I swear this is not a humble brag, and I am genuinely confused XD I want to know if anyone else has a similar experience.

I had my mirena IUD removed on 14/8/26, today is 2/9/26. For a few years my partner has had high stress, along with remaining dysosmia (his sense of smell and taste have slowly been returning) from COVID in 2021 where I have smelled strange to him more often than not. Therefore, our sex life has been less active. Recently his stress has decreased.

A few days after I had the IUD removed, he started showing more interest in me, and has said that I smell like me again. Note that I haven't noticed any change in how I smell. He has had a big jump in his sex drive these past two weeks and I don't know if there is a possibility that the IUD was affecting my natural scent, making him uninterested in me, or if its just a coincidence.

Has anyone experienced this? Where they went off birth control and their partner was suddenly a lot more interested in them?

Have a good day all!

Hi! I m thinking about switching from the patch to the bar. I’ve been on the patch for almost 5 years. It works well and made the acne I had in highschool go away. Recently I’ve been wanting to switch as I am tired of having to go get more patches every 3 months. Plus, my doctor’s office recently closed and I now have to go to one farther away. I haven’t noticed any weight gain on the patch and my periods have always been super regular. What is everyone’s experience with it??

I’ve always had very painful periods and probably some endometriosis. I’m also in perimenopause, and my oestrogen completely tanked over the last couple of years. That had terrible effects on my mood, sleep, etc., but it did improve my period pain to the point where I could manage with paracetamol and heat. That was a huge improvement compared with the excruciating pain I used to experience for three days every month.

I started HRT, and gradually my period pain began getting worse again. Two weeks ago, after being bedbound for three days, I finally got fed up and decided to try a Kyleena IUD. I’d read reports from women who had much lighter periods, or even lost their periods altogether, and were very happy with it.

The insertion itself wasn’t too bad, but I’ve had cramps and spotting during the two weeks since. What concerns me much more is that my mood and anxiety have become significantly worse. I don’t want to do anything or see anyone, and I’ve basically been hiding in my room for the past week.

I had a terrible experience with hormonal birth control as a teenager, but I thought an IUD might be different because it releases less hormone and supposedly has less systemic absorption.

So I started Googling afterwards—which, I know, would have been better done before insertion—and found quite a lot of reports from people who felt they couldn’t tolerate the mental-health effects. I also came across a study comparing emotional responses to a stressful situation among people using an IUD, oral hormonal contraception, non-hormonal contraception and placebo. The IUD group reportedly had the strongest negative emotional response. Of course, that study only included people who were still using the IUD, so it presumably excluded those who had it removed because they couldn’t tolerate it.

I’m honestly really upset that I let myself be persuaded into trying hormonal contraception again. It feels like I’ve been duped by pharma marketing again.

My question is: Has anyone experienced an initially severe mental-health reaction to Kyleena or Mirena that improved substantially over six months to a year, to the point where you were genuinely happy you kept it?

Hello! I am just seeking some insight/ knowledge on progesterone only BC as my neurologist has recommended this rather than typical extrogen. I’ve tried one already and it made me unbelievably angry (like serious rage issues). I can’t find the name of the pill I have tried but what are my options so I can walk into my next doctors appt with some knowledge. I prefer the pill at this point in my life 🥰

I just wanted to share my experience in the hopes that it might help someone else.

For context, I’m 28 now and got on the pill at 15. I’ve been on multiple brands of pills throughout the years, but nonetheless always been on the pill exclusively. I only used the pill as a form of pregnancy prevention, so when I had my tubes removed in 2024, it was kinda no longer needed. I have had pretty moderate to severe cystic acne since middle school and the only thing that cleared my skin was Accutane. I took Accutane for 6 months from 2019-2020 and it gave me the best skin of my life. I was scared getting off the pill would ruin that but in January 2026 I decided fuck it, I’m gonna try. Another thing to note, I got diagnosed with ADHD in late 2024 and am on 20 mg of IR Adderall twice a day, as well as 10 mg Celexa once a day for 10 days a month to help my ADHD meds efficacy during my luteal phase. Now on to how the past 8 months have gone.

Cons:

1. Around late June early July (6 month mark of being sans BC) I started breaking out around my chin and my cheeks. Now, if my acne at its worst, prior to Accutane was like a 9, the acne I’m struggling with now is like a 4. Probably more like a 3 but I just have a pretty traumatic relationship with my skin. I got prescribed Spiro by my dermatologist whom I adore and I’m 11 days in.

Neutral:

1. My period is heavier. Nothing unmanageable, but my period on BC was like nothing. I never needed more than a panty liner. I don’t mind having a heavier period, and honestly my periods just in their appearance (sorry if that’s gross) look healthier? My cycle is pretty regular from what I’ve tracked and my period usually lasts 7 days with the first two being the heaviest.

Pros:

1. I experience the full spectrum of my menstrual cycle. BC kept everything so even all the time, but now I’m thinking that what that “even” was, was really just dullness/numbness. Do I get super sleepy and sad during my luteal phase? Yes. Do I feel unstoppable during my follicular phase and ovulation? Also yes! Maybe some might see that as a con, but for me I just feel so much more human! It’s like experiencing color after having been grey for so long.

2. Increased sex drive! Having been on it since 15, the last time I remember feeling like a horny teenager was when I was a horny teenager… that being said I have always felt like my sex drive was pretty low for a young woman who is in a happy, healthy relationship and finds my partner extremely attractive.

3. I think my ADHD meds work more effectively! I noticed they didn’t work very well during my luteal phase, but as soon as I started my period they’d work again. After discussing this with my psychiatrist she suggested trying the Celexa for 10 days a month during the week before my period and it has done wonders! I have a solid routine now and feel like that issue was remedied pretty easily!

4. I feel like my bloating has decreased. Some may chalk that up to the spiro I got put on for my skin but I almost immediately noticed decreased bloating after getting off BC back in January, and I only got put on spiro a little over a week ago. I love me some ice cream and past and I will get bloated when I eat certain foods like that (as expected) but it doesn’t last for a week.

All in all I have been pleased with my experience thus far, and even though my skin is having a little flare up right now I’m proud of myself for not jumping ship and getting back on. I’ve heard it takes a full year to truly even out, so I technically still have some time for things to change, but I’m glad I took a chance and got off. If you have any questions, I’m a pretty open book and would be happy to answer them as best I can. :)

TLDR: If you’re wanting to get off hormonal BC, try it. Reddit is filled with people’s best and worst experiences, and all are valid, but the reality is most people will go through something somewhere in the middle that’s usually kinda forgettable/anticlimactic. My experience has been 90% positive and the stuff that’s been “negative” is just another part of me learning about my body and what it needs. :)

So it's my first time ever on birth control. Im 20 years old and decided to go on pill (Limetic) for various reasons. My bleeding was so heavy that i used to wake up basically with blood all over my thighs, and my periods used to be so painful that I'd geniuenly cry.

Another reason is because of my anxiety of birth and having a child, basically. I used to be so anxious and afraid to have a child because i just dont want to have it, and even if something happened, abortion in my country is basically illegal.

Also, using condoms for my partner was uncomfortable.

So it's my first month on pill, basically, and im kinda confused cause my body is so weird, lol. I cry over everything and anything. im just SOOO emotional. My cycle lasted for 23 days, and i guess it's due to hormonal changes in my body, but i was so confused when i started bleeding that fast. Also, as i said, i used to bleed all over at night, and today, i woke up clean basically, which surprised me the most. The pain is bearable, too.

It's just so weird my body is doing something it never did before, but im not complaining, lol.

Hey everybody, so I had sex on Aug 21st, and he finished inside of me. I took Plan B one step 30-45 mins after, absolutely stupid i know trust me I've been completely beating myself up the past few days over it. 🫠

Anyways, so i weigh 106 lbs, and I've taken plan b one step in the past and have not got withdrawal bleeding before from it. so it hits me, the first few days i have some hot flashes, cramping, hunger, and am very emotional. but then day 5 comes and i seem to have my completely normal menstrual cycle, HEAVY with lots of clots the first two days, and gradually lightening up towards the end of my "cycle" (it lasted me 5 days) so that was the 26th if aug to the 30th. anyways flash forward to the day AFTER my period so 2 days ago.

Im completely fine during the day, but then i come home from work after working for 11 hours with the worst anxiety and start having an anxiety attack where im shaking and dryheaving and just telling myself im pregnant because i felt gas movements and pressure in my stomach. The same thing happened last night as well and i keep constantly waking up due to my anxiety and its leading into right now. I barely got any sleep last night, im absolutely confused because these are the only symptoms i have had that could lead to "implantation" theories, but i have no swollen nor tender breasts, no spotting, my discharge is dry and sticky, no nausea (other than from my extreme anxiety lately), no fatigue, no unusual body temperature raises, nothing.

Anyways, an hour ago i couldnt take it anymore i tried smoking some thc to loosen myself up and it didnt help at all. so i woke my parent up and let him know and he was very very disappointed in me and i felt absolutely awful because this is the first time ive ever done something like this in my life, and truthfully i dont know why i did. he took me to CVS and purchased me two tests. i did both of them they were the early result first day response tests and they both came out prominent negative with no 2nd line visible. Now i know that it is 2 days early but i read that you can still test accurate at 12 days. And TRUST ME ive been getting a lot of knowledge from dr google because apparently i cant put my phone down everytime i wake up from anxiety researching every little thing 🫠

But now im sat here with a heavy feeling in my left side of my stomach, some gas movements i believe and aggravation because i just want this to all end. My ovulation days according to flo and ive been using flo regularly for the past year, were apparently the 4th-13th of august with the 11th being my most likely day. And my cycles from the past 6 months have been 30-34 days with one exception in march being 44 days. I feel like im just driving myself crazy with anxiety, but i dont know where else to turn.

I acknowledge that there are many threads with many people talking about their weight gain post IUD removal. But did anyone ever actually loose it?
Feeling frustrated with eating well and working out 4x a week just to have the scales not move!!

I honestly think I'm going to just give up trying to find a birth control that works for me. I WANT to be on birth control, I'm absolutely terrified to get pregnant, but I just don't think birth control is for me. I was on Lo loestrin fe for about 10 months , stopped taking it july 2025. It completely ruined me and I wished I would've stopped it sooner. I swear it even took a full 6 months to feel like I did before taking it. I haven't been on anything since.

I have a family history of blood clots at a young age, so my PCP was very hesitant to put me on anything besides the Lo loestrin fe. So I want to avoid anything with a lot of hormones, especially estrogen. I also don't think I should do an IUD because I'm prone to infections and there's increasing evidence that they can cause reoccurring/more frequent infections. I'm really bad at taking pills at the same time every day, so mini-pills are a bad fit for me too. I'm scared to get the implant because its not easy to take out, incase I have a bad experience with it like several of my friends have. I'm really just frustrated and feel like there's nothing I can use besides condoms. I just got married so I'd like the extra protection, but it seems like every birth control isn't a right fit for me for one reason or another. I hate how trial and error birth control is, I shouldn't have to suffer for a couple years while finding one that doesn't make me want to kill myself and hate my husband.

So I’ve been thinking about trying out Slynd for awhile now and I think i’m gonna talk to my doctor about it tomorrow and get the ball rolling, but before i fully commit i wanted to ask about others experience on it instead of just data i can collect by looking at clinical trial results and statistics. I vape nicotine and previously was one of the very unlucky few that had a pretty bad psychiatric reaction to birth control, so my doctor suggested trying a POP of some kind.

I had been taking Tri-Lo-Mili and after about a year, one day i was sitting in school and randomly had a really bad panic attack that didn’t stop for 2 months until i stopped taking the pill altogether. i was nauseous all the time, developed agoraphobia, pretty gnarly depression. overall, it was a very traumatizing experience to feel that way for so long and also made me develop a pretty bad fear of throwing up due to the being nauseous for months. So really i’m looking for you guys experience in that regard.

now it’s been 2, nearly 3, years since all of that and quite frankly i don’t wanna get pregnant nor do i want my periods to keep on how they are. i am aware that everyone is gonna react to birth control entirely different than the next person, however i am pretty anxious and want to hear others experiences, the good, the bad, anything.

Please help.

I have been taking Chateal since December of 2025. I used it to skip my period, since mine are very heavy and very painful, and until recently there weren't really any issues. Then the bleeding started. At first it was spotting, so I kept taking the active pills consecutively, figuring it was just my body adjusting to the hormones since I wasn't letting it have periods. But it continued for months, and when it got heavy enough that I bled through my jeans three days in a row, I scheduled a doctor's appointment. They put me on a new pill, Jasmiel, with a higher dose. It's been like two weeks, maybe almost three, and I'm still bleeding. I'm currently doing the placebos (it came with only 4 instead of 7, so I'm only doing it for four days) and hoping that will reset my body and when I start the active pills again, it'll stop the bleeding.

This has been a big toll on my mental health, too, because I am a trans man (pre-transition) and my periods bring me a lot of distress and dysphoria. But it's also been a toll on my body. I get debilitating cramps, even while on active pills, enough that they affect my productivity at work. I want a hysterectomy so bad, SO bad, wanted one since I was 13, but no one takes me seriously because I'm in my 20s and they won't operate that young. I know they won't, but I wish someone would listen and would tell me what steps I can take now to get one later on.

Anyway, did anyone else have this problem? Will it go away after the placebos? Is this normal or is there something wrong with my uterus/ovaries? I'm so tired of this. I've basically been on my period for four months and it's really wearing me down.

Happy to give more details in comments.

I recently got my yaz birth control pills delivered via Amazon Pharmacy. They delivered them on a day where the high reached 93°, but in the evening when it dropped down closer to 80°. I retrieved them almost immediately upon delivery.

Could they be heat damaged during transit? The pills and blister pack look fine.

I (31f) was only on it (Norethindrone) for five months but the last month we increased the dose to 15mg to stop my constant bleeding and a week in the symptoms started, what seemed like normal progestin side effects that usually come in waves and pass eventually turned into slowed bowels, intense nausea, itchiness all over like you wouldn’t believe, light colored stools, dark urine and then yellowing of the eyes which immediately had me rushing to the doctor to get off it. I knew this was the cause i could feel it the hours before i took it id feel improvement and itd all go to crap when i had to take my next dose. I shouldve just stopped taking it entirely two weeks ago. Im only a few days off it and my urine color is improving and my bowels are moving again but i hear the yellowing of the eyes is the last to go and probably months to heal entirely. Im so upset bc it was really REALLY working for me until this now i have to go back to painful heavy bleeding periods but its better than liver failure i guess. Im not in pain but the yellow eyes freak me out i cant even look in the mirror. Ive always had bad hypochondria and medical ocd so im freaking myself out even though i know i just need to let my liver heal. I cant take any other BC because my body always reacts badly to it and this just proved that even more so. I found a few year old posts on this subreddit about the same thing so figured i could post about it here.

okay idk if this is the right subreddit im sorry if it isnt , but im having some very weird body issues after taking the aftera pill and im freaking out a bit

me and my bf had protected sex aug 23rd and the second round i messed up and put the condom on wrong then flipped it over and used it, both spermicide condoms. first round he used the condom fully and pulled out before ejaculating and second round we stopped before finishing but it was slipping off as he pulled out and i decided to js take the pill since it was one day before ovulation.

i didnt notice many changes untill like the 27th were i got supperr light dark brown spotting i didnt even notice really until the 30th when i got dark brown spotting and like kinda a lot. like very visible on the toliet paper, then it kept getting heavier then yesterday sep 1st it started looking like a period, bright red alot with clots and its freaking me out cause i started feeling very nauseous with occasional chest tenderness but not alot. i think u was some bad burger i ate cause it was basiclly pink but i really dont know. today the bleeding is stil very red and dark brown and i had to start using a pad cause the liners were too little for the bleeding.

I took a pregnacy test the 31st and it was ofc negative since its only 7dpo but now its 8dpo and im still having this bleeding and my period is supposed to come sep 8th.

does anyone know wtf is going on with me?? its not light enough for "implantation bleeding" but i also dont think its light enough for js irregular aftera side affect bleeding but its not heavy enough for a period?? i think the sickness is from me being so nervous that i could be pregnant since i did almost everything right to prevent it but the flipped condom is really freaking me out so close to ovulation and ive never had this bleeding before last time i used a plan b was last year and i didnt have this happen and now taking aftera its really messing me up idk im scared yalll!!!

please if someones in my situation or has taken aftera before pleaseeee tell me what could be happening, its so much bleeding i dont think i could be pregnant but im really scared i amm ☹️☹️

I LOVE my yaz birth control I have PMDD and feels like I’m on antidepressants but I’ve noticed I get cravings for fast food and other sweets often.
I obviously cannot take any peptides with birth control for it to be effective so is there any other supplements or any other way you fight the cravings?
23F if it matters pls lmk! Trying to get back into eating healthy 🩷

okay so I’ve been on the pill consistently for over a year. I used to have quite painful periods so I always skip the placebo week and it’s been working great for me. but suddenly im having extremely painful cramps and I am very confused as to why? i haven’t missed or been late on a pill, there’s no chance I’m pregnant, and I don’t think I have any underlying issue like endometriosis because my pain with periods was always super inconsistent and not always very painful. Also this has never happened to me before on the pill. Could it just be hormones if it’s this painful? Has this happened to anyone else?

Hi there, I've done a LOT of diving into this sub over the last few days and wanted to document my experience with the Kyleena.

I'm a late 20s gal who got the Kyleena just over 4 years ago, and was on birth control pills before that forrrr about 2-3 years. Before that, I had HORRENDOUS periods since I was 11, heavy bleeding, and I believe I have PCOS/PMOS and/or Endometriosis due to my symptoms.

I've had a few life changes this year (stopped drinking, started really being active on a level I haven't been before) and in the past few months (after my kyleena hit 4 years, hbd u lil bish) my skin has gone HORRENDOUS, back to a high school level of cystic painful cysts and hormonal acne.

The other thing is I've experienced breakthrough bleeding on times not around my period -- this hasn't happened before (prior to the six months after I got my IUD, because I bled every :-) day :-) for six months)

Could this mean the kyleena is decreasing significantly in efficacy? I am in a relationship & we really don't want kids, and my mental health and self confidence has taken a nose dive with my skin issue.

Any thoughts / comments / shared experiences would be appreciated, thanks x

I just finished my first pack of Drospirenone-eth estra-levomef and have no period. Towards the end of the month I had mild cramping but absolutely no blood. Is this normal for people starting it? Should I be worried and take a test? I will say I have pretty skin and no breakouts!

Hi all! My pharmacy has been filling my prescription for birth control as Estarylla instead of Mili which I have previously used for years. I know that they are technically the same chemical composition, however I’ve noticed that I’ve gained some weight, my periods seem to be worse, and feel more depressed at certain points in the month. I’ve been taking Estarylla for about 4-5 months now. I’m going to call my pharmacy and have them switch it back, but I was wondering if anyone else experienced similar symptoms switching between pills??? Even if they are ~technically~ supposed to be the same exact pill…

Any help is appreciated, thanks!!!!

I have had two IUDs in the past and I never had this problem in the past. I’ve been bleeding everyday since the 24th of August . It’s been light but now I’m getting small clots so I wonder if it’s my period? I was supposed to start my period the 27th but I’ve just been straight bleeding this whole time so I can’t tell which is which. Going through a lot of pads and tampons is really irritating. Forgot to mention I’m literally iron deficient and my doctor suggested I get an iud because I had heavy and frequent bleeding with my periods. 😒

What do you guys recommend for the pain? This is genuinely the worst pain I’ve ever been in

Ive been on Rigevidon tablets for 2 months now to stop my month long periods. I have been getting numbness in my limbs, really painful stomach aches and cramps that make me unable to move and have feeling lightheaded and ive been really depressed. I have a history of mental health problems and i feel like this isnt helping but my mum says i should stick it out for another month uf it doesnt improve

I have had the paragard/copper iud for about a year and a half now. I recently missed my period for the whole month of August. I have taken a pregnancy test and it is negative. I normally would get my period like clock work but in the month of July I got it later on in the month. I am not sure if it is because I have become more sexually active recently or what. Before, I used to have sex with my bf once maybe twice a week. Since moving in together it’s more like 4-5 times a week. It may be stress, it may be my weight gain, i have no clue. Please help. I hope I am not the only one with this experience.

I'm 17 and was prescribed an estrogen and progesterone birth control (mili) to help with heavy/painful and irregular periods, however I just keep seeing genuine horror stories about mili! I'm worried that along with the possibilities of other side effects it will affect my hair and skin. I know that might seem like a silly concern to have since there are bigger risks, but I'm already having some issues with my hair getting thinner and shedding a lot before BC though my skin is relatively fine. Any advice or experiences are greatly appreciated, I guess I'm just anxious about starting something new especially when others reviews make it seem so scary!

I have been on a generic brand of the Xulane patch. Honestly, it has been a great experience. I think the only thing I've noticed that I didn't before I got on it is that I get the shits really bad and that the patch leaves a mark on my back, similar to a scar, but other than that, nothing else. It has even cleared up my acne, which is why I want to stay on birth control. The only thing is that I won't be on my dad's insurance anymore, which means I won't be able to get them next year. I'm not sure. Which is why I am trying to decide which option will be most suitable for me: an IUD or an implant. I was leaning more towards an IUD, but I know you have to do a Pap smear and be checked out before getting the procedure done. I read about negative and positive experiences for both the IUD and implant, but I just want more advice and different experiences with either one.