Annovera: Ring in the New Semester

ANNOVERA IMPORTANT RISK INFORMATION + BOXED WARNING

Do not use ANNOVERA (segesterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol vaginal system) if you smoke cigarettes and are over 35 years old. Smoking increases your risk of serious heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) side effects from hormonal birth control methods, including death from heart attack, blood clots, or stroke. This risk increases with age and the number of cigarettes you smoke. ANNOVERA does not protect against HIV infection (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted infections. The use of a combination hormonal contraceptive (CHC), like ANNOVERA, is associated with increased risks of several serious side effects, including blood clots, stroke, or heart attack. Do not use ANNOVERA if you have a history of these conditions, have reduced blood flow to your brain (cerebrovascular disease) or reduced blood flow or blockage in any of the arteries that supply blood to your heart (cardiovascular disease), or any condition that makes your blood more likely to clot. The risk of blood clots is highest when you first start using CHCs and when you restart the same or different CHC after not using it for 4 weeks or more. ANNOVERA is also not for women with high blood pressure that medicine can’t control or high blood pressure with blood vessel damage; diabetes and over 35 years old, diabetes with high blood pressure or kidney, eye, nerve, or blood vessel damage, diabetes for longer than 20 years; certain kinds of severe migraine headaches; liver disease or liver tumors; breast cancer or any cancer that is sensitive to the female hormones estrogen or progesterone; unexplained vaginal bleeding; are allergic to segesterone acetate, ethinyl estradiol or any other ingredients in ANNOVERA; or take any Hepatitis C drug combination containing ombitasvir/paritaprevir /ritonavir, with or without dasabuvir, as this may increase levels of the liver enzyme “alanine aminotransferase” (ALT) in the blood. ANNOVERA can cause serious side effects, including: blood clots; toxic shock syndrome (TSS); liver problems, including liver tumors; high blood pressure; gallbladder problems; changes in the sugar and fat (cholesterol and triglycerides) levels in your blood; headache; irregular or unusual vaginal bleeding and spotting between your menstrual periods; depression; possible cancer in your cervix; swelling of your skin especially around your mouth, eyes, and in your throat (angioedema); dark patches of skin on your forehead, cheeks, upper lip, and chin (chloasma). Call your healthcare provider or get emergency medical care right away if any of these serious side effects occur. The most common side effects reported in at least 5% of women who received ANNOVERA were: headache/migraine, nausea/vomiting, vaginal yeast infection (candidiasis), lower/upper abdominal pain, painful periods, vaginal discharge, urinary tract infection, breast pain/tenderness, irregular vaginal bleeding, diarrhea, and genital itching.

IMPORTANT RISK INFORMATION

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Ring In your next chapter

It is always a good time to identify the key areas of your life, like health, goals, and relationships. From there make a plan so you can step into whatever your “next” is with confidence. Let’s review some great ways to do just that!

Make health your #1 priority

Take a look at your calendar and make sure to schedule an annual physical. During this appointment, you can discuss any questions about your health or changes in your lifestyle. In addition, this is a great time to review birth control options, like Annovera (segesterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol vaginal system). With Annovera, you can live your life unapologetically. Not familiar with this option? Here are some things to know:

See Important Risk Information, including Boxed Warning, by clicking on the panel to the left.

Dream big, and set your goals even bigger

When you set new goals, you don’t need to think too far ahead. Whether you use a notebook or a digital note on your phone, make a list of things you would like to achieve in the next few months. Know that this is a flexible list you can revise at any time. Remember, no one’s journey is perfectly linear so give yourself grace as you navigate your journey and accomplish your goals!

Annovera is a first-of-its-kind annual, procedure-free birth control ring that has you covered for 1 year (13 cycles). During each cycle it is in for 21 days and out for 7 days.

*Used each 28-day cycle for a year (13 cycles).

It’s soft, squishy and you can squish it to about the size of a tampon for insertion.

Annovera is a prescription hormonal birth control ring that’s 97% effective at preventing pregnancy.

It is designed so you can leave it in during sex, and when placed correctly, most women don't feel it.

Learn more here, and ask your healthcare provider if Annovera could be right for you!

Make time for your support system

Whether your schedule is filled with friends, a relationship, a busy courseload or internship, don’t forget about your family and friends at home. When you come across any challenge, and trust me you will, they will be the support system you can count on day and night.

How to Be Unapologetic About Your Reproductive Health in college

Whether you are on campus for the first time this year or you’re a returning student, and you’re back to in-person learning and living on your own. I don’t know about you, but when the reality hit me that I was independent and the one in charge of me, I was thrilled…and a bit terrified. My body and my sexual health were unquestionably important, but I had no idea what I was doing. As your social media OBGYN bestie, I’m not going to let that happen to you. Let’s take charge.

Editor: Madeleine Bokan Designer: Neula Ha and Addie Abujade This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% our own. © Her Campus Media 2022. Annovera is a registered trademark licensed to TherapeuticsMD, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ANVA-20793 03/2022

Sponsored by ANNOVERA (segesterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol vaginal system)

See Important Risk Information, including Boxed Warning, by clicking on the panel to the left.

By Jennifer Lincoln, MD, IBCLC

Options that allow you more wiggle room include the IUD, arm implant, shots/injections, and vaginal rings. One kind of vaginal ring called Annovera (segesterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol vaginal system) is unique because you use the same ring for one year and it lasts 13 cycles – that means one prescription covers you for the entire school year. Unlike the IUD or arm implant, you can put it in (and leave it in for 21 days), and you pull it out (and leave out for 7 days), and you don’t need an appointment to get it inserted or removed. You don't even need to go anywhere to get it - with a prescription, it's available from mail-order pharmacies like Nurx, Pill Club, and Simple Health. I mean, it doesn’t get much easier than that.

Birth control falls into two camps: non-hormonal and hormonal. Choosing which type you want can help guide what birth control method might be right for you. It’s super important to be honest with yourself when considering what you will (or won’t) remember to do every day. Can you remember to take a pill daily or put on a new patch weekly? Does seeing your healthcare provider every 3 months for a depo shot sound like too much work? It’s OK if it is! This is all about you.

Let’s talk about a really important part of your sexual health: preventing pregnancy if you’re not wanting to have a baby. About 85 percent of people with a uterus who have unprotected sex for one year end up pregnant. Yep, you read that right. If this isn’t your goal, keep reading.

Not sure where to go? You can start by seeing what your student health center offers. Other options include local doctor’s offices, Planned Parenthood, or community health clinics. Many of these offer free or sliding scale options for students who might be tight on cash.

Being educated about how your body works is empowering. Controlling when you want to get pregnant – or not – so you can focus on your goals is the definition of being in charge. If you have questions about a birth control method and which might be right for you, talk to your healthcare provider today to figure out the next steps. Here’s to a healthy 2022! See Important Risk Information, including Boxed Warning, by clicking on the panel to the left.

It’s super important that you make sure you are up-to-date with your screenings since you’re the adult in charge now. This means checking for things like sexually transmitted infections and – if you’re over 21 - getting a Pap smear to screen for abnormalities that could potentially lead to cervical cancer if left unchecked. Add in breast health, periods, mental health screening and more.

The good news is you don’t have to stay in the dark – but be careful where you get your info from. There is a ton of misinformation out there about sexual health, but there are resources that cover all things birth control and have evidence-based information on a huge variety of topics.

First things first: there is no shame in admitting that you don’t understand how some things work. Why? Because chances are, you didn’t learn it in school and you were left to figure it out on your own. With only 18 states mandating medically accurate comprehensive sex ed, there’s a pretty good chance you didn’t get what you needed to understand periods, birth control, sex – all the things that yeah, are pretty darn important.

USE ANNOVERA is a ring-shaped vaginal system with hormones used by females to prevent pregnancy. ANNOVERA has not been adequately studied in females with a body mass index >29 kg/m . The risk information provided here is not complete. To learn more, review the ANNOVERA Patient Information and talk with your healthcare provider or pharmacist. The FDA-approved product labeling, including Patient Information, can be found at ANNOVERA.com. You may report side effects to the FDA at www.fda.gov/medwatch or by calling 1-800-FDA-1088.

IMPORTANT RISK INFORMATION

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ANNOVERA IMPORTANT RISK INFORMATION + BOXED WARNING

See Important Risk Information, including Boxed Warning, by clicking on the panel to the left.