(no subject)

[kiimp.livejournal.com]

Hi vaginapagina!

I got the Nuvaring last week, and so far I love it, especially since I was on the pill before and would seriously forget it every other day.

I'm in the Netherlands though, and an American friend gave me a heads up via LJ that there have been PSA's in the US about health concerns / risks associated with the Nuvaring? I've been googling but I can't find anything, is there anyone here who has also seen these PSA's and can explain to me what the deal is? I know no hormonal birth control is *good* for you but I was wondering if there really is an increased risk with the Nuvaring.

Anyone?

Comments

[faerie86.livejournal.com]

I asked my lady doctor when I was in about a month ago because one of my friends told me the same thing and she said that there's the same risks with the NuvaRing that there is with any type of birth control (she specifically mentioned blood clots). She still gave me a prescription for it and didn't even mention side effects until I asked (probably because I've been on birth control for 5 years, the NuvaRing for 2 of those 5 years).

[marionravenwood.livejournal.com]

I know no hormonal birth control is *good* for you

Actually, using hormonal birth control greatly reduces your chances of ovarian and uterine cancer. It also decreases your risk of anemia by making periods lighter, and of course by preventing pregnancy it reduces your chance of having complications from pregnancy such as hypertension or gestational diabetes.

The main danger of combined hormonal birth control is increased risk of heart attack or stroke; however, as far as I know nuvaring does not have a greater risk than any other combined hormonal method. The only thing I can think of is that absorption from the ring is higher than some pills (but still considered low dose). If you have normal blood pressure, don't smoke, and have been screened for family history of stroke, the risk is very low.

[kiimp.livejournal.com]

I know, but I guess you could say it's about half and half with reducing chances of this and that on the one side, but increasing the risk of blood clots etc. on the other. I don't have a family history of any of those, my mom however HAS had breast cancer but my doctor just prescriped a 'lighter' birth control pill because of that. I was mostly wondering what the PSA's were about! Mostly since I can't find anything concrete about it online!

[paperispatient.livejournal.com]

Actually, concerns about the pill and breast cancer seem to be mostly unfounded as well, from what I've read. Have a look here http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/3571.html it's an article about the long-term effects of oral contraceptives, and it cites like 50 studies that have shown that HBC does not increase your risk of breast cancer. :)

[kiimp.livejournal.com]

I haven't even looked into it that much! There were warnings in the booklet that came with my Pill though? When I was on the Diane pill it even said 'don't take this if there has been breast cancer in your immediate family' but the Diane is super heavy, or so I've heard.
But it's nice knowing this :) my mom had a pretty agressive form of breast cancer, but it wasn't the genetic type so I only have a 13% chance of ever getting it whereas for other women it's supposedly 11%, or something!

[paperispatient.livejournal.com]

I'd imagine they have to mention things like a possible link to breast cancer because even though from what I've read most studies show very little to no connection, it would be pretty difficult to prove definitively that HBC would have no affect on breast cancer, you know? (This is totally just me speculating.) I don't remember seeing that on my pills, but it's been a while since I read through the novel that comes in my pack, haha.

[kiimp.livejournal.com]

Lol, novel indeed. I've had no problems with HBC so far and no one in my direct environment has so I don't have much reason to quit. I really like the Nuvaring since my life was too chaotic for the Pill! I was mostly disappointed that maybe there would be reason for me to stop using it, haha :(

[paperispatient.livejournal.com]

I think you're doing the responsible thing - you had some concerns, and so you're researching them and seeking more info. I've been on the pill for like a year and a half and it's been a sanity-saver for me, so I feel like you do - would be really upset if there were some reason to think I'd need to go off it. :)

[chiyo-no-saru.livejournal.com]

You're correct--they basically have to report *every* adverse event that occurs during testing, whether or not it's caused by the drug.

[piano-diva.livejournal.com]

My mother got breast cancer, and the dr said it was due to the hormones in her birth control and just overall. So my mom is stressing because I'm taking the ring so she's afraid the extra hormones will trigger me with breast cancer. I don't know if it's really true or not, but my mom says her breast cancer was due to HBC.

[paperispatient.livejournal.com]

I'd imagine (and this is purely speculation, medicine is not my area of expertise by any means) that if you're developing cancerous cells, the hormones in the pill could affect that development and possibly encourage it. Like I said, every study and article I've read on the topic suggests that HBC does not cause breast cancer, but I haven't researched it all that extensively. Hope your mom is doing okay!

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

NuvaRing uses a type of progestin that may produce a slightly higher risk of blood clots than other progestins used in other types of hormonal contraception, though the data has not been confirmed. It mentions that in the fine print of the NuvaRing site here. (http://www.nuvaring.com/Consumer/commonQuestions/index.asp) (Scroll to the bottom.) However, NuvaRing is still on the whole a very safe type of contraception.

[pygmybugs.livejournal.com]

Everyone else has pretty much covered the stats part of things. Just adding in that any company that sells ANYTHING here tends to plaster it with warnings about every conceivable thing that could happen, since we tend to be quick to sue companies for things here. Even really obvious things. "I poured hot coffee in my eye, but nobody told me that would hurt me! I'm SUING, GODDAMNIT!" And then the coffee cup has warnings all over it "Do not pour in eye, injury or blindness may result."

[what-a-charmer.livejournal.com]

HAHA. Hysterical, because it's so sadly true.

[onlyforever10.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the PSAs or what they said, but I know from my own personal experience that some women can have an allergic reaction to the nuvaring (even if you dont have any problem with the pill).

I"d recommend getting a pelvic exam a few months into using it, especially if you seem to be getting pain or frequent UTIs. I got 6 UTIs in 4 months while I was on Nuvaring, and I've never had a UTI before in my life. Some women get a lot of yeast infections while on it as well. I had no idea what was going on, until i had a pelvic exam and the doctor told me that my cervix was extremely inflamed. I took the ring out, and haven't had a problem since switching to the pill.

Basically, some women's bodies treat it as a foreign object, or they just react badly to the chemicals being so close to sensitive skin down there. It works for some women great, but just be careful and watch for signs that it might be reacting badly to your body.

Hope it works out!