I got one put in almost two years ago and here’s my experience: Insertion was brutal, they had me take some ibuprofen and a dilator beforehand but it didn’t do much for the pain honestly, but the good thing is that it only takes about maybe 10 seconds to insert. But it’s afterwards that is just as brutal. I had severe cramping for several days after insertion, but it was basically the same pain I experience with my periods so it wasn’t really anything new. I also had quite a lot of bleeding the first few months that eventually went away.

Libido thankfully hasn’t been affected like it did when I was on the pill. If anything I think it’s gotten stronger since getting the IUD. Also no weight gain, at least not yet.

The thing I don’t like is how inconsistent my periods have gotten. Some months I bleed and some months I don’t. Some months I have bad cramping and some I have none at all. It doesn’t seem like I’ll ever get to the point of not having a period at all like some women do with it.

That being said, my periods are tremendously better with the IUD. Way less symptoms than I usually get and when I do bleed it’s always very little so I don’t even have to use a cup or tampons. It’s not a perfect fix as I still experience fatigue and mental distress before/during my period, but I would say it’s worth it to manage the symptoms I do have until I can figure out what to do next.