I went off of the Nuvra-Ring in December- it was the BEST decision I have ever made! (besides the one to kiss Martel, but that's another story)
I would recommend to any woman who feels irritability, mood swings, slight depression, and a constant feeling of "what's wrong with me??" to stop taking her BC for AT LEAST two months. I noticed a difference within two weeks of being off of Nuvra-ring. I felt better, about everything, could think clearer, and wasn't as irritable. At the two month mark, I really and truly felt like MYSELF for the first time in a year, and now at four months I'm better than ever. I still has some slight hormonal "hang-over" into the third cycle after being off the Nuvra-Ring, but I was so clear-headed I could recognize it as such.
Talk to your OBGYN and see what she recommends for the best legnth of time to be off of BC so your hormones can regulate. It's not going to happen in a month, that's for sure. It takes a while for your body to really purge itself of all the crazy hormones that have been coursing through!
Some options, as to not becoming pregnant: Condoms are always good, Martel and I really liked
Kimono Micro-Thin. Another really fun thing to do is get a sample pack of condoms from
www.codoms.com and go through them, finding out which ones you and your BF like. It makes the having to use codoms more fun. Also, with condoms often comes the need for lube- my fave is
O'MY! - it's all natural, and feels a lot like your natural moisture. I have a sensitivity to some lubes, and I have found that it never causes me to feel stinging or burning as with some other lubes. I would recommend AGAINST spermicide, as it has been found in recent years to not protect as well as previously thought, and also to irritate a woman's vagana. Do some googling on Nonoxynol-9 and it's adverse side-effects.
If you'd like a backup with your condoms, perhaps consider getting a fertility planner kit, only using it to NOT get preggers. It might require you to take the internal temp of your vagina every morning, so if you're not into that, perhaps it's not the best. BUT, it WILL tell you when you're ovulating. Sperm can live for up to three days inside of you and there's only about four days in your cycle when you can really get pregnant. (verified to me by numerous doctors and OBGYN's if you're wondering of my info sources). So, perhaps you can use condoms and keep an eye on your fertility cycle if you wanna be paranoid. Also, make sure you re-educate yourself about the EXACT way to put a condom on and take it off!!! You don't wanna be in that 3% failure rate because of ignorance!
Good luck, CONGRADUATIONS on deciding to get off of birth control!!!! It'll be the best thing that's happened in a long time, not only for your mental health, but for your sex life as well!!
