My Battle with the Nexplanon Implant Birth Control

I'm in no way a doctor or licensed medical professional. This is not intended to tell you what you should or shouldn't do with your body. I simply would like to share my experience so you may have a better understanding at some of the possible side affects with this device. If you are considering getting the Implant, please consult with your doctor first.

Before I begin I'd like to give you some basic information on the implant taken directly from the Nexplanon website at https://www.nexplanon.com.

What is NEXPLANON?

NEXPLANON is a birth control implant that lasts for up to 3 years,* and is over 99% effective.

NEXPLANON is the small, thin and flexible arm implant that provides up to 3 years of continuous birth control. That’s why NEXPLANON is considered a long-acting birth control option. It’s placed discreetly under the skin of your inner, upper arm by your health care provider. It’s also reversible and can be removed by your health care provider at any time during the 3 year period.

You may become pregnant as early as a week after the removal of NEXPLANON.

NEXPLANON must be removed by the end of the third year and may be replaced by a new implant at the time of removal, if you wish to continue preventing pregnancy with NEXPLANON.

Less than 1 pregnancy per 100 women who use NEXPLANON for 1 year.

Pros and Cons of NEXPLANON

Advantages include:

Easy to use: Unlike some other birth control options; such as condoms, patches, shots, rings, and pills. The implant works no matter what. You don't have to worry about using it incorrectly or remembering to replace or take it often.

Effective: Fewer than 1 in 100 women using an implant will become pregnant each year.

Fast reversal: If you want to get pregnant, you can get started on that right after you get the implant taken out.

Less painful periods: In studies of women using implants, painful periods got better. And for some women the length of their periods decreased over time.

Potential disadvantages of birth control implants include:

Cost: You may have to pay about $600 or more for an exam and the implant, and $100 or more to have it removed.

No protection against STDs: Unlike some other forms of birth control, such as condoms, birth control implants won't prevent HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. Use a condom for that.

Other possible side effects include:

• Irregular menstrual bleeding
• Depression and other mood changes
• Weight gain
• Abdominal pain or nausea
• Acne
• Breast pain, back pain, or headache
• Vaginitis
• Dizziness

My Story

If you're anything like me one of your first thoughts might be that this sounds amazing. Trust me, I'm not crazy I'm just not one to typically get side effects. Usually I just write them off as something they have to put on medicine, but they're more of an urban legend. So ignoring them and putting them to the side, this Implant sounds pretty neat. Especially after hearing nothing but great things from some of my closest friends and even a few co workers, I thought I had nothing to lose. I was already on the depo shot and I'm not going to lie, I'd forget occasionally to go back and get it done in my window of time. So I'd have to deal with the hassle of going to my regular doctor, have to wait until I got my period, take another pregnancy test, instead of just being in and out of the nurses station. I hate wasting time, so every time I had to go back to the doctors it was a huge annoyance and inconvenience for me. So, being as forgetful as I am at times, I was drawn to another option that I could just forget about for 3 years and even better not have to deal with a period. ** I REPEAT: NO PERIOD!** I was like why hadn't I heard of this sooner?! The first thing I did was look to see if my insurance covered this, and lucky me they did. Even if my insurance hadn't covered it, I still probably would have gotten the procedure done. Now when I say procedure, don't let that scare you. The whole process was super quick. The worse part is the shot you get to numb the area. It's just a sharp pinch. But as far as the little cut they make to insert the Implant, you don't feel a thing. I was in and out in about 15 minutes. So I'm feeling pretty good, now it's just a waiting game. It takes about two weeks for it to kick in.

(small insertion leaves a scar about the size of a tip of a pencil)

That was probably the last 2 good weeks I was going to experience for a long time. If I had to do this all over again I would have never gotten the Implant. There's so many stories online of the nightmare that many girls have gone through. There's also a lot of positive so I don't want this to scare you. But for someone like me who has previously battled with depression and other mental issues, I probably should have searched this before I got the Implant in. I know it's my own fault for not doing my due diligence, but I feel responsible now to share my story so hopefully it can help one of you make a better decision.

It wasn't all bad, I did get to go 15 months with hardly a period. I think I may have gotten my period 3 or 4 times and it only lasted about 3 days, so it was nice. But if I had to choose between getting my period and having mental health be stable, I'm going to have to choose my mental wellbeing. About a month after my Implant all my hard work of finally being mentally grounded was thrown out the window. I unraveled so fast and so hard. I previously had dealt with Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which means I have uncontrollable mood swings and irrational thoughts when it comes to anger. I was also dealing with depression. But I was in a good place before the Implant, mentally sound and working each day to be better. With the Implant it was like it all hit me at once but 100 times worse than I had ever felt. I literally felt like I was losing my mind. My thoughts were racing to the point where I would be screaming at the top of lungs just wanting them to shut up. My fiancé would tell me it looked like I was possessed at certain times. The emotional toll it was taking on me was way to much for one person to have to go through. I became suicidal. Sometimes I'd run away because I was just like I have to get out of here, but there's no where to run away when you're fighting with your mind. These past 15 months were hell. I have no idea how my fiancé is still with me but I'm so thankful he is. It's heartbreaking the monster this thing turned me into. THIS ISN'T ME.And it's not like I even figured out right away that the Implant was the issue. I tried to brush it off that maybe I'm just cycling back, maybe I just need to go back to therapy, but I didn't want to go back on drugs. So I tried meditation, I tried 21 days to happiness, I tried working out, changing my diet, everything that got me into my previous good place didn't work. I don't know what made my fiancé think of it but he decided to search the negative effects of the Implant. And low and behold we were introduced to an overwhelming amount of stories that were exactly what I was going through.

Don't fret dears this story surprisingly has a happy ending. Well, somewhat. The happy ending is still a work in progress. But it does end with good news. I had my Implant taken out last Monday. And within the first 24 hours I felt a peace settle over me that I hadn't felt in a really long time. My fiancé and I are taking one day at a time to heal the damage that I caused during my psychotic break. But we're healing.

(removal mark, about 1/4 inch)

Please, if you are thinking of getting the Implant please discuss the effects with your doctors. If you're dealing with mental issues I'd even suggest talking to your therapist or psychiatrist. Let them know, look I've read some stories of girls that have gone through hell with this, do you think this would be good for me. A lot of us are already dealing with chemical imbalances, so messing with our hormones sometimes isn't the best idea. Please be safe and talk with your doctors.