AIBU to think my arm was bloody mutilated??

[plutoisnotaplanet]

I finally had my implant removed from my arm tonight after 2 months of back and forth with GP's and the clinic :( for anyone who has one, make bloody sure you can feel it through your skin at all times and when you go to have it taken out, make sure you can show them exactly where it is!!

So I went to my GP to have it removed but he couldn't find it, fair enough I was then referred to a special clinic that take them out all the time after a scan. I had my appointment 2 weeks later.

They found the implant on the scan and made a big incision that needed 5 stitches in the end, but in the process of digging around in my arm for it with her fingers, the implant snapped and dug itself deep into My muscle around the other side of my arm I could feel it and it hurt but when I said I thought she'd pushed it further in and round my arm she said that wasn't possible...

She gave up trying to find it, stitched me up and said I'd have to have it removed under General anesthetic so she would write to my GP and explain...

A week later I get a phone call from the same doctor who said I should go back to the clinic a couple of weeks later to have it removed by her mentor, who was apparently more experienced

Anyway, fast forward to tonight and she scanned my arm again and couldn't find the pieces of implant, but I told her I could now feel them around my elbow... She scanned and there they were in the muscle around my elbow (GRIM).

The picture is where she was first digging around (the scar) vs where the pieces of implant finally came out of my arm (the dressing)

My arm is really swollen and sore and I now have 2 1 inch scars that I'll have for life...

I'm not sure how to feel about all this... It's bad right??

[MrsMook]

I've had 3. The first one was the older style of insertion that went a bit deeper. It was a bruised on entry. Number 2 was better going in. I think that was the one that was reluctant to come out. Two of them were fine.

My GP tried me with cerezette first as the hormones are quite similar. I've not really had issues with hormonal contraception anyway. I got some annoying spotting that tended to be 3 months on, 3 months off, but it was better than the pain of my natural periods pre DC. I would use it again if I was considering long term contraception. For me, the inconvenience of fitting and removal is outweighed by not having to think about a reliable contraception for 3 years.

[everygalaxy]

I'm on my second one no problem so far with switch over except I'm very resistant to the local so I just have to grit my teeth - DH has watched both times. It's due out in November (nervous now) and we want to TTC next summer is it worth getting a third for a few months??

[Coldhandscoldheart]

From what I've heard they might be resistant to taking it out after such a short period since it's supposed to last three years. Could you mini pill for those few months?
Fwiw I took mine out in October & fell pregnant in Aprilish. Nothing in between. And it should have come out in July previous. So it takes your body a little while to kick back in I think.

[Chickoletta]

microscope - No, definitely a medical student. There was plenty of time for small talk during the whole procedure and she told me that she was in her final year of training at Peninsula Medical School (part of Uni of Exeter).

[Furiosa]

Pluto I'm very sorry for what you're going through, but I don't think you've got grounds to complain (not that you said that you were going to, but other posters have said that you should).

You asked for the implant to be removed and they have removed it. While it was difficult to remove, there was no malpractice. I'm deeply sorry for you about the scars on your arm. However, I don't believe the word "butchered" really applies here. The incisions needed to be made to remove the implant. Understandably you would have preferred only one incision made, but given the fact that it is known that implants can move I can only feel badly for you and what you went through.

This part I don't take lightly writing. I myself have used the NHS many times with regards to my own mental health. It's my belief that I have cost the NHS more than I've ever put in. Therefore this is not an attack on you or anyone using the NHS. Given what I've said, I am probably not the best person to comment, however you are critical of NHS staff who treated you. Have you considered their job might have been made harder due to the large amount of subcutaneous fat you have on your arm?

This won't lessen your feeling of being "butchered" or cut up, but I can't help feeling that it might have been an exacerbating factor in removing your implant. I don't think you can blame the NHS staff for not being able to find it easily.

When I gave birth the first time, I had a retained placenta. The final doctor who tried to rip it out prior to surgery gave me a third degree tear. Still this was not grounds for complaint because they were trying to medically assist.

Again, I completely understand that you don't want scars on your body and the removal of the implant was difficult , but further posts on your thread seem to be scare mongering about the implant (not your fault) and I think it's proportionate to recognise your implant was difficult to recover and remove because of the subcutaneous fat on your arm.

[AndNowItsSeven]

Hmmm I was considering an inplant might think again now.

[DaphneCanDoBetterThanFred]

I've had the implant inserted twice and removed once. It took a lot of wrenching and yanking to get it out but it didn't hurt, luckily. It was really close to the surface though which must have helped. What didn't help was me laughing through the whole procedure as one of her hands was tickling my inner elbow Highlight of the last insertion was the nurse/doctor who was inserting it telling me "some women complain the implant sends them doolally, they go through the whole thing of getting it removed to find out it was just their personality after all! "

[DaphneCanDoBetterThanFred]

seven I'm very fond of my implant! Very light periods once every 3 months or so, and apart from being a weepy hormonal mess for the first couple of weeks until it settled I have not yet lost my mind. I've put on a tiny bit of weight, under half a stone I think. And they should remove it if you're not happy with it.

[DaphneCanDoBetterThanFred]

furiosa I'm no medic but when I was having mine taken out she said it was harder as I don't have much fat on my arm so when she tried to angle it out she kept stabbing my muscle with it. Putting it in as well, she had to be very careful to get it in the relatively thin area of fat and not whack it in to my muscle or else she'd have to peel me off the ceiling. That's just my experience though.

[WiddlinDiddlin]

Mine was pretty evil coming out, it wasnt especially deep (id been able to feel it) but well welded in there.

This current one went in easily but trapped a nerve or something and though the serious pain of that faded after a month (of me constantly moaning to my GP about it..) it has left me with nerve damage down that arm particularly if i bend my elbow :(

Its been the best solution for me so far but I am not entirely confident im being told the truth about it..

Number 1 - periods tailed off quickly and stayed away entirely for 18 months and then gradually returned (including pain levels and heavy flow)..

I asked if it could 'run out' at all, given I am probably twice the size of the average person... no, dont be silly.. my body had just become used to it..

But.. if thats the case then..

Number 2 was put in the same time number 1 removed and.. hey presto, periods tailed off quickly ... and remained gone until 18 months when they started to come back gradually...

If I had become used to it.. why would putting in a new one have the exact same results as putting in the initial one?

[PitchFork]

I'm at
Have you considered their job might have been made harder due to the large amount of subcutaneous fat you have on your arm?

[plutoisnotaplanet]

Furiosa thanks for that

Rest assured though my arm isnt usually this massive, it's insanely swollen. It's currently about twice the size it usually is but yes, thanks for pointing out my bingo wings You can actually see the great big lump of fluid in the photo where I now have a pretty spectacular bruise.

In answer to your question, the implant itself was visible on the scan and not that deep, you could feel it through the skin. The first time the dr tried to get it out she snapped it then pushed it in further because she was using her fingers instead of tweezers to rummage about in my arm. She actually pushed it so far away from where it was supposed to be it ended up around my elbow. The mentor Dr also said it had been improperly inserted in the first place, so the end of it was buried in the muscle not under the skin hence why the GP couldn't find it and why they made such a big cut the first time.

He supervisor or "mentor" as she called her was the one to explain all this to me and was very clear that the process had been performed incorrectly at both insertion and removal.

I actually won't be making a complaint, I work in healthcare in the NHS myself and I got a full apology from both doctors, which is enough for me.

RE: Sweets in the background: My lovely best friend, DP and his best friends were all over last night to play board games so I had a good moan at them which made me feel loads better

I'm a bit hormonal this morning and have my first day without hormonal contraception in 10 years wish me luck!