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

I started the pill 12 months ago and it was fine for the first 2 months,no pain or anything but then i started bleeding and i havnt stopped bleeding for 10 months straight,it ranges in how heavy it is but it is constant everyday

My overall experience on this pill was a very negative one. I was on this pill for 12 months. I'm hoping to switch to the coil in January, still deciding which one, the copper or Mirena. I am 42 years old. On the mini pill I was emotional, very irritable and anxiety was through the roof. I could be okay one minute then the next I could flip a switch and be kicking off over minor things. I had racing thoughts most of the time which led me to be crying and causing my anxiety to be out of control. The spotting and breakthrough bleeding were horrendous which led to heavy clotting and sometimes it would happen unexpectingly. Sex most of the time wasn't happening due to this. The stomach cramps are so painful and because of this I felt unmotivated to do any hobbies and lost interest. I describe my hair as fine but I noticed it started to really thin and fall out which has led me to have low self-esteem and not wanting to engage in social events.

This pill made me feel emotionally empty and depressed. I know it wasn't placebo because I'm a pretty anxious person, and have tried everything to get rid of anxiety, without much success! A week on this pill and I had absolutely no anxiety because I had absolutely no emotions. I'm also a very motivated person normally, but I found it really hard to just get out of bed and function. It was wild. Took it for 2 weeks and then stopped, couldn't find any hard evidence that side effects improve after 3 months, and I genuinely didn't have time to be that unproductive and miserable for more than a couple of weeks.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.