My experience with the Nexplanon birth control implant

Birth control. It is just another one of those ‘must-haves for us females, right? Because it is the smart thing to do and without sounding too feminist, we cannot depend on the men to have that avenue covered, can we? No offence, guys! But those are the cold hard facts and birth control for us women is vast. We have a range of choices from birth control pills, injections, and implants. All of which come with their own set of ever-so-joyful side effects might I add! However, I am going to share with you my experience with the Nexplanon Implant.

Going back to 2018, my husband and I had ‘a scare’. And if you don’t know what that means {which, I am sure you do!} it means we had a chance of falling pregnant due to the condom splitting. Now, this does not mean that we would not have wanted another baby, because I know we would have. However, as I lay on the operating table with our daughter, my fifth child, they had serious issues stitching me back together following my first elective caesarean section.

I remember hearing the surgeon advising me that this was to be my last pregnancy, on the basis that I cannot naturally deliver any baby over 6lbs. The only two babies I managed to deliver naturally were both premature at 34 & 35 weeks gestation, both weighing 6lb and under. And even with my son at 6lb, I had to receive an episiotomy to prevent tearing. She advised this on the basis that {not that it could} but it would cause serious health problems. Which by that she means, no natural delivery possible {most likely} and they wouldn’t be able to stitch me up if I need another c-section delivery.

Our new reality…

This reality of ours sat OK with me. I was at peace with it because we were done. However, I couldn’t take a birth control pill because I was and still am, absolutely rubbish at remembering to take them each morning. And if you miss one, it’s just a huge pain in the ass. So we just use condoms as our form of being careful. So, as you can imagine, when we had our scare, my Husband was terrified. He then had it in his head that we were going to fall pregnant and I was going to die. There was no in-between in his head and that destroyed me. Seeing him so terrified and broken? No. And that’s when I made the decision to just…ban sex until we had better prevention in place.

From that point, he asked his GP to be referred to have a vasectomy. After 12mths, we had heard nothing, so I applied to have my tubes tied i.e sterilized. And I had an appointment within 3mths. However, my request was denied due to not only being sterilized a major operation and the recovery is tough. But, the surgeon said to me that ‘catastrophic damage’ could be caused during the procedure. All due to me having 2 emergency c-sections and one elective previously and the collection of scar tissue that has built up.

So from that revelation, our options fell back to my Husband getting his vasectomy. This is when I heard about the Nexplanon Birth Control implant. Now, I have to be honest, I wasn’t 100% onboard, initially about being injected with a 2-inch long plastic tube filled with slow-releasing hormones. But this was my only best option. And before you say “Did you consider the coil?”. Yes, I did. I actually had one and it fell out, without me realising. This is the story of how Annabelle joined our family!

What is the Nexplanon Implant?

Nexplanon is a birth control option that you can read about online or ask your GP for more information on. It is an implant that gets injected into your arm and is just as effective as the contraceptive pill. The Nexplanon implant is a small, thin and flexible device that is placed into your arm, just under the skin.  It is mostly placed into your non-dominant arm.

The Nexplanon implant is said to be as effective as the contraceptive pill, so over 99% effective as less daily hassle. This was one of the highlights for me as I can be quite forgetful when it came to taking the daily birth control pill. This implant lasts for three years and is also reversible if your plans to make or add to your family, change.

Injection time & Side effects!

So in what felt like no time at all. I was lying down on a table in my GP’s office about to be injected with the Nexplanon implant. The procedure itself didn’t hurt at all. Mainly because they anaesthetise the area first. And the area was obviously very sore and tender once the anaesthetic wore off. But that is to be expected. And it took a few days for the pain to completely go away.

Within a few weeks, I experienced no menstrual cycle and over the course of the first twelve months of having the Nexplanon implant, everything was fine. Then the lower libido started which developed into having no sex drive at all. Some women in similar situations explore options such as female libido medication to talk with their healthcare provider about their symptoms and what might help them regain desire. Followed by mood swings and having everything associated with a monthly cycle, except the main event i.e. the bleeding

After a few months, I did begin to withdraw from things i.e. not being so happy about things. I found myself just wishing to be by myself, in my own company and these could be connected or they couldn’t be. But this was my experience.

Getting it out…finally!

Due to covid and restrictions, it took me a while to get an appointment to have my Nexplanon removed. And that was OK. I understood. I was a little anxious because I did hear stories of people having worse effects when the implant had been in there for longer than the three years stated. However, the nurse who extracted my Nexplanin implant assured me that this wasn’t a thing.

Getting it removed was a very straightforward process. In fact, the nurse said mine was textbook because sometimes muscles, tendons or ligaments can somehow get entwined around the implant, making it a little trickier to remove. But I was thankful mine was pretty smooth sailing. I did not feel a thing because they use lidocaine for the implant removal and then you get a butterfly stitch or two and plaster before you leave.

How I felt after the Nexplanon Implant removal

I didn’t feel a difference immediately. That’s not how these work, which I am sure you can understand. But in my own personal case? I felt different after a few days, which blew my mind. I felt lighter in my own head and dare say it, I felt happier. The need to snap or lose my patience had gone, nor did I have that anxious feeling either. My libido is trickling back, but I have to be honest, that hasn’t fully revived itself yet. Will it ever? Who bloody knows!

But I continued to feel better within myself and with every passing day, started to feel like more myself before I had the implant. This isn’t going to be the same with everyone because of hormones! But this was my experience and at the time I was thankful for the implant. But as time went on, it wasn’t for me. It changed who I was as a person and I grew to really hate that. Now? I am happy it is out. I feel a thousand times better, which I am so thankful for.

Have you had the Nexplanon Implant in before? I would love to hear about your experience!