"i am a 21 year old college student and first went on a hormonal birth control (lutera) when i was 18 to help with irregular periods--and after almost a month on it i was a raging hormonal maniac. i was too traumatized for awhile to look into other options and then i thought a non hormonal iud would be the solution to my birth control woes. my first insertion went relatively smoothly--i psyched myself out before hand but it was just uncomfortable, not painful. unfortunately 3 months after insertion the iud partially expelled. a month later i had a new one put in which i&#039;ve had for a year now, and though i still get painful, heavy periods with some spotting between (a trade off i can handle),i really am happy with my decision to get paragard."