At the beginning of October 2019, I got the Nexplanon implant.
It wasn’t completely unwillingly, it had been discussed, however, I did not want it. The only reason I agreed to it was that I knew I’d be seen as a ‘troublemaker’ if I didn’t try it again before more extreme treatment. That’s the reality of birth control. If you refuse to take it because you know it’s going to be bad for you, the doctors see it as dissent and questioning them and get very arsey at you. Granted, I am quite jaded and bitter nowadays but it still rings true.
It’s midway through August 2020 and guess what, the Nexplanon implant does not work with my disabled, chronically ill body.
I was supposed to get the implant out in March however COVID19 put a stop to that. The day I was supposed to get it out the practice shutdown for procedures and patients and it’s been in my arm ever since causing havoc, messing up everything, and generally just hurting at the implant site.
Yes, even though I saw my GP a few months after it was implanted and said, pushed, that the implant was actively hurting, it stayed in. Guess what? It’s still hurting nearly 11 months later. In fact, when I’m on my period it hurts so much it almost feels like I’ve got cramp, and I can do nothing with that arm until it passes.
It feels almost trivial trying to schedule an appointment to get it out when the risk of me getting COVID is so high. However, the Nexplanon implant has 100% made my life a living hell. I still get periods, heck more periods nowadays. I get horrendous symptoms because the level of progesterone is too high for my body, and progesterone is what royally fucks me up. Whereas before Nexplanon I knew there was a 7-14 day standard variation to my period, now there are up to 21 days of chaotic variation. Some months I have two periods, some I have zero. The pain is ever-present, and the implant has done nothing for me, except ensure that I won’t get pregnant. Now, I don’t want to get pregnant, I most probably will never want to get pregnant as my body could not handle it. However, I do not want this birth control. I want it out. Now.
… but like all things in my life and body, that’s not going to happen. So I have to live with it probably for another six months or so because, in the grand scheme of things, I need to have an operation and colonoscopy before I even think about getting the Nexplanon out. The sheer thought of the emotional upheaval taking it out will cause is enough for me to want it to stay in. It is an unwelcome mindfuck.
Nexplanon has ruined my body. I flare more, both with my various conditions and my EM. My joints are so loose I’m very worried they’re going to pop out (in fact, my shoulder subluxed for the first time ever the other week, and since the implant has been in my lower disc bulge has flared more often). My emotions are all over the place, and there is no break from the cramps as they seem to happen most weeks nowadays.
Why am I throwing all this out into the world?
Don’t get convinced to try something you know won’t work for you. It’s hard, especially when medical professionals dangle a procedure over your head if you take this med or try this procedure first. You know your body best.
I can relate to this so much! The available options for birth control are rife with horrible side effects and so many medical professionals are completely devoid of sympathy or interest in the detrimental affects that their prescribed treatments can have on a person’s quality of life. I’ve known some fast food workers that cared more about how well they constructed a sandwich than some doctors do about the health and happiness of their patients. It really sucks that you’ve had to go through this. I hope you will be able to get it resolved soon.