Hormonal coil (IUS) and irregular periods

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!

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 :)

I tried the Kyleena coil for nearly 6 months. I previously tried a wide variety of contraception methods but nothing agreed with me. This was the worst one. Even during my sixth month of having it, the pain was like nothing I've experienced before. Very painful during sex. Hot flushes frequently. Heavy bleeding for the majority of the time I had the coil. Awful cramps. Constantly tired to the point I was napping on breaks at work. I'd sleep for 13 hours at a time and still feel tired. The only positive was that my mood didn't seem to change.