Birth Control w/ Health Insurance

[yohino 22]

This is something I really want to know... have anyone experienced side effects?? - I know there is no weight gain, but how about everything else?

I'v havent experienced any side effects what so ever. Nada, nothing, zip.

Very happy with it!

[Ellie-and-David 38]

I suffered no side effects to Implanon either. No hair loss, my sex drive is fine....the only thing I found....my eyebrows grew quicker! Yup, tis true. I have to pluck more often.

As soon as I have a baby, I'll get another implant. $400-800 is way cheaper than an unplanned baby and my husband would not like to meet me on the pill. I dont even like me on the pill.

Plus,

I suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and if I have an attack...I cant guarantee the effectiveness of the pill.

[HisGirl 0]

What brand? Also, did you have to give household income information? Is the price you pay based on household salary?

The pharmacy asks for your household income information? What the hell?!?

[sachinky 465]

I think she/he was talking about Planned Parenthood.

[Stann 3]

No side effects on Implanon for me, in fact it really clears my skin up, when i had a gap between them of a couple of months my skin immediately broke out so for me its really positive

[kaffy 2]

What are the long term effects of Implanon?

I came off the pill about 6 months ago (plan to TTC soon). When I moved over I brought a year's supply of the pill and when that ran out I had it refilled when I saw my ob-gyn for my annual exam. It was the same generic kind as I was taking before and the cost was actually cheaper than back home ($10 co-pay for a 3 month supply.. back home I was paying about $15-20 for a 3 month supply.. and before that when I lived in Japan it was $30 for a ONE month supply.. eek!). All depends on what your insurance coverage is I guess.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

What are the long term effects of Implanon?

I came off the pill about 6 months ago (plan to TTC soon). When I moved over I brought a year's supply of the pill and when that ran out I had it refilled when I saw my ob-gyn for my annual exam. It was the same generic kind as I was taking before and the cost was actually cheaper than back home ($10 co-pay for a 3 month supply.. back home I was paying about $15-20 for a 3 month supply.. and before that when I lived in Japan it was $30 for a ONE month supply.. eek!). All depends on what your insurance coverage is I guess.

Long term effects?? I personally haven't found any. It wears off really quickly once removed (I believe someone said 36 hours) and leaves a small scar on your arm. I provided a link on page 3 I believe that has the medical sheet for Implanon if you wanna have a read. I googled "Implanon long term effects" and didn't really find anything.

[Vivi6 12]

I'm getting hooked on this Implanon thing, although hubby is skeptic (said he took a class in college and read it wasn't very effective...but then again he is not the one taking hormones everyday!!). I am on the pill and have been for the past 4 years. I took a short break for 4 months during the K1 process when Matt and I were apart, and my body went back to "normal" right away. I also took blood tests before and after and everything looked good. My OB-GYN in Italy is very strict about checking values especially because my dad's side has a history of high blood pressure and strokes so I am trying to watch that.

I think my pill is very good, but I wonder if I could find a similar one here in the US, I mean with the same amount of hormones. I haven't experienced any weigth gain (my OB-GYN once said "You don't gain weigth because of the pill but because you eat too much!" I guess every woman is different)and unfortunately I still occasionally have breakouts (at 27!!!)- my dermatologist told me another brand of oill to consider but I never switched.

All in all I've been happy with this pill and I have a supply for 8 more months(planning on getting some more when I got to Italy in 2 weeks and maybe see the GYN again), but I think Implanon could work well for me. We're not planning to have kids for another 3 years at least, so that could work nicely- and you can always take it out it seems.

Will consult with mom and doctor when I go home and see what my options could be. I am kind of scared about taking a blood test as I am pretty sure with all this junk food my cholesterol level will be so high!!!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I'm getting hooked on this Implanon thing, although hubby is skeptic (said he took a class in college and read it wasn't very effective...but then again he is not the one taking hormones everyday!!). I am on the pill and have been for the past 4 years. I took a short break for 4 months during the K1 process when Matt and I were apart, and my body went back to "normal" right away. I also took blood tests before and after and everything looked good. My OB-GYN in Italy is very strict about checking values especially because my dad's side has a history of high blood pressure and strokes so I am trying to watch that.

I think my pill is very good, but I wonder if I could find a similar one here in the US, I mean with the same amount of hormones. I haven't experienced any weigth gain (my OB-GYN once said "You don't gain weigth because of the pill but because you eat too much!" I guess every woman is different)and unfortunately I still occasionally have breakouts (at 27!!!)- my dermatologist told me another brand of oill to consider but I never switched.

All in all I've been happy with this pill and I have a supply for 8 more months(planning on getting some more when I got to Italy in 2 weeks and maybe see the GYN again), but I think Implanon could work well for me. We're not planning to have kids for another 3 years at least, so that could work nicely- and you can always take it out it seems.

Will consult with mom and doctor when I go home and see what my options could be. I am kind of scared about taking a blood test as I am pretty sure with all this junk food my cholesterol level will be so high!!!

No-one I know who has Implanon has gotten pregnant while it's in. I think like any birth control there's always a few people here and there who might, but honestly it's so foolproof. I couldn't recommend it more highly. I just love not having to think about it.

As for the cholesterol.. tell me about it :S My husbands health insurance requires us to have BMI, weight, cholesterol etc tests and i have to admit I'm slightly concerned. i've never had issues with it before, but I do wonder what the drastic diet difference has done to me. I eat roughly the same as at home, but the food has such a higher fat content here.. not to mention the cheese in EVERYTHING. Well we'll see.

I hope if you decide Implanon that you have as positive experience as the rest of us.

p.s. it's been almost a year for me (July) since I had mine in and i've had no issues. My first month or so I was hyper-vigilant looking for "side-effects". I sometimes still feel like I have PMS () but that could just be moodiness but like I said, no side effects. I did have to be careful with my arm for a while because if someone pressed on it too hard, or I stuck my arm down the back of the couch when I dropped something I would get a dull ache in that area from the pressure.. now it's "settled in". I like knowing I have a plan. I like knowing that for 3 years (well 2 left now ) we don't have to worry about birth control, or accidents or anything. That when I get the rod taken out it's either babies or another method of birth control. I like being able to tell those sticky-beaks that ask "when are you having kids?" a set timeframe so they stop bugging me and don't keep joking about "accidents". My older sister had my little brother ask me the other day, she was trying to annoy me. When i replied with "not till around July 2012 when my rod comes out" he was like " oh.. okay..." lol. Made me laugh.

Anyway. Good luck

Edited June 28, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[trinket 30]

I called Planned Parenthood the other day to see how much it would cost to get Implanon.....bummer they don't have it here in this city

[Marilyn. 340]

has anybody else started to lose a lot of hair of stopping the pill?

I have been losing more hair then what I think is normal and it seems to have started around the same time I stopped the pill...

[Jewel-8 21]

has anybody else started to lose a lot of hair of stopping the pill?

I have been losing more hair then what I think is normal and it seems to have started around the same time I stopped the pill...

I stopped using NuvaRing in April due to problems I was having with it and my hairdresser said she noticed that my hair wasn't as thick. I did notice a lot more come out in the shower too.

I am buying some supplies for NFP/FAM and going to start going with that method in July. It sounds like it would work for us since I am so afraid of developing PCOS like my sister did when she got on Depo.

[Marilyn. 340]

I stopped using NuvaRing in April due to problems I was having with it and my hairdresser said she noticed that my hair wasn't as thick. I did notice a lot more come out in the shower too.

I am buying some supplies for NFP/FAM and going to start going with that method in July. It sounds like it would work for us since I am so afraid of developing PCOS like my sister did when she got on Depo.

was that after you stopped?

if I am remembering correctly before I even started taking the pill I would lose a lot of hair.. but on the pill I wasn't losing as much

[sachinky 465]

I stopped the pill last August after our wedding since we were going to apart for a while. I thought I'd give my body a break from synthetic hormones. BAD IDEA. My hair started coming out in clumps in the shower, everywhere. It was really bad because I've had really thick hair and have never lost more than a strand or two even though I subject my hair to a gruelling blow-drying and straightening ritual. I thought I had cancer or something, I was so freaked out, but then figured out it must be because of the stoppage of estrogen in my system. I went back on it for two months and it sorted of helped. But then I ran out of my usual U.S pills and I had to take over-the-counter pills in India. The estrogen fluctuation didn't help. Now I'm back again on my old triphasic pills, been about a month. I'm hoping my body and hair will return to normal in a few weeks or so. I've been shedding massively since last October (happened exactly a month and a half I stopped) and it needs to stop.

I had no idea that stopping the pill could result in severe hair loss but I spoke to a gyno and she said it was sort of similar to post-partum hairloss. The lack of oestrogen sends a shock to the system and the hair falls out as a result.

[Jewel-8 21]

was that after you stopped?

if I am remembering correctly before I even started taking the pill I would lose a lot of hair.. but on the pill I wasn't losing as much

I spent a few weeks losing a lot of hair, and now it's back to just a few strands every time I shower.

Edited June 30, 2010 by Jewel-8