It's very practical and comfortable, I've used it for 7 years and is very popular in south Europe. You just put it in and forget about it for 3 weeks, then you remove it for a week and back to the cycle. You can also skip periods by replacing one ring with another so you can go on holidays without having any problem! Is good also in the sense that there are no issues related to digestion and is not noticeable as opposed to the pill and is not that intrusive as the spiral. It works on a combination of two hormones and after 7 years I realised it was causing me strong headaches so I stopped it, but that's a rare side effect and everyone reacts differently as with any medication.
@Fatima hey, thanks for the info. I have no problem inserting it myself. From research the hormones are released into your blood, not membrane which is similar to other birth control. It is considered safe by the NHS, I can’t see any info pointing to it being less safe than any others.
@Maria thanks Maria, that’s all very useful info. Did you find it effected your mental health at all? I know everyone reacts differently, but that’s the trouble I had with the pill and now I have a 2 year old I’d rather avoid that!
I used it for a few years and I did find it very convenient but it did start to affect my mental health after a while so I had to come off it
They all pass in the blood. Only the route is different. Oral, mucus membrane, skin, etc. There are also the minipills and patches (I tried patches and didn't like neither). I went hormone free at end and feel much better.
No, it didn't effect my mental health. Maybe some slight mood swings as I get anyway with my normal period
Don't use it. It's a ring that you have to put inside your vagina and remove with your fingers. Hormones are directly released inside your mucus membrane. In the EU (in France at least) , for example, this is not approved by social security and is not eimbursed because they don't consider it "safe" enough. I remember a gynaecologist trying to pressure me into using it. I think they want to do a live trial (hidden).