nuvaring question

[Cupkate13]

Hi. I know that when I take my ring out on week 4 im still protected against pregnancy. When insert a new ring at the end of the ring free week am I protected right away or do I have to wait 7 days if I insert it on time?

[Cupkate13]

Also-- I took ativan once this cycle. My prescription print out didn't say anything about benzos but this site does for interactions. How worried should I be of efficiency going down? We use the pull out method + the ring.

[Karyn]

With the ring, just like with the pill, you're protected equally at all times. The rule about waiting for 7 days after inserting a new ring is only for those people who are starting to use the ring for the first time, not people who have been on it for a cycle or more.

Per drug interactions, I'm not finding any information on our site that lists benzodiazepines as a medication that may interfere with hormonal birth control. Could you point me towards the piece where you read that there is an interaction? That said, questions like this are best asked of your doctor: if they prescribed the ring for you knowing that you sometimes take Ativan, then you can assume that they are not concerned about possible interactions. In this case, since you used withdrawal as well as the ring, even if the ring had been compromised your risk of pregnancy is still low.