Among so many things being in flux around this household lately, on July 10 I had my Nexplanon implant removed. After experiencing the effects of the birth control method for over a year, I recognized that it was no longer benefitting me or my husband to stay on it. In this post I hope to explain what Nexplanon is, how it is inserted and removed, the way it affected me, and the changes I have noticed since having the implant removed.
Simply put, Nexplanon is a long-term method of birth control that is inserted into the upper arm. It is a small rod about the size of a matchstick and it releases progestin, a synthetic version of the hormone called progesterone that prevents pregnancy. It is one of the most effective forms of birth control and provides the convenience of not having to remember to take a pill every day. As it is effective for up to 4 years after insertion and the recovery rate is incredibly fast if you decide that you and your partner do want to try to conceive, it can be a very beneficial form of contraception.
At the time I had it inserted I was struggling to remember to take the pills on time every day because of a hectic schedule, let alone refilling the prescription every month. There were also unwanted effects such as strong headaches for about a week at the start of my pills. Also, my husband and I were still on the fence about having our own children, but were certain we did not want to conceive in the next three to five years. Upon speaking with my doctor, I found out he did not recommend the IUD for someone that has not had their own children yet, but did suggest Nexplanon. We reviewed the information given and decided to set up an appointment for the insertion.
Both the insertion and removal are pretty non-invasive and take less than 10-15 minutes. Each procedure starts with the doctor sterilizing the area on your upper arm before applying a local anesthetic to numb the area. For insertion, my doctor put a pen mark where he wanted to place the device on my non-dominant arm (in my case, my right). Then after checking to make sure the anesthesia was working, the doctor used an insertion device that places the rod into my arm. The only thing I felt was the small sting of the needle for the anesthesia and a little pressure from when the rod was placed in my arm. Afterwards my doctor showed me where it was located and asked me to feel the rod so I knew how where it was and what it felt like before bandaging me up and sending me home. He prepared me to see some bruising or tenderness in the area, and while I did notice some sensitivity if I brushed it against clothing, I did not bruise or feel much weakness in my arm after having it inserted.
In removing the device, after the anesthesia was checked and confirmed to be working, my doctor used a scalpel to create a small incision above the scar left from insertion. Then he used tweezers and pulled the rod out. Unfortunately, there is no device to remove the rod as there is to insert it so I did hear some clicking and other unsavory noises while he was getting a good grip on the small rod. All the same, it came out without breaking and again he bandaged me up and sent me home expecting some bruising and tenderness and with instructions not to get it wet for a few days. This time I did bruise and felt more tenderness, but within 2-3 days I had no noticeable pain and only a small scar to remember the experience.
Each person is going to have their own side-effects or none at all to any medication, so I am in no way trying to sway you one way or another with Nexplanon. Overall my experience wasn’t horrible and it did what it was supposed to do; it just wasn’t sustainable beyond the year and a half that I had it. At first I noticed no change in my body from the new form of birth control. Cycles were regular, mood was mostly fine (our wedding was planned for 3 months after the time I got it inserted) and energy levels all seemed great. Not to mention those pesky headaches were gone. After a month or two my appetite and cravings went haywire, though. I constantly felt hungry and while I had read that it was a possibility, the actuality of it was stressful. By the time the wedding came around three months later, I had gained 15lbs.
At the time I attributed the weight gain to work and wedding stress and figured once I got back to exercising regularly it would start to level out. Not so much, I found out. By month 6 I was having frequent and irregular periods, and in general feeling bouts of depression and anxiety; neither of which was common for me. Again, I thought to myself well, it’s the current work situation and once that is straightened out I will feel better. In this case, that was somewhat true. The depression mostly resolved by finding some activities to get involved with and the anxiety was not as constant but still an occasional occurrence. My energy levels were not where I wanted them though. As someone that is constantly on the go and interfacing with others, I needed to stop feeling so exhausted all the time.
This was around month 8 and my spotting and periods pretty much stopped existing at this point. I still had some bleeding but not much and really infrequently. What happened instead was I started having some of the most uncomfortable breast pains and INTENSE abdominal cramps, all the time. I’ve broken my elbow twice and thrown out my back, so generally I have a high tolerance for pain before I am worried too much. My family practitioner had no thoughts on what could be causing the pains but did note my blood pressure was higher than ideal. Without any clue as to where these pains were coming from, the natural/anxiety-ridden thought that followed was something like “Oh crap, I am the 1/100 statistic and am pregnant,” before taking a pregnancy test and alleviating my concerns for about another 2 months. This continued for another 4 months before I decided I needed to have the implant removed to see if that was the source of the problem.
So now I have had the implant out for nearly 3 weeks and my body appears to be starting to regulate. The first week was normal aside from some arm pain from having the device removed and my period lasting for more than a week. The second week I noticed I wasn’t as hungry at meals, but I did have cravings for sweet things. Now in the third week I have had some problems with regulating my temperature like feeling cold even though I was standing out in the heat or feeling hot inside the air conditioned house and some small, but regularly occurring headaches. After the first week I lost 5lbs, but put it back on during the second week, and as of now I have lost another 8lbs going from weighing 165lbs to 157lbs. My appetite has been pretty much cut in half since removing the implant, which means I have been eating smaller meals and less frequently. Sometimes I feel a little nauseous before or after a meal, but overall I think I made the right decision. I have been sleeping better and feeling more energetic in general. While I think Nexplanon was right for me when I started it, and it did its job of keeping me child-free, I am glad that my body is getting a chance to do what it is supposed on its own now.
Hopefully this is informative for those that already have Nexplanon or are considering using it. I often found during research that I generally only saw the negative aspects of the implant. I wanted to provide a more round about explanation of my experience. If you have any questions or want to comment your own experiences with Nexplanon, or it's predecessor Implanon, please do so below.
Stay awesome,
@tltran