The medication isn't a spermicide, it's a hormone like the pill. Anytime it is removed, the dosage for that day is reduced somewhat. Eventually it reaches the point where it is ineffective. That point occurs at 3 hours.
Now the reason why I'm not willing to just take it out is this. With the pill, if you don't take it for 2 days, it stops working. If you don't take it for one day, the efficacy is reduced to 95%, barely better than barriers, FOR THE WHOLE CYCLE. So the studies have shown. It seems to me that if removing the ring for 3 hours makes it fail, then that is equivalent to not taking the pill for two days. Therefore removing the ring for an hour and a half (average time for my and Kel) will count like missing the pill for one day. That will drop the efficacy to 95% for the whole cycle, not good!
Also, I have no idea if the effect is cumulative or not, but it's possible that if I remove the ring once per day, then I am effectively reducing the entire month's dose significantly and possibly to the point of failure. Yes, I know many women do this and have no problems, but anecdotal evidence is not enough for me. In Ancient Rome, women used to think sneezing worked as a morning-after pill, and there was plenty of anecdotal evidence for it.
Anyway, it's a moot point because the ring is having the same effect as depo-provera (the shot) in that I've been having my period for a good 3 weeks now. I'm starting a new thread about methods for remembering the pill because it's the only option I've tried that doesn't make me bleed
