I had a paraguard for 10 years, now I have Mirena.

I got the paraguard 6 weeks after I had my daughter, I remember being able to feel it (it didn't hurt, just felt like a little hard poky thing) for a few days. My periods were a little heavier then they were before, but that was the only side effect I had.

The insurance we had last year wasn't accepted by anyone who did paraguard (apparently not many women in this area use it) so I got mirena instead. Insertion hurt just a little, I had really mild cramping for about 45 minutes, and that was it for pain. I've had it for about four months now and had mild spotting (pretty much just a little when I went to the bathroom) until around two weeks ago. I had a normal period the first month, it got lighter until last month it was just two days of heavy spotting and it seems to have stopped now completely, I had a couple pms days but no bleeding my last cycle. And it has really hyped up my libedo, which I wasn't expecting, just about everything I've ever taken (including combined oral birth control) kills it.

It's made me a little more sensitive all over, and I seem a bit more prone to bursting into tears or going super nostalgic over movies or tv...but that could also just be because I'm off of (a series of the wrong) psych meds for the first time in 5 years and have all my emotions back.

If you know you're sensitive to (fake) hormones and don't already have a heavy period, paraguard is probably the better choice, and it's good for 10-12 years.

-Puppy