Hormonal coil (IUS) vs Combined pill
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Overview
Rated 3.5
888 reviews
Every 3-8 years
Frequency
Over 99%
Effectiveness
None
Blood clot risk
None
Effect on fertility
Rated 2.8
2753 reviews
Daily
Frequency
91% - 99+%
Effectiveness
Increased
Blood clot risk
None
Effect on fertility
Hormonal coil (IUS) ingredients
Main hormones in Hormonal coil (IUS)
progestogen
Combined pill ingredients
Main hormones in Combined pill
progestogen
oestrogen
What Lowdown reviewers say
Benefits: What this contraceptive can help with
Adenomyosis
Endometriosis
Heavy periods
Menopause
Period pain
Acne or bad skin
Heavy periods
PMS and PMDD
PCOS symptoms
Period pain
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£From £0.16/day
Check out our latest reviews
Real life reviews from people like you
Hormonal coil (IUS) reviews
888 reviews
Used for 3 - 6 mo
43 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I was very worried about trying this method as I’d not used hormonal contraception before but overall it has been positive. The insertion was quite painful but not unbearable. It took about a week for me to recover, with me having to stop exercise for that time and then slowly increase again. Bleeding has been the most annoying part as my periods are very irregular now (previously they were regular as clockwork) and I have light spotting for up to a week before each period. But it’s getting slightly better each month and I’m hoping I’ll be one of the lucky ones who eventually gets to little or no bleeding at all. I’ve suffered no other symptoms of note.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
1 comments
Used for 12 - 18 mo
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I've had the hormonal mirena for 14 months now to reduce endometriosis symptoms. My periods have reduced in length (used to be 3 weeks) and happen irregularly and the pain has settled during these. I have however noticed continuous weight gain since I went on it, despite very little changing in my diet and exercise. I've always stayed at a very stable weight and now my breast have nearly doubled in size and my weight in general continues to creep up. I have tried upping my exercise with no improvement in my weight. I'm the heaviest I've ever been, except for pregnancy. It's a huge price to pay for a reduction in endo symptoms. It's very frustrating.
Somewhat negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
The insertion process wasn’t pleasant and I found very painful however I will say it was very quick and the pain didn’t last. After leaving the doctors I felt fine apart from a little light headed but that was due to me stressing. The next day if I didn’t know if had it fitted I would be none the wiser as I felt normal and had no issues. Since then I have really liked not having to think about it, I had no periods at all but have started to get a day or so of spotting once a month at the 18 month mark and some light cramps. The only other negative to me is that it’s meant that I now always have to use lube for sex as it’s definitely affected dryness. The best overall contraception I have tried
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
43 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I was very worried about trying this method as I’d not used hormonal contraception before but overall it has been positive. The insertion was quite painful but not unbearable. It took about a week for me to recover, with me having to stop exercise for that time and then slowly increase again. Bleeding has been the most annoying part as my periods are very irregular now (previously they were regular as clockwork) and I have light spotting for up to a week before each period. But it’s getting slightly better each month and I’m hoping I’ll be one of the lucky ones who eventually gets to little or no bleeding at all. I’ve suffered no other symptoms of note.
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
1 comments
Used for 12 - 18 mo
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I've had the hormonal mirena for 14 months now to reduce endometriosis symptoms. My periods have reduced in length (used to be 3 weeks) and happen irregularly and the pain has settled during these. I have however noticed continuous weight gain since I went on it, despite very little changing in my diet and exercise. I've always stayed at a very stable weight and now my breast have nearly doubled in size and my weight in general continues to creep up. I have tried upping my exercise with no improvement in my weight. I'm the heaviest I've ever been, except for pregnancy. It's a huge price to pay for a reduction in endo symptoms. It's very frustrating.
Somewhat negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
35 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
The insertion process wasn’t pleasant and I found very painful however I will say it was very quick and the pain didn’t last. After leaving the doctors I felt fine apart from a little light headed but that was due to me stressing. The next day if I didn’t know if had it fitted I would be none the wiser as I felt normal and had no issues. Since then I have really liked not having to think about it, I had no periods at all but have started to get a day or so of spotting once a month at the 18 month mark and some light cramps. The only other negative to me is that it’s meant that I now always have to use lube for sex as it’s definitely affected dryness. The best overall contraception I have tried
Top side effects not reported
0 helpful
0 comments
Combined pill reviews
2753 reviews
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• today
I switched to Gedarell after being on Microgynon 30ED for 5 years. I gained about 5kg in 2 years and my body felt puffy/inflammed even though I was eating well and regularly going to the gym. This caused me to come off the pill and I lost about 8kg in 2 months. I also experienced low libido and fatigue. After coming off the pill, I realised that it was making me feel quite numb. I wasn’t feeling any kind of emotion strongly which was a big adjustment for me after coming off it. Once I came off the pill I experienced significant hair loss for about 3 months but luckily my hair is quite thick so it wasn’t noticeable. Overall, I think this pill worked better for me as I didn’t have chronic thrush or bleeding during sex like I did on Microgynon but the weight gain was the main reason I decided to stop using it.
Decreased sex drive
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 5 - 8 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• today
Was on this pill for around 7 years from the age of 15. Worked fairly well. The main side effects I experienced were bleeding during sex, chronic thrush, fatigue and low libido. After around 5 years I started peeing a lot during the night which led me to believe that it caused some insulin resistance. The pharmacies where I lived stopped supplying it so I ended up switching to another pill.
Decreased sex drive
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I’ve been taking Yasmin for just over 2 months now (skipping periods). About a month and a half in I noticed I’ve been extremely irritated, not particularly angry but it’s made me have a really short fuse. Unfortunately for me, it has made my boobs grow pretty significantly and made them super tender and sore after wearing sports bras etc. I’ve noticed a slight weight gain which also sucks as have been losing weight pretty steadily a few months before starting and I feel like I’ve lost that progress. I haven’t really noticed a change in my skin, i think it’s a little bit worse but maybe it’s purging? I’ve skipped both periods since starting, and noticed I was having some cramps after 1 month. I’ve had extreme cramping the last 48 hours and thought I was dying, and ended up passing a decidual cast (which I’ve never experienced before) and have had pretty heavy breakthrough bleeding the past 48 hours. A month ago I probably would’ve stayed on the pill but after everything I think I’ll be swapping to something else..
Somewhat negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• today
I switched to Gedarell after being on Microgynon 30ED for 5 years. I gained about 5kg in 2 years and my body felt puffy/inflammed even though I was eating well and regularly going to the gym. This caused me to come off the pill and I lost about 8kg in 2 months. I also experienced low libido and fatigue. After coming off the pill, I realised that it was making me feel quite numb. I wasn’t feeling any kind of emotion strongly which was a big adjustment for me after coming off it. Once I came off the pill I experienced significant hair loss for about 3 months but luckily my hair is quite thick so it wasn’t noticeable. Overall, I think this pill worked better for me as I didn’t have chronic thrush or bleeding during sex like I did on Microgynon but the weight gain was the main reason I decided to stop using it.
Decreased sex drive
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 5 - 8 yr
24 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• today
Was on this pill for around 7 years from the age of 15. Worked fairly well. The main side effects I experienced were bleeding during sex, chronic thrush, fatigue and low libido. After around 5 years I started peeing a lot during the night which led me to believe that it caused some insulin resistance. The pharmacies where I lived stopped supplying it so I ended up switching to another pill.
Decreased sex drive
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
22 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I’ve been taking Yasmin for just over 2 months now (skipping periods). About a month and a half in I noticed I’ve been extremely irritated, not particularly angry but it’s made me have a really short fuse. Unfortunately for me, it has made my boobs grow pretty significantly and made them super tender and sore after wearing sports bras etc. I’ve noticed a slight weight gain which also sucks as have been losing weight pretty steadily a few months before starting and I feel like I’ve lost that progress. I haven’t really noticed a change in my skin, i think it’s a little bit worse but maybe it’s purging? I’ve skipped both periods since starting, and noticed I was having some cramps after 1 month. I’ve had extreme cramping the last 48 hours and thought I was dying, and ended up passing a decidual cast (which I’ve never experienced before) and have had pretty heavy breakthrough bleeding the past 48 hours. A month ago I probably would’ve stayed on the pill but after everything I think I’ll be swapping to something else..
Somewhat negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
40 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
I dont even feel as though I'm on the pill I havnt had 1 single mood swing or negative side affect. Deffinately the best pill I've tried so far.
Increased sex drive
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
17 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
Went on this at 15 because I had very painful and heavy periods, which the pill stopped entirely. I had no physical side effects aside from the complete stop of periods however it did severely affect my mental health (I already have a history of mental health issues prior to going on this pill but it made them notably worse and I’ve noticed improvements after coming off it). I would notice that I’d get very suicidal and anxious a couple weeks before I was due to have a 4 day break from the pill and this would then go away after the 4 days, I also experienced feeling dazed and derealisation which has somewhat improved after coming off this pill. I came off the pill because I was scared of the blood clot risk that had not been properly explained to me by doctors, so be aware of this also.
Very negative mood
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 18 mo - 3 yr
19 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 2 weeks ago
Overall not too bad, did give me some pretty bad mood swings, felt a bit down but had no reason to be, found my mood then got better as I came off it - however this may have just been due to life events surrounding it so not 100% sure but It did made me feel a bit rubbish. Side effects period wise were fine, bled on the break
Somewhat negative mood
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
15 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 weeks ago
honestly great pill and has stopped my periods completely but I’ve had ridiculous amounts of headaches and period cramps, I’ve also been incredibly sweaty specifically in the night to the point I’m waking up because I’m covered in sweat which has never happened to me before
Somewhat negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
16 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 3 weeks ago
I went on it as my first contraception pill at 15, WORST THING EVER, im 16 now and i knew i needed to put something on here. I know everyone reacts different but with any pill BUT ESPECIALLY this one if u dont feel right COME STRAIGHT OFF PLEASE. I took this pill for around 13 days and everyone says stick out side effects for first month but i broke out in a rash, severe acne, belly pains,back pains,headaches felt SOOO sick was in and out of doctors they tried to tell me i was allergic to eostrogen and didnt listen to me, and i was severely depressed it led to a breakdown of my relationship and we could never have sex or anything like that because i had NO sex drive at all and ill be honest i absolutely HATED HIM. It was the worst id ever felt in my life.
Very negative mood
3 more effects
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 1 - 3 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 month ago
My overall experience on Yasmin has been awful from the very first day I started taking it, made me lose my personality within one week, my sex drive is usually medium-high but it’s decreased and I’ve lost my appetite along with other side effects which weren’t pleasant. I would not recommend Yasmin if you have a history of mental health like myself too!!
Very negative mood
1 more effect
0 helpful
0 comments
Used for 3 - 6 mo
20 years old
🇬🇧 UK
• 1 month ago
When I first started taking Regividon I had a good experience, minimal side effects and had no changes to my skin, sex drive or weight. However, 3 months into taking Regividon my moods changed, I was snappy and frustrated even over little things 24/7 which affected my relationship so I came off it and went onto a different pill.
Very negative mood
0 helpful
0 comments
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