1 Month Anniversary!

Hi everyone! Today marks exactly 1 month since I have had Implanon inserted. All in all, I have to say I'm pretty happy with it so far. Here is a quick recap:

I had a few optical migraines in the beginning, but have had NONE since then. (Praise Jesus!)

A cramp or two here and there...

My first period came right on time and was completely normal. The only thing I noticed is slightly more painful cramps, but nothing major.

I am continuing to monitor my hair. At first it was falling out alot, but that was my fault. I wash my hair about once a week and hardly brush it (I've been blessed with mostly-curly/low maintenance hair), so a good amount of hair comes out when I brush it in the shower. I was also using Mane N' Tail Shampoo, which was drying out my poor hair to death and causing further breakage. As of now, I have switched shampoos, avoided heat stying as much as possible, and I am taking Biotin regularly. Hopefully it will continue to improve!

I had a minor scare about 2 weeks after my first period. I had some "pre-period spotting"...you know, where it isn't red blood but it means the real deal is likely coming? Fortunately, that only lasted for about 2 days. :) I'm due for my next period on April 13th.

About a week ago, I noticed that I was DEFINITELY being a little moody. Not my normal self at all. However, it was Registration Week at school, which added way more stress than was necessary.

Lastly, the scar from the insertion... I mentioned in my last post that I thought this might be a keloid scar, but after some highly intense research (Google!) I discovered that it is in fact a hypertrophic scar. A keloid is much worse. Hypertrophic is no biggie at all, its just raised. I actually have other scars that are raised too...and it's extremely common. I'm not worried. :)

The wedding is next month!! I'm more excited than words can say :)) 


Thanks for reading!

Good News!

Hey there everyone!

I have what is, in my opinion, AWESOME news.

I put on my last post that I had started my period and that everything was normal for the most part. I am happy to report that it has ended normally as well. If this continues, my next period should start around April 13th

My cramps were slightly more painful than normal, but that was it.

I do have a small scar at the insertion site. It is a little raised and hurts a little bit when I push on it. (again, I probably just shouldn't touch it lol) Is this the "keloid" scar?

Until next time!

Day 13

Hey there blogger friends!

It has been a few days since my last post. Here is the update:

My hair is no longer falling out like it was. I am shocked and amazed that I have been taking Biotin for a every day for a solid week :)  I switched to the high potency (5000mcg) instead of the smaller one that you had to take 5 times a day. That was definitely not my cup of tea. The one vitamin is much easier! I also changed my shampoo and conditioner from Mane N Tail to a different one. So far, so good! It could be my imagination, but I'm definitely not losing as much hair!


The bruise is completely gone now. All that's left is the insertion wound, and it's scabbed over. It only ever hurts if I hug someone too tight or if I cross my arms too tight (like when it's cold out), because my hand goes under that part of my arm. 

***WARNING! THE NEXT PART OF THIS POST MAY CONTAIN ONE OR MORE "TMI'S"*** 

If that doesn't bother you, then keep reading :)

I'm one of those women who tracks my period to the day, so I knew I was due for my period on March 15th. The Ides of March, of course. ha ha

But I was a little surprised when it actually arrived on March 15th (2 days ago) because I was told that Implanon usually throws your menstrual cycle off whack. Everything was (and is) pretty normal. I had some minor cramps the day before, spotting on the 15th and 16th, and it turned into full fledged period this morning. I was cramping a little this morning, but no more that if I were on my normal cycle. I have also had some...er...stomach issues. That usually happens around my time, but not to this extent. This has been going on for a few days.

I'm praying that this doesn't turn into a 6 month long period. (Really, who wants that on her wedding night??) With how normal it has been so far, I'm thinking its going to end normally as well. At least I hope.

On a more positive note, I haven't had a migraine in a week now! It's a minor victory, but a victory nonetheless! I'm thinking now that it had to do with my period coming on. When I was in middle school, I ALWAYS got them right before my period. Hmmmm......

Thanks for reading!

Week 1 :)

Today marks exactly one week since I got the Implanon.

So far the actual insertion site is a-okay. I only have a very faint bruise and faded markings from the insertion and band-aid. I've gotten in the habit of poking it when I'm bored :D

I have not been moody...no weight gain to speak of...and I haven't turned green or anything. I have gotten more migraines since my last post :( I've had three this week....as opposed to zero in 3 months. While this worries me a little, I'm still holding out hope. My (uneducated) guess is that it's an enormous rush of hormones in my system. But what do I know? 

As far as the hair situation, I have good news! Ladies, pay attention!!

I went to have my hair cut a few days ago. While I was there, I asked my stylist if Mane & Tail shampoo actually makes your hair grow. Her answer? "Stop using it!"

She explained that while it does make your hair grow a little, it has WAY too much protein for normal hair. It dries your hair out alot, causing it to break off and fall out. Interesting.

I've been using Mane & Tail as long since I got the Depo shot.

So that piece of advice put my hair fears to rest. While hair loss is listed as a side effect, I don't believe Implanon is the reason for my hair loss. Especially since it has only been one week.

Despite the migraines, I'm still feeling optimistic about this birth control. I am due for my period next week, so I'll see how that part of it works out...

Until next time :)

Day 5

Hey blogger friends :) 

 I just wanted to post a super quick update.

The insertion point feels fine. No pain except when I press it...and that's just a "bruisy" kind of pain....but perhaps I shouldn't touch it. ha 

I don't feel moody or over emotional like I did with the Depo shot. I haven't been eating more than normal and I don't think I've gained any weight. 

On a slightly less positive note, I have noticed alot more hair coming out in the shower. It's kind of excessive. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but this really concerns me. I have been trying to grow out my hair for my wedding, so I've been really aware of it for the past few months.  I use Mane & Tail, olive oil leave in conditioner and (attempt) to take Biotin every day.Weird but true. :)

But like I mentioned in my first post, I have an awful time remembering to take any kind of pill. So I haven't been taking Biotin like I should. ;)

There is also the possibility that this is a combination of the Depo Shot and Implanon, both of which may cause hair loss. So this could have been happening before the implant.

I'm still holding out hope!

Update...

Hey everyone. I just wanted to post a quick update. About and hour and a half after I posted last night (the extremely long post), I developed and optical migraine :/ 

I haven't had one since being on the Ortho Evra patch in November. This is definitely cause for concern for me because birth control is already associated with stroke and the migraines make my chances even higher. Not cool. 

I was really confused when this migraine developed because I assumed that because Implanon does not contain estrogen, I would not ever get an optical migraine again.
So I did a little bit of research and discovered (according to Google results) that estrogen does not cause the migraines, but makes them worse. This means that I could have gotten a migraine any time, whether I was on bc or not. Estrogen just makes me more prone to them. 



 I still find it pretty fishy that I got one so quickly after having Implanon inserted. My guess is that the rush of hormones is very strong in my body right now, which triggered the migraine. Am I right? Who knows! I'm no doctor lol

So I'm not going to jump the gun and have it taken out immediately or anything. Lee and I are praying that this migraine was just a fluke.

On a slighty less scary note, I took my bandage off. I thought you all might want to see what it looks like...

 

The small red dot is where they inserted the implant (duh). I'm not sure what the dark line above it is...perhaps the local anesthetic shots? The other markings are from my Charlie Brown band-aid. Apparently I have somewhat sensitive skin because the band-aid was hurting me more than the insertion point and bruise! Oh the irony...

Thanks for reading!

 

My Implanon Experience: The first few days....

Hey there everyone! I am starting this blog to tell other women about my Implanon experience. Here is some back-story:

 I am 20 years old. I am a sophomore in college and getting a degree in Early Childhood Education. I am also getting married in about 3 months! My fiance and I are Christ-followers and are keeping ourselves pure before the Lord until our wedding night ;) That being said, I was pretty clueless about birth control!

I started researching birth control around September of 2010. I wanted to give my body time to adjust and make sure I found the right one for me. Implanon quickly became my only option for a few reasons. Number one, taking bc pills would result in a baby because I'm far too flighty. I can't even remember to take vitamins for more than a few days! lol

Obviously I needed something long term.

I also can't take estrogen. If I do, I get "optical migraines". Migraines alone are no fun, but migraines + temporary blindness = REALLY NOT FUN. So that knocked out many of my other options.

With all of this in mind, I decided that my best option was Mirena (the IUD). I haven't had children, but I have a close friend without children who was able to get one, so I assumed they would let me get one too. Naive, I know. So I go to my first OBGYN visit and the doctor told me that my uterus was too small for an IUD. I was pretty bummed. 

My doctor then prescribed the Ortho-Evra patch. While this method may work for some people, it was AWFUL for me. I was nauseous every single day, and I was getting optical migraines every other day. This was the point where I discovered the effect that estrogen has on me.  Needless to say, I went back to my doctor to discuss another method.

At that point, I asked her about Implanon. She said that it was a very effective method, but the procedure was invasive. She advised that I try the Depo-Provera shot, which has the same hormones as Implanon, so I could see how it effected me. For the first few days on the shot, I was a moody-hormonal monster, but after a week or two I was back to my normal self. 

While on the shot, my period was a little late. When I did arrive, it was normal, but I continued to spot for about a month. Nothing major, but enough to be slightly annoying.

By the time I was due for my next shot, I had made up my mind that Implanon was the way to go. 

Again, I talked to my doctor and we finally agreed that I could get the implant. So she ordered it for me and I made my appointment to have it inserted. 

Then it was game time!!

I was SO NERVOUS! I jumped every time the door opened! Luckily, I had my incredibly handsome wonderfully supportive fiance went with me. When they called my name, I went back, they took my weight and blood pressure, and I had to sign a consent form saying that I did indeed want the implant.

I was then escorted to a small room with a normal doctor table...thing. You know, the kind with the wax paper :)  I had to give a urine sample (for a pregnancy test). 

When the doctor came in, he asked if I had any questions and let me see a little model of the implant. It was a fake arm and I got to feel what the implant would feel like in my own arm. I'll be honest, it freaked me out a little! ha 

I then laid back on the table and put my arm next to my head in a right-angle position. The doctor cleaned the area and applied iodine. He explained EVERYTHING that he was doing, which I found very very comforting. He gave me a shot to numb my arm, which didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. After reading so many reviews on Implanon, I was imagining severe pain...or something close! But it was nothing. And that was the worst part! Just a prick of the needle, and a little bit of stinging and the pain was over. After that, I couldn't feel anything except a little pressure when he inserted the implant.

I wasn't watching and I wouldn't recommend it. According to my fiance, watching the doctor actually insert the implant was pretty nasty looking. haha

When it was over, the nurse put a small band-aid thing over the wound and wrapped my arm in some gauze. She told me to keep the gauze on for 24 hours and avoid getting it wet. 

I was expecting my arm to be really sore and bruised. But it really hasn't hurt much at all! It is sore to the touch (obviously) but other than that, nothing. My fiance actually has to remind me to be careful with my arm!

Here is what it looks like on Day 3:

 You can see a little bit of the bruising. I am taking the bandage off tonight.

Because it has the same hormones as the Depo-Provera shot, I was expecting to be pretty moody, but that hasn't happened either. Of course, it has only been 2 days. :)

Pretty much all of my expectations that I had formed from reading the reviews online were shattered. I have had a great experience so far.

I wanted to start this blog so that other women can follow my experience with the birth control. I was inspired by Kim here. You can read her blog as well: www.implanonblog.blogspot.com

I'll keep updating and let you guys know if anything changes!