Hormonal IUD vs Natural family planning
Hormonal IUD ingredients
Main hormones in Hormonal IUD
progestin
Natural family planning ingredients
What Lowdown reviewers say
39% no impact on mood
44% stopped periods
42% no impact
49% no impact
46% no impact on skin
50% in 1 month
28% no impact on mood
68% stopped periods
56% lost sex drive
48% gained weight
56% no impact on skin
38% don’t know impact
Check out our latest reviews
Real life reviews from people like you
Hormonal IUD reviews
66 reviews
Used for 6 - 12 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 3 days ago
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.
Somewhat positive mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
27 years old
🇺🇸 US
• 3 weeks ago
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.
Somewhat negative mood
1 more effect
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
36 years old
🇺🇸 US
• 1st Sep 25
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.
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 3 days ago
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.
Somewhat positive mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 6 - 12 mo
27 years old
🇺🇸 US
• 3 weeks ago
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.
Somewhat negative mood
1 more effect
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
36 years old
🇺🇸 US
• 1st Sep 25
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.
Somewhat negative mood
2 more effects
1 helpful
0 comments
Natural family planning reviews
5 reviews
Used for 3 - 6 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 28th Mar 25
Very positive mood
1 more effect
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 28th Dec 23
Overall, I felt that this was a safer option. I only switched to the mini pill in an effort to get a handle on my PCOS pelvic pain.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 5 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 25th Jul 23
I was previously on the contraceptive pill, and as soon as i came off it i was immediately more in tune with my body, could feel the sex drive boost around ovulation etc and lost the weight the pill had put on me.
Very positive mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 28th Mar 25
Very positive mood
1 more effect
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 28th Dec 23
Overall, I felt that this was a safer option. I only switched to the mini pill in an effort to get a handle on my PCOS pelvic pain.
Top side effects not reported
1 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 5 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 25th Jul 23
I was previously on the contraceptive pill, and as soon as i came off it i was immediately more in tune with my body, could feel the sex drive boost around ovulation etc and lost the weight the pill had put on me.
Very positive mood
2 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 12 - 18 mo
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 21st Jul 23
I feel like I've gotten to know my body! I really like the partner view so my husband knows when I'm fertile and won't try to initiate sex. After a terrible experience with hormonal birth control, this makes me feel in control and it has taught me so much!
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇺🇸 US
• 19th Jul 23
Never been this in tune with my body before! It is wonderful to see how my hormonal cycle affects different areas in my life and be able to live in alignment with this! It's great to know I'm not having to put up with any side effects on birth control and that my partner and I can share the responsibility. I also love knowing when to expect my period. Highly recommend!
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Popular birth control
Combination pillImplantShotThe legal stuff
Terms of usePrivacy & cookieContent policy©The Lowdown 2025