I started taking birth control when I was about 17 and continued to take it until I was about 23. Needless to say the minute I got off of it I ended with a child; He’s six now! Three years ago I got on it again after slipping up with someone I was dating. I was always coming across the Twitter threads of women talking about how birth control is horrible, but when I decided to get back on I thought little about the side effects I’d have. The previous times I was on it I had none, but that could have been due to the form of birth control I was taking, the pill. This time when I went into the doctors office I decided to get Nexplanon.
What is Nexplanon?
Nexplanon is a tiny rod that is inserted under the skin of your upper arm. I had mine in the left arm. It lasts up to 4 years, but it is recommended you remove/replace it after three. It’s not visible but you can feel in under your skin. I would spend a lot of time touching to make sure the rod hadn’t moved because if it did I would have needed to go to the doctor’s immediately.
Side Effects of Nexplanon:
- Irregular periods (shorter or longer than usual).
- No period at all.
- Spotting in between periods.
- Mood swings
- Weight gain
- Headache
- Acne
- Depressed mood
The first thing that I noticed changed when I got on this form of birth control was that my period just stopped. I want to say I didn’t have it for about 6 months and it terrified me because I’m one of those women who gets their period at the same time every month. My tracker has never stirred me wrong, so when I kept going months without one I was nervous. Once I did get a period it wasn’t much of a real one. I would spot for about 2-3 days and then go another 3 or so months without spotting. I enjoyed saving my money since I didn’t need to go pad shopping every month, but the longer time went by I just knew as a woman it wasn’t normal, nor healthy. After getting it out a month ago I finally got my first cycle and it was normal. Usually that would annoy me but I’m just happy to have a regular period again.
Another thing I noticed was I suddenly had no desire to be intimate, AT ALL. That didn’t happen until I got to the second year of being on BC. I had already decided to be celibate for awhile so I wasn’t too phased by it, but when I decided to be celibate in the past I still had desires. This time around sex wasn’t on my mind. The thought of it made be feel disgusted. Touching myself wasn’t even in question. For me, being the sexual being that I used to be, I knew it had to be the birth control that was stopping me from wanting to get my freak on. Turns out I was right because suddenly I’m having these desires. I want to cuddle so bad and sex, sex is on my mind once again. The way I’m starting to feel, I don’t even think I could trust myself around a man. If I’m being honest with myself, A simple touch to the thigh might send me over the edge, but enough about that lol.
The main reason I really got off of birth control is because I strongly believe it was affecting my weight. When I first got nexplanon put in I weighed about 175 lbs. The end results from being on it had me 30lbs heavier, the biggest I’ve EVER been. It wasn’t until a few month ago that I realized it was becoming impossible for me to lose weight because of that shit being in my system. I could eat one cookie and easily put on a pound that same day, but when it came to eating right and working out, my weight would not budge, instead I kept getting bigger. I was starting to feel depressed and thinking of taking drastic measures to get this weight off of me (BBL me please, but not really). I’m a pretty confident person, but not being able to lose weight knowing I’m doing all the right things was eating at me.
Now that I’ve been slowly getting back to me, the Sydney before getting back on BC, I’m looking forward to seeing how my body changes, for the better. I’m going to do my best to keep up my celibacy until I feel like I’m really ready to give up the magic between my legs again (putting condoms on my shopping list, you know just in case lol) and I’m also going to do all I can to keep myself in a positive head-space. I’ve been meditating more and practicing not only saying affirmations but writing them down daily. My mood swings were pretty crazy.
I never realized how toxic being on BC truly was but now that I’ve officially experienced those side effects I hear so much about, I don’t think I’ll ever go back.
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