Reviews

Hormonal coil (IUS) reviews

3.5

781 reviews

Hormonal coil (IUS) has an average rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars from a total of 781 reviews when used as a contraceptive. These are self-reported reviews where users of Hormonal coil (IUS) review their satisfaction with this contraceptive and any side effects they feel they experienced whilst using.
The hormonal coil or 'IUS' is a small, T-shaped plastic device that is inserted into your womb by a doctor or nurse. It releases the hormone progestogen into your womb. It is increasingly popular and has the highest overall satisfaction rating of all the methods reviewed at The Lowdown.

Every 3-8 years

Frequency

Over 99%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Hormonal coil (IUS)

Reviews

3.5

781 reviews

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Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  today

Kyleena coil  

I had the coil for 4 and a half years and started getting infections with ever increasung severity. I would swing between thrush and bv pretty much back to back especially in the last year and a half of having it. The doctors kept just giving me treatment for it and didnt say that it could be linked to the pill and it was only when i went on a deep dive of coil side effcts that i found out that it can cause infections. I then asked the doctors and then said they could see a correlation amd suggested removing it. I spent hundreds of pounds on prescription and over the counter medicine and spent such a long time feeling totally disgusting. Before i got the coil i had has thrush a few times and so i wonder whether i am more susceptible to getting it and thar should have been a consideration before choosing to have it.

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Very negative mood

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Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
23 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4 days ago

Kyleena coil  

I got my kyleena almost 4 months ago. It’s the first birth control I’ve been on and I put off getting any for ages because I was scared of the hormones. I’ve seen too many of my friends get depressed from the pill and so was very anti pill. My mental health is good overall and I didn’t want anything to mess with that. I wasn’t keen on the copper coil either because I didn’t want heavier and more painful periods. I’d never heard of an IUS/hormonal coil before my GP mentioned it and most people I’ve mentioned it to haven’t either but really should! I chose kyleena in the end because I liked the fact that yes there were hormones but because it’s a small dose and localised (directly in your uterus), you’re not supposed to get any mood effects. The most common side effect is irregular and lighter bleeding and for me choosing birth control came down to deciding which side effects were the least bad for me. Insertion I'm generally fine with pain and injections etc, minor operations don't really bother me so it will be different for different people but insertion was really quick and easy for me! I took some painkillers beforehand as advised and there was about 10 seconds of painful cramping where I was wincing but nothing I couldn't handle :) It was a bit uncomfortable because it was my first time with a speculum but my GP was great! I started bleeding lightly pretty immediately after and some mild cramping. The GP showed me how to check my threads on a model and I checked at home by myself relatively easily, it was weird at first but used to it now and easy to find. Side effects So far the only obvious side effects for me have been changes to bleeding and cramping. My periods used to be very regular and not too bad. Every 27ish days and lasted for 6 days with days 5-6 being very light and only days 1-2 being heavy. They’re still changing as my body gets used to the coil but appear to be getting lighter and lighter and maybe going away completely. My first period post insertion was noticeably a lot lighter. I used to use a mooncup and haven't used it at all since, because I'm just not bleeding enough (and the advice on whether you should use a suction cup with an IUD/IUS is slightly confusing). I'm just using light flow period pants (WUKA's period thongs specifically which I love). I bled most days for the first maybe second month but still really light. It's gradually getting less frequent and lighter so I've gone weeks with no bleeding before having an extremely light almost unnoticeable period. My cycle length is varying from 18-30+ days which is a bit annoying for someone who used to be so regular but I'll take it over other side effects. I’m still ‘spotting’ throughout my cycle but it’s almost unnoticeable it’s so light. Not quite safe in white underwear yet but any bleeding I have is more like brown/pink discharge and doesn't stain the way blood would. Cramping Pre coil my cramping ranged from non existent to mostly there for a few days but not too bothersome to occasionally needing to be strapped to a hot water bottle feeling sorry for myself on days 2 and 4. I now get random cramping at any point throughout my cycle and it doesn’t really line up my my period anymore. I do get cramps on my period but not in the pattern I used to. Sometimes it’s the most painful I’ve had, more often and is sometimes more of a stabbing than a dull ache but it’s still manageable and I imagine loads better than copper coil. Sometimes I think the hair on my stomach is ever so slightly darker (common progesterone side effect) but I’m not sure how true that is. I do complain about the irregular bleeding and cramping, it can be irritating but it’s not the end of the world and seems to be levelling out 🤞 I’m ultimately very happy that my coil so far seems to have no effect on my mood which was my main concern. It’ll obviously work differently for different people but I’d recommend looking into it and considering it! I’m still new to it and am curious to see how it goes long term but so far largely good!


Top side effects not reported

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Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 5 - 8 yr
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  2 weeks ago

Mirena coil  

The mirena coil overall worked very well for me. It took a few months to settle initially, and I’m glad I stuck it out. However, at the 5 year mark I started to experience unpleasant symptoms - hair loss, pelvic pain, recurrent thrush. So I’ve now had it removed and gone for kyleena coil, so will see how that goes!


Gained weight

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0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 weeks ago

Jaydess coil  

I was nervous to try Jaydess as I have previously struggled with mild hormonal acne. However after 11 months, there have been barely any side effects apart from spotting in between periods. I found the pill had so many more side effects! My mood is unchanged, body unchanged, skin broke out ever so slightly but mainly fine. Sex drive unchanged. The only negative is it is painful having it inserted (and I had cramping for 2-3 months around the time of my period). But now I barely get cramps and my period is very light! Would recommend!


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Jaydess coil  

Overall it has made my hormonal state worse. I am having it removed after 5 months as the moment I enter my luteal phase I have horrible mood swings, and depression-like symptoms and have become extremely sensitive to sugar, which then affects my mental state to the point of crying for no other reason. I also had a traumatic experience getting it in, please do your reading before getting any IUDs in. Ask for pain relief.


Very negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

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Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
34 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Mirena coil  

The mirena coil was excruiciating to have inserted, I am so shocked that no pain relief was offered and i had to spend the rest of the day in bed with severe cramps which continued for a few days. My skin had a very poor reaction and i developed quite bad cystic acne across my face, chest and back as a result, which I did not have previously.


Worse skin

1 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Jaydess coil  

The Jaydess coil increased my period pain massively and gave me severe acne, which took years to heal after it was removed. For the first couple months on it I was spotting constantly and developed anemia.


Worse skin

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Kyleena coil  

I got this contraception to prevent pregnancy but completely lost libido and gained weight. There was no issue with insertion and removal and got rid of painful periods.


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  11th Sep 24

Kyleena coil  

This has been much better for me than the combined or mini pill - it has had no effect on my mood that I can tell and my periods have basically almost stopped (for the past 3 years I've had 6ish light periods a year, with 1 day of sever cramping). However, this is nothing as bad as my natural periods which normally have a week either side of just cramping. However, I have recently noticed increased breast soreness/tenderness, slight, persistent cramps and increased discharge after my last period. If this persists I'll talk to my doctor - I should be changing my coil soon away, so I'll report back :)


Improved skin

0 helpful

2 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3rd Sep 24

Jaydess coil  

I had cramps for ten days after and then I felt good for a week. Then I got pain so bad and a fever that I got taken to an and e. I in hospital for 10 days and had pelvic inflammatory disease which caused a massive abscess on my ovary which may leave permanent damage. I was never warned of this would not recommend it was such a painful experience


Somewhat negative mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS) FAQs

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Hormonal coil (IUS) side effects

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Hormonal coil (IUS) benefits

Some of the benefits that are recognised in scientific research or guidelines for this contraceptive

Adenomyosis

Endometriosis

Heavy periods

Menopause

Period pain

Hormonal coil (IUS) ingredients

Main hormones in Hormonal coil (IUS)

progestogen

Hormonal coil (IUS) alternatives

Contraceptives that work in similar ways, or brands that have close or exactly the same hormonal ingredients

Hormonal coil (IUS) side effects

Possible side effects with Hormonal coil (IUS)

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