Nuvaring side effects

[tiffownsthis.livejournal.com]

Hey all. I've been on the nuvaring for about a month and a half, and this has been my first experience with HBC. It hasn't been entirely horrible, but I've not been entirely pleased with the side effects. I'm mostly curious if anyone else had side effects in the first three months of use that eventually went away, since I am willing to stick it out for a little while longer.

I spent the first entire month spotting every single day, which I've read has been a common experience for most ladies. After I inserted my second ring, the spotting stopped completely. Some other side effects have continued though.

I get headaches a lot. For the first month or so, it seemed like I was getting them 4-6 days of the week. Lately it's been less, but I've had one today that's just killing me. They seem like dehydration headaches--like I haven't gotten enough water, but it seems like they're happening when I've had an adequate amount of water. It's like suddenly I'm hyper-sensitive to dehydration. It seems like it may be tapering off some, so I was curious if anyone else had similar headache problems in the beginning that eventually went away?

Another thing, before I went on the ring, I was having problems with depression (untreated currently because I don't have health insurance), and on the flip side of that I was having problems with arousal and sometimes didn't have an interest in sex. Before I went on the nuvaring, the lady at PP failed to notice I indicated that I suffer from depression, so she didn't warn me that the nuvaring could worsen that, and I didn't find that out until later. So I was already pretty emotional, depressed, etc before I started the nuvaring. Since going on the ring, I graduated from college and have been under a lot of stress trying to find a job and pay the bills, so my depression has worsened. So I'm unsure if that is situational depression or if the nuvaring is making me batty. I've also been kind of crazy lately when it comes to my boyfriend, starting fights with him and being emotional and moody in ways that seem irrational. Yet, I'm not sure if this is the ring, or stress in my life or what. I am supposed to start a new job next week, and hopefully the stress will level off, and maybe this craziness too. I just wonder if anyone else was kind of moodier or more emotional when they started the ring, and if that improved after their bodies adjusted?

Now, when it comes to sex, I'm not very interested in it. I am rarely aroused and I rarely enjoy anything. I do not enjoy PIV sex at all anymore. Since I went on the ring a month and a half ago, we've had sex only 4 times (down from 2-4 times a week). Three of those times, the entire time it burned horribly and I absolutely hated it (the other time, it didn't burn, but it wasn't enjoyable). I've read that other ladies have had that problem. My boyfriend thinks it's just because I'm not turned on enough, which is it's own problem. I don't know if this is related to stress/depression, the nuvaring, or a combination of all of them. Mainly, I'm curious if anyone else had problems like the burning sensation that went away eventually.

I'm willing to stick it out for three months it's supposed to take to adjust to the ring, but if some of these situations don't improve, I just don't know what I'll do. I mostly feel like I'm going crazy. There's just so much going on in my life, I'm not sure if it's actually the ring or not. So, some outside suggestions, or relating of your personal experiences would be nice to hear, just so I can't figure some of this out.

Thanks!

Comments

[tiffownsthis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I've been thinking. I want to wait and see how things are once my life stabilizes, and if things haven't improved, then I'll have to look at other options. Of course, if the burning during sex doesn't improved in the next month, then I definitely want to go off, because I know that didn't ever happen BEFORE the ring.