Ethinyl estradiol / segesterone and Headaches: What Users Say

• Old...
• January 22, 2021

For Birth Control "I’m a 35-year-old woman who has Hashimoto's thyroiditis, EDS, and PCOS. I do terrible on most hormonal birth controls, and IUDs make my anemia and pain worse. I put Annovera in on day 2 of my period, the period stopped. Had a headache for a day. I started spotting around day 20, with some cramps, heavy breakthrough around day 21. On day 17, I was irritable, but fine after. I can’t skip my period with any of the low estrogen BCs like this. I did have some cramping when spotting, took Ibu, period/cramps a little heavier. I used NuvaRing in the past: depression, no sex drive, and weight gain, none on this. My hormonal acne stopped. Partner can kinda feel it, but not enough to bother him, I can’t feel it. I really like it, hopefully, I will stop spotting after this period because it would be nice to find a birth control that doesn’t make my PCOS worse."

• But...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 16, 2020

For Birth Control "I’ve been on Annovera for a little over a month. Initially, it worked extremely well. I started it on day 2 of my period, and it completely stopped my flow and my cramps. I did have a few mild headaches and nausea in the first week or so of using it, but nothing bad. The period week was a nightmare of heavy bleeding and excruciatingly painful cramping. It was much worse than my normal period. Since re-inserting the ring for the second cycle, I’ve been having mild to moderate cramping every day, and I’m so nauseated that I’ve completely lost my appetite. That said, I’m planning to stick with it because it has been extremely effective for my endometriosis and has already reduced the size of my endometrioma. I would still recommend this birth control to anybody because you never know how your body is going to react to it. It’s so convenient that you don’t have to take a pill, and I haven’t experienced any change in libido like I have with other birth control."

• Pea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 28, 2020

For Birth Control "Haven't used hormonal birth control in years. So I was expecting the extreme effects. Kinda odd inserting the ring. It was very bendable that I thought it was going to slip out of my hand and fall on the floor. The first evening, I noticed a little itchiness. Couldn't feel the ring, though. I woke up the first 3 days in a row with a slight headache. Slight nausea, more fatigue. My biggest concern was an upset stomach. I would use the restroom more than normal and had lots of bloating, upset stomach. I started to eat smaller portions. Slight intolerances to foods were worsened, so I'm almost avoiding them completely. A few years ago, I tried the NuvaRing and took it out and threw it away after 3 days due to major vaginal irritation. Having tummy issues is keeping me from sleeping regularly at night. No mood swings, no cramps, no spotting, no breast tenderness yet."

• Kei...
• December 8, 2020

For Birth Control "I’ve been using this vaginal ring for 6 months, and everything was fine at first. My gynecologist switched me to this one from Nuvaring, which I loved but got rid of my sex drive. At first, I had no side effects besides slight nausea the first two days after I inserted it. After 4 months of use, the nausea persisted sometimes with a headache accompanying it, and the most excruciating cramps of my life! Prior to using birth control, my periods have always been awesome. Light flow that lasted 3-4 days and minor to no cramping at all. Now, after being on Annovera, I always get my period 2 days after removal (a necessary plus so I can predict and prepare for it), but the cramps are so bad. Like I just want to lay in the fetal position and can't do anything. I can’t walk, I can’t even take a deep breath in. It’s the worst. I plan on discontinuing use because of the cramps. It works, though. No pregnancy scares, sex drive remained the same, no depression. I’ve actually never felt calmer, but the cramps are bad."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 21, 2025

For Birth Control "I honestly had no issues with this birth control and really wanted to like it, but unfortunately, I had yeast infections every month I inserted it for 4 months. My headaches went away and I had no significant acne or other hormonal issues. I wish they made this into a pill because my body could not tolerate it in a ring form."

• Lil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 18, 2021

For Birth Control "I like this birth control. I've been on it for 5 or 6 months, had a few headaches, but I get them here and there anyway, so I didn't really know if it was the ring. I read that there's a higher risk of infection, so I've been eating yogurt with lactobacillus and acidophilus once or twice a month and have had no infections. It's easy to use, though I feel like it would be beneficial if it had a reusable applicator. My biggest issue is: I have absolutely no sex drive. I had a great sex drive before I started it, and after I had stopped taking BC pills for a few months. So in between, my libido was high. The lack of sex drive is confusing for me. It really didn't start disappearing until about 2 months ago. Started losing it a little bit at a time, but I have no sex drive, and it's got me worried about my relationship. My husband says he doesn't mind. But it is still worrying anyway. My sex drive seems to slightly increase around midday, but we don't see each other until the end of the day."

• Bel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 29, 2022

For Birth Control "I absolutely love Annovera and would highly recommend it. I was nervous about Annovera because I’ve had such bad side effects in the past on BC (weight gain, severe depression, anxiety, loss of sex drive, mood swings, you name it, I had it), and I also currently suffer from occasional migraines and am prone to yeast infections, so I was nervous this would make them worse. But after doing a lot of research, I still felt like this was what I wanted to try. I have had very minimal symptoms on this, if anything, it’s actually lessened my period symptoms and made me feel more mellow. The worst side effects I’ve had are breakthrough bleeding, which is annoying, but I’m only on month 3, and it seems to be getting better, if that’s the worst symptom I get, I’ll take it! I do get headaches the week I take it out, but they aren’t unbearable, just annoying. And I did have one spell of anxiety when I took it out and had to put it back in. But weirdly, anytime it’s in, I’m a happy camper!"

• Rac...
• November 3, 2020

For Birth Control "I was really hopeful that this ring would work for me because I've tried three different pills and quit both because of slight nausea and mood swings, but this ring was worse than either pill. I inserted the ring at 4pm on a Monday. It was fine until I woke up at 2am on Tuesday with slight nausea. I couldn't fall asleep because the nausea started getting worse, and I began having chills. Got up again and took it out. Woke up at 6 am feeling hot and sweaty, nauseous, and threw up. I also had a headache. I forced myself to eat some cereal, which helped my stomach, but I spent the morning alternating between chills and hot/sweating. Took my temp because I thought I was coming down with something. It was very low at only 96.7. Started feeling better around 10 am; not sick feeling anymore, body temp back to normal, but having extreme mood swings. I know you are supposed to give a new birth control a few months to adjust to, but I can't imagine being this sick every day until I adjust."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 5, 2021

For Birth Control "I’ve been on Annovera for about six months now, and I have a mixed opinion. It is really easy to use, and it’s convenient for use, but I’ve been experiencing a lot of side effects: I get random cramps in between that feel a lot like period cramps, headaches from time to time (never really had them before), nausea, and the main thing is that it’s affected my mood a lot. I already had anxiety before, but it’s so intense now, I feel incredibly moody and sad a lot, and my sex drive has never been this low. Probably going to see it out for the rest of my year, but probably won’t take it for another year."

• TTa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 21, 2021

For Birth Control "I started using this ring in November '20 and just took it out Feb '21. I don’t recommend using this birth control. This BC gave me multiple headaches/migraines, I was nauseous the first 2 days after inserting it in again and after I took it out. This BC also gave severe anxiety. Being someone in their 20s, I have anxiety already, but this BC took it to another level. I won’t be inserting this BC again because of these symptoms."

• Ove...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 15, 2020

For Birth Control "I have a bleeding disorder that makes my periods VERY heavy. I have used birth control to keep my periods short or so I can skip them. I spoke with my doctor about this, and she said I could leave it in for three months and then take it out for three days, then go back on. Well, right away, I had headaches, now, three months in, I have been spotting EVERY DAY for the past 52 days! I am done. No sex drive, feel angry, mad, and upset all the time. I'm ready to be done, but my doctor won't change it. I will be looking for a new doctor if she does not help me out at my appointment in five days! Worst birth control I've tried!"

• Tas...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 10, 2022

For Birth Control "I am two weeks into using this birth control. The only downside is that I will have random chin hairs growing as my body adjusts to the hormone. I will have occasional cramps, but my period kind is severe, so this type of cramping is a minor annoyance. My mood was actually affected. I suffer from anxiety and depression. Using this birth control has taken it away. I was on Prozac and all the antidepressants, and none of them worked. This is a great new birth control. I have energy. My sleep is amazing compared to without it, where I used to have choppy sleep. I used to have random uterus pain and a high sex drive (it’s not that great when you’re religious and single and constantly having to distract yourself), and now the pains have stopped and my sex drive is low (sounds horrible, but it’s a blessing for my lifestyle). I haven’t had any yeast infections. I had one headache. I haven’t had any spotting or any terrible side effect. This helps with my severe PMDD periods."

• Nin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 18, 2021

For Birth Control "I started Annovera because I had been on Nuvaring (which I love!) for over 10 years, but after I joined the military, I needed something more readily available than just a 3-month dose of birth control, and I had such horrible experiences with different IUDs. I have been on deployment for 6 months and have put on 25 lbs! I know they advertise that weight gain is not a side effect, but I don't know what else could be causing this. I have not changed my diet or activity level, if anything, I am more active. I have had extreme breast tenderness, but not very much nausea, and I am getting annoyed with the headaches. It has also squashed my sex drive (not that I need one on deployment). But as soon as I am off deployment and can get Nuvaring, I will be sticking with that."

• Lin...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 10, 2022

For Birth Control "I switched to Annovera because I was forgetting to take the pill often enough, and birth control that you don’t have to worry about as often was really appealing. I’ve been using it for 6 months now, and don’t really experience any major side effects besides headaches. When I first started, I experienced really bad nausea. That usually occurred when I would first insert it back in after the 7-day break. The nausea went away after about the 3rd month. I also experienced pretty severe headaches/migraines that I never got before. They were pretty bad, and I would get them as often as 2-3 times a week up until the 3rd month again, but they started lessening in severity and frequency since then. Now, I only get occasional headaches that aren’t too bad. I would definitely recommend sticking it out past the 3-month mark to see if your side effects go away because it seems like that’s the usual amount of time it takes everything to regulate out on Annovera."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 25, 2022

For Birth Control "I started using Annovera in October 2020 and used it for 1 complete year. In the beginning, there was some nausea and headaches. After a couple of months, I had no symptoms, except eczema! All over my ears and inner thighs. Yes, who would have thought that birth control causes eczema? I have never had eczema in my 34 years of living, so initially I chalked this up to stress and being a teacher in the middle of a global pandemic. Finally, once my relationship ended, I decided not to renew the prescription for another ring. I took the ring out, and almost immediately the eczema went away and has not returned. I have been 3 months eczema-free. I did like the ease of use and not getting pregnant, no weight gain, no acne. But itchy eczema patches were ultimately my decision to end usage."

• Emm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 17, 2020

For Birth Control "I just started Annovera less than a week ago, and the side effects have been terrible. The first couple of days, I had a headache and nausea so bad I had to leave work. Today, day 4, I felt so depressed I could barely get out of bed. I've had depression in the past, but it's been very manageable lately. Today felt like a particularly low point, which usually comes after days of warning signs, not out of nowhere. It was so bad I took the ring out, but I plan to put it back within the 2-hour window. If the side effects don't go away soon, I'm going to switch because I can't handle a 2-3 month adjustment period like this. If the Annovera did me one favor, it was convincing me to switch to non-hormonal birth control soon. (This doesn't mean it's not for anyone, but my experience so far hasn't been good.)"

• Meg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 30, 2020

For Birth Control "I tried this birth control, Annovera, after my last annual. I took it out after 2 weeks. The side effects were too strong for me to try to wait out the 3-4 months for my body to adjust. I had headaches, no energy, anxiety, and severe bloating any time I ate. I have food intolerance issues that make me prone to bloating, and this birth control exacerbated it. I really wanted it to work because of the convenience, but I switched back to NuvaRing as I wasn’t having any issues with it to begin with."

• Des...
• January 15, 2021

For Birth Control "I have been using ANNOVERA for four days, and they have been the hardest days of my life. I don’t think I’ll even keep it in a week. A couple of hours after I first inserted it, I had stomach cramps and a headache, but since I always get headaches, I didn’t think too much of it. The next morning, I woke up feeling nauseous and threw up, my body also felt fatigued, so I called out of work. I went back to sleep and woke up again throwing up. I also experienced serious chills. On day three, I was extremely sleepy, and every time I woke up, I felt hot and sweaty like I had a fever. I continuously had chills and a constant headache that made me feel super irritated. Throughout the day, I had noticeable mood swings. Today, day four—I woke up with a fever and headache that has been persistent since I inserted it. The back pain and stomach cramps have come back as well. The migraine is so bad that my eyes literally hurt, and light makes it so much worse. I’ve also had chills all day."