Hormonal coil (IUS) vs Progestogen-only / Mini pill

I've had great success with a Mirena for treating jawline acne, after getting it to prep for going onto Roaccutane it actually cleared my acne up amazingly and now I just get the odd spot every month when I'm due on. I get irregular, yet light periods, and occasionally some spotting, and overall my period cramps have been lessened. My sex drive is not what it is when off hormonal contraception, but as I've been on hormonal contraception my whole adult life, bar a couple of years here and there, this hasn't been an issue overall. I have put weight on gradually, but I've also aged (now 34), so its more likely to be metabolic changes rather than a side effect. The only thing I would say is that the coil itself has moved twice, resulting in removal and replacement (I'm waiting for another removal, and will likely explore pill options again as its just too painful getting it replaced every 2 years!). It should last 8 years, but for whatever reason, maybe my anatomy, mine moves to be too low, and then the long process of getting it checked, ultrasounds, appt waiting times for removal, and everything else, means its not something I want to continue using at the moment. Overall though, it has been a really good method for me, and just because mine hasn't stayed where it should be, doesn't mean someone else won't have a good experience, its probably down to my anatomy only!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

Started to take them again and noticed that I've been having breast pain for weeks now, alongside this I'm much more tearful. Period cramps were somewhat unbearable.