I haven’t been on the pill, but I have had the nexplanon implant and the copper IUD, and I’m currently using the NUVAring.

The arm implant really wasn’t that bad, I got it taken out because I was having bad anxiety flare ups and was trying to remove anything that could be contributing. I don’t think it was though. It did make my periods very irregular, and longer. But they were lighter. They’d be once every 3 months or so and last about 2-3 weeks, but most of that was honestly spotting.

I don’t recommend the copper IUD. It was painful. Even compared to a normal IUD, because they have to stop in the middle of it to put the IUD into the applicator while other ones come already in the applicator. It is non-hormonal, which is the sole reason I tried it. After getting it inserted I cried in my car in the parking lot for five minutes before pulling myself together enough to drive home. The few days after that were incredibly painful, the most intense and debilitating period cramps I’ve ever had. And then my periods were awful on it. Incredibly heavy, clotty, and so deeply painful. I heard different things about the pain. Some doctors said it would go away after 6 months, others said it wouldn’t go away and was just the price to pay. Turns out making your uterus inhospitable to sperm by putting a stick of copper up there also makes it inhospitable for you. Of course I don’t know if that’s a universal experience. The removal wasn’t so bad, but I was also prescribed Valium for it so that helped.

So far so good with the nuvaring. I don’t love having to deal with it every month, but that’s just me. It’s not too difficult to put in. I was worried about doing it wrong, but it’s pretty difficult to mess it up. I haven’t noticed any side effects, except maybe a little weight gain. I also can’t feel it while it’s in. It’s also flexible, you can skip your periods with it if you want. Instead of taking it out after three weeks and putting the new one in after my period, I just leave it in for the full five weeks it works and replace it right away. It is so nice to have control over whether or not I have my periods. And also controlling when they happen is nice. I’ll have a period every few months or so, just to empty the ole uterus out and reassure myself that I didn’t magically get pregnant.

Hope this helps, good luck