Will you share your experience with the IUD or Nuvaring?

My wife had the IUD for a couple of years. She pretty much lost her sex drive, and every so often during sex, I would bump up against it and it hurt a lot.

I know this technique works for many, many couples, but it didn’t work for us. We have since gone off the IUD and switched back to wearing condoms. We have a lot more sex and my wife is far happier than before. Hope this helps.

Woo Hoo! I’ve been waiting for someone to ask this question!!!

I have an IUC (Mirena), I’ve had it for 14 months and i L-O-V-E it!!! The initial insertion was a tad bit uncomfortable, I would compare it to sever menstrual cramps that lasted the whole day after I got it. The months following (I’d say about 5) I had spotting most of the days, just pantyliner spotting. but after that ans since then I’ve had no periods at all, and my Gyno said I probably wont for the remainder of the 5 years that I’ll have it. It hasn’t effected my sex life at all. I would highly recommend it from my point of view but everyone is different. It’s helped a lot with my PMS, I used to have really bad breast tenderness every month and cramps, I NEVER do anymore, just a little emotional when it should be that time but nothing serious. My Gyno was totally against the copper one you spoke of, but then again she has the Mirena herself and LOVES it. I hope you find what’s best for you. But it’s so much more convenient than taking the pill or even having to insert and remove the ring.
@Mamradpivo as far as the poking you were probably feeling my Gyno told me if my partner feels the strings you can go in and have the strings clipped. Personally I didn’t have that problem.

@JustJessica – Thanks! You’ve given me some things to think about.
@Mamradpivo – I wonder whether your discomfort during sex was due to your being larger than average? Sorry to get personal, but Mr. Fiance is smaller than average so I wouldn’t imagine that this would be a problem for us.

Thanks for your input; I’m looking forward to hearing what others have to say.

The IUD wasn’t right for me. I used the copper one, though, so the Mirena might not have been as bad (although I got blood clots in my lungs from the pill… so I have to avoid hormones).

The insertion was horrible (and I have a pretty good pain tolerance). I had cramping, spotting and pain with movment, sex and pooping. My period was much heavier than normal (and it was already plenty heavy) and the extra cramping during my period was intolerable.

Don’t let that freak you out, though. If you can handle hormones, I would strongly consider Mirena. The people on here that I have seen talk about their experiences have been positive.

I’ve been on NuvaRing for about 6 years now and I love it. I tried a whole bunch of BC pills but experienced some side effects (weight gain, drastic hormonal cycles, just generally found them to be annoying) and started on NuvaRing at 17 or 18. It’s easy… you don’t have to worry about taking it every day. It goes in for 3 weeks (really easy and not gross to do) and comes out for a week when you get your period. I get my period on the same day within the same 3 hours every month (no cramps, totally manageable). I don’t have any side effects and don’t remember having any when I started. My one complaint is that I have had some issues with it coming out during sex and not knowing about it. I either make sure I check after to make sure it’s still in now, or I just take it out (it can be taken out for up to 3 hours at a time).

As for an IUD, I have no personal experience but I do have a friend who had one inserted last week. She had a very hard time having it put in (said it was very painful, to the point where they had to stop and she had to go in another day to try again) and she’s also experiencing terrible cramps. But this is normal for some for the first month apparently.

I vote for NuvaRing. But this is very subjective. I would think about trying NuvaRing first and if you don’t like it then get the IUD inserted. The NuvaRing seems like it’s less invasive… good luck!

I’ve put in IUDs (and removed them) but I’ve never put in Nuvarings.

@Samantha_Rae – Thanks for the input on the NuvaRing. At this point, I’m leaning a little more toward the Mirena IUD. I’m not going back to the doctor for 3 months, though, so I’ve got some more time to decide.
@Rarebear – I’m going to send you a PM – as a doctor who’s inserted IUDs, I hope you won’t mind answering a personal question.

I LOVE the Nuvaring. Its the simplest thing I’ve ever used and if it wasn’t so damn expensive I would be using one right this second. No side effects really, no forgetting to take your pill, just easy peasy birth control without having to worry about loss of fertility (or worse) if you do somehow manage to get pregnant like you have with the IUD. As soon as I’m able (stupid insurance coverage!), I’ll be back on the Nuvaring until I’m ready to get pregnant. I would absolutely recommend it without reservation to anyone.

I also did some looking into the copper things you spoke of, they seem to be a little barbaric if you ask me, with uncontrolled scar tissue that forms around the coils, that’s why opted out of that.

@Samantha_Rae Funny you mentioned about you having a problem with it coming out during sex. I have a friend that used the ring and we at her house getting ready for a wedding, we were sitting on the floor doing each others makeup and we heard a scream. Her little sister had found her ring on the floor evidently it had fallen out a couple nights before during intercourse. She complained that it happens a lot.

@JustJessica: that’s hilarious!! I’m glad I’m not the only one. I lost it once and went to take it out like 2 weeks later and it wasn’t there. Needless to say I FREAKED THE FUCK out. A few weeks later my boyfriend at the time found it under his bed.

I’ve used both methods, and think they’re both fine. The NuvaRing was good because it was a lower-dose form of hormones, a lot like the Pill, but better (in my opinion). It was a good option. The only issue for me was the hormones. That and I forgot to insert it on time once or twice over a few years’ time.

About four years ago, I decided to go with the copper IUD (Paraguard) because I decided to avoid taking hormones, and the IUD was the most effective BC method available. (Needless to say, I’m also in a committed relationship, so I don’t need STI protection. I should also mention that I was about 32 when I had the IUD inserted, and had no children (then or now). Often it’s not recommended for women who have not had children because there’s an increased risk of the IUD being expelled from the body.

My IUD experience has been excellent. My periods were extremely light on hormonal methods, and naturally increased with the IUD. For the first few months my periods were very heavy, but that’s normal. Now they’re heavier and longer than when I was on hormonal BC, but it’s not a big deal. On the plus side, I love not having to think about birth control at all. Also, the cost was low, in a long-term sense (my IUD can be kept in place for 10–12 years), though it was a lot to shell out all at once (about $300, I think). The strings were a bit long for my partner at first, but I had them shortened and they aren’t a problem anymore. Even when they were longer, I think it was more distracting for him than actually painful.

What else? When it was inserted, it was pretty painful, but not for too long. Maybe a few minutes? I felt a little tender and tired for the rest of the day, but that was it. All in all, I think it’s a good option. Personally, I love it.

If you don’t mind hormones and like the idea of not having a period (or much of one), the Mirena IUD is probably a good option for long-term, reliable birth control. From what I remember, the hormones in the Mirena IUD are still far lower-dose than even the lowest-dose pills. And the NuvaRing is also lower than most (or all) pills.

@Anemone – Thanks for your input. I’ve been leaning toward Mirena because I have been taking the pill for 15 years or so, and don’t seem to have any problems with hormones. My doctor also told me that the hormones from both Mirena and the Nuvaring are absorbed locally, and so those methods would be better for me (a 30-year-old smoker) than the pill. Because I’m in a long-term relationship and STDs aren’t an issue, and because I’m in grad school and don’t plan on having kids within the next few years, a long-term (but not permanent) method of birth control makes sense for me.

Thanks to everyone, and I’ll keep thinking about it!

I was making the same decision (Mirena vs. Nuvaring). I chose Nuvaring and I’ve had a fantastic experience.

For me, it’s never come out during sex. You just need to get it settled as deep inside your vaginal canal as possible—don’t be afraid to mush it around and really push it in there. You cannot insert it too deep, you can’t damage it by pushing it around, and it’s thin/flexible enough that it won’t hurt to mess around with it and get it as deep as possible.