Combined pill vs Hormonal coil (IUS)

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Combined pill

£From £0.16/day

Hormonal coil (IUS)

Add your Hormonal coil (IUS) review

Overview

Rated 2.8

2695 reviews

Daily

Frequency

91% - 99+%

Effectiveness

Increased

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Rated 3.5

868 reviews

Every 3-8 years

Frequency

Over 99%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Combined pill ingredients

Main hormones in Combined pill

progestogen

oestrogen


Hormonal coil (IUS) ingredients

Main hormones in Hormonal coil (IUS)

progestogen

What Lowdown reviewers say

31% somewhat negative

47% lighter periods

46% lost sex drive

48% no impact

43% improved skin

Cycle return

37% don’t know impact

43% no impact on mood

46% stopped periods

47% no impact

59% no impact

54% no impact on skin

Cycle return

33% don’t know impact

Benefits: What this contraceptive can help with

Acne or bad skin

Heavy periods

PMS and PMDD

PCOS symptoms

Period pain

Adenomyosis

Endometriosis

Heavy periods

Menopause

Period pain

Try it now

£From £0.16/day

Try it now

Add your Hormonal coil (IUS) review

Check out our latest reviews

Real life reviews from people like you

Combined pill reviews

2695 reviews

Combined pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 days ago

Combined pill  

I think it caused decidual cast both times years apart. They passed both times when stopping the pill. Once didn’t feel it. Second time excruciating pain.

Read more

Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  6 days ago

Microgynon 30 pill  

A week after starting to take this pill, I started having recurring UTIs triggered by sexual activity. I stopped taking the pill 6 months in for this reason, but still have constant issues. Aside from the recurrent UTIs, which have impacted both uni and work lives (I have to miss days due to the pain), I also get a frequent burning sensation with no trigger, which causes general discomfort in my day-to-day life. Due to the massive negative impact this pill has had, I am now extremely wary of any form of contraception and wish I had never started taking microgynon in the first place.


Very negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
19 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 week ago

Drovelis pill  

i gained a lot of weight (10kg), i am depressed, no libido


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 days ago

Combined pill  

I think it caused decidual cast both times years apart. They passed both times when stopping the pill. Once didn’t feel it. Second time excruciating pain.


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  6 days ago

Microgynon 30 pill  

A week after starting to take this pill, I started having recurring UTIs triggered by sexual activity. I stopped taking the pill 6 months in for this reason, but still have constant issues. Aside from the recurrent UTIs, which have impacted both uni and work lives (I have to miss days due to the pain), I also get a frequent burning sensation with no trigger, which causes general discomfort in my day-to-day life. Due to the massive negative impact this pill has had, I am now extremely wary of any form of contraception and wish I had never started taking microgynon in the first place.


Very negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Combined pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
19 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 week ago

Drovelis pill  

i gained a lot of weight (10kg), i am depressed, no libido


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments


Hormonal coil (IUS) reviews

868 reviews

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 weeks ago

Mirena coil  

Hard to tell if it’s improved but I definitely have breast tenderness


Improved skin

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  17th Nov 25

Kyleena coil  

Kyleena was recommended with mr having Adenomyosis due to wrongly being given the copper coil before and bleeding for months on end. Kyleena had irregular periods to begin, the only sidr effect for the first 4 months were severe coldnesd/flu like symptoms the day before my period for all 4 months. As my periods stopped, my sex drive and mental health crashed. I'm on month 9 and awaiting removal.


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  10th Nov 25

Kyleena coil  

Having used the pill on and off for 20 years I was hesitant to use another hormonal contraception but I was so happy with kyleena - no noticeable mentsl or physical symptoms. Insertion is not pleasant but it's over in seconds.i experienced some period cramps in first few weeks but then periods became extremely light and pain free for the last 3-4 years. I would get this method again without hesitation.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
Lowdown user
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 weeks ago

Mirena coil  

Hard to tell if it’s improved but I definitely have breast tenderness


Improved skin

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  17th Nov 25

Kyleena coil  

Kyleena was recommended with mr having Adenomyosis due to wrongly being given the copper coil before and bleeding for months on end. Kyleena had irregular periods to begin, the only sidr effect for the first 4 months were severe coldnesd/flu like symptoms the day before my period for all 4 months. As my periods stopped, my sex drive and mental health crashed. I'm on month 9 and awaiting removal.


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  10th Nov 25

Kyleena coil  

Having used the pill on and off for 20 years I was hesitant to use another hormonal contraception but I was so happy with kyleena - no noticeable mentsl or physical symptoms. Insertion is not pleasant but it's over in seconds.i experienced some period cramps in first few weeks but then periods became extremely light and pain free for the last 3-4 years. I would get this method again without hesitation.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  9th Nov 25

Mirena coil  

I had a terrible experience with Mirena. It started with severe cramping after insertion. The cramping continued for weeks. I got a UTI from it. Then the other symptoms started - severe depression, sneezing, severe sinus pain, insomnia. I experienced severe vaginal dryness and vulvodynia (shooting pain down there) which ultimately led me to showing up at my gp and begging for it to be removed.


Very negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 5 - 8 yr
29 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3rd Nov 25

Hormonal coil (IUS)  

Periods stopped, no noticeable side effects other than toward the end of the 5 years when I had a few side effects (tender breasts, spots, mood swings) which I put down to hormonal change as the coil was coming to expiry date. Now I've had it replaced and I have no side effects. Stable mood, skin clear, no periods, no stomach/back/head pain.


Very positive mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  27th Oct 25

Jaydess coil  

In terms of contraception practically perfect, I react extremely badly to hormonal contraception usually and this didn’t cause any of the negative side effects I usually get from hormonal methods. My periods became lighter and I still have the normal symptoms of my cycle which is exactly what I want. The only negatives (which is quite a big one) is significantly increased pain throughout my cycle, during my bleed and also cramping randomly throughout the month, sometimes when exercising and also two days before my period which I didn’t experience before. I am devastated that this has been discontinued in most places. I think it’s completely inexcusable that there is now no IUS which for most people doesn’t stop their period. One other slight negative at the beginning was my partner took some time to get used to the feeling of the strings when having sex, however this improved after a few months and is no longer an issue.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
27 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  27th Oct 25

Kyleena coil  

In terms of contraception practically perfect, I react extremely badly to hormonal contraception usually and this didn’t cause any of the negative side effects I usually get from hormonal methods. My periods because lighter and I still have the normal symptoms of my cycle. The only negative (which is quite a big one) is significantly increased pain throughout my cycle, during my bleed and also cramping randomly throughout the month, sometimes when exercising and also two days before my period which I didn’t experience before. I am devastated that this has been discontinued in most places. I think it’s completely inexcusable that there is now no IUS which for most people doesn’t stop their period.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

1 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
32 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  23rd Oct 25

Mirena coil  

Got this inserted as a long-acting, reliable method of contraception. I found the insertion process ok, it was uncomfortable but not painful. I was able to easily feel the coil threads when I checked regularly. I had lighter periods but actually found period pains worse with the coil in place - hence the deducted star. I had this removed as we wanted to try to concieve. The removal process was totally painless. We got pregnant in one month of trying.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

1 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 3 - 5 yr
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  22nd Oct 25

Levosert coil  

Overall my experience has been positive in comparison to my previous experience with combined oral contraception. I no longer have mood swings or night sweats however over the 4 years of having my hormonal coil I now have no sex drive which was a big change for me, in addition to this sex became painful.On the other hand my periods stopped after 6 months to a year.


Somewhat positive mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Hormonal coil (IUS)  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  22nd Oct 25

Hormonal coil (IUS)  

Today I finally had my Mirena coil removed. The insertion and removal went smoothly and were painless. I had the coil for 10 months. During the first 6 weeks, I experienced continuous bleeding. After that, my periods became more regular but were very long up to 10 days and lighter than usual. After a period ended, I had another one a week later for only 3 days, and then the cycle repeated exactly every 28 days. I also had persistent discharge, infections, and cysts, and I even had to have a biopsy due to white spots on my cervix caused by the Mirena. Today, having it removed, I felt immediate relief. I was prescribed desogestrel tablets, so hopefully it will be better, although the pill doesn’t have very good reviews either.


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

3 comments

Contraceptive alternatives and comparisons

Compare the Combined pill with other contraceptives

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