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

I’ve taken it for 6 years now. Not really any side effects. However, it might have affected my mood negatively, but i am not certain as I went through big life changes when i started taking it so my mood may have been a result of that. Also lost a bit of weight at that time and it stayed off. Didn’t get my period anymore for a couple of years but now i have irregular bleeding sometimes (Some months more, some less).

I started the POP because I had a few migraines with auras on the combined pill and had to stop this. When I started the mini-pill my periods became very irregular. However, I went on the combined pill in the first place because of my irregular cycle so this may just be me. I have noticed my periods are lighter but I never had heavy periods anyway. I have had a few cases of spotting for 2-3weeks after getting my period but this hopefully seems to have settled now after 5/6 months and I get a 3-5 day light period. My skin flared up with bad hormonal acne about 3/4months after I started taking the POP and hasn’t gotten any better. Another reason why I went on the combined pill initially was to help with acne so I feel this has regressed since starting the mini-pill. Also, I have had some horrific cramping at random times. A couple of times has been a whole week of painful cramps but again this hopefully seems to have settled down a bit after about 7/8 months of taking the POP. Overall, I’m not happy with the side effects I’m experiencing, especially my skin, and am considering trying the hormonal coil, but will give it a full year on the POP to see if my body starts to settle.

I really wanted to like Desogestrel. Initially, my skin was the worst - so oily and immediately broke out in painful acne. This quickly subsided after about 2 weeks. For 3 months, my breasts were so enlarged and sore all the time. I noticed around the 3 month mark that I was experiencing vaginal dryness too. My periods have been totally irregular - since starting Desogestrel in May I've had 10 periods. Many of these were trigged by intercourse. The volume of blood and the level of pain was variable for every period, making it hard to predict. The final straw for me was I started losing my hair around the 5-6 month mark. My hair is noticeably thinner on top and the ends are ruined / look awful. The only positive for me has been that it made me more energetic and have a better / more even mood. It did has not affected my sex drive and I gained a negligible amount of weight.

After having a bad experience with the Nexplanon implant (very low mood) I decided to try the Jaydess coil as recommended by my doctor. Insertion is very painful as expected but the taking out is fine, I am currently coming to the end of my second coil so I'm swapping to the Mirena for a longer lifespan but I have loved this coil - I had some painful cramps for about 3 months at the beginning of the first coil but after about 6 months everything settled down. I've had no periods, no mood changes, no weight gain, my skin hasn't been great but it has improved recently and I wouldn't confidently say this was down to the coil anyway, more likely lifestyle choices.

Kyleena was good within the first 2 years that I had it, but I think that when the hormones start depleting that new side effects occur. Better than any other options I had, and insertion wasn’t painful as the healthcare provider used LA during. Looking at either swapping it out for a new Kyleena or to swap out for the copper coil as I’m now suffering extreme bloating and acne 3.5years after insertion. Hope this helps.

Kept me from becoming pregnant but at a very high cost... Extreme cramps throughout the month, even after removing the original coil (it was seen to be in the wrong place via ultrasound) and replaced with new one. Pain actually got worse as time went on, after about 8 months I had to get it out as the cramps were debilitating and extreme. I also had a migraine for the first time in my life, and often experienced dizziness and nausea. I also had a patch of recurring thrush infections which was hard to get over as it was so stubborn. The only positive sides were the reduction in bleeding/periods and lack of pregnancy. I will never use a coil again.

After 4 years of having the Kyleena I got pregnant and so have had the coil removed. The main symptoms I struggled with throughout the 4 years were weight gain and lack of libido.

I had the coil for 4 and a half years and started getting infections with ever increasung severity. I would swing between thrush and bv pretty much back to back especially in the last year and a half of having it. The doctors kept just giving me treatment for it and didnt say that it could be linked to the pill and it was only when i went on a deep dive of coil side effcts that i found out that it can cause infections. I then asked the doctors and then said they could see a correlation amd suggested removing it. I spent hundreds of pounds on prescription and over the counter medicine and spent such a long time feeling totally disgusting. Before i got the coil i had has thrush a few times and so i wonder whether i am more susceptible to getting it and thar should have been a consideration before choosing to have it.

I got my kyleena almost 4 months ago. It’s the first birth control I’ve been on and I put off getting any for ages because I was scared of the hormones. I’ve seen too many of my friends get depressed from the pill and so was very anti pill. My mental health is good overall and I didn’t want anything to mess with that. I wasn’t keen on the copper coil either because I didn’t want heavier and more painful periods. I’d never heard of an IUS/hormonal coil before my GP mentioned it and most people I’ve mentioned it to haven’t either but really should! I chose kyleena in the end because I liked the fact that yes there were hormones but because it’s a small dose and localised (directly in your uterus), you’re not supposed to get any mood effects. The most common side effect is irregular and lighter bleeding and for me choosing birth control came down to deciding which side effects were the least bad for me. Insertion I'm generally fine with pain and injections etc, minor operations don't really bother me so it will be different for different people but insertion was really quick and easy for me! I took some painkillers beforehand as advised and there was about 10 seconds of painful cramping where I was wincing but nothing I couldn't handle :) It was a bit uncomfortable because it was my first time with a speculum but my GP was great! I started bleeding lightly pretty immediately after and some mild cramping. The GP showed me how to check my threads on a model and I checked at home by myself relatively easily, it was weird at first but used to it now and easy to find. Side effects So far the only obvious side effects for me have been changes to bleeding and cramping. My periods used to be very regular and not too bad. Every 27ish days and lasted for 6 days with days 5-6 being very light and only days 1-2 being heavy. They’re still changing as my body gets used to the coil but appear to be getting lighter and lighter and maybe going away completely. My first period post insertion was noticeably a lot lighter. I used to use a mooncup and haven't used it at all since, because I'm just not bleeding enough (and the advice on whether you should use a suction cup with an IUD/IUS is slightly confusing). I'm just using light flow period pants (WUKA's period thongs specifically which I love). I bled most days for the first maybe second month but still really light. It's gradually getting less frequent and lighter so I've gone weeks with no bleeding before having an extremely light almost unnoticeable period. My cycle length is varying from 18-30+ days which is a bit annoying for someone who used to be so regular but I'll take it over other side effects. I’m still ‘spotting’ throughout my cycle but it’s almost unnoticeable it’s so light. Not quite safe in white underwear yet but any bleeding I have is more like brown/pink discharge and doesn't stain the way blood would. Cramping Pre coil my cramping ranged from non existent to mostly there for a few days but not too bothersome to occasionally needing to be strapped to a hot water bottle feeling sorry for myself on days 2 and 4. I now get random cramping at any point throughout my cycle and it doesn’t really line up my my period anymore. I do get cramps on my period but not in the pattern I used to. Sometimes it’s the most painful I’ve had, more often and is sometimes more of a stabbing than a dull ache but it’s still manageable and I imagine loads better than copper coil. Sometimes I think the hair on my stomach is ever so slightly darker (common progesterone side effect) but I’m not sure how true that is. I do complain about the irregular bleeding and cramping, it can be irritating but it’s not the end of the world and seems to be levelling out 🤞 I’m ultimately very happy that my coil so far seems to have no effect on my mood which was my main concern. It’ll obviously work differently for different people but I’d recommend looking into it and considering it! I’m still new to it and am curious to see how it goes long term but so far largely good!

The mirena coil overall worked very well for me. It took a few months to settle initially, and I’m glad I stuck it out. However, at the 5 year mark I started to experience unpleasant symptoms - hair loss, pelvic pain, recurrent thrush. So I’ve now had it removed and gone for kyleena coil, so will see how that goes!

I was nervous to try Jaydess as I have previously struggled with mild hormonal acne. However after 11 months, there have been barely any side effects apart from spotting in between periods. I found the pill had so many more side effects! My mood is unchanged, body unchanged, skin broke out ever so slightly but mainly fine. Sex drive unchanged. The only negative is it is painful having it inserted (and I had cramping for 2-3 months around the time of my period). But now I barely get cramps and my period is very light! Would recommend!

Overall it has made my hormonal state worse. I am having it removed after 5 months as the moment I enter my luteal phase I have horrible mood swings, and depression-like symptoms and have become extremely sensitive to sugar, which then affects my mental state to the point of crying for no other reason. I also had a traumatic experience getting it in, please do your reading before getting any IUDs in. Ask for pain relief.

The mirena coil was excruiciating to have inserted, I am so shocked that no pain relief was offered and i had to spend the rest of the day in bed with severe cramps which continued for a few days. My skin had a very poor reaction and i developed quite bad cystic acne across my face, chest and back as a result, which I did not have previously.