It will be painful, but it also depends on your tolerance to pain how well you'll handle it. It only lasts for a few minutes, and trust me, those few minutes are worth the trouble. What sucked with mine, was that it had to last a little longer than usual, because I had a defective applicator. So when my awesome nurse pulled it out, the IUD came with it, and they had to run and get another one. The cramps afterwards are pretty intense, but like I said, this doesn't last long. The anticipation is probably worse than the actual precedure, because once you get started, you just take it as it comes until it's over and you're good.

You'll feel a little funny afterwards, but nothing painful. You'll also have some pretty unpredictable spotting for a few months, but until you get to a point that you're not even bleeding enough for it to make it onto your panties, just a panty liner would have you covered.