Friday, October 12, 2012

Implanon : A new method for birth control

If you've been following my tweet, I did mentioned about this before. I waited 1 year to post so I can tell what 1 year has been for me with Implanon in me. Anyway, let me just tell you a little bit about Implanon.

What is Implanon?
First of all, Implanon is one of the contraceptive method used for birth control. It's a 4mm long and 2mm in diameter rod (about match stick size) inserted under the skin of a woman's upper arm and contains etonorgestrel.


How does it work?
By releasing etonorgestrel serum little by little into our body to inhibit ovulation and modifying the viscosity of the endocervical mucus on our uterus. You can go here for more info on Implanon.

Anyway, I took my Implanon at a near by clinic for RM400 (varies at other clinic or LPPKN). No surgery needed. What they did was just insert this huge needle containing the rod into my arm. The process took about 10-15 minutes. 


Here a before and after photo. I know it looks pretty scary at first. After few days, there will be some bruises on the arms. Do not fret! That's totally normal.


Once you're done, you will be give this card (photo of front and back) showing the insertion and removal date. In case you would like to get pregnant after 2 years, just go the a clinic and have it removed.


This it how Implanon looks like under your arm. It's totally invisible. I just pressed my arm so I could show you it's there. No scar whatsoever. 

ok the big question. Why did I choose Implanon? Why not IUCD or pills? or that 3 months jab? Natural planning?

Well first of all, I just had , the idea of having a thing (IUCD)  inserted down there is scary enough. So I passed. Pills? I admit I'm not disciplined enough to take medication on time. That includes that 3 months jab too. 3 years doing nothing is pretty much my idea of family planning.

However, like any other hormones related birth control, there are a few side effects that is varies for each individual. So far I had very minor pain at the back of main head like migraine. But it usually occur 1-2 times a month around the 1 year of insertion. I haven't had any headache after a year. And of course your menstrual cycle could go haywire from zero period to period at every month! 

In my experience, the 2 weeks after insertion, I had a heavy period that last for almost 2 weeks! But after that, I didn't have any period for 1 year and 2 months. I just had my period 2 days ago and boy was I happy! 

So far I never experienced weight gain or loss in weight. When I 1st had in, I was fully breastfeeding Sara. It has no effect on lactation. However I stopped breastfeeding when she reached 1 year old due to personal reason.

For those who are still looking for birth control method, maybe you could give Implanon a try. I have no problem with any other method (not that I have experienced any of it). All the best to you and thanks for reading. 

*all the above are solely my personal experience and thoughts. This post is not sponsored by Implanon. Though I wished*

8 comments:

Rosmawani♥ said...

Haishh tkut pun ade.. Ros xley pkai yg ni sbb badan gmuk air :( duk confuse nk pkai apa lpas ni.. Huhuhu...

E`n1x said...

i procrastinated... LOL. it sounded scary. and a friend of mine took long enough to get pregnant after removing it from her arm. huhu

::Ida:: said...

Ros : banyak options out there. just have to get one that suits you :)

E`n1x : hehe. i just have to. huhu. how long did she have to wait after the removal to get pregnant again?

ninazarina said...

Hai ida! How are u doing? :)

Rezeki ida la Implanon ni suit you well at your first attempt... Nak tanya la, bila/berapa lama masanya yang patut kalau nak cuba cara ni lepas bersalin ye?

::Ida:: said...

@ninazarina : hi nina!! havent see you here in awhile! hehe. how many months dah you?
i tanya doctor haritu dia kata anytime lepas beranak boleh. tapi nak jimat date (expiry date 3 years), buat la lepas pantang. when you're ready to 'ehem' with your husband. kalau belom ready, then wait lah. contoh 100 hari (3 months). kalau u tak ready with your husband, then you pakai this, macam rugi lah. err u know what i mean tak ni?

ninazarina said...

Hi Ida! Hehe.. Selalu je jengah sini, cuma tak tinggal bekas jer. :) Now I'm in 30th weeks. Hehe, faham..faham.. Btw, thanks ida! I learnt a lot from your words here, esp on babies :)

::Ida:: said...

@ninazarina : woo almost there dah tu! hehe. thank you. i tried to 'record' as many experiences i can for me to look back every now and then :) and all the best to you!

Raymond said...

Dear Puan Ida,
I just happen searching for info about Implanon and it lead me to your blog. There is two question i would like to find out from Implanon user before i let my wife try it.
After insert the needle in your arm and i can see your skin has recover. When you press your arm to let us see the needle. Will you feel pain on your arm? I mean when we touch the needle will you feel pain?
Another question is can i request the clinic address that you when for Implanon?
Appreciate that Puan Ida can do me a favor answer my above mention question. I dont think i will return to this blog. Can you please reply myself at my email?
raymond.psgoh@gmail.com

Many many thanks.

Regards,
Raymond