"i first started birth control around 2004, age 22.  i tried the pill, and all it did was make me spot and have periods that lasted for weeks- so i stopped using it. then i tried the nuvaring- that worked for about 3 months then the spotting started again.  i then had no birth control until august of 2010.  i wasn&#039;t sexually active- so didn&#039;t worry about it.  i had been told when i first tried to get the iud in 2004 that you can&#039;t have one unless you&#039;ve had at least one child, so i gave up.  it was either between mirena or paragard-since i have heavy menstrual cycles and cramps and pms, i chose the mirena. i had the first one in august of 2010 and my second one in september of 2015.  i have had no bad experience with it- my periods are light"