by missy

Created on: March 01, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

Way bac in January 2001, 2 months after giving birth to my second child, and after a difficult premature birth (almost had to have an emergency hysterectomy) I was advised by gynaecologist not to have any more babies. I have a gynaecological problem in that I have a double uterus.

I have always had a problem taking the oral contraceptive pill in that I would forget to take it quite often and would be fretting from one month to next whether or not I was pregnant! Also because of my problem my periods were all over the place anyway.

I went to my GP who suggested the monthly or tri-monthly injections but I didn't fancy these as I hate needles (ugh) He then suggested the implant which would keep me safe for up to 3 years ( because I was overweight he suggested 2 and half yrs.better safe than sorry!)
This sounded the perfect option, so he went into detail about it explained all the most common side effects i.e.
Possible weight gain/loss
Possible erratic periods
Acne
Breast tenderness

Rarer side effects include
Hair loss
Mood swings
Painful periods
Changes in libido

Implanon is a progestogen-only contraceptive implant which is inserted in the inner upper arm. It is a small flexible rod which slides just under skin. (a small incision will be made, but this is done in the GP surgery usually. You will get an injection to numb arm before hand) It releases a small amount of the progestogen every day.
If is done by a competent GP then it should be quick and painless (the discomfort after the anaesthetic wears off can differ from person to person but for me was moderate) I couldn't let anything touch my arm for a couple days and had to sleep with arm out of bed for fear of my partner hurting me.

Another thing to note is that it is effective from day 1 of insertion and that when removed it is possible to become pegnant straight away, although I would imagine this to be different for everyone too. (please note i doubt you will want to be trying out this theory on day one anyway as your arm will be sore and you will probably still be bleeding)

I had a bit of bruising all around the area where the rod was inserted but it died down after a week or so, It felt kinda weird because you can feel the rod under your skin at first, and you keep thinking it is going to get lost( it doesn't)
I also bled for about a week after the implant, it was quite a painful heavy period but after the week it had stopped and I never bled again!

After a couple of months you do forget it's there and get on with

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