Efficacy and tenths of a difference

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-14-2004
Efficacy and tenths of a difference
5
Sun, 10-24-2004 - 7:55pm
So, as I`ve mentioned a few times before, I`m really up on switching from Depo to Nuvaring. One thing I`m slightly worried about, however, is the difference in perfect use. 99.7% for Depo and 99% for Nuvaring. Since the perfect use in Depo is the same as actual use and it doesn`t seem to me that perfect use for Nuvaring is hard to acheive, these numbers seem pretty accurate for my purposes. And even though it`s only seven-tenths of a difference, it still bothers me - I`m young, in college, and the LAST thing I want is a pregnancy! Logically, I know that this miniscule .7 is not statistically significant and that Nuvaring is considered extremely effective birth control. Anyone in similar situations with tips on how to overcome this reluctance?

Lena

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sun, 10-24-2004 - 8:42pm
I don't know what to tell you except that i'm also young, in college, and don't want a pregnancy any more than you do - and 99% effectiveness is definitely good enough for me. If it's not good enough for you, use condoms with it - can't hurt, might help, and you should use them anyway if you and your partner haven't been tested.

Think of it this way - if you get a 99% on your Orgo final or if you get a 99.7% on your Orgo final - it amounts to the same thing, right? :-)

Caitlin

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-11-2004
Sun, 10-24-2004 - 11:04pm
Saying that 0.7% is minuscule sounds very different than phrasing it that three times as many women have an accidental pregnancy on the Nuva Ring as compared to Depo Provera. That's what that difference means if the Nuva Ring has a failure rate as high as 1%. I'm seeing some places saying the failure rate is as high as 2%, which if true means that almost seven times as many women would have an accidental pregnancy on that as compared to Depo Provera. It's so new that it's hard to even find accurate information on exactly what the failure rate is, there haven't been that many long term studies yet. Some say that in theory it should be just as effective as birth control pills taken perfectly, others say it's a lower effectiveness.

If you absolutely do not want to become pregnant right now, then it would seem most prudent to use a method that has the highest possible effectiveness, or at least to use condoms in addition to the Nuva Ring. I can't tell you not to worry, because I've been in that situation and I did worry. A few tenths of a percent difference in what I was using compared to the best methods out there meant my risk was several times higher, and that meant I worried enough to use a backup method to help my odds.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 10-25-2004 - 7:25am
You've got to do it yourself! Nobody can make you comfortable with the statistical difference...but remember that it's only statistics.

Personally, that 1% has -never- bothered me enough for me to use an additional method of contraception. The way I look at it, it's not that I'll be okay 99-98% of the time, either it works for me 100% or not at all. And because I know it works for me, I don't worry. But if it did worry me, knowing that only abstinence is 100%, I'd use an additional method that I trusted just as much (like condoms). And I felt this way when I was in college and earlier in my career and when I was in grad school.....

If you're cool with it, fine! But if you're not, that's okay too.

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 10-25-2004 - 1:21pm
Incidentally, I do know someone who got pregnant on Depo - so anything's possible.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2003
Mon, 10-25-2004 - 6:43pm
I have to agree with Judie!

I took the pill for almost 10 years, and I tended to trust that it was going to do the job for me. I had a few scares over the years, but I'd say one can count that as the "cost" of having sex.

Incidentally, I fell in the .1% of women that DID get pregnant on the pill, with PERFECT use. Does that mean I think I should have second guessed my birth control all those years? No, it worked then, I'm happy that it waited until I was mature enough to make the appropriate decision when it happened, and I've gone on with my life. Would I trust hormonal contraception FOR ME now? Not on your life. But, I'm the exception, I got pregnant - 999 other women didn't the year I did... Judie's right, it works for you, or it doesn't. For most women, it does! I could probably have used it for another 10 years without an oops, but once it failed me, I couldn't trust it any more, so I've gone on to a better (for my husband & me) method.

To the OP, you have to decide for yourself if you trust what you're using, and then try not to worry unless your body gives you reason to worry! Good Luck, whatever you decide.