Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods
A discussion of the benefits and side effects of the copper IUD (ParaGard) and the hormonal IUD (Mirena).
In a normal period, you should not lose more than about 80 mL of menstrual fluid over all the days of the bleed. That’s equivalent to about five tablespoons spread over all the days of the bleed.
In episode two of my podcast/YouTube video, I discuss heavy periods including the role of hormone imbalance, mast cell activation, and insulin resistance; simple period-lightening strategies such as iron, zinc, and a dairy-free diet; and using body-identical progesterone to lighten periods.
The copper IUD or coil (ParaGard) is a non-hormonal method of birth control. Its main advantage over hormonal methods is that it contains no contraceptive drugs and therefore permits natural, ovulatory cycles.
Hormonal IUDs are different from all types of hormonal birth control in that they do not suppress ovulation and can therefore permit natural cycling.
Other benefits of hormonal IUDs are that they are convenient and a highly effective method of birth control. They can also dramatically reduce menstrual flow and relieve pain and other symptoms of endometriosis.
Natural or non-hormonal contraceptive methods include fertility awareness-based methods, the diaphragm, condoms, and the copper IUD or Paragard.