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

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.

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'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.

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

Such a hideous experience for me I went to the doctors to get it taken out ASAP. Had severe mental health dip and felt suicidal which was really unlike me. The pain on inspiration was absolutely awful (removal was easy and painless).

Random cramps throughout the day, they suddenly stop and start again a few days later. Period almost completely gone, but random spotting through ovulation and calculated period days (on clue app). Very bad breast tenderness during ovulation and periods

I’ve had the mirena in for almost 2 years and it’s been working great as a contraception and minimal side effects (very light periods).

I'm on my second Jaydess (been using it for almost 6 years now), before I was on the pill (estrogen+progesterone combination) for about 6 years. Insertion is no fun for me, other than that I can only recommend it. Compared to the pill I have much lighter periods, period pain has significantly decreased (I get a little abdominal discomfort+back pain a day before the start of my period, and that's it). Acne stayed about the same as on the pill. I get a little breast swelling/tenderness for about one week every cycle which I think has slightly increased compared to the pill but isn't so bad. Sex drive and mood stayed about the same, if anything, my mood has become more stable on Jaydess actually (but that could also be attributed to me growing up I guess). Overall I'm satisfied with it

I got the coil after having a failed mirena coil. Tried this one for almost 3yrs and didn't think I had alot of side effects, though reflecting on a time where I was not on contraception, I realised it had greatly impacted my moods and caused quite bad acne on my back, which I had never suffered with previous. I also would get debilitating cramps during my periods again which I never suffered with before. Only bonus was my very heavy periods were light, which made them way more manageable. I decided to get it taken out when my moods were having an adverse effect on my relationship and life.

Insertion of the jaydess for me was incredibly painful and i had severe period cramps the days following insertion. Other than that for the first year i had no symptoms other than tender breasts and they had grown from C-DD (no complaints!) and often reccomended it to friends. However, after that i started getting regular thrush. It started off just coming before my period some months but now it is pretty much constant. Treatment only resolves symptoms for a short period and the its back! For this reason ive booked to have it taken out next week. Also the waitlist with my local clinic is so long ive been on it months and am no where near being seen so have had to go private unfortunately as the symptoms hae become unbearable :(