Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel and Sexual Dysfunction: What Users Say

• spi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 11, 2019

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I just recently switched from the pill (Sronyx) to the NuvaRing. Not going to lie, I got on this website the day I got prescribed the NuvaRing and I scared myself half to death...all of the reviews were so scary, and I was terrified. Needless to say, I still tried it. I've been on the NuvaRing for about a month already, and I absolutely love it. I've pretty much forgotten about it, my boyfriend can't feel it during sex, and neither can I. People complain about a low sex drive on the ring, but if anything, mine has gone up. Everything is more enjoyable now than ever because I don't have to remember to take a pill. When I got on the pill, I gained 15 lbs and was literally psychotic and depressed, but with the NuvaRing, I feel normal again!! Do NOT let these reviews scare you. People are more likely to leave a review if they have a bad experience, and if all is good, they forget about it, move on, and never return to the website to leave a positive review. Don't be scared, try it out!"

• Rai...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 7, 2020

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "Reading some of the negative reviews... I have to say I had the opposite experience. I felt horrible with the NuvaRing, I had really bad headaches, mood swings, spotting, no sex drive, and felt very tired. I was switched to this by the pharmacy, and I thought I was finally getting used to the NuvaRing until I realized it was a different ring. Now, I’m not going to say there were no side effects with the EluRyng, but they were very mild, just some light spotting, but not as bad as with the NuvaRing. I think people with negative experiences are more likely to write reviews, so I wanted to share my experience."

• Aub...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 18, 2020

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I mean, I didn’t get pregnant, so that’s cool and all, but I gained thirty pounds, was suddenly covered in stretch marks, couldn’t bear the idea of sex anymore, and when I did try to have sex, it was immensely painful. Mood swings like crazy; crying one second, laughing the next. Really bad fatigue and paranoia. Migraines 2-3 times a week, body pains, horrible cramps, and it put me on my period for over 6 months! I mean, but I didn’t get pregnant."

• she...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 1, 2014

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "Pros: ease of use, decreased acne, reduced headaches, which was wonderful. Cons: 15 lbs weight gain in 6 months, unprecedented! Reduced sex drive and slight depression. Discharge and yeast infection for the first 2 months, terrible breakthrough bleeding."

• Gra...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 6, 2020

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I had a horrible experience with NuvaRing. I’ll admit it was nice not having to worry about taking a pill every day, but I experienced awful side effects. It caused me to become extremely depressed and anxious and lowered my libido. My doctor told me I wouldn’t be able to feel it during intercourse, but I could, and it was so uncomfortable-sometimes even painful. If needed, you can take it out for up to 3 hours, but it’s inconvenient to have to do that. I also had severe period cramps while using this. I personally do not recommend NuvaRing."

• Che...
• May 15, 2020

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I was on the NuvaRing for 4 years, and I only experienced swollen breasts. It went away after 3 months. I had no problems. In March 2020, I was switched to the generic because of my insurance. Within 2 weeks, I was needing antidepressants because I didn’t feel right. I was having yeast infections like crazy, and the fluconazole was not working (this is noted as a side effect). By April, I was having outbursts of anger, feeling alone all the time, anxious, my blood pressure was out of control because of the anxiety, I was arguing with everyone, libido was gone, and I was just flat out upset about everything. Now it is May, I feel so depressed and question life every day. I’m not motivated to do anything. I’m not happy about anything. I will cry about everything. I feel so alone. Today, we figured out it was the generic causing this. I have all the side effects listed on their website. Affect liability is a serious side effect of this ring. My mental health and, quite frankly, life is on the line."

• Sin...
• March 15, 2014

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "My partner and I finally decided to try some alternate methods of birth control. NuvaRing was my first choice because I'm too forgetful to try pills, and I must say I've had a mixed experience. I love the fact that I can insert it and forget about it. I don't feel it during sex, and it doesn't slip out. It got rid of my recurring yeast infections, I even grew a cup size. However, I can't help but notice that I've gained weight, especially around my waistline, which almost never happens, and my sex drive has decreased. I exercise regularly, so I know it had to be the hormones. I experience extreme mood swings, I'm a lot more angry, I find myself depressed, have random urges to cry, and my periods are just as painful as before. I just may switch soon."

• Pai...
• May 31, 2020

For Birth Control "I was on the brand name NuvaRing for about 2-3 years. Then I switched to the generic kind for insurance reasons early this January. I noticed whenever I would insert a new ring, my vag would feel irritated, almost like a burning/itching sensation. I normally have a high sex drive, but since switching to the generic, my libido is LOW. On top of that, I am now always DRY down there. I cannot produce enough lubrication, and sex hurts without it. The worst part is going to the bathroom after. My mood swings are honestly so crazy at times. I’ll also notice that at different times during my cycle, I’ll either have a higher or lower libido. I can’t wait to get off this birth control. The only thing that is the same is when I get my period. I always get my period around the same time. This is my experience of the generic version."

• cha...
• June 2, 2020

For Birth Control "On my fourth ring now, and still no period. Been having to buy pregnancy tests once a month now, but not pregnant, very bloated, decreased libido, and idk if it's just me, but my brain has been slow and foggy lately."

• jeh...
• July 13, 2016

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I've been on the NuvaRing for 7 years. I got it when I was 18 because I didn't want to take a pill every day, and I was scared the shot would make me gain weight. I love my NuvaRing besides the fact that it has killed my sex drive. That's the only downside I've experienced. So if that doesn't bother you, then I highly suggest it. It cleared up my face of acne, I didn't gain any weight, it shortened my period to be about 3 days long and is very light, no extra moodiness or anxiety. The perk of it is you can skip a month in between your periods. I put it in for 3 weeks, take it out, and have a period. Then the next month I take it out and put a new one in at the same time on the 4th week. I hope this helps anyone considering it."

• Anonymous
• July 26, 2010

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I love, love, love NuvaRing! I have been on hormone-based birth control for 6 years now. I have been on NuvaRing for 1 year. So far, this is the best one I've used, and I have tried several. With other pills, I have had weight gain (not in my breasts, unfortunately), acne, moodiness, lack of sex drive, spotting, periods that lasted forever, etc. With the NuvaRing, nothing. My skin is clearer than it has ever been (not perfect, but I'll take what I can get), I haven't gained any more weight, I only worry about it once a month. I think it's perfect. The thing people have to remember is everyone's going to be different. It's not the product, it's the person. Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo didn't work for me. Neither did Lo Ovral. And they're rather popular."

• Sal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 21, 2019

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I am an 18-year-old who was relatively healthy before starting the NuvaRing. (I had the Nexplanon before I started the ring.) I kept the ring in literally for 2 weeks, and I will have to say that this experience has changed my whole view of birth control. I immediately experienced depression and anxiety, both of which I’ve never had a history with. My legs would swell up, I felt dizzy, and I had pains in my chest. I had been to the doctors three times in the past two weeks because of these things, and I could quite put my finger on why it was happening until recently. I also never thought that vaginal dryness would ever be an issue with me, but it was. My sex drive completely disappeared. My body immediately hated this birth control, and I am still suffering from the effects of it a week later. Please look at all possible risks and side effects for this birth control before taking it, because if I had known, I would have steered clear of it."

• net...
• July 16, 2014

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "NuvaRing caused me to have no sex drive whatsoever. I've only been on it for 2 weeks, and I'm fairly certain it's not allowing me to lose weight. I ride my bike 16 miles daily and have still gained a pound. I've also gotten a urinary tract infection in the 2 weeks. I'm considering getting off of the ring altogether."

• Eri...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 4, 2020

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I had a mostly positive experience with the NuvaRing, but ultimately discontinued use. Pros: I have a clinical diagnosis of endometriosis, and the ring made symptoms like cramping, heavy bleeding, nausea, and vomiting less frequent and more bearable. My skin was beautiful. My cystic acne disappeared, and I only got 1-2 small, almost undetectable pimples a month. I also loved how convenient the ring is. It’s so much easier to remember to change your ring every 3-4 weeks than to take a pill at the same exact time every single day. Cons: The first few months I had some mood swings and got frustrated and angry at little things. This did taper off. Noticeably lowered sex drive (but this might be more connected to endometriosis pain). Near constant spotting. I would spot 8 weeks on, 1-2 weeks off. Spotting was the only reason I discontinued use. I wish my body reacted better to these hormones because it really is a fantastic BC option. I would recommend it to a friend."

• Ser...
• July 11, 2014

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "Used the ring for 6 months. I gained 20 pounds. I went from 120 to 140. It's not very easy for me to gain weight. Had a lot of discharge that made it extremely uncomfortable. I never get yeast infections and got one on the ring. And my sex drive went way down on the ring. I am switching back to the pill because I've never had any problems with the pill, only minor, and I've used the pill for 3 years."

• Toy...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 2, 2020

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I've been on NuvaRing for 2 and a half months, and I don't know how much longer I can tolerate its side effects, from the mood swings to feeling angry all the time, low to no libido at all, and feeling distant from my partner. I've been bleeding the entire time I've had it in. I'm hoping maybe in another month or two my body will adjust to the hormones, but we'll see if I even make it that far."

• Jes...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 6, 2016

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I've been on the NuvaRing for about 3 years now. I have had no problems except I literally have no sex drive anymore, which really sucks. I constantly feel bad for my boyfriend of 4 years because I just have no desire for it at all, which makes sex painful because I am not wet enough. This is unfortunate because I love everything about the NuvaRing besides that one issue. However, I am still probably going to switch to something else because that is a big factor for me."

• Jes...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 6, 2016

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I've been on the NuvaRing for about 3 years now. I have had no problems except I literally have no sex drive anymore, which really sucks. I constantly feel bad for my boyfriend of 4 years because I just have no desire for it at all, which makes sex painful because I am not wet enough. This is unfortunate because I love everything about the NuvaRing besides that one issue. However, I am still probably going to switch to something else because that is a big factor for me."

• Yog...
• September 25, 2019

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "After reading all of these reviews, I feel like I was crazy for staying on the NuvaRing for so long (3 years), but for at least the past year, I have been wondering why I’m not myself. I started the NuvaRing when I was 18/19 and have gained an extra 15 pounds that I can’t seem to lose no matter how much I eat/exercise. I also have had LOTS of mood swings and went through a depression last year, I thought it was my schooling since I am an engineering major, but now I’m not so sure. And the worst was that I lost my sex drive. My boyfriend and I have been together for at least 2 years before I started the NuvaRing, but for the past year, he always wants to, and I just am not in the mood. I feel like these changes started slow but became more clear after the years went by. It wasn’t all bad though, I love its convenience and ease of use, but for what it did to my mental health and weight is frustrating. Thanks, girls, for all your input, I thought I was going crazy!"

• Ama...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 1, 2013

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I have been on the NuvaRing for almost 6 years. I decided to try it due to the fact that I had a hard time remembering to take the pill every day. I absolutely love the ring and have recommended it to most of my friends. What was initially hard for me was remembering what day and how many weeks it was in. I found an app for my phone which helped tremendously. The pros are definitely that you don't have to take it every day, and it's comfortable, I sometimes forget that it is there. Cons would have to be the decrease in sex drive, but a little exercise helps with that. I've had no pregnancy scares or breakthrough bleeding. All in all, the ring beats the pill and the Depo shot."

• Kri...
• April 28, 2016

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I've been on the NuvaRing now for two years. I personally love it! It's so much easier to use than having to take a pill every day. I used to have a 7-day period, and now it's 3 full days and 2 spotting days. I used to get horrible side effects from the pill, but the only negative side effect from the NuvaRing is that about 2 weeks out of the month I don't have really any sex drive, but I'll take that over acting like a lunatic and not even getting to have sex because I scared my partner off. Haha. Hope this helps!"

• Sar...
• November 9, 2015

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I was on NuvaRing for about 3 years, and I loved it! No pills to worry about, easy in, easy out, comfortable. But I recently got out of a serious relationship and wanted to see what I would feel like without BC. I feel AMAZING. NuvaRing GREATLY reduced my sex drive (it feels so amazing to know it was this medication and not me). It also gave me intense PMS mood swings (which I also thought was me). Essentially what this birth control (and most) do is release such high levels of hormones as to trick your body into thinking you're already pregnant. So essentially, taking NuvaRing was like being a raging dried-up bitch for 3 years. I would try something else. Gave a 5 because it was very effective in preventing pregnancy."

• CRo...
• December 7, 2019

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "This is my last round of the ring after over 12 years of using NuvaRing. I can recall the first few months of using it having depression. After that subsided, I noticed my bad acne had completely gone away but also my sex drive as well. I was told by my doctor to continue to use it if it works well for me in other ways. Fast forward to now, I’ve had an insanely difficult time losing weight. And it’s now come down to the possibility that it’s the NuvaRing. While it wasn’t the cause of my weight gain, I’m strongly wondering if it’s the cause of my weight loss resistance. I’ve been consistently working out plus dieting only to lose a few pounds here and there. I’ve tried so many diet lifestyles and would stick with it for several months to no avail. So now, after much contemplation, it is now time to do without the NuvaRing. And it would be nice to have a sex drive again! And it will be interesting to see how much it affected me in other ways that I hadn’t noticed."

• Bri...
• April 24, 2015

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I've been using NuvaRing for about 3 months now, and I thought that the extremely bad anxiety was caused by other problems and that it'd go away, but it hasn't and has only gotten worse. My face has been breaking out more than when I was in high school. My sex drive has decreased tremendously! I've never had depression until I started NuvaRing, and it's probably become the worst part of all of this. I started getting leg cramps, which usually never happen and are supposed to be a sign of blood clots, as stated in the side effects. I WOULD NOT recommend this to anyone. I could go on and on about other side effects from this, but I wanted to point out the ones that have affected me the most."

• Ada...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 13, 2019

Ethinyl estradiol / etonogestrel for Birth Control "I was on the NuvaRing for 6 years. I loved the convenience of it and had minimal symptoms up until maybe a year ago. I did have mood swings on it, but not much worse than the typical PMS ones. The last year or so, I kept getting UTIs. My partner gets scraped by the ring every time, and the pain during sex brought me almost to tears every time. We decided it needed to go. Talked to my doctor who explained that as we get older, our bodies can react differently to hormones. So a birth control you start at 25 may have horrible side effects at 30. Weird, I thought, but oh well. I switched over to the pill, and although I'll miss the ring, the anxiety I didn't have before, the pain during sex, the UTIs-those I won't miss. Also, it randomly made my legs go numb and had some other issues the doctors swear the NuvaRing didn't cause. My advice: try it, it could be great for you. It was great for many years, but as our bodies change, so does our tolerance of hormones and such."