Implanon - side effects

[Macca2010]

Hey everone.. i have been reading everyones posts and my god i thort i was the only one!! I had the implant put in around 6 months ago, 1st 3 weeks were a nightmare! I was either wanting to kill someone or cry, and i bled constantly ( they say it stops u getting pregnant thats because u cant have sex coz of the bleeding lol)
It then started to calm down and i thort great finally .... o no it has got alot worse!! i constantly have a swolen stomach, belly ache and 'period type pains', sore boobs, i have even put on weight and i am always hungry!! i have put on a stone in weight which is a hell of a lot for me i have dark hair growing on my chest area and stomach .... so embarrassing!!! on the plus side i have no periods for 4 months (the only bonus)
I am serious concidering getting it removed its driving me insane!! I feel self consious about my stomach i look like i am pregnant i even took a test just to make sure!

i am so glad i am not the only one!

Clare

[looby2]

Hi, Im glad Im not the only one to have problems with Implanon. I had an implant inserted in April last year. Im 46 and decided this was the easiest method to use up until I got the menopause. It was the worst decision I could have made, I had pains in my chest and arm at the site of the implant. I also had massive panic attacks - or thats what I was told they were by various doctors! They were extremely frightening, I thought I was dying, my pulse rate was sky high even when I was lying down and my blood pressure was the highest it has ever been in my life. I also had a really awful period in June that lasted for 2 weeks, I couldn't go anywhere as I was constantly having to go to the loo. I was put on diazepam for a while which helped a bit with the anxiety attacks and also had to take omeprazole as the doctor thought that my symptoms could be from acid reflux and this was what was causing the chest pains and racing heart. I went back to see the doctor around 6 weeks ago still complaining of the same problems and was then put on beta blockers for anxiety. It was then that I decided to have the implant taken out, not by the doctor who had put in but by by my local contraception clinic. They said it had been put in too deep and they had a bit of trouble getting it out, but finally I have got rid of it, just before christmas. Apart from having a virus I feel SO much better. I would not recommend this to anyone, I had it in for 8 months and that was too long.

[yum yu]

hi am so glad i found this site i had the implanon about 3 years ago with no problems i thought it was fantastic, i had it taken out to have a baby and concieved no problem and the onli contraceptive a wanted after the birth ov my son was the fantastic implanon... How wrong was i totally diffrent story this time, i havent stopped bleeding for 4months solid im really tierd total loss ov sex drive me and my partner r on the verge ov splitting up but i cant make myself hav sex!!!! i think if u can find an alternative contraceptive avoid the dreaded imlant

[Guest]

Ive had my implanon in for 7 months now and have done nothing but bleedsince it was put in. I have no interest in sex and have put on a stone. Im having it taken out next week. Am just so sick of it now.

[Ali B]

I had this implant put in at the start of June 2010, I had only ever used condoms before as contreception.
my periods were normal and never gave me any real problems,my sex life used to be grate but its been on a decline ever since I got this implant,I have much less intrest in sex and its a big problem in my relationship now,which is not good,I also get verry down and teary, I cry a lot more now than I ever did before for no reason really.
My periods were verry regular before and lasted a few days, Ive had about 3 since I got the implant and they have been verry light and lasted only a day sometimes a few more.
I have however sufferd alot of pain in the opening of my privates,swollen/puffy angry looking and sore cousing pain when having im not sure if this is a side effect or not, has anyone els had anything like this?
its happen mostly around the time wen my period would have been or wen I do get a period now. Its really affecting my relationship I never had problems with my lady bits before Apart from that I havent sufferd as badly as some of the other women on here,So I must be one of the few lucky ones, however it has only been 6 months or so,I could be in for rough times yet?!

[Spurs_me_on]

Hi all,

I had Implanon fitted in February 2010, and it seemed to be going ok... i was very teary and emotional but i certainly didnt angry or particularly moody. It did however make me gain 2.5 stone. Ive joined the gym and go every day and i cannot shift it AT ALL. The doctor even put me on Orlistat (prescribed weight loss drug) and its refusing to budge.
My friend had Implanon fitted in october 2009 and fell pregnant in december 2009, she miscarried and was devastated by the events, when her implanon was removed it was realised that the applicator had not been removed so the progesterone was not in her blood stream.

I have always been chubby, but since going on Implanon i have ballooned to a size 18 and i am only 4foot 11''... My confidence and sex drive have completely dissapeared and this is severely affecting my relationship. Also as now i am so overweight your posts about PCOS are really terrifying me!!! After reading your posts i think i have come to the decision to get it removed and have a complete break from Contraception!

Thanks guys!

[Kaf kaz]

Hi all

So glad I have found this site. I was on depo injection for about 8 years and had no issues whatsoever. I have always had a weight problem but managed to lose 7 stone whilst on depo, so I don't think that had any adverse affects on my weight. However, 6 months ago my FPC nurse suggested that I should consider an alternative method on contraception given how long I had been on Depo. I therefore went for the implant. I was a little annoyed that whilst putting the implant in the doctor said there was no reason for me to have come off of Depo. Oh well, I thought. At least the implant means I only have to attend the clinic every three years rather than every 11 weeks.
OMG! what a mistake. I have had nothing but trouble with the implant. Completely irregular bleeding, really tender breasts a lot of the time (so bad that it prevented me from doing combat classes), spots, headaches and loss of sex drive. I have put some of the weight back on and now cannot shift it.
At the end of my tether, I saw a nurse at my GP practice. She advised that they do not recommend Implanon and was more than happy to arrange for it to be removed and for me to go back on Depo (yay!). I was already booked in for the remocal for tomorrow when I saw on the news yesterday about the problems with Implanon. Although I am not looking forward to the actual removal, as I've heard it can be difficult to remove, I am estatic that this time tomoorow I should be on the way to being back to normal

[Nicola B]

Oh my god, I'm also glad I've found this site! 
Reading everyones comments I can definitely relate to them.
Im 19 and have had the implant for 8 months and instead of having a period every month it seems to be constant, im lucky if I have 2/3 days where I'm not on. Although this may sound strange my period has not been bloody, more brown in colour, has anyone else had this? 

Also I am always extremely stressed and depressed, always crying!! I wondered what was wrong with me, Cry at the most silly things at the moment whereas before I never cried at all.
the weight gain was also a bit of an issue, im on a diet now and i play football 3 times a week trying to shift it but is it true that you cant get rid of the weight whilst on the implant?
I wish I never had it and im definitely going to have it out, especially seeing the news lately about people still getting pregnant whilst on it!!

[Nicola B]

I forgot to mention on my comment above that also like many of you my sex drive has gone completely! I thought it was just me but this board has definitely reassured me!!

[HLD]

Hi Everyone,

I had the Implant fitted in August 2008 just before my 17th birthday for the first year it was great, i had a few periods but mostly i didn't get one. I'd previously been on the microgynon pill but found that it was giving me thread veins on the tops of my legs which for a teenager is not the most attractive thing. The Implant hasn't made me put on weight which i am so pleased about and my periods aren't painful like they used to be when i was younger (I used to be in agony every month, crying in pain with cramps and i passed out a few times.) Needless to say the Implant was a great relief, however, for the past 6 months i have been experiencing long periods (12 days) then there's a break of up to 10 days then i'm back on a period. It's driving me MAD! My boyfriend is not amused which i can well understand, i only get to see him once a week and often my period falls when i see him so our sex life is suffering heavily as a result. I don't know whether its just me or whether its the contraceptives that i have been on since i started having sex but i have no sex drive at all. I have now been with my boyfriend for four and a half years and i feel like we've fallen into a rut because of me not really wanting to or me not being able to have sex.

My dilemma is what to do next. Every contraceptive method seems to have bad side effects. At one point i actually made an appointment at the clinic to have the implant removed and the nurse gave me Cerrazette however when i got home and read the leaflet it said that weight gain was a side effect which put me off straight away and i cancelled the appointment.

I just don't know what to do, do i go without and just use condoms and run the risk of pregnancy? Sex with a condom on the whole way through isn't the most comfortable but i just can't see any other contraception method working out for me.

Can anyone recommend a different method? Maybe a pill with hardly any side effects?
Thank you.

[lindaw26]

hi i have had the implanon since i was 16 (obviously changed when it has to be) i fell pregnant with my first daughter when i had it in but have no problems with it until recently i have had really sore heads and sore boobs i read that these can be side effects but i wouldn't get it taken out as i think there is more side effects with other contraception than this. To all the people who have just had it fitted give it a chance see how u go don't rush to get it out not yet if problem persits then get it out .

[DeeNJai]

I still have the implant at the moment but it will be coming out on 3 February as it has been a nightmare. my first period was 7 weeks long and then I started again 2 January and I am still on but getting heavier with large clots which isnt good. I was also put on Yasmin hoping that this would solve the problem.
dee

[georgiahhhh]

hello. i recently was diagnosed with pcos. i am 20 years old and wasnt really expecting the doctor to tell me this. following blood tests hormone levels and internal scans the results showed a hormone imbalance my doctor said the only way to help this would be the implant or pill. so i have chosen the implant. i am having it fitted tomorrow and very scared after the horror stories ive just read. the doctor described the symptoms id experience as basically she didnt know what would happen to me. does the implant make pcos worse??? or does it actually help the symptoms.

[miss_ham_sandwich]

Have had the implant for about a month now and have what i think are side effects. Ive got loads more spots on my face and decreased sex drive. the main concern is i keep feeling nauseous and throwing up. it started the week i had it fitted then appears every now and again for a couple of days. has anyone else been feeling sick?

[jss671]

I also had a horrible time with Implanon. I bled all the time....12 weeks on, 2 days off and over and over again, very heavy also! I was at the dr's a lot but they didn't want to take it out. I had it in for a year and a half. I had NO sex drive. Finally when I made them remove it, nothing except the bleeding got better. I still have no sex drive and now I think I am having mental issues because of it. I have never, ever had an issue with mental problems until now! I got in an argument with my husband tonight and actually started hitting myself....a few week ago I kicked a hole in the wall...I feel psycho and the only thing I can think of that's changed is me getting it removed. There isn't any research though and I haven't been able to find anyone else that seems to have the same issue.