Vaginal ring vs Hormonal coil (IUS)

I have had the Nuva-ring for years. It's brilliant, no side effects, it gives the hormone dose at the point in my body I need it so I know less hormone is swirling around my body and going through my liver. Surely that's a good thing. I don't think GPs prescribe it here in the UK nearly enough as possibly more expensive than the pill? I was living in Europe after the birth of my second child, initially I was put on the mini-pill and immediately fell into a very low mood which I hadn't felt the weeks after the birth so knew it was the mini-pill that had effected me. I was taken off it straight away and it was suggested I avoid progesterone-only contraceptive as I am probably progesterone-intolerant (beware anyone on the Merina-coil - so many don't realise progesterone can give you depression). I was then given the Nuvaring which I have been on ever since. Oestrogen and me are happy bed fellows. I am also now on HRT which I can take with the ring. When my oestrogen levels dipped as I hit 50 yo the oestorgen in HRT once again lifted my mood. It's all trial and error but only we know what works and what doesn't.

NuvaRing greatly affected my mood, at one point I thought I had depression and got prescribed antidepressants by incompetent doctors. The second I stopped using NuvaRing (based on INTERNET RECOMMENDATIONS), all my mental problems went away

I used the NuvaRing/Syreni ring for over a year without any apparent issues until I began experiencing severe stomach cramps. The pain was so intense that it often woke me up at night, leaving me unable to move or sleep for hours. Despite multiple doctor appointments, my concerns were repeatedly dismissed, and I was left feeling anxious and on edge, uncertain about the cause of my pain. Frustrated with the lack of answers, I decided to take matters into my own hands and removed the ring myself. Remarkably, after five months of excruciating cramps, they stopped immediately upon removal of the ring. It's been five weeks now, and I remain cramp-free. While I cannot say with absolute certainty that the vaginal ring was the cause, the timing feels far too coincidental to ignore.

I experienced irregular periods, major mood swings and no sex drive at all. Would not recommend this at all.

Insertion isn't pleasant, but once it's in place, there's nothing to do for years! I had my first Mirena coil over 8 years ago and haven't had a period since insertion, only very occasional spotting (maybe once every 3-6months). I know some women like to track their cycle, but I never think about it and prefer it that way! Would recommend.

Loved this until I got BV then no treatment would fix it until I got IUS removed

The threads disappeared on the first coil so had it changed early (wasn't great as they had to go digging about to find the threads). Had another put straight in at the time thinking it was a one off but the same happened with the second so I had it removed early as soon as I noticed them becoming shorter to avoid the first scenario again and switched to the implant. Great that my periods stopped on it and it's super low maintenance though.

Extremely painful insertion. Blood loss continuously for about 3 months, bleeding everyday. Then periods became irregular, passing clots the size of my palm. Periods worsened after merina, when ironically merina was prescribed for heavy periods. Dermatitis caused by merina after 2 months. Told that results with merina are variable, and to wait and see. Not good advice considering the health issues and extreme blood loss caused by merina so far.

I mean as a contraceptive it works because I haven’t gotten pregnant. A positive my periods are extremely light and irregular, but as a distant irregular. But my skin has never been so worse in my life, I constantly have big deep spots on my chin. I used to have quite dry skin but now on the oily side.

The mirena coil stopped my periods and worked as a contraceptive, however it stimulated hair growth on my face which was not there before. As a result I have required many courses of laser. I do not have PCOS and have had testing, however I think the hormones in the mirena coil started the changes that are now continuing despite having the coil since removed. The coil was also extremely painful to have inserted.

Had the Mirena Coil in for around 9 months and it's made my periods so much lighter but a bit more irregular. It was really painful upon insertion and I'm still getting stabby cramps around when I should be having my period. Overall, I think it's worth it because my periods are so much lighter.

I had three Mirenas over the course of about 9 years. The first two were perfect, with no side effects and stopping my periods. For me the insertions and removals were fine. Maybe a 3 out of 10 pain wise and some mild cramps afterwards. Unfortunately I know that's not everyone's experience. After about 3.5 years of each Mirena, I got lots of breakthrough bleeding and my GP decided to change it early to prevent this. Unfortunately my third Mirena gave me unpredictable bleeding for months, which was affecting my life as I was always worried I'd bleed through clothes or during sex. I also kept getting recurrent thrush, which I'd not experienced before. For me another negative was that the strings always seemed to be really prominent and my boyfriend could feel them during sex. Overall a mixed experience - after years of hassle-free birth control I eventually changed to the POP due to the unpredictable bleeding I was getting with Mirena.

I found that when I got it inserted I had a light, almost discharge like period for 3 months and then once that finally went, I started having irregular periods and and someone whose always had regular periods this was infuriating. The reason I went on was for period pain and I found the pills, both mini and progesterone only, made my mood drop in terms of I was always angry and anxious and my general body image went on a downward spiral. I had no issues with the mirena up until about 3 months ago when all of this started happening again. I’m hoping this will help for others in my situation