Nuvaring Missed Periods: 6 Best Causes Explained

Are you a woman having problems setting up your contraceptives? Do you have a complaint about missed periods on NuvaRing?

So, what are the causes for NuvaRing missed periods?

NuvaRing acts like any other hormonal contraceptive. Your body may take some time to get settled on it. You may get missed periods on NuvaRing because of switching birth control methods, being under stress, doing high-intensity exercise, dietary change, and abnormal hormone balance.

We will tell you the causes of missed periods on NuvaRing. To know more, keep reading.

Table of Content

What Is NuvaRing?

NuvaRing is a flexible ring inserted into the vagina to provide contraception. It contains etonogestrel and Ethinyl estradiol- an estrogen and a progesterone hormone that works like other contraceptives to prevent pregnancy.

NuvaRing contains the same hormones that a pill contains. The difference is in the method of administration.

You need to take contraceptive pills orally, whereas NuvaRing is inserted into the vagina- where it releases hormones at low doses for a long time. In this way, you do not have to bother to take pills daily.

Many women miss the doses of their pills and cannot take them daily, which eventually fails contraception. Missing the doses of pills can get you pregnant.

Therefore, NuvaRing solves this problem. You do not have to bother about daily intake and can have sex with no protective measures with NuvaRing.

When used in the right way, NuvaRing is 98% effective in preventing pregnancy. Use it in a four-week cycle. Keep it in the vagina for three weeks or 21 days, and then remove it for one week or 7 days.

Do not forget to check that you have the ring inserted in your vagina, especially before and after intercourse, to guarantee contraception.

You may get periods when you remove the ring for one week. Insert and remove it at the same time and day. For example, if you inserted it on Sunday at 12 am, remove it after complete three weeks, Sunday 12 am- the same time and day.

You should insert the ring after a whole one week even if your periods have not stopped.

What Causes NuvaRing Missed Periods?

NuvaRing is a contraceptive. It may take some time for your body to get used to it and get regular periods with a new contraceptive. But in some time you may get regular periods on it.

Not getting periods for over 90 days is considered abnormal if you are not breastfeeding, not pregnant, or going through menopause.

So, take a look at the causes of missed period on NuvaRing:

Changes in Birth Control Methods

Changing from one birth control to another, like from pills to NuvaRing can cause missed periods or irregular periods. However, that is completely fine.

To switch birth control methods, you do not need to wait for getting periods. You can do that in between your menstrual cycle. However, be sure that you follow the advice of your healthcare provider.

It is always a good idea to consult with your doctor about which contraceptive method will be best suitable for you. They can guide you better considering your health condition.

Moreover, they can also tell you about when you will get periods and how you can choose some other contraception method between that period.

For the contraception method to get effective, it may take some time. Therefore, you need to choose another method as a backup, such as a condom, to prevent you from getting pregnant.

Some birth control methods cause light periods or cause you to miss periods. Sometimes, it may even stop for some time. Your health care provider will inform you about the changes you can expect during the period because of certain contraception methods.

You must discuss and ask anything you have in mind with your doctor about your contraception method. If you are concerned about your periods, you must ask them what changes can occur in them with certain contraception methods you are taking.

If you are taking contraceptives, you must know the 3 things about your periods:

Changes in the menstrual cycle are completely fine. It may take some time for your body to adapt to the change in contraception methods.

Missing periods on contraception does not imperatively mean that you are pregnant. There are fair chances not to get pregnant on hormonal contraception methods. Therefore, do not panic and take it easy.

When you stop opting for any contraception method, you can get pregnant normally. You do not have to worry about it.

So you need to know that NuvaRing can itself cause missed periods. Therefore, you should not panic if it happens to you.

You may miss periods for 90 days on a contraceptive. However, you must consult with a healthcare provider if you miss one or two periods back to back.

Stress

Being stressed can cause you to miss periods. It happens because your brain has a gland called the hypothalamus- that regulates your body temperature and releases hormones that cause your pituitary gland to signal your other hormone-producing parts of the body.

When your pituitary gland signals your ovaries, they release the hormones- estrogen and progesterone that regulate the menstrual cycle and cause periods.

When you are stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol that interferes with the functioning of the pituitary gland, hence your ovaries do not get signals to cause periods. Because of this, you may get missed periods.

Stress can cause you to have light periods, a delay in periods, or no periods at all due to stress.

Stress, when remains for a long time, can cause missed periods for a long time, which may be misconstrued with the pregnancy. But to confirm pregnancy, you must get a test done for it.

Teenager girls may go through various stresses, which cause them to miss periods. Your body goes through various changes when you hit puberty, so mental and emotional toll occurs.

Your girl may be anxious about getting sexually active, or even changing schools, losing their friends, or various other things that become stressful for them.

If you feel that your child is stressed about daily life stresses, you must talk to them and counsel them. Tell them it would not last long, and these are daily life stresses which you need to cope with.

If your teenage baby girl, a friend, or any other woman remains stressed for a long time and does not feel better, take them to a psychologist.

They can help them cope with daily life stresses. But for missed periods, you must consult with a healthcare provider.

Along with various other factors, stress is one cause for causing hypothalamic amenorrhea- a condition in which a period is missed because the hypothalamus cannot release hormones necessary to induce periods.

High-Intensity Exercise

In the same way, as stress causes you to miss periods, because of the hypothalamus not releasing periods inducing hormones, high-intensity exercise can also cause it. It can happen even when you are on a birth control pill or NuvaRing.

Doing a high-intensity workout can cause a surge in cortisol level in your body, which can, in turn, cause you to miss periods because it interferes with the functioning of the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.

If you lose too much fat, it can stop ovulation from your ovaries, which can, in turn, cause you to miss periods.

Missing periods because of high-intensity workouts can show that your caloric intake is not adequate according to your needs. You may need to eat more than you are doing right now.

Athletes who do high-intensity interval training are at risk of missing periods because of too intense a workout and not eating enough to meet their daily caloric requirement.

If you do a high-intensity workout, you can consult with a nutritionist to get guidance about daily caloric intake that can meet your daily requirement and help regularise periods.

Do not take NuvaRing missed periods lightly because of high-intensity workouts as they can affect your fertility. When you want to conceive, it may become difficult for you.

Dietary Changes

Consuming a diet that does not meet your body’s caloric requirements can lead to NuvaRing missed periods.

When your body does not get enough energy, it tries to conserve it. For that, it causes a stop in ovulation, which eventually leads to loss of periods. It happens because your body realizes that it cannot bear pregnancy at the moment because of too little caloric intake.

Losing too much weight suddenly can cause missed periods. People having eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa may have a complaint of missed periods due to extreme weight loss.

Eating too much can also cause missed periods. It happens because when you do that, your body gains weight and produces too much estrogen- a hormone that regulates periods.

Too much of it in your body can cause you to miss periods or total absence of them.

Abnormal Balance of Hormones

You can get NuvaRing missed periods because of hormonal imbalances. Health conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, also known as PCOs, cause hormonal imbalance, which can cause missed periods or a total absence of them.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome can interfere with your fertility. Therefore, you should not take it lightly. Other symptoms of PCOS are excessive hair on the skin, weight gain, acne, oily skin, and male pattern baldness.

Another health condition that can cause an abnormal balance of hormones is thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism can cause missed periods.

You may have other symptoms too, if missed periods occur because of thyroid disease.

Pregnancy, Menopause, and Breastfeeding

You can get pregnant on contraceptives too. Therefore a missed period can indicate pregnancy. Other reasons for a missed period are breastfeeding and reaching towards menopause.

FAQs

What can cause missed periods?

Answer: You can get missed periods due to switching birth control methods, being under stress, doing high-intensity exercise, dietary change, abnormal hormone balance, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause.

How effective is NuvaRing as a contraceptive? And what does it contain?

Answer: When used in the right way, NuvaRing is 98% effective in preventing pregnancy. It contains etonogestrel and Ethinyl estradiol- an estrogen and a progesterone hormone that works like other contraceptives to prevent pregnancy.

How should I use the NuvaRing vaginal contraceptive?

Answer: Use it in a four-week cycle. Keep it in the vagina for three weeks or 21 days, and then remove it for one week or 7 days.