The Ring
Posted on May 21, 2007 by Ching under Babies, Reviews, Sex, Travel.
I was going to title this post as “The Ring of Terror” but thought it overly dramatic for a post about birth control. As you all know Brian and I do not plan to have children in the near future. Actually, we don’t plan to have children in the far future either. Children are pretty much out of the question.
I have been on the Ortho Evra birth control patch for many years. Aside from it getting gunky, falling off on occasion, and square discoloration all over my body I really had no complaints. I used to get a three-month supply for only $40 through mail order. Not too bad.
However, last year they made a change so the cost almost doubled. Instead of $40, the cost went up to $70. So suddenly, all of the downsides of the patch which were not a big deal before were no longer acceptable. I finished out the rest of my year on the patch but Brian and I decided that we would explore other alternatives.
Oral contraceptives were out of the question because of my pill phobia. Even as small as the birth control pill is, I just can’t do it. I think it tastes bad (this is probably mostly psychological) and it makes me queasy.
I had heard of the ring before but I had never tried it because I thought it was weird. I mean, who wants to shove a foreign object in there? Anyway, at $40 for a three-month supply (like the patch used to be) and being non-oral, it seemed like a best alternative.
This is my first month (I’m on my third week, actually) on the ring and so far so good. Although, I have been reading some weird things about it. Some of the most common complaints include the ring unexpectedly falling out during intercourse or during regular day-to-day activities (which I dismissed as people just not inserting it properly or far enough), feminine itching, infections, mood swings, weight gain, nausea, and blood clots. None of these really bothered me. However, today I read that the blood clots have led to some fatalities. That’s pretty scary. Although, I doubt that the FDA would approve something that is bad for you.
As far as the feminine itching goes, I’ve read that it only occurs in the beginning as your body tries to adjust to the ring. I’ve not had any problems. At least not that I’ve noticed. Besides, if you’ve ever shaved down there then you know the discomfort of hair growing back. I doubt it is worse than that. Although, some people have had some very severe reactions to the point of needing anti-itch creams. They complain that the itchiness is inside you so the external creams don’t really do much to alleviate it.
Infections are supposedly caused by cutting yourself in there. I guess this happens if you have rough intercouse while wearing the ring. This was something that I actually was afraid of — I didn’t want to make love to Brian for several days because I was freaked out. Brian joked that the effectiveness of the ring is probably amplified by abstinence because people are too afraid to actually have sex. And you know that abstinence is the only form of birth control that is 100% effective. I guess he ring kind of defeats its purpose in this aspect. The whole point of the ring and other contraceptive measures is to be able to have intercouse without fear of getting pregnant, but why use contraceptives if you’re not going to have sex? LOL.
Some people suggested taking the ring out before intercourse and reinserting it after. You can have the ring outside for up to three hours before it actually loses effectiveness. Anyway, I didn’t want deal with the hassle of it so I didn’t want to have sex at all. Brian finally convinced me otherwise and we did it with the ring inside. Brian said he didn’t even feel the ring the first time. But then that caused me to panic even more because what if it had fallen out or I’d lost it somehow and that’s why he didn’t feel it? That first experience ended with us hunting for it. Brian was able to find it and reassured me that it’s still there.
Now I don’t freak out so much but we do have to hunt for it right after just to be sure it’s still there. Probably not the most romantic thing to do post-intercourse but you gotta do what you gotta do. You know what I’m saying?
Anyway, I’ve not had any problems really. This is my third week on the ring and I am pretty pleased with it. So far so good. I really like that it’s not leaving square blotches all over my body which would look really weird when we go au naturel on Tower Isle (at Couples Ocho Rios where we will be in July). It’s inside me so no one can see it. Unlike the patch which is ugly, ugly, ugly.
I wish I could say that Brian was a satisfied customer. Sometimes he feels it but that’s not really what bothers him. I’m sure he doesn’t like having to hunt for the stupid thing everytime after the deed (it makes me feel better, though) but that’s probably not the worst of it. I think he is mostly worried about some of the more serious side effects. Particularly the side effects that have led to death. Of course, you can’t really believe everything you read on the web.
He wants me to go back to the patch but the ring is actually starting to grow on me. I like it though, so I think I’m going to stay on the ring for a while. Hopefully, Brian will start to feel better about it also.
Related Stories
« She’s a Natural « this post » Sick and Dreaming »
