Nexplanon side effects same as cancer symptoms- how do you tell the difference?

[Bubblegum89]

I have had the Nexplanon implant since April (for my sins!) I am a diagnosed hypochondriac and I am particularly anxious about cancer and so I am constantly assessing my body for odd symptoms and lumps etc. I have had a smear test, my first one, which was last year. Everything came back clear. However I found out recently that getting the all-clear and not having to go back for three years doesn't necessarily mean you are 100% safe from getting cervical cancer in the meantime. Cue me needing to obsessively keep an eye on anything unusual. However the symptoms of cervical cancer are almost the exact same as the side effects I experience from the Nexplanon implant; bleeding randomly between periods, bleeding after sex, uncomfortable/painful sex, bloating around my lower abdomen etc. This is going to sound like a stupid question but how on earth can you tell what is a side effect and what is a potential symptom? I'm also aware that Nexplanon is proven to increase the risk of cervical cancer. As a hypochondriac I am tearing my hair out with the not knowing!

Hi there bubblegum89. I have the nexplanon implant and for the first year had no symptoms at all, and no periods either. After that the random bleeding started, to the point where it was constant. Cue trip to the doctors. The doctor put me on the pill (millinette, formerly Femodene) as well as the implant for three months to see if it helped the bleeding. Answer: yes it stopped immediately. Which says to me that the bleeding was definitely a side effect. I have no advice other than perhaps you could ask the doctor to prescribe you the pill to try and control the bleeding and this would perhaps reassure you that the bleeding is in fact nothing to worry about :-)