Nuvaring or Diane-35 to straighten AF & help hair?

guineapig · 05-25-2005, 09:51 PM

I had the copper IUD yanked finally, to do the biopsy last month. I don't want another IUD because the minute it was out, I immediately stopped "stinking" (like fish) for the first time in 8 years. But DH is going nuts (no pun intended

) with condomns and AF is still an annoying 21 days apart, so I was thinking of trying either Diane-35 (for the cyproterone, and yes, I have to order online since we're USA) OR the Nuvaring (supposed to have lower dose of hormones). Anybody have any suggestions? Insurance won't pay for birth control anyway, so either would be out-of-pocket.

I have head hairloss and am already on spiro 100. Will probably ttc next year. On met now too, but that might change; I'm sick of it and it seems to be making most things worse.

proudearth · 07-03-2005, 08:11 PM

what is nuvaring? a new patch?

guineapig · 07-04-2005, 05:35 PM

It's a flexible plasticy-type ring that releases the estrogen and progestin (same one as Desogen) over 3 weeks...I picked it up already ( www.nuvaring.com has a coupon for first one free) but am waiting for GTT and next cycle to start.

barneyb · 07-04-2005, 06:30 PM

Used the Nuvaring for less than a week - within the first 3 days I became seriously depressed to the point that I cried non-stop for hours. I opted to take it out although the dr felt I should try to "ride it out." It was truly a horrible experience. I also had increased discharge while it was in and for a day or two after I took it out. But I know it works well for some people.

I'm on Alesse now and didn't experience the depression with it, FWIW.

Good Luck!!

PeacefulAngel · 07-04-2005, 06:50 PM

I had BAD nuvaring expierence...lol
It may be differnet for you, but I'm a BIG girl. My GYN put it in.....and then I couldn't get it out. LOL. Short arms and big belly....bad combination.

Plus I had a BAD headache for the first day or so.
But we had sex and he couldn't feel it....so I guess that was good.
Good luck hon!
Hugs
Julie

RunnerDuck · 07-05-2005, 04:56 PM

I would think that the ring would tend to have less effect on PCOS symptoms than oral contraceptives. I thought that the appeal of the ring (aside from the whole 'shove it up there and forget it for a while' aspect) was that since the hormones go right to the reproductive area, women tend to get less side effects than when the hormones pass through the liver.

I read once that BCPs decrease libido because of how they raise the levels of sex hormone binding globulin in the body, which is a substance that binds to hormones and gives them less power to act on the body tissues. The article suggested going with an option such as the patch or the ring because it would be less likely to have the same SHBG effect as an oral pill for some reason. So I would think that if a BC method is less effective at raising SHGB it would also be less likely to help with hormone symptoms such as hair loss, hair overgrowth, acne, etc.

I'm totally GUESSING on this one. But my initial response is I would think the ring would not be as good for PCOS symptoms as an oral BCP. Not saying it's not as good for birth control, just not as good for PCOS symptoms.

With THAT said, for the most part women don't seem to get as much help from BCPs with the hair issues as doctors say they will. I really never saw a huge improvement with most pills but now that I am on Yasmin I am finding my body hair grows soooooo slowly, it's great. I can shave my legs once a week instead of every day. (Not saying there is NO growth in that time, just I can get away with shorts and not shaving so long as no one gets TOO close... hair seems lighter in color and softer so it doesn't show as bad)

If Diane 35 is available where you live, it may be a great option for you. However if you are taking Spiro anyway, it really may not matter what birth control method you use. The spiro will work with the hair issues. Yasmin contains a derivitive of spiro = to a 25/mg a day dose, so that's really low, but it is really helping me.

HOWEVER... is this 21 day cycle thing a new occurance? Spiro can cause bleeding issues... constant bleeding, short cycles, etc. I was taking 200mg/day at one time and I was bleeding all the time. On yasmin I have some spotting which I think is due to the spiro component but it is not terrible and I am willing to put up with it for now. Probably not for life, but for now...

ANYWAY you might want to consider dropping the spiro and taking just the Diane-35 (or Yasmin if you can get that)

Although it's also possible taking BCPs will control your short cycles but for me, I found if I took spiro, BCPs did not help with the bleeding. I still bled all the time. On the tiny dose in Yasmin, it's not nearly as bad.

Bright hope · 07-05-2005, 06:34 PM

I read on the NuvaRing website that the progestin released is more potent than the average Birth control pill, and I've read that the stronger the progestin the more androgenic effect you get. Plus i agree with the poster who said it wouldn't raise the SHBG level as much which is pivotal for PCOS symptoms. So if the choice is between Diane 35 or Nuva Ring go with Diane 35, but I'm not sure you can take it in conjunction with spiro, as they are both anti-androgenics. Good luck with what you decide xxx

guineapig · 07-05-2005, 06:37 PM

ohhh...well, I've had short 23-26 day type cycles for years (I have only had 2 cycles over 28 days my whole, entire life, and only one of those were past age 14) but they have, on average, been shortER since I began spiro...21 and now back to 17 days even on gluc or NPC. I am hesitant to discontinue spiro right this minute as I lost 40 lb and had some hairloss slow down since starting it. I wanted flutamide + metformin, which supposedly doesn't whack out cycles, and may even promote the big O in 'thin' cyster studies, but RE doesn't seem to like flutamide or the studies I gave her a whole lot. Or she didn't read them, probably the more likely culprit. *sigh* So without some other antiandrogen or propecia-type to reign in my hairloss, I am hesitant to stop the spiro. I can't really get the Diane35 except on the internet...kinda scary? I guess I figured the ring might stop the body from *trying* to O and producing these worthless cysty-eggs and extra androgens.

guineapig · 07-05-2005, 06:42 PM

Oh, and I thought the progestin in ring (and desogen) was less androgenic than some of the other ones...Seems like I read some rat study that that particular progestin didn't tend to worsen IR. I know it is more concentrated, but the dose in the ring, and measured bloodwise, is pretty low. I don't know...I'll have to think. The only thing that bothers me about Diane35 is that is a whopping dose of estrogen...last time I was on high-estrogen pills (ortho tri cyclen regular and triphasil) I went nutso and got pimply quick. 'Course, it could have just been the tricyclic nature of those pills.
'Think I might push RE for gluc and flutamide again...and get off the spiro. Whatever way it goes, I'm tired of bleeding! >

intensity_too · 08-01-2005, 03:39 PM

I have been on the Nuvaring for 9 months now and love it! I don't get headaches or very PMSy like I did on oral BCP. As far as treating PCOS symptoms . . . I have way less acne and dropped 25 pounds in the first couple months of using it. My IR is in check (with the help of Met) and the ring didn't seem to make it any worse. I do have more vaginal discharge but not to the point of "OMG!". It's just a little more and very okay with me. One great thing for me is the ring seems to lesson the number of vaginal infections you get. I'm the yeast queen and it does seem to have helped. The ring also made my periods lighter and they last less days per month.

Overall, the Nuvaring is the best birth control I have used. I'm not sure how it would work with someone with more outward PCOS symptoms though.