"i&#039;m 33 and have had bad luck with hormonal birth control. after finding myself in a committed relationship, i decided it was time to find an alternative. i had a colposcopy 1 week before the iud insertion, so my lady parts were already pretty irritated before the insertion. i would recommend more time in between if you also need a colposcopy. aside from that, it was much less painful than i expected. it was like one really really bad cramp. i had quite a bit of bleeding afterword. the doctor said the clamp she had used to hold the cervix still had caused the bleeding. i had bad cramps for 3 days, then they backed off. i&#039;m now having mild cramping with the start of my period. it&#039;s not heavy yet. i hope this is it! medicaid paid 100%!"