"i&#039;ve had the iud for 9 months and seen no improvement over time. it&#039;s an effective form of non-hormonal  birth control, however it&#039;s not without side effects! prior to the paragard, i had no cramps and light periods (~4 days). with the iud, it lasts 10-14 days long. i&#039;m comfortable for 1 week out of every month, then the cramps start about a week before my period. my period starts with spotting and rather gross looking discharge. that lasts about 5 days, then the full period starts. it&#039;s more blood loss than i ever imagined. i bleed ~2 oz of blood within 4 hours on  day one. that&#039;s more blood in 4 hours than most woman lose during the entire week of their period. my solutions have been iron supplements, the diva cup and thinx panties."