Photo by Kat Jayne from Pexels
This is a bit of a special article because I'm going to tell you about my Nexplanon contraceptive implant. It's not very glamorous but it's a very serious subject that I want to talk about. I am a positive person, always ready to discover new things.
I had my first Nexplanon implant 6 years ago, the gynecologist did not test me to see if I could tolerate the implant and at that time the contraceptive implant was the easiest contraceptive for me because I tended to forget the pill. The first implant went well. On the other hand, the second one didn't, I immediately had mood swings, I became aggressive for nothing...
long story short.
5 months ago, I had my first PANIC CRISIS! I didn't understand what was happening to me and clearly I thought I was going to die. My heart started racing, I had trouble breathing and my mind was going nuts. I felt like taking a cold shower, I thought at any moment I was going to pass out and never wake up again. As you can see, it was horrible.
After this panic attack, I thought about everything that could put me in these states... So I learned what anxiety attacks are. But why am I anxious? At that time, I was far from blaming it on my Nexplanon implant but rather thinking that it was a personal reason (like most of the other women). But it didn't really make sense because I was happy in my life.
A few weeks later I was more and more anxious and depressed. I didn't want to go out at night anymore. In fact, when I went out I felt an anxiety going to my head and I only wanted to go home because I thought I could pass out at any moment. I really had this feeling of being out of breath. My state of mind was horrible, I didn't recognize myself at the end because I really had the mind of a depressed person. I had like little electric shocks in my head and this feeling of having a veil around my brain. It was like something was preventing me from seeing/thinking clearly.
Then I came across a story by StefBlueLips that talked about the same symptoms I was having but with a hormonal IUD!!! That was my first trigger....
I went to the doctor because maybe it wasn't just my implant, I was lacking iron or something because I don't eat meat, chicken.... The doctor (free medical center in Brazil) told me that I must be depressed and he prescribed antidepressants. And that was a shock for me because I was happy in my life, except during those periods that clearly spoiled my morale. That was the second trigger to tell me that it was indeed coming from my implant.
Afterwards, I looked for other testimonies and I am not the only one! It is clearly a descent into hell, you can find some testimonies on internet but not that many.
On the Nexplanon website it is well stated in the side effects:
Mood swings
Weight gain
Headache
Acne
Depressed mood
Vaginitis (inflammation of the vagina)
Weight gain
Acne
Breast pain
Viral infections, such as sore throats or flu-like symptoms
Stomach pain
Painful period
Mood swings, nervousness, or depressed mood
Back pain
Nausea
Dizziness
Pain
Pain at the site of insertion
After concluding that it could be my implant and that my body was clearly saying STOP to hormones, I made an appointment to remove it. And there it was: FRREEEEDDDOOOMMM. That veil I mentioned at the beginning, it came right off. I felt like I was back (a very strange feeling by the way) and I was the happiest! :D
2 weeks after I took it off: Anxiety attack again but lighter, my heart made a strange movement as if it had turned over. The anxiety attacks lasted before and during my first period. By the way, I had my period normally! :D
1 month after I took it off: I sometimes have weird phases but not at all like before. I really feel lighter. I'm going to do a blood test to see if it didn't screw up everything.
1 year after removing it: Everything is going well, I feel that my body still has to adapt but I never had anxiety attacks like that again. I am really relieved.
Finally, I adopted the copper IUD and I have no problem.
Conclusion on the Nexplanon contraceptive implant:
The contraceptive implant Nexplanon is effective because I did not get pregnant. On the other hand it has heavy side effects. If you have periods all the time, if your mood is changing, if you feel more depressed, I really invite you to change your contraceptive method! I really don't want anyone to go through what I did!
Please feel free to leave me a comment with your experience or send me a message. You are not alone! :)