Hormonal IUD vs Contraceptive gel

Went on the IUD bc I had super painful periods. Modena stopped my period and once a month now I’ll have just a little bit of phantom cramps—but none that ever pose an issue. The first month was quite painful adjusting to the IUD, but COMPLETELY worth it in the end. Only negative side effect I’m experiencing is vaginal dryness. Vaginal discharge has decreased and when I’m with my partner, no matter how aroused I am, I’m still pretty dry.

I'm almost 28 years old, have had periods for the last decade and a half. They have always been regular and heavy to the point that if I didn't take iron supplements 5x a week and tranexamic acid during my periods, I'd have anemia. So I got Kyleena in December 2024. Insertion was fine, some cramping but nothing too serious. I had cramping on and off during the times my periods were supposed to come and some spotting/bleeding, but it was usually what I saw towards the beginning of my cycle. I had one reduced-level period in mid-August. I have had to go from 36D to 36DD to 36DDD/38DD bras over the span of a few months. At first I thought it was just weight gain (went from 170 to 195lb), but I have been almost 200lb before and my breast size increased this much this quickly. Even after losing 10 pounds my breast size has shown little to no decrease. I hate it. I also suspect that the IUD influenced my sciatica in my lumbar spine, which began in February 2025 and has taken several weeks of PT and a round of oral steroids to resolve. I am still not up to 100% all these months later. Overall a 2/5. The decreased period length, flow, and frequency is almost not enough to justify having this torture device in. If I get pregnant w/this in, I'll be so angry.

I've had horrible bloating. From when I wake up till I go to bed my clothing size changes up to two pant sizes because of the bloating depending on what I eat. As in it's so much worse with things like potatoes. I've had to switch to basically only wearing stretchy clothes because it gets so bad.

It’s okay still having pain with the Slynd which is awful

Birth control implant I have had this birth control for 10 years (3 implants). It makes your period lighter and more regular, or takes it away completely; I had a birth control pill ( i'm not sure if the name) prescribed beforehand and i could not stand that one.

I feel like I've tried every birth control out there. Pills, patches rings, IUDs - with the exception of depo, you name it, I've tried it. But Phexxi has been a game changer for me! I never felt "whole" on hormonal methods or the IUDs, but with Phexxi I don't have to deal with hormonal side effects and I only use it when I need it. Super easy to use, not messy, and I feel like myself again!

Love that I can use Phexxi only when I need it. I do not like adding hormones to my body. I really love the lubricating effect, makes for even better sex!

Phexxi works great — if you actually use it. Oops! My kid sister used Phexxi for about a year either by itself or along with condoms when she was ovulating. Then one time when she and her boyfriend were staying in my apartment for a family wedding, they picked me as the designated driver and the two of them had way too much to drink. They were all over each other in the car on the way home. Which was kind of cute but then when we got back to my place she wanted me to help her insert her birth control. I took her back to their bedroom and started getting her out of her clothes and I was like why don’t you just skip using it if you’re not in the middle of your cycle, and then she showed me her period tracker on her phone. Yep, not a good time to skip using protection, but still … She passed out while I was reading the instructions on the applicator, so I just was like whatever, I’m not doing this. I got off the rest of her clothes and woke her up and said I would tell her boyfriend she was ready. She didn’t even ask if I had inserted her Phexxi. The walls in my apartment are thin, so I heard the entire “discussion” when he couldn’t find their box of condoms. She was too drunk and horny to say no. She had no idea she was about to try to conceive. And yes, she became a mommy that night.