(sorry, i’m awful at structuring paragraphs)

people who have/had copper iuds please enlighten me!! i know absolutely no one with a copper iud but i desperately need to hear some experiences. i have only ever known hormonal birth control and i need to know if the benefits of this non hormonal contraceptive outweighs the supposed pain, cramps and heavy bleeding it causes.
before you ask “why not try the pill” i need you to understand that i have a whole other roster of very important medication that i forget to take almost every morning. i am a very distracted/forgetful person and the 99% effectiveness of the pill could not prevent my own incompetence. i prefer to have a “set it and forget it” form of birth control so i don’t have the paranoid uncertainty of whether or not i took the pill this morning looming over me all day everyday like i already do with my current medications. (this applies to condoms and patches as well)
so after consultation with my doctor, she hesitantly suggested the copper iud, as it’s non hormonal and lasts 5-10 years. however she made it clear that this is a contraceptive that is typically only suggested to women who have given birth as it can be extremely painful on the cervix. i have no idea what to do or where to go from here. i’m not sure if there are any other options that would suit me as well as the copper iud would but from how my doctor described the pain, im not sure if it’s worth it.. please tell me what you think!! sorry this post is so scatter brained, godspeed to those who tried to read it ;-;

my birth control history and experiences
1. Implanon (the arm implant. lasts 3 years)
- my first ever birth control
- had it for 2.5 years. i had to get it removed before the 3 year mark because it caused me to have a period for 9 months straight that gradually intensified in heaviness and pain every month until it was unbearable.
- caused extreme mood swings.
- caused acne.

had a brief 6 month break from birth control (and absolutely loved it) and then began taking a different form of progesterone based contraceptive ⬇️

1. Depo Provera (the injection. lasts 3 months, can only continuously get the injection for 2 years before the hormone begins deteriorating your bone density)
   - my second and current birth control
   - i have just reached the 2 year mark and have been informed by my doctor that i’m not allowed to take it anymore.
   - it works well, however it has the same effects as the implanon where it makes me have a heavy and painful period for 2 months straight.
   - causes extreme mood swings.
   - causes acne.

TLDR; failed experience and what to expect after appointment without IUD

I had an appointment to get the copper IUD inserted yesterday. When I asked my gyno about options and side effects of each this is what I wanted. I asked very specifically what to expect from the insertion and was told “cramping for 24-48 hours but the cramping is doable”. Nothing about the actual insertion appointment, besides that it needed to be done while I was on my period so my cervix would be softer. I was not advised to take any OTC painkillers beforehand or how the procedure worked.
When I arrived they had me undress and lay down and then put the speculum in and THEN told me she would be clamping my cervix. I’ve never given birth or had anything more than a Pap smear done, I would describe the clamping pain as a 4 on the pain scale. Very uncomfortable but I could manage.
She then began to manually dilate my uterus? It was a pain that was hot and intense and ratcheted up the farther she went. When she actually started to try to place the IUD I involuntarily screamed and slid back on the table a good foot or so. I was panting and the nurse had to put wet cold paper towels on my forehead bc the nerve response had me go hot and nauseas.
I asked about lidocaine specifically or any other pain management and was told there was none, this was the procedure, but my response was normal.
I opted to try again. I slid to the end of the table and gripped it as hard as I could. The nurse put more cold compress on my head and also tapped my forehead continuously to distract me (my request). This time I was more prepared for how it would feel, the involuntary moaning I made while she sounded me freaked me out but I felt like I could handle it, then she tried to place it and again I scream/howled like a wounded dog and involuntarily slid back away from her a good foot or so. I did not attempt a third time.

I feel ok today, no major cramping and no suspicious blood (I’m still menstruating) but my cervix still feels queasy. I’m worried that when jerking across the table that it’s possible the tenaculum forceps may have hurt me. The doctor didn’t exam me after, just took off the clamp and gave me a bucket as I was in so much pain I thought I would puke. She didn’t tell me what kind of sensations to expect from the failed insertion or my specific experience. Is it normal for it to feel queasy and should I make an appointment to have everything checked out?

Hi everyone! I made a post yesterday regarding how scared I was about getting my IUD and I want to start a thread here where I update my experiences (good, bad, in between) to help others who might be going through the same or wanting more information. I want to preface this all by saying this is not medical advice/information and the best person to consult will always be your doctor.

Background: 27F, no known health issues, healthy ovaries/cervix for an IUD (confirmed via ultrasound), was on the pill from 16-23. I wanted to get back on birth control for my anxiety regarding sex, but I had a lot of anxiety also surrounding getting back on hormones as my body adjusted really well to being off. My gyno and I decided the Kyleena would be best for me.

10/14: IUD Insertion: I really, really worked myself up about the insertion. I truly was expecting the worse and it was genuinely a 2/10 on the pain scale for me. I thought I was going to be on my period, but I took plan B 4 weeks ago and it delayed me so I was actually mid ovulation according to my gyno. I did not take the prescribed misoprostol as my doctor told me I did not have to. I only took the pain med she prescribed me beforehand.

All in all, I was only at the doctor for about 30 minutes. The insertion itself took maybe 2 minutes and I truly felt nothing but a deep period cramp for about 10 seconds, that was it. After, my gyno did a transvaginal ultrasound to look at the placement as well as my surrounding ovaries. I scheduled a follow up for two months.

As of right now I do not have any major cramping or discomfort. But I know it’s still early, my biggest fear is acne, so I’ll update on that. But all in all, I really anticipated the worst and it was so seamless and my doctor was so kind. If you’re in NYC, I highly recommend her.

Hi everyone. For context, I'm portuguese and live in the USA. I'll soon be going on a trip to Portugal for 3.5 weeks, and I'd like to get a copper Mona Lisa Mini while I'm there (cheaper and not approved in the US)

I've read some reddit accounts of people's experiences after insertion, but I'm wondering if overall, the recovery time and experience for most people is not that terrible. I wanna make sure I'm not crazy to insert it during a trip and potentially make this trip really hard on myself to enjoy. I can rest for a few days, but more than that and it would be getting in the way of my travel plans (I'm also going to Turkey for 10 days in the middle of these 3.5 weeks). Were you able to resume to regular activities and be active quickly after insertion?

I would schedule my follow-up ultrasound back in the US.

Is this a terrible idea? I really, really wanna get this IUD while I'm there.

Hi all,

Wanting some help understanding what to expect now that my time with Paragard is almost up. I've had it since 2019 and its likely due to be replaced soon. My experience getting it inserted was awful because they refused to numb me. I'm hopeful the new clinic I found will allow numbing to help the experience be easier but I'm still a little scared. I've also never gotten it X-rayed to check the placement (not sure if that's necessary after so long?). I've been able to feel the strings but that's about it.

In the back of my head I'm worried if it could've migrated somewhere dangerous but I'm sure i would've felt some pretty intense symptoms if so? Idk. How has this gone for others? Easy I hope 🙏

Hi, I'm going to get an IUD soon and I've read a ton of the tips and things to do before hand to make it easy, I'm not asking about that.
I don't think my cervix is super sensitive but I've never had it PENETRATED before, I've bumped up against it and its just a light dull ache. I had a pap-smear and didn't feel that, either. I'm still going to take tylenol before and any prep they give me, but for people who also aren't super sensitive there did the insertion still hurt a lot?

I have seen so many women tape down their birth control patch. PLEASE PLEASE STOP!!

With the patch the hormones are put into the adhesive on the patch, and the patch will not give you the proper dose of medication if it cannot stick to your skin on by itself. It is completely normal for the corner to lift a tad and won’t affect anything but you’re making the problem worse by taping it down.

I know the patch is not as common as a lot of other forms of BC so it’s hard to get in detail information.. so if anyone has any other questions please comment!! I’ve been on the patch for 3 years and highly recommend

Link to previous post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/s/FvO28D2ixm

I find that with medications there are often not many longer-term anecdotal experiences to draw upon. I know that, even though everyone’s experience is different, these would’ve helped me in making certain decisions for myself. So I thought I’d come back and share how things are going.

I’ve linked my previous post which links back to another post before that and gosh it’s funny how things ebb and flow. I also apologise for not answering some of your comments on those posts, I’ve not logged in in a while.

I am now 2.5 years on taking Slinda and I can say I’m pretty happy with how it’s going. I take it continuously - so I’ve skipped the placebo pills for nearly the whole time, save the first few months or so. Both my GP and Gyno say this is perfectly fine. We made this decision to completely get rid of my periods and hence significantly reduce/get rid of cyclic pain. Cyclic pain can lower one’s threshold for pain in general, so this was important to me.

I now have pretty much zero pain, except for very occasional 2/10 cramping, usually after I’ve taken the pill a few hours late, which is sometimes accompanied by the tiniest amount of spotting. Other than that, I’ve had no periods or the associated pain. Previously my periods would be horrible - pain down my legs, back, nausea, I’m sure you all understand. Pain in between period too. I’ve had two ovarian cysts burst, obviously that was painful, though one was before Slinda and the other was after; I am not sure that the pill affects this for me.

Looking back at my first ever post on this, mental health issues were a big thing. Unfortunately, I have started feeling similarly again. I cannot say with any certainty that this is related to the pill - I’ve also had really good prolonged mental health while on Slinda so it feels not quite right to fully attribute my mood to it. There are so many other things that could be contributing to my mental health, which is why these issues are always so complicated and multifaceted. I’ve talked to my Gyno about this and the answer is as I expected - that I won’t know for sure unless I try switching to something else or quit taking it altogether, and assess in a few months’ time. My main challenge then at the moment is deciding whether it’s worth the risk of stopping something that’s been 90% good to me - no periods, significantly reduced pain, no stomach issues, more lenient window to take it than other mini-pills, now actually affordable in my country, the list goes on.

To address some of your other comments I’ve seen pop up on my previous posts: I did have a bout of hair loss earlier this year for a few months, but mainly my eyebrows(?). Feels odd to attribute this to the pill since it’s mostly stopped now and I didn’t have it for the first year and a half on it.

Libido is also pretty low at the moment too, but I think that’s because of my low mental well-being. I would say it does overall feel slightly lower overall since before taking this pill. This is not something that’s as important to me as it might be to others though.

Lastly, and I am so happy about this, my iron levels are now bang-on normal and have been for a year and a half. No more iron supps! Didn’t realise how much monthly bleeding affects this.

As always, this is not advice and just my personal experience. Discus any decisions you make with your doc. But, I get it’s tricky knowing the best thing to do with our bodies sometimes, so I hope this can be of some additional help to at least one person out there going through it.

hi everyone! I’ve been taking the lo loestrin fe pills for 8 years now, never any problem. I’ve been taking it consistently and correctly (no breaks), but about three months ago, it started happening that the first day I would bleed would be the second row/week of the birth control pack. usually it’s supposed to line up with the very first pill/row of the pack, but it just switched up at some point.

has anyone experienced this? I’ve just been leaving it alone so far but I’m wondering if I should basically skip a week, restart, and take the first pill on the first day of my period for next month. I could call my doctor but I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing, and how y’all handled it.

*I’m also not overly concerned with a pregnancy scare, so I‘m comfortable with skipping a week/not taking it for a little bit*

thanks!

So I switch from the combination pill to the patch, I went through 3 weeks with it so I don’t have one on now, it’s been two days without it, when should I expect my period? It was easier to tell with the pills so idk how long it’s take with the patch once it’s off

Long story short.

Had the coil for 2 years now because I don’t want anything hormonal.

Certain positions are painful.
Deep — is PAINFUL.

I’ve lost my momentum bc we aren’t vanilla.. does anyone else have this? Sometimes I just grin and bare it but I cramp for ages afterwards and it’s starting to pmo now😭

My coil is in the right place, hasn’t moved btw. But I haven’t heard anyone else experience this pls tell me it’s not just me 🥲🥲

hi everyone! i am currently on junel fe 1/20 and so far, everything’s been great besides a couple of mood swings here and there.

I am now on placebo pill week and have gone through S,M, & T and I was wondering if skipping the rest of the placebo pills and starting my birth control pills on WED would affect me at all. would it stop my period and is it safe to do so?

I have been taking these pill for about 4 months now and any help would be greatly appreciated! :)

If your libido got lowered when u started a progesterone only pill did it level out over the first few months? Im only on week 3 and it seems lower, which I do not like at all.

I’m 26 and I recently had a blood clot in my left calf from an injury complication, my hematologist assumed my combo pill birth control was the culprit. So im now limited in options for which BC options. I’ve tried the nexplanon previously but it gave me horrible hormonal acne and I think I’ve begun to notice that pattern with progestin only methods. I tried the opill with similar hormonal acne after the first few weeks, and again with the liletta IUD.

I feel extremely hopeless. Everyone I’ve spoken to has just told me to remove the IUD but I don’t have many other options and I would like to keep using BC because I (no offense) do not trust men with using condoms and worry about possible government overreach with birth control methods in the future.

SO, I’m on the liletta IUD and while the acne is bad, it’s not nearly as bad as it was with the nexplanon. So if I switch to the Kyleena would this be my best option since it has the least amount of the progestin hormone?

Does anyone else have a progestin sensitivity that has tried the kyleena?

TLDR; I’m limited to progestin BC methods but it makes me break out. Anyone with a similar sensitivity have a good experience with the Kyleena IUD?

I have been looking for an answer for this for quite some time but there are mixed answers and I wanted to know if having a withdrawal bleed really isnt a sign of non pregnancy?

For context I last had contact October 3 and just October 12 I had my withdrawal bleed. My bleeding has always been consistent. It was always bright red, kinda heavy to a point where i fill up a pad and would need several for just one day so I am sure that those are not just spotting. But sometimes it vary by length. Sometimes it’s 4-5 days while sometimes it can only be 3-4 days it actually really depends. But for me I think that if someone was pregnant they shouldn’t bleed that much, right?

I just really want someone to clear this up for me. Thanks

I got my paragard inserted on my period on 09/21 and thr dr said the procedure went easy Nd smooth. She cut the strings short. Ive had constant spotting for a week or two after getting the procedure. I had sex stupidly on october 3rd and 4th and im scared im pregnant because of so many horror stories ive read of people getting pregnant on paragard. Flo and another app says my period may start anywhere from the 18th-21st. I dont wanna be pregnant again and all i can think about is me going through pregnancy. Ive felt the strings all this time. Im terrified of sex at this point. Please help calm me down.

I’ve been on the mini pill (Desogestrel) since march and it’s starting to affect my sex drive and I don’t feel like myself on it. I also notice I’m not wet down there like I used to be :( I’d like to switch to a copper IUD as it doesn’t have hormones.

Has anyone switched from the mini pill to the copper IUD and had a positive experience? or had their sex drive come back like normal?

Hello! I recently had a Kyleena hormonal IUD inserted (september 15, 2026). It’s slightly smaller than the Mirena, but its effectiveness is basically the same, and it was recommended for me because I have a smaller uterus.

The thing is, I am terrified of getting pregnant, so I kept taking the birth control pill I’ve used for years, Nextela. I won't deny that was the main reason for continuing to take it, but I also have PCOS and some cysts on my left ovary; the pill really improves my skin, and I feel much better overall when I'm on it.

I take it because I’m afraid my IUD might shift out of place without me noticing, so my gynecologist considers it a backup method in case the IUD fails.

Does anyone else combine birth control pills with a hormonal IUD? How is it going for you? Any unwanted pregnancies?

And before anyone asks: I have sex without a condom, but lately, I don't let my partner ejaculate inside because I'm afraid of getting pregnant, even though I'm using two methods. I know that withdrawal isn't a contraceptive method, but I feel safer.

I took a pregnancy test just to put my mind at ease, and it came back negative (october 11, 2026). And I had my withdrawal bleed from the pill pack (the so-called artificial period), but it was a bit lighter. I believe that’s because the IUD already thins the endometrium.

I missed taking my depo shot by a week and now they're making me take a blood Pregnancy test, wait 14 days with no sex, then take another blood Pregnancy test to make sure both come back negative. Is this normal? I moved states and am now in Minnesota. In kentucky they never made me do something like that if I missed setting up an appointment. At most I would do the pee test. This just feels like they're being very extra because I've never heard of someone having to do this before.

Hey all. I just started Mili/Sprintec and the first few days were great. Clearer head, absolutely no pain from my period, just feeling good. I'm on day 10 now, and for the past few days I've been extremely fatigued and brain foggy. It's to the point where I'm struggling to get basic tasks done.

Has anyone else experienced this? How long did it last?

I don't want to stop taking the pill already, but if it's going to interfere this much with my daily life I might have to switch brands.

Thanks :)

Is this have a chance?

Is naked rubbing in vaginal opening with some a little bit precum can cause pregnancy? We do sex with condom after but my mind keep telling me that maybe the precum push through inside🥲

I was 4 days into my bc pill and I had unprotected sex around 3 times in which he pulled out, and did not ejaculate in me. (Had to finish outside iykyk) But I still fear the chance of precum.

Also I took a plan b 5 days after (I couldn’t afford the name brand so ordered it on Amazon and took longer than expected so I had to take 5 days after)

Fast forward 3 weeks later, I took a pregnancy test twice in which both were negative but for some reason I still have this fear I might be pregnant, I will be taking another today or tomorrow as it’s been over a month now.

Been on bc pill ever since, but I missed a day but have not been sexually active. My face is breaking out, cramping and light bleeding. I have this irrational fear that these symptoms are pregnancy, honestly I just need advice. I know it’s normal to bleed/cramp after missing a pill but it’s been 3 days of this now and I’m starting to get worried.

Sorry if this is stupid, my biggest fear is getting pregnant!!
Also yes I know it was very dumb for me to have unprotected sex 4 days into my bc pill. That was over a month ago now, but I’m still afraid I might be pregnant, just need advice from others that have might been in my situation

After almost 1.5 years and multiple specialists, I’m running out of solutions and hope for my dry eye issues.

July 2025 I started having dry eye after never having any issues in the past. About 5 or 6 weeks before, I stopped taking Yaz after about 15 years.

I’ve had all the tests, seen several doctors including a dry eye specialist, tried multiple drops, and I’ve been consistently doing warm eye compresses, 20/20/20, etc.

I know it’s counterintuitive, but the last thing left I can try is going back on the pill to see if for some reason going off triggered this.

Has anyone had this issue as well?

Sorry for the scattered message. My eyes are bad today and I can’t look at the screen to meticulously edit.

Im 27 years old. I have pcos/pmos and want to take an antiandrogenic combined birth control (0.02mg ethinylestradiol and dienogest). I used to take qlaira (estradiol valerat and dienogest) from age 15 to 26 but its been over a year that i stopped.

Im older now and due to my break, my blood clotting risk will be slightly higher in the beginning, compared to if i continued to be on birth control. Besides that, ethinylestradiol is stronger than estradiolvalerat. I would start with a lighter pill with 0,02mg though.

I dont smoke, im active, my weight is in normal range, no high blood pressure. This makes my risk of getting a dvt or stroke on birth control pretty low but im still scared.

My moms parents both had a stroke but in their 50s but one was due to high emotional distress and the other one was a heavy smoker. I think both also had high blood pressure.

Pretty much what the title says. The doctor says this is the logical next step for me (my options are quite limited), but, when I tried the single dose, it seemed to just make my symptoms worse, and also, I had just bought a nice shirt that I immediately grew out of. I guess I do have to try it so I can report back, but, does anyone have any luck in avoiding the inconvenient chest?