Comparing Depo-Provera vs Skyla

For Birth Control Honestly, I expected a lot worse with this shot. It’s pretty convenient. I understand a lot of people hate taking hormones and it doesn’t work well for them, but I’ve actually had an okay experience. No cramping AT ALL. For the first few shots I bled for weeks at a time but it was so light I didn’t need a pad. Now I have no periods. No mood swings either. My only complaint is odd joint pain every so often and I’ve gained 20 pounds since starting the shot! But honestly, Depo does what it is supposed to do.

For Birth Control I got the shot six weeks ago. About a week after I started to experience stomach problems, and had daily, painful diarrhea. After two weeks of on and off diarrhea my bowel movements backs solid but rare, and then after that I would experience a lot of gas after eating. All of my stomach problems stopped after five weeks. I also have been diagnosed depressed and haven't found the shot to make it any worse. I've also experienced a lot of binge eating on the shot but haven't gained weight. I used to have a very painful first day of my period (bad cramps, diarrhea, gas, vomiting) but once I experienced my period on the shot I just had cramps but no blood. Im not pregnant but my period has stopped completely.

For Birth Control I only had Skyla placed for about 4 months, which isn't that long to have your body adjust to the hormones. I switched to this IUD after having taken birth control pills for about a year and 3 months. I wasn't a fan of this IUD's side effects. My skin isn't perfect, but I never used to have major break outs. With skyla, I started breaking out in areas that I never used to break out in around the time of my periods. I was spotting sporadically for the first couple of months, so my skin would just continue to break out. Also, I never used to get terrible cramps, but they just went from a 2/10 to an 7/10 on the pain scale (10 being unbearable). I also experienced intense cravings around the time of my period, and vaginal dryness. Lastly, my periods went from lasting 4-5 days to lasting 11 days, but they were light periods. Because my periods were so close together, all of these side effects would just essentially continue throughout the whole four months I was on it.

For Birth Control I had Skyla inserted 9/18/15. Never have I ever been pregnant. I was 26 at the time of insertion. Insertion was VERY painful. While the insertion was painful it lasted only 2-3 mins. I had slight pain for 3 days with MAJOR bloating. I spotted every day for 8 months. It was enough I had to wear a panty liner. Eventually spotting stopped. My periods are irregular, when I did get one I would bleed for 15-20 days. It was always dark, thick tissue that I bled. I had severe cramps not only on my period but randomly. Severe 8/10 pain. I just had the device removed 11/30/17. While it did prevent pregnancy and I had minimal side effects. The prolonged bleeding, the pain, and unpredictability of getting my period made me choose to remove it.