IUD and Birth Control decision

I'm almost seventeen and in a steady relationship. My boyfriend and I have been fooling around for a while but waiting to have sex until we're both responsible enough to handle things like birth control. I'll probably go on birth control in the next year or so, around the time I'm eighteen. I've been weighing my options and am leaning toward the IUD but I'd like to hear about others' experiences with the IUD and other birth control methods. I've heard about a lot of long-term bleeding with the IUD and that makes me nervous. I think I'd still prefer it over the pill, though.