Infertility

» JenAtlanta - I Went Off the Ring for Good on Monday, April 7th! :)

I'm very happy to say that I took my ring out for the LAST time on Monday, and despite what will most likely be lots of migraines (one minor already on Tuesday), nausea, tiredness, etc . . . while my body adjusts to being Ring-free for 2.5 years, I couldn't be happier! I'm assuming this all will happen from withdrawal given that these are my PMS symptoms and period symptoms from when I take the Ring out until I put it in again when my period has stopped.

In my case I was on the Ring not for birth control (my boyfriend has a vasectomy and we 100% do not want children--not indepedently and not as a couple) . . . but because Fosamax wasn't bringing up my bone density level enough and my Osteoporosis case was unique and severe. I was diagnosed at 28 and had a -4.3 hip and -4.1 spine score! My GYN put me on Fosamax not noting that it was really designed for post-menopausal women. The next year I consulted with an Endocrinologist who promptly took me off of it and pleaded with me to go on hormones since it was obvious to him given my abnormal periods (like 6-7 a year) that I wasn't ovulating and wasn't producing enough estrogen to have regular periods nor build bone. So, I went on the Ring.

Starting on the Ring in Feb. 2006 I was 108lbs (and 5'5"). If I was more restrictive of my carbs, such as when I had a photoshoot or a gig (I'm an actress/model), I was 106lbs. I am now sitting at a not-so-pretty 116lb and no matter how much I watch my diet I cannot lose weight. I just kept gradually gaining it over the last two years, especially in the last six months. As well, when I go to the gym it's like I cannot build muscle. Before Nuva Ring I could indeed build muscle--not bulk up like a man, but at least build some nice, lean muscle. To make matters worse, Nuva Ring changed my body shape. I used to have a flat booty, tiny lil' bird thighs, and decently curvy hips, but not excessively. Nuva Ring changed the shape of those parts. My hips are much larger/wider, I have a jiggly butt, and my thighs are unrecognizable. Straight-on they are triangle shaped whereas they use to be oval if that makes sense. Granted my boyfriend LOVES my new body, but I'm not used it and it's really getting in the way of my modeling since I'm not as confident in my new body. Super curvy is great for some women, but I'm used to being just normal curvy. I'm soft everywhere and I jiggle when I walk. I just feel gross and I'm really sick of buying new clothes as my size changes.

Aside from just the weight gain, since being on the Ring my sex drive has gradually waned until it basically became non-existent about a year ago. My poor boyfriend of five years hasn't dealt with this too well and thinks that I just don't find him attractive anymore. Not true. I just could take or leave sex after getting on the Ring. On a 100% scale, my drive is 5%. I don't even, well, um, have "solo sex" anymore. I seriously just don't ever have a sex drive.

Finally, before starting the Ring I maybe had 3 or 4 migraines in my life. Since being on the Ring, about 2 migraines a month are the norm for me. I'm SO over it! I can only put so much Excedrine Migraine in my system and miss so much work!

Even though I wish I had built up bone density in the last year, when my scan a few weeks ago revealed that I had stayed the same in my hip and lost 4% in my spine, my Endocrinologist agreed that estrogen was just not helping me anymore. Granted it had made a significant improvement in my bone density the first 1.5 years, but after that did nothing.

So, he agreed that I could come off of it and I am doing just that! Monday night I took my Ring out for the last time. I look forward to weight loss, no more migraines, and gosh darnit (!) a sex drive again! I'll come back here in a few weeks and let everyone know how I'm doing.

--Jen

-- posted by JenAtlanta