Birth Control. Iud's Compared to Depro and Yas

I was 8 weeks post partum when I got my copper IUD. I had real bad cramps and bleeding in the beginning, but overall I LOVE IT!! I too gained weight and would get migraine type headaches on the pill. I am a advocate for the IUD! I am really bad about taking pills on time anyway..so this was perfect for me. Also look into the Nuvaring. It is a lower hormone, but yet still get some of the side effects of hormones and you have to remember to put it in and take it out when prescribed.

I have the Mirena IUD and have had it for almost a year. I haven't gained any extra weight as a result of it. I've been very happy with it.

I've had the copper T twice now. This last time I was tempted by the hormone one. I did some research online as well as ask my sisters who have had it. They all agree, there are side effects from the hormone. The side effects were different in everyone, but all hormone related ie. weight gain, depression, acne. I get depressed from the hormones so didn't want to even chance it. I love the copper T. My doctor says my first period will be heavy and I will cramp more. I didn't have a problem with the first one but even if I do with this one it is worth it to me to not have to worry about hormones. And to not have to think about birth control at all. Good luck

I, however, am not an advocate of the IUD. Most especially the copper one. I had it for about two years. When i first got it it caused BAD cramps and bleeding. Then my periods were extremley heavy, to the point where it was interfering with my everyday life (A super tampon and HOUR!) and the cramps were killer. I went to the gyno a couple of times and they did some tests and found out that the IUD had actually caused anemia! I wanted to get it taken out immediatly but apparently taking it out was more dangerous then leaving it in. So i continued with the miserable 10-13 day HORRIBLE periods and eventually got pregnant. so the iud made my life miserable, and then didnt even do what the main purpose of it was which was preventing pregnancy. What a nightmare

I did not like BC pills at all. I now have an IUD with NO hormones. Ask your doctor about that one. It is by far the best thing ever with no side effects. Good Luck

I had the 5 year IUD (Mirena) and it only lasted me a couple of months. IUD's are nice that the hormones only stay in your uterine cavity. Due to bloodclot tumors in my liver I cannot have any type of hormone in my body, but I could have the IUD. However, you bleed a lot. It is something that isn't mentioned in the pamphlet that they give you, but you bleed constantly. It is only supposed to bleed like that until your uterine wall is thinned and then you are supposed to not have a period or a very light one, but I never stopped bleeding. My friend got an IUD and she said it was great birth control because she never stopped bleeding either and so after 5 months she got hers out. Your body might be different, but I would question the bleeding with your doctor. The Nuva ring might be a better answer.

I had trouble with estrogen birth control pills and so had tried Yasmin for years before had my son. After my son, tried Mirena. It was awful! I bled every 3 days for 9 months and finally got it removed. I was told that was normal by the MD, but it was not by the drug company. You are only supposed to spot for 3-6 months, not bleed heavy for 6-9 months!!! Anyway, I know lots of people who have enjoyed it and its convenience, but my family has all had trouble with the IUD! After #2 is born, I will probably go back on Yasmin!

A.,
I got my copper IUD in august, and LOVE it! I was very hesitant about it, b/c I was worried about heavier cramps ect... but so far, nothing worse than before. I love the freedom of NEVER worrying about taking my birth control. and with the copper one, I don't have to worry about how all those fake hormones affect my body. Your insurance will probably cover the expenses, so it's worth trying, and if you don't like it just have it taken out.

I had the Mirena IUD for a couple years after my youngest son was born. I loved the convenience of it, but it severely lowered my sex drive. I also had mild weight gain. GL.

I recommend NOT taking the depro shot. I hated it, I had no interest in my husband at all. It was so bad I didnt even want him to touch me, my hormones were so whacked! I told my dr to find something different before I had to get a lawyer :)
We had my husband "fixed". And my hormones are great again. Good luck!

hello A. my name is marni i have the 5 year IUD i'm just due to get another one my experience is no i didn't gain weight and i'm not sure with the headaches as i suffer from them chronically before the IUD however you will bleed like a stuck irish pig for a about 45 days HEAVY you can't feel the IUD even during sex although my husband says he can from time to time but if you have your doctor cut the tail a bit it won't bother your husband (the strings in which they use to remove the IUD)my doctor said that sometimes the feel a bit pokey for the male)if they don't get cut anyway after the initial bleed outyour monthly's after that will taper down to nothing i was a mod to heavy bleeder before the IUD and now i have hardly anything i hope i have been able to answer some of your concerns and not be to crass at the same time hope things work out!

I have had all three. I had weight gain, headaches and nausea with the depro. I got pregnant on the depro after two months. Iv heard nightmares about it as well. I was on the 5 year IUD for 5 years 3 months (oops) and just got it out. I loved it. I didn't have any weight gain, mood swings or nausea. My body worked really well with it. After the IUD I went with Yas. I was having all kinds of mood swings, weight gain, headaches etc. after being on it for 8 weeks I decided to go off. Turned out I was 11 weeks pregnant (yes because I waited to long on the IUD). I would highly recommend the 5 year IUD. Its what kept me from being pregnant the longest and feel the best. And I'm one who could trip and become pregnant. And I react really bad to birth control.

I've been on the IUD with the progesteron for 4 years. I have lost 20 lbs during that time, and have no headaches to speak of. I do recommend the copper IUD, as I have had to go on a progesteron supplement due to the IUD with the progesteron-go figure. Apparently, your body doesn't make enough of the hormone, and my PMS was out of control. Things are working well now, but I'll switch to the copper one next year. On a side note, the IUD is an awesome form of birth control, and I highly recommend it.

Hi,
I have 5 kiddos ,4 girls and 1 boy, and I'm the same way. My boy is 7 months and I am breastfeeding. I have the IUC Merina and I am doing great with it. I have forgotten about it, I can't feel it. It has even stopped my monthly gift, yeah! Talk to your Dr about it. It's great for me and maybe for you too. Congratulations on the new little one!!!

S. J

I tried the IUD with no hormones. I immediately started cramping REALLY hard. But I talked to my doctor and she said that maybe my body would take a bit of time to get used to it and that she really didn't believe that the cramping was being caused by the IUD, and to give it some time. So I did. Even thought the cramping was so intense that it had me doubled over at times, where I physically could not stand up straight. Even so, I gave it a year, with no considerable improvements. I went back several times to see if maybe it had slipped and had many different tests to find out if something else was going on... only to find that it was implanted correctly and there was no evidence of anything else that could possibly be causing the cramping. I finally insisted that it be removed (my doctor STILL did not believe that the two issues were related)and what do you know? The cramping immediately ceased. My doctor said that she had never seen or heard of anything like it. I ended up getting the Depo shot and I did gain a little bit of weight, but it was much better than the cramping. Although the IUD didn't work out so well for me, I would still recommend trying it because it is very easy to have it removed if it doesn't work for you. Hope this info helps you.

hi ived also being on patches and all those things that made me gain 40 pounds and have migrains so i traveled to ecuador and got the copper iud it is very famous in south america the doctor who did this told me alot of myths the people go about. i had asked him how true was that an iud can get lost which was my concern which i heard as word on the street he said thats why people dont get it cause they believe everything they hear the truth is i ved being on it for 3 months no head aches just a couple of cranping and heavy flow then everything else is perfect for me dont need any more kids at least for 10 years

Updated

hi ived also being on patches and all those things that made me gain 40 pounds and have migrains so i traveled to ecuador and got the copper iud it is very famous in south america the doctor who did this told me alot of myths the people go about. i had asked him how true was that an iud can get lost which was my concern which i heard as word on the street he said thats why people dont get it cause they believe everything they hear the truth is i ved being on it for 3 months no head aches just a couple of cranping and heavy flow then everything else is perfect for me dont need any more kids at least for 10 years

I've had both kinds of IUD in the past and I would highly discourage the Mirena with the hormones. It made me gain weight, have hair loss, lots of cramping and discomfort although no period. I've always gotten pregnant first try in the past but when I had the mirena removed to conceive it took me over a year to start ovulating again and I bled for almost 2 months straight very heavy after removal. I have a sister in law who also had the mirena and she is going on 2 years now after removal with no ovulation. There are a lot of message boards online where other people talk about their experience with the mirena, I would recommend reading them before making a decision. When I had the copper iud I had slightly heavier periods, but otherwise no side effects at all. And once I had it removed I conceived in less than a week! I'm expecting right now but already have plans to have plans to have the copper iud inserted as soon as I can after delivery. Good luck deciding and I hope whichever option you choose works good for you.

Hi, there. I can't speak for anyone else, but in my experience I did experience headaches, mood swings, and weight gain with Mirena. It took me a long time (4 years) to put it together, because physicians don't realize or won't acknowledge side effects very much. All I know is I had to removed in last December and I've felt like a different person. Much more myself and in control of my emotions and weight.

On the other hand, I've heard a LOT of success stories. If the hormones don't cause side effects, it can be great. It sounds like you've had issues in the past, so you may want to be cautious.

Best of luck! :)

I have PCOS so my OB was pushing for me to do a birthcontrol pill, but I have had bad reactions with every BC pill I have ever been on. I pushed and finally she relented to insert the Mirena IUC, that is the plastic one with the hormone. She said that the hormone levels were so low that I probably wouldn't have the mood issues of the past. She also warned me that my periods would start out as normal (I don't know what normal is as for years I would bleed for 6 to 8 weeks and then nothing for either 2 weeks or months) get lighter and may eventually stop.

I had one cycle right after it was put in and that was the last one for over a year. I would get regular PMS like symptoms like clock work every month, but no cycle. That was not my only problem with the Mirena; the hormone in it was just enough that I did gain weight, and I did get the horrible mood swings(worse than when I was on Clomid to get pregnant!), and think the worse of all for me was that I could actually feel it. I know several friends who have this or the copper IUD and don't have issues, so maybe it was just me. Last fall I went to my doctor, who was new to me as we just moved here and doesn't really know how my "issues" effect me, and told him either he remove it, or I would. After he lectured me about how lucky I was that my husband is active duty Air Force and that if I was a civilian my insurance company would make me pay for the Mirena as they didn't get the five years out if it they had paid for he begrudgingly removed it.

So...if you have had issue with hormones before this may not be an option for you. Like I said I know numerous people with some sort of intrauterine birth control and it works for them, it just wasn't for me.

Hi A.,

I used the mini pill when I was breast feeding and did not have any side effects. The brands you mentioned to me are not familiar; maybe there are some other brands to choose from. If you are done having children then maybe your husband would consider having a vasectomy.

I got the 10 year IUD because of the hormones in the other and I LOVED mine. I never notice it, it is convienent and I love not having the hormone problems that came with other birth control. It is a tad uncomfortable when put in but nothing extreem or to really complain about. After that you don't really have to deal with it again unless you want it removed to have a baby.

I would recommend Mirena. I did the depo shot & gained a LOT of weight. I've tried Nuvaring & pills & those gave me headaches. My doc told me that the only option to avoid 2 types of hormones (which is what she thought was causing the headaches) was the Mirena (only has one hormone). I had mine put in in 2005 (6 weeks after my baby was born) & I love it. I have lost & kept off 75 lbs since I've had mine put in. If you watch what you eat & exercise as much as possible you shouldn't have a weight gain problem but everybody is different. Good luck to you!

Hi A., I have an IUD but it is a non-hormone IUD called Paragard (I cannot have any contraception that has hormones because of my breast cancer.) I have not had any of the major "typical" bad side effects of having an IUD such as increased cramping or pain, headaches, etc. I have had a bit of a heavier flow and my cycle seems to last about 6 days, but honestly I hardly even think about it. I would recommend getting Paragard or at least chatting about it with your doctor as I think it's the only non-hormone IUD.

I read on here from someone else that IUD's don't prevent the egg from being fertilized, it terminates it afterwards. I had no idea about that before so thought you should know incase that would affect your decision.

Good luck! I've never had headaches with Ortho-Lo and it keeps my hormones in check so I don't get depressed.

Have the mirena and it isw great, no side effects

I got the mirena IUD after I had my son(who is now 2). I love it. I used to take the pill and it also made me gain weight, and was just a pain. I am smaller now than I was before having my son. I dont have to worry about taking it every day, and the depro shot seems to have lots of side effects (weight gain, headaches, bone loss). I can't say enough good things about the IUD. Also, it was a one time copay to go to the dr and have it inserted...and thats it. no more monthly co-pays for pills either. Anyhow, I would do your research and talk to your doctor, but Mirena has worked great for me!

I got the copper IUD when my now 4 year old was only 6 weeks old. I love it. I didn't want anything with hormones-they make me psycho. For about the first 6 months my periods were heavier, but now they are back to normal. It has been a good choice for me. Good Luck!

Uterus is full of blood vessels. Whatever's there is going to make it into your bloodstream. If you had headaches with progesterone, you will have them with the Mirena...!
You could try the paraguard, I liked it for the first while, but then I had a bad reaction too. The good news is, you can have it removed if it doesn't work for you!
good luck

The Mirena IUD is the 5-year one and it has local hormone only - meaning it only imparts hormones to your uterus. It is not a systemic (whole body) hormonal birth control so you should not have any of the side effects you see from the other methods you mentioned. I used Mirena when my option of using any systemic hormonal methods was taken away and LOVED it! It was so simple and can help if you have heavy periods. After a couple (maybe 3) months my period went away altogether. I highly recommend it. It is completely hassle free and you don't even know it's there. It's the most preferred method used by female medical practitioners.