Copper coil (IUD) vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill

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Copper coil (IUD)

Add your Copper coil (IUD) review

Progestogen-only / Mini pill

£From £0.22/day

Overview

Rated 3.5

616 reviews

5 - 10 years

Frequency

Over 99%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Rated 2.7

1487 reviews

Daily

Frequency

91% - 99+%

Effectiveness

None

Blood clot risk

None

Effect on fertility

Copper coil (IUD) ingredients

Most copper coils are made of a T-shaped frame of polyethylene (plastic) and barium sulphate. Copper wire is wound around the vertical arm.

Progestogen-only / Mini pill ingredients

Main hormones in Progestogen-only / Mini pill

progestogen

What Lowdown reviewers say

54% no impact on mood

69% heavier periods

63% no impact

75% no impact

74% no impact on skin

Cycle return

44% in 1 month

32% somewhat negative

43% stopped periods

49% lost sex drive

44% no impact

45% no impact on skin

Cycle return

39% don’t know impact

Benefits: What this contraceptive can help with

There are no benefits that are recognised in scientific research or guidelines for this contraceptive

Period pain

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£From £0.22/day

Check out our latest reviews

Real life reviews from people like you

Copper coil (IUD) reviews

616 reviews

Copper coil (IUD)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  31st Mar 26

Copper coil (IUD)  

Brain fog ,Acne , weight gain , tender and painful breasts all the time as a result , extremely heavy periods, although it's non hormonal doesn't mean no side effects , be careful when considering " non hormonal contraception"

Read more

Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Copper coil (IUD)  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  27th Mar 26

Copper coil (IUD)  

Very frustrated with the copper coil, if it didn't make my periods so heavy and painful I would continue as there has been no other issues you would likely see in a hormonal contraceptive. If you can manage 2 weeks every month in a lot of pain, then it's worth it for the other two when I'm fine and no mood changes


Very positive mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Copper coil (IUD)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  26th Mar 26

Copper coil (IUD)  

I got pregnant


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments

Copper coil (IUD)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
30 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  31st Mar 26

Copper coil (IUD)  

Brain fog ,Acne , weight gain , tender and painful breasts all the time as a result , extremely heavy periods, although it's non hormonal doesn't mean no side effects , be careful when considering " non hormonal contraception"


Somewhat negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Copper coil (IUD)  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  27th Mar 26

Copper coil (IUD)  

Very frustrated with the copper coil, if it didn't make my periods so heavy and painful I would continue as there has been no other issues you would likely see in a hormonal contraceptive. If you can manage 2 weeks every month in a lot of pain, then it's worth it for the other two when I'm fine and no mood changes


Very positive mood

0 helpful

0 comments

Copper coil (IUD)  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  26th Mar 26

Copper coil (IUD)  

I got pregnant


Top side effects not reported

0 helpful

0 comments


Progestogen-only / Mini pill reviews

1487 reviews

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 day ago

Slynd pill  

I'm in months 2 and hoping things get a little better. Pro: No periods or period pain/endo pain! (HURRAY) And no weightgain (which i had on another pill) Con: I'm feeling down, sleep bad, hair loss, forgetful, spotting, BV, vaginal dryness, heart pains and rising anxiety. I want to give it a month extra or so but the side effects are getting me down. This is the 2nd pill I've tried this year. The first one was a combined pill but made my uterine lining super thick and that gave me massive cramps and hurt. So let's see but kinda sceptical.


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4 days ago

Slynd pill  

I love this pill. I was struggling with mood and physical symptoms around pms, I have tried several oral contraceptives intermittently over the last 15 years but had other side effects to them, I was using a Kyleena coil which worked really well for contraception and period control but as this did not stop me ovulating, PMS became my main concern. I tried Slynd when it became available in the UK and I love it. My cyclical mood, bloating and skin issues have basically completely resolved and the longer missed pill window works much better for me.


Very positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  5 days ago

Zelleta pill  

this was my first contraception ever. i had read up on it so had an idea of what to expect but after a week of taking it i could already see the affect it was having on my body. i was easily gaining much more weight than i would when eating the same foods, same amount of foods. i was never one to have spots and noticed my skin getting loads around my forehead and cheeks. my mood was terrible, always angry and irritated causing a lot of arguments between me and my boyfriend. decreased sex drive. i decided to stop it as i just didn’t feel like myself anymore, im 4 days off it and im feeling a lot better than i was taking it.


Very negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
28 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 day ago

Slynd pill  

I'm in months 2 and hoping things get a little better. Pro: No periods or period pain/endo pain! (HURRAY) And no weightgain (which i had on another pill) Con: I'm feeling down, sleep bad, hair loss, forgetful, spotting, BV, vaginal dryness, heart pains and rising anxiety. I want to give it a month extra or so but the side effects are getting me down. This is the 2nd pill I've tried this year. The first one was a combined pill but made my uterine lining super thick and that gave me massive cramps and hurt. So let's see but kinda sceptical.


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  4 days ago

Slynd pill  

I love this pill. I was struggling with mood and physical symptoms around pms, I have tried several oral contraceptives intermittently over the last 15 years but had other side effects to them, I was using a Kyleena coil which worked really well for contraception and period control but as this did not stop me ovulating, PMS became my main concern. I tried Slynd when it became available in the UK and I love it. My cyclical mood, bloating and skin issues have basically completely resolved and the longer missed pill window works much better for me.


Very positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
18 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  5 days ago

Zelleta pill  

this was my first contraception ever. i had read up on it so had an idea of what to expect but after a week of taking it i could already see the affect it was having on my body. i was easily gaining much more weight than i would when eating the same foods, same amount of foods. i was never one to have spots and noticed my skin getting loads around my forehead and cheeks. my mood was terrible, always angry and irritated causing a lot of arguments between me and my boyfriend. decreased sex drive. i decided to stop it as i just didn’t feel like myself anymore, im 4 days off it and im feeling a lot better than i was taking it.


Very negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 3 - 6 mo
29 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  6 days ago

Desogestrel pill  

I’d been off contraception for years and I wanted to go back on it as in a relationship and not TTC just yet. So far it seems to be okay th first 2 months was where i experienced most my symptoms mainly have settled sort from sex drive, headaches, no periods they still exist on month 5.


Somewhat negative mood

2 more effects

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 12 - 18 mo
21 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  3 weeks ago

Desogestrel pill  

I started taking the mini pill as the combined was making me cry every single day, it was great for the first year but now I am experiencing absolutely no sex drive and I feel awful! It’s made me hate myself as I know my partner can notice but I don’t know what to do. It seems like every conception has massive negatives so I don’t even know if I want to try another one and go through this again. In the same through I don’t want to come off the pill as my anxiety will go mental if I’m not on anything !!! It’s such a shame because I’ve experienced no other side effects but I can’t go on like thi


Somewhat negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
36 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Noriday pill  

My GP suggested I switch from Desogesterel to Noriday as I was consistently getting break through bleeding after many years of being period free. The first 6 months of taking Noriday were great, with a few days of very light spotting over many months. Then I started to get more regular, painful periods. I persisted with taking it, and after a few months of no period, it's been months of heavy, painful bleeds that last anywhere from 4 to 9 days at a time every 2-4 weeks. For the last few months I've been getting the type of period pain I haven't had since I was a teenager (I'm not in my mid-30s) - the kind that wakes you up in the middle of the night and stops you from sleeping. I'm coming off this pill today.


Decreased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
26 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  1 month ago

Slynd pill  

I had my first postpartum period without any birth control and it was a bit heavier than normal (pre-pregnancy comparison) but not too bad honestly, the cramps weren’t horrible either. Then my second period I had been on Slynd for about a month and it was HORRIBLE, I’m a medical nurse and I have an relatively high pain tolerance but I considered going to the hospital. The first night I was having multiple medium sized clots that my coworker said looked like it was uterine lining, heavy heavy bright red bleeding and horrendous cramps that made me want to vomit. Plus my uterus was contracting so much I think I went #2 like 5x that day alone. Day 2 was slightly better with slightly less horrible cramps but still relatively heavy bleeding and some small clots every hour or so. Now day 3 and I’m heavy bleeding still and now have some sharp lower abdomen pain especially when in the motion of going to sit down or stand up. I’m hoping this stops soon because this has been the worst period I think I’ve ever had and pre-pregnancy I thought I had some pretty bad ones. I don’t think I will be continuing this birth control


Very negative mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 1 - 3 mo
25 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  30th Mar 26

Slynd pill  

I’ve had nothing but cystic acne, heavy bleeding for 2+ weeks at a time, hair growth is still the same rate if not even worse.


Very negative mood

3 more effects

0 helpful

1 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 6 - 12 mo
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  18th Mar 26

Desogestrel pill  

I’m generally happy but I was looking for a contraceptive that did not reduce my sex drive and that mission was failed. I tried the coil for 5 years and found that at the end, as it wore off, I started to get my sex drive back and was hoping to keep it. I was recommended the mini pill as a good option by my GP but it still doesn’t work for me. No interest in sex at all.


Decreased sex drive

0 helpful

0 comments

Progestogen-only / Mini pill  
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
31 years old
🇬🇧 UK
  •  13th Mar 26

Desogestrel pill  

I feel like the mini-pill has changed my life. I used to get so many painful spots on my chin, but now they are cleared up. I have noticed my boobs getting bigger and a bit more sore, and I don't if it is linked, but I am getting cystitis more, but honestly, the impact it has had on my moods has been positive. My periods are non-existence and I just feel like a whole different person (in a good way). I have looked at photos of me when I was off hormonal contraception and I just don't even recognise her. I kind of feel like the mini pill has balanced my hormones (even though the intention of using it was to not get pregnant)


Very positive mood

1 more effect

0 helpful

0 comments

Contraceptive alternatives and comparisons

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