I got my Livia about four months ago and so far I love it. I had to suffer from heavy pain while my period and with my Livia, I'm finally able to say goodbye to painkillers while my period. In the beginning, I felt a bit irritated about the electric signals I felt in my belly, but you get used to them very quickly. I think the greatest thing about Livia is its size, I even sleep with it on sometimes and because it's so small it doesn't disturb me at night.
The gel pads are a good thing, too, but quite expensive, especially when you need to pay the shipping to Germany, that's why I only give four stars to Livia. But in my opinion you don't need to change them every month, I use them for two or three months until I change them and this works well for me.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
