Oh Joy Sex Toy: The Birth Control Implant

I have an implant and I LOVE IT!!! It is available in the US-- your doc prob doesn't know a lot about it though. I live in a fly-over state and got mine free through the Choice Project (http://www.choiceproject.wustl.edu/). However, when I get it replaced it will probably cost about $1k unless I have health insurance that will cover the cost.

I have to say I really like it! I have no periods but I have gained weight (but I have also gotten 2 new jobs, got married, moved and adopted 3 pets in the time since I got the implant-- just sayin' it might be other factors!!)

Talk to your doc about options and talk to your health insurance provider to find out if you are eligible for a discount (Medicaid recipients often get IUDs and Implants free as part of their coverage.)

Another REALLY common side effect that isn't mentioned here is loss of arousal! I know a handful of people who have been on this, and EVERYONE SINGLE ONE had it removed after a while because they had zero desire for sexy times. Like, they couldn't even be turned on when their partner tried their hardest. I imagine a lot of people think "this wouldn't happen to me" or "I could get over that", but it has caused serious issues for the people who I know who've used it.

The docs have been very upfront, in my very own personal experience, about the potential side effects. Lack of period is actually considered a potentially negative side effect: a lot of the women in studies who stopped using it did so because they didn't like not having a period. I got Nexplanon a few months ago and my cycle hasn't calmed down enough for me to know what I'll get (One month I got no period, one month I got light flow for weeks, et c.) You can get it taken out if you don't like the results, and I will if I don't.

Most pills are combination estrogen/progesterone. The only progesterone-only pill isn't at all popular, I would assume because you have to take it within a few hours of the same time every day or it becomes terribly ineffective as birth control. So this progesterone-only implant does differ pretty strongly from estrogen/progesterone pills.

The article you linked, by a GP, advises against using Nexplanon if you currently have thrombosis, with no further explanation and no link to studies. Since my OB/GYN put me on Nexplanon <em>explicitly because</em> I am a thrombosis/stroke risk, I find this a little hard to take as a meaningful red flag. I read the scientific studies she cited, and they were all about estrogen: progesterone didn't statistically blip on the clot-throwing chances, and I specifically checked because I was dubious and paranoid. I'm by no means saying that there's no possible risk, but that it seems premature to warn about it without some science backing one up. One general article from a dude who says desperately vague yet alarming things like "Obviously, it is to be hoped that use of them does not lead to any form of cancer. Certainly, at the time of writing there has been no indication of this, but with a hormone product there must always be a chance of a long-term link with (say) breast carcinoma." isn't a great basis upon which to throw around scary warnings.

The cost could really be a dissuasive factor (it counts as in-patient surgery, according to my insurance bill, which costs!) but I, an American, was happily surprised to discover I didn't have to pay a penny of it because of healthcare reform. If you have insurance, <a href="http://www.nwlc.org/resource/contraceptive-coverage-health-care-law-freq... appears it should be covered</a>!