I interned at a motion graphic studio that exclusively used wacom tablets and no mice.
I initially didn't want to use one because I was used to drawing with a mouse (I drew everything for mashed potatoes with a mouse) and I felt like I couldn't control the tablet at all.
It took me 2 days of exclusively using the tablet to feel comfortable and after a week I preferred it over a mouse.
The reason why it takes a bit to get proficient is because you move the cursor differently with a stylus than with a mouse. When the mouse moves, the cursor moves. When you move the stylus, the cursor only moves if the stylus is hovering within an inch of the tablet. If you pick the stylus up and move it to another point on the tablet, the cursor will jump to that corresponding spot on the screen.
The tablet is mapped to the screen. Wherever you tap with the stylus on the tablet, the cursor clicks on the same spot on the screen. This makes it faster than a mouse, because you don't drag the cursor around, you tap where you want it.
If you are drawing with it, make sure the tablet is mapped 1:1 with your screen. Otherwise, when you draw a circle on the tablet, it will translate to an oval on the screen.