Okay, I told you I'd write a post about this and here it is. I remember pre-military when I was talking to my OBGYN and he brought up this new thing called Implanon. I wasn't really interested in it because well, the thought of something being put in my skin for 3 years didn't sound appealing.
Every Dr. I've talked to always told me "no" when I asked about Mirena or the copper IUD (since it didn't have hormones) since I haven't had any kids. So I walked into the Dr. on Tuesday dead set on getting Depo. I know a couple people that are on it, and one did mention that her bone calcium has greatly decreased, but didn't sound too worried. My Dr. (who is completely awesome) told me it really is her least favorite BC. She said she would give it to me if that's what I decide, but she really didn't like it because I can only use it for 2 years (yes, I know many Dr.s say 5, but her and MacDill say 2) and after I stop taking it I have to have a mandatory bone scan to make sure it didn't cause any permanent damage (WHAAAA?!). She also said that she can't guarantee how fast fertility will come back after I stop getting it and she's seen it take as long 15 months to get pregnant after Depo. She also mentioned that, even though there is no medical proof, that she has seen 80% of women come in and gain 20-25 lbs on it! Uh no thanks.
Anyway, we narrowed it down to Mirena and Implanon (which I completely forgot about). I've done a lot of research on Mirena, and honestly there were just too many risks for me and not mentioning the pain I've heard about inserting Mirena (with and without having a kid) and also the pain afterwords! So then there is Implanon.
The next day I had to go in an hour before to make sure I wasn't pregnant (it made me laugh inside). I finally get called back to the office where everything is set up. My awesome nurse can tell I'm nervous and she held my hand through the whole thing (haha). The Dr. walked me through everything. She injected me with lidocaine in two spots and then tested me to make sure I was numb. After she confirmed I couldn't feel a damn thing she inserted it. I didn't feel any pain (well besides the lidocaine-holyfuckballs does that shit sting/burn). I could feel some pulling and pushing to make sure it was in there, but pain? Nope, nada. They wrapped my arm in a compression bandage and I was on my way.
It didn't limit me at all. It (obviously) was sore, but I went to work only 3 hours later unloading shipment boxes. Today? Yea it's sore, but it's not too bad at all. This little thing is good for 3 years (effing awesome!). I'm super excited! Hopefully it will work better for me than the pill did!
Day 1:
Day After:
Day 3: So today is MUCH better than the last two. I just feels like a bruise now, almost when you work out hard and it's sore the next day.. ya that kind of feeling. I was finally able to sleep with my left arm up under my pillow last night and didn't feel a thing. I've read a few blogs about it where the lady said she started her period RIGHT away, but nope, no period yet (which I'm definitely not complaining about!)
Just over a week:
Well, it itches. Bad. I guess I'd rather have it itch than be painful. On a lighter note (literally) I've lost 5 lbs. Is it because of Implanon? I guess I don't know for sure, but I haven't changed my eating habits or physical activity so I'm saying it's due to Implanon. :)
Follow up:
Well.. the first six months were amazing. I lost weight. I rarely had a period (and if I did it was light spotting for a day). My constant headaches were gone. I loved it and couldn't stop telling people about this fabulous implant. Then it was like I hit a brick wall. I spiraled into a depression (I knew what I was thinking and feeling wasn't right), my headaches were back full force (accompanied with frequent migraines), and I gained over 25 lbs. Needless to say, I was an emotional wreck. (All of which are listed as possible side effects) My husband and I were trying to figure out what brought all this on. The only thing I could think of was Implanon. It was the only medication I was on and nothing else in my life really changed.
I finally made an appointment to get it out, and within a month I was seeing almost everything go back to normal. Almost. The weight never came off and my headaches never diminished.
The pain of getting that thing out was awful. I never have my husband go to appointments with me, but that one I did. He had to hold my hand the whole time. The doctor did anesthetize the area, but it was still extremely painful. It took her close to an hour to take it out. [Kind of graphic:] I guess scar tissue built up around the implant so instead of just making an incision and pushing it out from one end (which she tried) she kept having to push a little, make the incision bigger and eventually was scraping the tissue off of the implant.
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