Do not use NuvaRing if you:
Hormonal birth control methods may not be a good choice for you if you have ever had jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes) caused by pregnancy or related to previous use of hormonal birth control.
Tell your health care provider if you have ever had any of the conditions listed above. Your health care provider can suggest another method of birth control.
Before you use NuvaRing tell your health care provider if you:
Tell your health care provider about all medicines and herbal products you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Some medicines and herbal products may make hormonal birth control less effective, including, but not limited to:
Use an additional barrier contraceptive method (such as a male condom with spermicide) when you take medicines that may make NuvaRing less effective. Since the effect of another medicine on NuvaRing may last up to 28 days after stopping the medicine, it is necessary to use the additional barrier contraceptive method for that long to help prevent you from becoming pregnant. While using NuvaRing, you should not use certain female barrier contraceptive methods such as a vaginal diaphragm, cervical cap or female condom as your back-up method of birth control because NuvaRing may interfere with the correct placement and position of a diaphragm, cervical cap or female condom.
Some medicines and grapefruit juice may increase the level of ethinyl estradiol in your blood if used together, including:
Hormonal birth control methods may interact with lamotrigine, a medicine used for seizures. This may increase the risk of seizures, so your health care provider may need to adjust your dose of lamotrigine.
Women on thyroid replacement therapy may need increased doses of thyroid hormone.
Ask your health care provider if you are not sure if you take any of the medicines listed above. Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your health care provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.
Blood clots:
Like pregnancy, combination hormonal birth control methods increase the risk of serious blood clots (see graph below), especially in women who have other risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, or age greater than 35. This increased risk is highest when you first start using a combination hormonal birth control method or when you restart the same or different combination hormonal birth control method after not using it for a month or more. Talk with your health care provider about your risk of getting a blood clot before using NuvaRing or before deciding which type of birth control is right for you.
In some studies of women who used NuvaRing, the risk of getting a blood clot was similar to the risk in women who used combination birth control pills.
Other studies have reported that the risk of blood clots was higher for women who use combination birth control pills containing desogestrel (a progestin similar to the progestin in NuvaRing) than for women who use combination birth control pills that do not contain desogestrel.
It is possible to die or be permanently disabled from a problem caused by a blood clot, such as heart attack or stroke. Some examples of serious blood clots are blood clots in the:
To put the risk of developing a blood clot into perspective: If 10,000 women who are not pregnant and do not use hormonal birth control are followed for one year, between 1 and 5 of these women will develop a blood clot. The figure below shows the likelihood of developing a serious blood clot for women who are not pregnant and do not use hormonal birth control, for women who use hormonal birth control, for pregnant women, and for women in the first 12 weeks after delivering a baby.
Likelihood of Developing a Serious Blood Clot (Venous Thromboembolism [VTE])
*CHC = combination hormonal contraception **Pregnancy data based on actual duration of pregnancy in the reference studies. Based on a model assumption that pregnancy duration is 9 months, the rate is 7 to 27 per 10,000 woman-years.
Call your health care provider right away if you have:
Other serious risks include:
The most common side effects of NuvaRing are:
Some women have spotting or light bleeding during NuvaRing use. If these symptoms occur, do not stop using NuvaRing. The problem will usually go away. If it doesn’t go away, check with your health care provider.
Other side effects seen with NuvaRing include breast discharge; vaginal injury (including pain, discomfort, and bleeding) associated with broken rings; and penis discomfort of the partner (such as irritation, rash, itching).
Less common side effects seen with combination hormonal birth control include:
There have been reports of the ring becoming stuck to the vaginal tissue and having to be removed by a healthcare provider. Call your healthcare provider if you are unable to remove your NuvaRing.
Tell your health care provider about any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of NuvaRing. For more information, ask your health care provider or pharmacist. Call your health care provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
When used as directed, NuvaRing has been shown to be 98% effective, just like the pill. Your chance of getting pregnant depends on how well you follow the directions for using NuvaRing. The better you follow the directions, the less chance you have of getting pregnant.
Use NuvaRing exactly as your health care provider tells you to use it.
No. NuvaRing is non-biodegradable so it will not dissolve. It releases a low dose of hormones into your body over the course of 3 weeks. After that time, you need to remove it, take a week off from NuvaRing, and insert a new one 7 days after removal.
NuvaRing is easy to insert and remove:
For more information, see Inserting NuvaRing or refer to the Patient Information.
For more information, see Removing NuvaRing or refer to the Patient Information.
It is important to consult with your health care provider to make sure you are not pregnant before starting NuvaRing.
When you start using NuvaRing depends on your current birth control situation. Talk to your health care provider and read the Prescribing Information for more details. Also read some basic directions on how to start NuvaRing.
Although some women may be aware of NuvaRing in the vagina, most women can’t feel NuvaRing once it’s in place. NuvaRing may move around slightly within your vagina. This is normal. If you do feel discomfort, NuvaRing is probably not fully inserted. In that case, just use your finger to gently push the NuvaRing as far as you can into your vagina.
Rest assured, there is no danger of NuvaRing being pushed too far up in the vagina or getting lost. The cervix (the narrow, lower end of the uterus) will block NuvaRing from going any farther. NuvaRing can accidentally slip out of the vagina while removing a tampon, during intercourse, or straining during a bowel movement.
Some women have accidentally inserted NuvaRing into their bladder. If you have pain during or after insertion and you cannot find NuvaRing in your vagina, call your health care provider right away.
During intercourse, some sexual partners may feel NuvaRing in the vagina. However, in clinical studies 9 out of 10 (90%) partners did not find this to be a problem.
No. As with other hormonal birth control methods, NuvaRing does not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) or other sexually transmitted infections.
Hormonal birth control methods do not seem to cause breast cancer. However, if you have breast cancer now or have had it in the past, do not use hormonal birth control, including NuvaRing, because some breast cancers are sensitive to hormones.
Women who use hormonal birth control methods may have a slightly higher chance of getting cervical cancer. However, this may be due to other reasons such as having more sexual partners.
NuvaRing can slip or accidentally come out of (be expelled from) your vagina during sexual intercourse, bowel movements, use of tampons, or if it breaks.
During Weeks 1 and 2, you may not be protected from pregnancy. Reinsert the ring as soon as you remember. Use another birth control method, such as male condoms with spermicide, until the ring has been in place for 7 days in a row.
During Week 3, do not reinsert the NuvaRing that has been out of your vagina; but throw it away in your household trash away from children and pets. Use another birth control method, such as male condoms with spermicide, until the new NuvaRing has been used for 7 days in a row, following one of the two options below:
Option 1. Insert a new ring right away to start your next 21 day NuvaRing use cycle. You may not have your regular period but you may have spotting or vaginal bleeding.
Option 2. Insert a new ring no later than 7 days from the time the previous ring was removed or expelled. During this time, you may have your period.
Note: You should only choose to do option 2 if you used NuvaRing for 7 days in a row, prior to the day that your previous NuvaRing was accidently removed or expelled.
No. Rest assured that once inserted in the vagina, there is no risk of NuvaRing being pushed too far up or getting lost. There have been some reports of women accidentally inserting NuvaRing into their bladder. If you are experiencing pain during or after insertion and you cannot find your NuvaRing in your vagina, call your health care provider right away.
You must use another birth control method, such as male condoms with spermicide, until the new NuvaRing has been used for 7 days in a row.
NuvaRing may break, causing the ring to lose its shape. If the ring stays in your vagina, this should not lower the effectiveness of NuvaRing at preventing pregnancy. If NuvaRing breaks and slips out of your vagina, throw the broken ring in your household trash out of the reach of children and pets and immediately insert a new ring.
Use of tampons will not reduce the contraceptive efficacy of NuvaRing. Insert NuvaRing before inserting a tampon. You should pay particular attention when removing a tampon to be sure that the ring is not accidentally pulled out. If this should occur, simply rinse the ring in cool to lukewarm (not hot) water and immediately reinsert it.
Use of spermicides or vaginal yeast products will not reduce the contraceptive efficacy of NuvaRing.
Some women miss periods on hormonal birth control, even when they are not pregnant. Consider the possibility that you may be pregnant if:
If you know or suspect you are pregnant, do not use NuvaRing. See your health care provider as soon as possible.
When you use NuvaRing you may have bleeding and spotting between periods, called unplanned bleeding. Unplanned bleeding may vary from slight staining between menstrual periods to breakthrough bleeding, which is a flow much like a regular period. Unplanned bleeding occurs most often during the first few months of NuvaRing use, but may also occur after you have been using NuvaRing for some time. Such bleeding may be temporary and usually does not indicate any serious problems. It is important to continue using the ring on schedule. If the unplanned bleeding or spotting is heavy or lasts for more than a few days, you should discuss this with your health care provider.
Do not use more than one NuvaRing at a time. Too much hormonal birth control medicine in your body may cause nausea, vomiting, or vaginal bleeding.
No. Before inserting NuvaRing, always check the expiration date on the label. Do not insert if the expiration date has passed. Store NuvaRing at room temperature for up to 4 months after you receive it and throw it away if the expiration date on the label has passed.
Dispose of NuvaRing by placing the used ring in the re-sealable foil pouch and properly dispose of it in a waste receptacle out of the reach of children and pets. Do not throw it in the toilet.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please read the Patient Information for NuvaRing (etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol vaginal ring), including the information about the increased risk of serious cardiovascular side effects, especially in women who smoke, and discuss it with your health care provider. The physician Prescribing Information also is available.