Withdrawal or pull out method vs Hormonal coil (IUS)

I came off the combined pill around 4 years ago after trying many different pills and never quite feeling myself/having terrible clots in my periods on breaks. I'd been told by drs it was the only way to have safe sex from pregnancy and felt i had no choice. The good old fashioned pull out method has been my best friend ever since! Once i spoke to a very wise nurse who told me that i could try the natural cycle way or rely on pull out cleverly. Now i want to say that this isn't for everyone. I have been in a healthy long term relationship with someone i trust and with whom we communicate during all aspects of sex. Because of this we have been able to have all kinds of sex (including penetrative) without any pregnancy scares. My partner is a cis man and i a cis women, and the secret is FULL COMMUNICATION. If he is close to cuming he stops (NEVER ACTUALLY RELY ON PULLING OUT AS YOU CUM NO NO). It's about calming things down on his end when he thinks he'll climax. that means pulling out and moving to oral etc for a while before going again. Normlly this means i get a whole lotta love while he calms down so BONUS!! POSITIVES - I often cum first as it means i always get to cum as he can keep going and we are not relying on one way to have sex. I feel myself! We are more experimental and go on for longer. Its about trust so things feel more intimate, it has led to better communication and much better forplay. This means i cum more often. Knowing my own cycle and getting to know how my body and hormones work. Having sex slowly and sensually, with my pleasure and his both being taken into account due to the fact you can't just have full penetrative sex without thinking. NEGATIVES- he obvs can't cum in me. he doesnt personally feel sad about that. When finally he can't be in me anymore he has to cum using other ways to finish. It means it can be a bit stop and start (personally i think this is fun). You do have to be more careful. THIS IS DEFINITELY FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEIR SEXUAL PARTNER WELL. ITS ABOUT TRUST. You can't just bang it out like in the movies haha! I do pregnancy tetss every 3 months just in case pre cum has snuck in (it's very unlikely this gets you pregnant especially if your partner is aware of this. but worth thinking about) Overall, Chefs Kiss - but i do sometimes miss he cumming inside me ! BUT WON'T GO BACK

Only used it on occasion and normally alongside another form of contraception. I don't really recommend it as it feel risky

The withdrawal method is really not for everyone. But me and my partner prefer to not use male condoms and I use my Flo app to track my ovulation and period which helps me gauge when is the best time to use this method. As I’m not trying to fall pregnant again right now, and I don’t really want to use any hormonal contraceptives, this method has definitely worked for me but can only work if your willing to take control with family planning.

I had it put in at the end of January. Insertion wasn't fun and did hurt but no worse than the period cramps I used to get. Did spend the afternoon in bed. First few months were ok, some period pain but less than before and lighter periods. But as a few more months have passed I've been getting more migraines again. Also my body hair is more noticeable. My mood is mostly stable except now when I'm ovulating or period about to start, I get very irrational and angry. My last period was heavier than I would have had before the coil but hoping that was just a blip. Have also been spotting constantly the last 2-3 months.

Year 1 was a lot of hormonal changes, strong random cramps and spotting (i had to get the position adjusted slightly about 8 months in), but the effect on my periods was almost immediate. Regular lighter periods with reduced cramps(outside of above) that no longer impacted my life negatively. It's a game changer. Once that all settled down, I was abel to start tracking my periods and moods and for the first time in my life knew when something was "outside the norm" and could get things checked out as they came. The positive impact outweighs the negative by far in my opinion. Peace of mind and regular light periods is absolutely worth it for someone who's emotions and hormones and periods have always affected negatively (before jaydess I'd pms what felt like 3 out of 4 weeks, cramp so hard id pass out and bled through so many clothes)

I got the coil fitted to control heavy periods with contraception as a bonus. I’m aware I might be still in the settling down phase, this is my experience so far. Fitting was uncomfortable but I’ve had 3 vaginal birth so nothing touches that! Cramps for a few days but settled down. So far I have been bleeding most of the time since having it fitted, not heavy, light, but constant and irregular patterns. Very annoying. Low self esteem and low mood. Weight gain, despite being more physically active and eating healthily. Increase in headaches and migraines. Generally unimpressed at the lack of connection with healthcare professionals and Mirena coil users. So many women reporting poor experience yet doctors aren’t relaying this information. Will be having it removed. I choose control over my body over convenience.

First 6 months is an adjustment period so I had plenty of headache and feeling sick but after a while my body used to it and I am fine. 100% contraception effectiveness and no heavy period.

Insertion was definitely a little more than just "uncomfortable', it was incredibly painful and emotionally felt very invasive. Took about a day or two to get over the cramps. Felt very faint the first night after having it inserted. Have had experience with SA before though and after telling the nurses they were incredibly supportive throughout the procedure. Side effects wise I got on pretty well for the first year. My periods did stop after a few months, which I found to be a bit strange as I like to track my cycle and I found this a bit strange at first, as I could feel my other symptoms of my cycle but felt a bit off kilter when I didn't have my usual period. Not having to worry about condoms or taking a pill everyday is great though. But after about a year of having the hormonal coil I've noticed my mood and mental health take a bit of a dip. I feel a bit like my emotions are just sitting a bit flatter, I'm a bit more irritable, I don't experience quite the same amount of joy as I used to. I do have a lot going on in life at the moment, but I can't help but notice day to day, even on good days, that I'm not as cheerful or reacting to things in the same way I used to. Emotionally not feeling like myself I don't feel is worth this,no I'm going to seek advice on whether to have this removed or not I think.

So far I love the mirena coil! Insertion was definitely painful (not just “uncomfortable”!), but the pain was very brief. I had cramps for a couple of days, and then light bleeding/spotting for about a month. However since then I’ve had no periods, and don’t even know it’s there. I get a few more spots now but that’s from rarely getting any when I was on the pill, it’s not a lot. My weight has stayed exactly the same. I was terrified of getting it fitted but am so glad I did, if it continues like this then I will take 30 seconds of pain for 8 years of not having to think about contraception, no periods and no side effects!

Had the coil for just over a year and bled daily (although only light). Only had a few days a month not bleeding

Generally the Mirena has been great. Only noticed most of the side effects after 4 years having it in - and they’re still very manageable.

So I’ve had the kyleena put in just over 2 years ago. For the first 18 months it was great, there was no side effects and my periods were getting lighter and less painful! After that, I started noticing quite a bit of hair loss during showers and brushing, visibly making my hair look thinner. I’ve always had thick hair so this was quite upsetting and I put it down to the stress I had during college. Now I’m in a new job that I’m loving, the hair loss hasn’t subsided. It’s still falling a lot everyday so I’m deciding to get the kyleena removed in a months time. I’ve been to the GP and got bloods done in which everything came back fine. So hopefully once I’ve the kyleena removed my hair will slowly start growing back :(

Not 100% sure what to think yet. Enjoying not having to worry about administrating my contraception as it’s in there and working. However I am having unpredictable spotting, some emotional mood swings and often being bloated.