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Copper coil vs micronor - just in need of some advice/experiences!

studentnurse1995

Recently due to medical conditions I had to stop me birth control. Having got the all clear I wanted to pick it all up again. Since stopping back in March I noticed that my hair had got alot thinner and my skin had gotten worse due to the pill (Micronor POP) - originally I was originally on Cerezette but it had caused NONSTOP brown, thick discharge!

I therefore decided that maybe I would be a goo idea to try something without a hormone base - the IUD. I discussed it with my Doctor and she is more than happy to fit it, I am just interested to know about people's experiences.

Online I can find many experiences from people who have had the Mirena coil (which has hormones but I assume the side effects would be different??)

Ay help/advice/experiences would be wonderful!! xxxx

Reply 1

A.L. C-Brown

I have a copper coil - I have a gynefix instead of the regular t-shaped one though. But I love it. Its the best thing ever.

I decided on a copper coil for a couple of reasons. I couldn't tolerate hormonal contraception (pretty much had every side effect in the book) and my partner couldn't really do condoms (plus I have a latex allergy which complicated things just that bit more) so I didn't really have many other options. A huge problem for me has also been stomach cramps - mine are absolutely awful and the coil is well known for making them worse, so I was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. But I did some research and eventually stumbled across the gynefix. Its a different shape to the conventional coil and doesn't make your periods heavier or more painful (actually the cramps have virtually stopped since I had it put in, which is wonderful) so its almost 100% protection from pregnancy without the side effects typically associated with the copper coil. It also has a much lower expulsion rate.

Insertion was painful, not gonna lie, but its different for everyone. For me it was a good 8/10 even with local anaesthetic. But it was the type of pain that stopped as soon as the doctor did so although it was painful it only lasted a few seconds in total. It felt like bad stomach cramps, basically. But it was really quick and after that you dont really have to think about it for the next five years.

But yeah, I love it. Can't feel it at all and my partner thinks its amazing. When it comes to IUDs the only thing on the Internet are horror stories but with the gynefix I don't think I've found a single bad review. Its not very common in England - only a few places fit it. I went to the Margaret Pyke clinic in London but there's a clinic in Oxford that will also fit it. I can't recommend it enough!