Personally I am not great with daily routine. Things get in the way of routine and well, when it comes to contraception and remembering to take the pill that can have some serious consequences.
So when it came time recently to make some choices around my reproductive health I was delighted to find out that
Vaginal-rings or V-Rings are now available in Australia.
About 7 years ago I’d heard about them when
Family Planning NSW’s Centre for Reproductive Health ran trials of the V-ring, a third generation of contraceptive that provides greater flexibility and choice.
The idea is simple, rather than like the
Implanon, which is surgically whacked under the skin in the area known as Tuckshop Arms/Bingo Wings and slowly releases hormones over a three year period, V-rings are flexible silicon rings that are about the size and texture of, you guessed it, a Calamari ring.
They are implanted with progestin (specifically
Etonogestral) and estrogen, and slowly release the hormones directly into the veejay over a three week period.
V-rings are really easy to use. For women who use tampons it’s really no big deal. You insert the ring and wear it for three weeks. Then take it out, have a “ring-free” week and a normal period. Then use a new ring the next cycle.
No remembering to pop pills, using condoms for a week if you forget, blah blah blah. Just mark in your diary when to insert and remove and off you go…
The muscles of the vaginal wall (especially if you do your
kegel exercises) hold the ring in place and most couples don’t notice that the ring is there during sex. If you want to take it out to shag, then as long as it’s back in place within three hours the efficacy of the contraception is intact.
The hormones are absorbed directly into the bloodstream, a lower dose is needed than when you ingest the pill via the gut, so your exposure to the synthetic hormones is lower, and so too are common side effects like nausea and sore boobs.
And like the pill it’s 99% effective.
Though I would argue, me taking the pill was only about 30% effective, as about twice a week I'd forget to take the little critter.
NuvaRing is a little bit more expensive than the pill. About $75 for three rings, rather than about $55 for three months supply of the pill (depending on brand and the pharmacy price).
But again, the effectiveness of the V-rings outweighs the cost in terms of convenience and ease-of-use.
Three big ticks from me.