Getting and living with the implant

Pay attention now people, because I'm about to give an account of what it's like to get the Implanon contraceptive implant and live with it afterwards. I'm hoping someone will find this useful. If it helps one person, I'll be happy.

I turned up for my appointment at the GUM clinic about 45 minutes early. I'd been shopping but by this time I was just wondering around wasting time, so I went and sat in the waiting room and read a book. I felt less scared and nervous this time as I had been here before, although still a little weird. Eventually I was called in, and although I saw a different doctor this time, she was just as nice as the last doctor I'd seen.

The doctor asked me when my last period was and asked if I had any questions. She seemed quite surprised that I didn't, although I'm not sure if she knew that I'd already been once but hadn't gotten my implant, so I'd already been explained everything.

She got me to lie down on the bed thingys they have in doctor's surgery and called her 'assistant' in, although I'm sure the job of this assistant was just to keep me talking and my mind off of what was going on, because she didn't seem to be doing much assisting. She kept asking me questions about my college course and stuff. She opened the conversation with something along the lines of 'So, what are you doing with yourself?' I'm not sure how I managed to not mention sex, seeing as I was here for an implant.

The doctor got me to lie down with my arm up above my head and got me to tense my muscles so she could feel around and find the best place for the implant, and drew a line on my arm with a purple marker when she was happy. She wiped my arm off with some alcohol stuff to make my skin sterile and whatnot and then came the anaesthetic. I have a really low pain threshold and it is incredibly easy to hurt me, but I had no problems at all with anything they did to me. The anaesthetic was probably the most painful part because I wasn't anaesthetised yet, and even then it really wasn't a problem. I don't even like to use the word pain to describe it. She poked my arm with something sharp to ask me if I could feel it, and I told her I could a little so she gave me a bit more anaesthetic, so you really don't have to worry about it hurting.

The assistant kept me talking and looking away from what the doctor was doing, which was probably just as well. I'm not squeamish, but I'm better off not watching, even though I know my boyfriend would have been fascinated.

The doctor cut a tiny incision in my skin, only a few millimetres wide. It didn't hurt, but it did feel slightly weird knowing you're being cut open but it doesn't hurt. You can only just feel it.

Next the doctor brings out a box with the implant in, which has the implant inside a special plastic injector kind of thing to insert it under your skin. This part didn't hurt, but it did feel a little uncomfortable. It felt weird! Remember me with my low pain threshold, so I probably felt it more than most people would.

The doctor offered for me to feel it under my skin to confirm it was in place, but I didn't want to touch. As I said, I'm not squeamish, but I was happier just leaving it alone. She wiped me off again and put a cotton pad on my arm to stop the opening from bleeding, and then wrapped my arm in a bandage which had to be in place for three days. I was lucky that I was getting this implant in January as it was cold out and it didn't seem amiss me wearing long sleeves to hide it from my parents and the other people I didn't want knowing.

Finally, I got given a card to keep in a safe place that the doctor wrote on with the details - when I'd had it, when I was due for removal/replacement, which arm it was in and so on. I did have a question or two afterwards about what I could do in the meantime (the implant had to be in place for 7 days before I was protected) and the doctor was brilliant about answering these.

The whole process took about 15 minutes and I was on my way again. All of a sudden, I loved my country. I know there's alot of shit about the NHS, but I'd gone in and had this done for absolutely free. I'm told in America they can pay $500-700 for an implant like mine, so I was very appreciative!

I felt fine as I left the clinic and I continued shopping for a bit while I waited for my next bus home. By the time I got on the bus about an hour later though, I felt a bit funny. Not ill, but a little light headed and I had the feeling that I just needed to take it easy for the rest of the day, which I did.

The bandage on my arm had to stay in place for three days, during which time I couldn't get it wet. This made showering a bit interesting, but I managed. During this time, there was never any pain or discomfort at all.

Monday morning rolled around, and I'd had my bandage in place three and a half days, just to be safe. I was hugely looking forward to being able to take it off. It wasn't really a nuisance other than the shower and wearing long sleeves to hide it, but I just wanted rid of it.

Taking the bandage off was the worst part of getting the implant. It was now I realised that the purpose had been to keep pressure on the implant, and now I'd taken the pressure off, owie. I wanted to put it back on. The only way I could make it hurt less (other than applying pressure) was to keep my arm pretty much straight, and I ended up taking the day off college because my course means I'm sat at a computer with bent arms at the keyboard all day. By midday the pain had pretty much disappeared, so if I go through the same again and have another implant once this one 'runs out', I'll take the bandage off at night so my arm can fix itself overnight with minimal disruption to my life.

Sadly, this wasn't quite the end of the long sleeves for me. I was left with a large yellow bruise around the area for a good few days afterwards. While it was on the inside of my arm and not too noticeable, I carried on wearing long sleeves because I didn't want to have to explain to people who'd ask 'What did you do to your arm?'

I did have a scab where I'd been cut open. Only a tiny one. I tried not to pick at it and I intended to put a plaster over it to stop it getting knocked and resulting in a scar, but it came off in my sleep before I got the chance to do it, so now I have a miniscule scar where they put it in. I'm not sure what this means for getting it out again at the end of the three years, but I'm sure many women with the implant get insertion scars so they must have a way of dealing with it.

So, now you know what it's like to get the implant, but that's the easy part. Little Miss Low Pain Threshold over here managed fine, so there's no reason anyone else should have a problem with it. However, the thing most people want to know more about are the side effects.

I consider myself really lucky with the implant because I've managed to hit upon a method of contraception that works really well for me first time. I've heard so many stories about women who go through so many different types and never really find something they're happy with, so I'm lucky.

The implant has worked brilliantly for me so far, and I've had it in 14 months now. Based on my experiences, I'd very much recommend it.

My next period was late, although truth be told since I'd missed the one before that altogether it might not have been the implant that caused that. Once it came I had the same amount of blood flow as normal, and then I think I probably bled every day for about 3 months. People have told me I should have seen a doctor about this since it went on for so long, but I really didn't consider it a problem. I was told I could have erratic bleeding for the first 6 months or so after getting my implant. The bleeding I did have was incredibly mild though, and I didn't even bother wearing a pad or a tampon because it was so little. True I wouldn't have chanced white trousers, but it was completely bearable considering that it was the result of something that was stopping me from getting pregnant.

The bleeding did eventually stop, and since then I don't think I've had something you could really class as a period. I've had the odd bit of spotting, and the very occasional bit of blood flow, but again nothing that requires a pad or a tampon. I don't even keep them in my bag any more, although I probably should as a just in case measure. I hardly ever bleed now (once every few months, if that) and it makes me wonder now how the hell I and every other woman in the world put with periods!

The implant has also been brilliant for me in controlling my period pains. Before the implant, my periods were regularish, but I'd always know they were coming by cramps a day or two before, and on the first day of bleeding I'd feel like absolute crap and would just want to curl up in a corner and die for a day. After that I was just about alright, but it certainly wasn't nice getting that every month.

These days, I don't get that any more. No more wanting to die one day a month. The downside is that I do get a little bit of feeling ugh and the odd cramp perhaps once or twice a week, but it's bearable and definitely preferable to what I was getting before.

I have put on a little weight since I got the implant, but I do eat a lot of crap so I can't blame it completely. I was a 12-14 before but I'm now edging into 16 (although I seem to be losing weight now rather than still putting it on, and I'm not dieting or anything). It was extra weight, but it wasn't too much. All my weight goes to my tummy. It might have been less noticeable if my body spread it around a bit more. For example, I can still fit into some 8-10 leggings and tights. My knickers are generally size 12, but I have some clothes which are a size 16 and are too small for me. I'll walk away now before this ends up as a rant about sizing standards in the clothing industry.

I do have a slightly embarrassing, unwomanly side effect that I'll try to write about as tastefully as possible. When I used to get my periods, I used to get severe stomach aches and I could spend ages in the bathroom. Like my period pains, this seems to have lessened but has spread out throughout the month. I do get stomach pains and the sudden feeling that I have to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW THIS SECOND, and this can happen perhaps once a day, sometimes more, but sometimes not at all. I'm trying to learn to fight this though, because I've often found that I don't actually need the bathroom. Sometimes nothing happens and the feeling passes, and other times I find that...erm...I need to pass wind. I think this is the worst side effect of my implant, although I think it's more a personal side effect based on what my periods used to be like rather than something everyone gets. I can live with it (it beats being pregnant!) but it can be inconvenient sometimes because I can't always make a mad bathroom dash (which often turn out to be unnecessary), or when I'm lying in bed with my boyfriend and I have three choices - lie there in pain waiting for it to pass, get out of bed and ruin the moment by going to the bathroom, or ruin the moment by letting the air flow, so to speak.

My vaginal discharge can be a bit erratic as a result of the implant. Luckily neither me or my boyfriend are easily grossed out - there have been times where my discharge hasn't been in short supply and if you didn't know better, you'd think the used sex toy sitting on my windowsill after a session had been dipped in a glass of coke, since it seems to be covered in thick, brownish gunk. Not really a problem, but it's rare I wear white underwear these days.

On the plus side, I put on weight in one area that has been of great benefit and a self-esteem boost to me - my boobs! I'll admit that I probably wasn't wearing the right size bra before. I was wearing a 34C, and although it might not have been right, I can't have been far off because it didn't feel particularly tight or loose on me. However, a few months after getting my implant, I started to notice that I was popping out a bit. My bras seemed small for me, eventually getting onto the point where my boobs just weren't contained by my bra at all and I had unsightly overhang. I went and got measured and not only was I pleased to find that my underbust measurement hadn't changed and I was still a 34, I'd shot up to an F cup. It was one of those draw dropping moments. I couldn't believe it when the assistant in Ann Summers told me what size she thought I was. I did also find that one of my boobs was bigger than the other, which I might have had before and not noticed, but hey, my boobs are massive! I can afford to lose a few millimetres from one of them :P

One thing I had been warned was that the implant could cause a drop in my sex drive. I hadn't had sex before I got the implant and I never masturbated, so I can't really comment on what my sex drive was like. I didn't really know what I was missing I suppose. I put it down to I couldn't crave something I'd never had. However, I will say this - if this is me with reduced sex drive, God help my poor boyfriend when and if I come off the implant. There's no way he'll be able to keep up with me.

So yeah, all in all, I've found the implant to be brilliant for me. The insertion procedure is really nothing to worry about, and the relatively minor setbacks are outweighed by the positives of not having periods and the feeling shit that came with them, not being pregnant and not having to interrupt sexy times or my life in general to keep it working, nor can I forget to take it like a pill. I'll have to get it replaced in 2012 (and even then, they'll send me a letter to remind me so I don't have to worry about forgetting that), and I'm told that having it removed hurts a tiny bit more than putting it in, but I'm sure I'll survive. It can't hurt any more than giving birth.