The American Heart Association (AHA) recently recommended that women considering birth control get screened for high blood pressure, which can put them at a greater risk for clots and stroke. “It is absolutely essential that people are aware of the risks associated with each method of contraception,” says Bill Albert, the chief program officer at The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “For me, the benefits of NuvaRing far outweigh the risks.” Because she’s not not a smoker and leads an active and healthy lifestyle, Ellis considers herself relatively safe from the risks of blood clots, strokes, and sudden death. “Every drug you take comes with risks, from Asprin to birth control to allergy medicine,” says Ricci Ellis, 31, a respiratory therapist in Little Rock, Arkansas, who switched from the pill after consistently forgetting to take it. Other women simply shrug off the dangers. I have virtually no side effects, so I plan to remain on it for the foreseeable future.” “I am extremely busy with very irregular hours and travel for my job,” says Julie*, 27, who works for a film production company in Los Angeles, California, “so the NuvaRing is the ideal fit for my lifestyle. Though the side effects of the NuvaRing are very real, for many women it bears no complications. Its typical use failure rate is 9%, the equivalent of an oral contraceptive, according to the CDC.įollowing the settlement Friday, Merck issued a statement saying, “We stand behind the research that supported the approval of NuvaRing, and our continued work to monitor the safety of the medicine.” And, as highlighted in a safety warning on NuvaRing’s website, the danger is higher for some women, like those over 35 who smoke more than 15 cigarettes a day or women who have multiple risk factors for heart disease. for the NuvaRing, according to IMS Health, a healthcare technology and information company.Īccording to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)–the medical authority on all things related to baby-making–NuvaRing leads to a slight increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, heart attack, and stroke. In 2012, there were about 5.2 million prescriptions in the U.S. Women prefer it for its convenience, the localized hormones, and the fact that there’s less accountability. Like an oral contraceptive, it releases the hormones progestin and estrogen (though at lower levels), preventing ovulation and sperm from reaching the egg, but you don’t have to remember to take a pill every morning. The NuvaRing ring is a flexible ring that women insert inside their vagina and remove for the week of their period.
“I hated the whole contraceptive experience, but with the NuvaRing I don’t experience any of that,” she says. She switched to the NuvaRing five years ago after a friend suffering similar effects made the swap, and it has been smooth sailing ever since. She’d feel depressed one day and highly irritable the next. During the year she was on the pill, she put on weight and was constantly having mood swings. Sarah, 26, a graduate student in New York City, struggled with finding the right birth control since she was 20 years old. For this reason, when women find the right contraceptive, they tend to develop a certain loyalty to it.
NUVARING HORMONES TRIAL
Oftentimes, finding the right birth control takes years of trial and error, and side effects range from weight gain to decreased libido. Despite the well-publicized risks, some women are finding it difficult to ditch a contraceptive that has provided them with consistency and convenience.
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