Hi there! I've had an IUD (Mirena) for 2 years now, and here is my experience-
- Insertion was not painful, personally. You feel a little achey for the next day or so, but nothing worse than period pains typically are. There may be some light spotting during this time, but with my experience, both the spotting and pain were minimal!
- The first few months, I had a "regular" period, meaning it occurred at its typical time and lasted what was a typical duration for me. The flow was ridiculous for the first few days but would slow down.
- After about 5 months, I stopped having a typical period. The most I *see* is a bit of spotting every now and again, so I have to track my cycle through different means. I still get cramps every now and again, but not typically anywhere near how they were prior to having an IUD. HOWEVER, sometimes I get cramps that are debilitating, but my ob doesn't think the two are connected.
- Obviously experienced some hormonal changes (acne, fatigue, breast tenderness, hair growth/loss), but you can expect similar experiences with any hormonal birth control.
I'm not a doctor, and yours would run you through the pros, cons, and possible concerns personally, but I think the biggest concern would be the device being dislodged or misplaced upon insertion (uncommon), and any negative side effects of the device, which aren't dissimilar to hormonal birth control. I *personally* wish I hadn't been talked into a hormonal IUD, I wish I would've gotten a copper one instead, just because I don't love the hormonal side effects of the Mirena. But ofc that's my personal experience. I know many other women who have also used a Mirena and loved it. I will also add that I MUCH prefer this over the pill, which I took for 5 years beforehand. There's no chance of forgetting to use or take, and there are no side effects of not taking it because... well, it's in there and not going anywhere for the next 6 years, lol.
I hope you find this helpful! As always, there are more resources from better sources than my personal experience. Take a look at Planned Parenthood's website, or another good resource is reproductiveaccess.org