NuvaRing (birth control) - can I get it here?

I've been using NuvaRing (birth control) for the past five years in the US. I read that it was just approved in the UK earlier this year.

Does anyone know if it's widely available here? Most of the family planning clinics in my area are for under-25s, and according to the Marie Stopes website they do not offer NuvaRing. Am I likely to be able to get a prescription for it from my GP? (I intend to register with one next week.)

Thanks for any help!

You can get it from your GP, if your GP agrees to prescribe it for you.

Hi springhaze,

Does that mean that NuvaRing is commonly available here?

Or do you mean, theoretically, IF it was available here, I'd have to get it from my GP?

I guess what I'm really wondering is if anyone on these boards has any experience trying to get it.

I'm saying it's available.  Any GP can pull it up on their system and issue you a prescription for it, and if you get a prescription, you can take it to a pharmacy and they will fill it for you.

But of course, it all depends on the GP agreeing to prescribe it for you- it is a quite expensive form of birth control, so some might be hesitant (especially if they haven't heard of it yet as it's still so new here.) But I'm sure plenty will have no problem prescribing it for you.  It just depends on your individual GP.

Thanks so much springhaze, that's good news!

We have private insurance through my husband's employer, but my understanding is that it's for specialty doctors (and more serious medical care). I can't imagine there's any reason to go to a private doctor just for a birth control prescription--right?

Just ask your regular GP - no need for private healthcare just for birth control.

My GP originally didn't want to prescribe it for me. He said something about me needing to go to a family planning clinic because "they don't fit people for nuvaring here". I explained that it doesn't need fitting, and that I had taken it for years before, and finally persuaded him to write a prescription. But he really had no idea what I was talking about.

If you've used it in the past without any complications, mention that.

Well, I'm one of the few here who actually was able to get it!

Basically, I had nasty reactions from all the other birth controls I have been on, so they prescribed it knowing it was the only one that worked for me. But my doctor had never heard of it before, and in fact I have had to tell several different doctors I have seen what it is and how it works... No one seems to be aware of its existence.

So, you may have to fight for it (I did) but it is possible! Good luck.