 weeks. After that everything was great. I've been happy with it all along but went off it in November (3 mos. ago) because my husband and I want to start trying for kids this year. Have put on 5-6 lbs. I assume the gain was due to a change in my activity levels recently and leftover holiday weight, but usually I can drop weight pretty easily and have had a heck of a time over the last 2 months getting the weight back down. One plus is increased sex drive. However, I've only had about 2 weeks (sometimes less) between periods (which spikes my appetite, which really doesn't help with weight loss). Also feeling extra anxiety and grouchiness. Oh, and super tired at times.
Does anyone know if these symptoms would affect a baby carrying to full-term? Some friends lost their baby in the 1st trimester, and while the doctors said it wasn't due to having been on BC and conceiving so soon afterwards, they suspect differently. My doctor said BC doesn't work that way, but I've heard so many people who have miscarried say the opposite. Does anyone know of any scientific data I could look at? My husband and I really want to start trying for a baby, but we're concerned about trying before everything regulates. I'd rather be patient and have the best chance at a healthy pregnancy if that would be the wisest course of action, but if I don't need to wait I'd prefer to not do so.
I am also so happy to have found this forum. I have not changed anything different in my diet or exercise since I had my son 7yrs ago. I was on yasmin then yaz for 5 yrs and never gained a pound. I switched to Nuvaring about 18months ago. I began to gain weight and didn't understand why. I gained 15lbs then had smartlipo and lost 5-7lbs. But now I am not going back to my steady weight of 5yrs, previous to NR and going up again. I am dieting more and I still can't lose anything. I have been so depressed because I too miss all my size 26 jeans. Even 27 fits super tight and I am only 5ft tall. My breast were always a 34C now i am a 36C and I am too short for that cup size. I tossed my ring today and I will no longer use it. I will allow the month to pass using condoms and get back on Yaz. My husband and I don't want to get pregnant until next July. I am truly hoping after removing this ring, I go back down to my normal weight. After this weekend hearing my friend tell me indirectly, in 5different ways that I had gained weight, I hope I made the right choice. I will keep posting what happens after this ring removal.
I just went off Nuvaring 1.5 months ago, after about 2 years on it. I should have gotten my period 2 weeks ago but I still haven't gotten anything. I was of course convinced I was pregnant, my nipples were so sore like other people mentioned and my breast were swollen. But, I have taken 2 pregnancy tests, the day of my missed period and 5 days later, and both were negative.
I didn't have any depression or weight gain on the ring, in fact I loved it! HUGE for me not to have to remember to take a pill every day. But I am trying to conceive and I had no idea it could take 6+ months for my cycle to get back to normal, that is super frustrating...
Same concerns...have been off NR for about a month now, had a week of regular period, then one week of light flow brown spotting, and it's back for the third week in a row
...any ideas as to when this will end??
BTW while on the NR I didn't experience any weight gain or other side effects, I actually LOVED IT, but now I am not happy about having such a messed up cycle.
I've been off NR for 2 months now since boyf and i are ttc. I have noticed that my sex drive is back, i've also noticed that since being off it, i have already had 2 normal cycles, each a little bit longer and heavier than when I was on NR, but nothing to be alarmed about. I never gained weight on NR, I lost some weight with diet and exercise, but since being off it for the last 2 months, i've gained 10lbs. No change in diet or exercise, still eat healthy and exercise about 4-5x per week, but i'm not losing any weight.
I guess i'm still waiting to "go back to normal", but i'm also wondering if anyone has gained weight SINCE taking out NR?