I just wanted to share my experience with Nexplanon. Like some of the other participants on the forum - when I researched the drug there were overwhelmingly more positive than negative reviews so I decided to use Nexplanon for my birth control. The first 3 months were fine - the occasional spotting but nothing serious. BUT, it all changed after the first 3 months.
WEIGHT GAIN
I had this sudden weight gain, it must have been about 10 pounds over a course of 3 weeks and losing the weight was almost impossible. However, I decided to stick it through since weight gain is better than being pregnant.
SPOTTING
At this point, the spotting started increasing and it was also super erratic so I had to wear pantiliners almost everyday just to be safe.
MOOD SWINGS
Then the mood swings started - I could go from being extremely happy to being anxious and worried in a space of a couple of hours. It was absolutely terrible.
FOGGY BRAIN
To make matters worse, I started to forget stuff. I just couldn't remember something said to me in the previous 15 minutes. Generally I have a pretty good memory so I was super surprised by this and it took me some time to realize that the Nexplanon was the cause of my distress.
SEVERE BLEEDING
Finally, I decided to remove the damn thing but not before I had a month of severe bleeding. It seemed to me as if I was having a miscarriage. It was almost continuous and extremely intense.
POST-NEXPLANON
I was able to get the thing removed last week. I was extremely relieved and have been excited for my hormones to rebalance. I have been on a heavy period since 3 days after the removal and I am hoping that this will be the last side effect from this drug.
I hope that other women looking for birth control options will find this helpful.