My experience with the birth control Implanon

I’m in my late 20s and I really believe that I’m not ready to have kids yet so I’ve been using contraceptives, mainly pills, to prevent unwanted pregnancy. But, I finally took the plunge to try a long-term method last year.

12/18/2017 - I went to Likhaan Clinic (Quezon City branch) to avail their free contraceptive implant called the Implanon which works for three years. (I called them beforehand to inquire if it’s still available and luckily for me, it was).

It was a very quick and easy procedure, I was in the clinic for only about 20 minutes and to make sure that I wasn’t pregnant so that I can have the implant inserted, they had me take a PT and the results were negative.

The insertion of the implant wasn’t painful although the anesthesia stung quite a bit but only for a minute. I had the implant inserted in my left arm since I’m right-handed. The clinic staff were really nice and they were even joking around (mostly about their upcoming Christmas celebrations).

They explained what I should and shouldn’t do after the procedure, mostly things I already knew before since I already did my research about the implant:

*No sex for 10 days - the most important rule

*Keep the bandage on for a day and cover the implanted area with band-aid for 3 days

*Don’t get the area wet to avoid infections

They gave me 3 Mefenamic tablets just in case of physical pain. I was also given a card that I have to keep until I come back to the clinic to have my implant remove after 3 years (on December 2020).

12/19/2017 - 12/21/2017 - I haven’t taken the Mefenamic tablet the clinic staff gave me or any pain relievers because I felt no physical pain, just a little discomfort. I keep wanting to touch the implant, to check if it’s still there. Hehehe.

I really feel sleepy even after having slept for 9 hours straight and the area was starting to bruise and it’s really itchy. That was the hardest part for me because I can’t wash that area yet so I had to endure the itchy feeling.

12/22/2017 - I finally washed the implanted area and although it’s still itchy, it’s much more bearable.

 01/13/2018 - No more bruising!

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It’s been more than 3 months since I had the implant inserted and I have experienced most of the common side effects I read from other reviews:

Irregular bleeding - This is probably my biggest frustration when I got implanted. I would have spotting for 11 days straight or 7 days, on and off. I’ve already stocked up a drawer full of napkins and liners.

Mood Changes - This is frustrating too but I’ve already experienced mood changes even before.

Acne - Doesn’t really bother me since they tend to go away after a few weeks.

Breast Tenderness or Pain - Bearable but I tend to go bra-less anyway.

As for the other side effects, I have not experienced headaches, dizziness, weight gain or hair loss and no menstrual cramps too although I used to have really bad cramps before getting the implant so no cramps is a huge bonus for me.

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*Implanon doesn’t prevent STDs so you should still use condoms to prevent them.

I called Likhaan clinic again to check for the implant’s availability and it’s still available for free as of March 2018.