IUD

If you have dysmenorrhea (the medical term for extremely painful periods), hormonal birth control can make a big difference. There are several hormonal methods that can help regulate your periods, decrease bleeding, or even make your periods go away completely. Options like the combination pill or the hormonal IUD are proven to reduce the level of pain and heaviness of your bleeding, basically making it easier for you to live your life when you have your period.

The hormonal IUDs (Mirena, Liletta, Kyleena, and Skyla) dramatically reduce bleeding during your period, protecting you from anemia. The IUD can also reduce menstrual symptoms for people who have fibroids. And, if you’re someone who can’t use estrogen, both the hormonal IUD and the non-hormonal, copper IUD are good options for preventing pregnancy.

Everybody responds to birth control differently. If you feel like your hormonal birth control is changing your mood, it’s time to talk to your health care provider. It might be a matter of switching methods or deciding whether to avoid hormonal birth control altogether, or you may choose to wait it out since some negative side effects go away with time.

The side effects that often come along with starting a new birth control method usually go away after a few months. However, if your periods continue to be heavy or you aren’t happy with the way your birth control changes you periods, you can always talk to a health care provider about making a change.

The hormonal IUDs, shot, implant, and progestin-only pill have all been shown to overall reduce periods for most people. For some people, that means they don’t get a period at all, but for others it can cause bleeding when you aren’t expecting it even if you have less total bleeding.

You can use the pill or the ring continuously to intentionally skip your period altogether.

IUD insertion itself is pretty quick (typically 5 minutes or less), but it’s hard to know exactly how much pain you might have since pain can vary from person to person. Some people experience very little pain, like mild period cramps, and some people experience very intense pain when an IUD is inserted. But pain is not something you have to simply “tough out.” You have options.

You can try taking over-the-counter pain medications, like ibuprofen, beforehand. Some providers may recommend getting the IUD inserted when your cervix is open, such as when you’re on your period, but you can have it placed anytime during your cycle. Some providers may be able to use pain medication directly into the cervix and others can put you to sleep while it’s placed. Other techniques like breathing exercises and meditation can also help with pain. The best approach depends on your body, your preferences, and your health history. It’s completely okay to advocate for yourself and ask your provider what pain management strategies they offer, and to request something more than “just breathe through it” if you need something else.