Copper coil experiences

[Newname9]

I am booked to have a copper coil this week. I was on the pill for years and came off as was sick of the headaches. I have had two months clear of not taking anything and really enjoying not taking any hormones hence going for the copper over the mirena. My periods are heavy for about half a day and then pretty light so I'm hopeful it won't make them too heavy which I've heard it can do.

I guess I'm just making sure I definitely want to go for it over the hormone version.......any good/bad experiences? Thank you

Hi, I chose the copper coil after having DD as we weren't sure whether we would want to try for another baby and I didn't want to have to come off the pill again. My periods weren't as light as yours, perhaps 2 days heavy-ish and then light for a few days.

I'm afraid the copper coil was horrendous for me. My periods became so heavy that overnight I would have to wear two lil-lets together (including the biggest one they do, which I didn't even know existed up to that point) as well as a pad just to try to stop leaking. It didn't get any better so I had it removed after 6 months. I am sure others have had a better experience and it might be that your periods are pretty light to start with so it might not cause you as much of an issue.

Thanks for your message. I've just been reading on here people's experiences and I'm now not sure at all. Seems like more people have negative experiences then positive! I guess I don't want to go for the mirena as I don't want the mood swings, low libido etc - but maybe none of those will happen?! It's just such a hard decision isn't it as it seems like until you try you just don't know!

I have the copper coil and love it. Has had no downsides for me at all.

Not great for me: very heavy periods and a lot of pain after a few months, and then breakthrough bleeding. However, I can understand why you'd want something free of hormones because I was the same. Contraception is an often infuriating business, frankly.

It must work for many women otherwise people wouldn't have it and keep it, I just thought I'd share my experience :) I'm not sure whether to move to the mirena either but I've had rubbish experiences with some artificial hormones so I can only really take certain pills and I don't want to have to try it and then have to get it removed all over again.

My solution would be to get DH to have the snip, which I am slowly working on...

I'm afraid my experience was very similar to that of Sparticle. I had a copper coil fitted after the birth of on of my DC. I didn't have any periods for months because I was breastfeeding, but once they did return they were very heavy and became longer with each month that passed. After a 27-day period, followed by one day with no bleeding before the next period started, I asked for my copper coil to be removed. My periods then settled back to normal very quickly.

May I recommend a diaphragm? I used one very successfully for years before I tried the copper coil. I used it in combination with Persona, a device that tracked my fertility; I don't think Persona is still available now, but if you use a diaphragm in combination with a fertility tracker app, I think that would work in the same way. Use spermicide with the diaphragm and avoid sex when you're ovulating if you want to be extra sure.

I've had my copper coil in for over 8 years. I know that some women find they get very heavy periods but luckily I don't. I've had no problems at all. Give it a try; you can always change your mind if it's not right for you.

I've used the coil for 10 years plus and love it. I love having something super reliable and non hormonal which I literally never have to think about. No issues with either insertion or my periods. Most people don't have much cause to discuss or post about a method of contraception that works fine or brilliantly for them, so negative experiences will always appear to outnumber positive ones.

If you get it and don't like it, you can always have it whipped out and that's the end of it.

I love my copper coil. I actually had it fitted as emergency contraception about 5 years ago and it's been in place ever since.
It has made my periods heavier but they were very light before then so they are now just at what I'd consider a normal, manageable level (i.e I need to use super tampons for the first couple of days but there's no risk of leaking etc) I had some pain in the days after it was fitted, no worse than mild period pain and since then, I wouldn't even know it was there.

I'm on my second copper coil, and I've always thought it was great. However, I've had some irregular light bleeding for a while now, and my gynaecologist suggested it may be fixed by going for a Mirena. I haven't decided yet.

I had one for 10 years and it was great. Thoroughly recommend

Thanks everyone - it really does seem like marmite! Which makes me think I should probably give it a go. But isn't it such a gamble! Will mull it over for a couple of days...

I had it and it was fine apart from near constant thrush. I was told the coil couldn’t be the cause, had it removed anyway and didn’t get thrush again.

I had a copper coil for 25 years with no problems. I fit them and after initial discomfort for most women there is no problem .they are easy to remove so I always offer this but I can honestly say that it is fairly rare to have to remove them for side effects approx 1/25. Having said that, mirenas are more popular but of course they have more uses than straightforward contraception.

My periods were horrendous after getting it fitted. To the point I’d struggle to leave the house for a day or two each month due to flooding, and would get a sore throat and feel generally unwell. I had it removed after a few months but I continued to bleed at the level I had been with it in. I resorted to an endometrial ablation in the end but my family was complete.

Mine has been absolutely fine. In fact I'm on my second. I hated the fitting but after that no problems at all. My periods are lighter now than they have ever been. I only really use pant liners now.

I was due to get one and at the appointment the doctor advised me to get a kyleena instead. It's a much smaller dose of hormone than Mirena and I've been fine with it. She was wary of how heavy the bleeding often is with the copper and I'd had none before as I was on mini pill. Maybe ask about that?

Mine has been in about 7 years with no problems - I don’t have a heavy period. At the time, like you, I thought it was worth a go and it has been problem free thankfully!

Getting it put in wasn't pleasant, but manageable. Side effects on it were cramps (intense) which were sometimes randomly throughout my cycle, sometimes just in week before period. I got it checked out a couple of times but they could fine nothing wrong with the placement, and said they'd never heard of it happening to anyone else. Periods themselves were definitely noticeably heavier and more painful but not debilitating. Sadly I was one of the ones who got pregnant on it and I only found out because I had an early miscarriage and the coil was removed at the EPU. I didn't get another one put in as that experience made me hesitant. I wish I'd got on better with it because I really can't deal with hormonal contraception. Don't mean to worry you - I was just unlucky.

Gosh sorry you went through that. Thanks for your feedback though. It's such a tricky thing to decide on

I tried one after my second child. In a matter of days I felt like my skin was crawling, was covered in a rash and couldn't sleep for the constant itch head to toe. The GP said unlikely it was the coil but nothing else had changed and it went away after 24 hours of removal. Interested if anyone else experienced anything similar

Hi - interested in any other experiences of the copper coil, as I’m considering it too…