New Nexplanon

[Fender909]

Hi Scarleteen Staff,

I just got the Nexplanon inserted five days ago (before this I had been taking the combination pill for around a year and a half) and I'm pretty excited about my new method of birth control and its extremely high effectiveness I've read about.

My partner and I have never had any kind of penetrative sex WITHOUT a condom. He is very respectful and responsible when it comes to sex, and I'm proud of our healthy communication with each other! I told him that if he is comfortable we could start having sex without the condom after two weeks of the implant having been inserted, but we decided to get tested first since we have not yet been tested as a couple. (This actually will have been both of our first times getting tested for STI/STDs!)

Reading about the implant, it says to take a pregnancy test if you suspect you are pregnant. I have a question about this, though. Since menstrual cycles are altered a bit unpredictably by the implant, and missing a period isn't really a symptom for pregnancy will using this method, how WOULD you suspect you were pregnant? In other words, what would be a reason to believe your implant may have failed besides not being able to locate it? I noticed that some symptoms of the Nexplanon correlate with symptoms of pregnancy as well.

Thanks for your help!

[Heather]

Well, it might be things like missing periods when you usually don't, even with the implant, or knowing how it has felt to be pregnant and feeling that way again, or having some symptoms often associated with pregnancy that feel different than side effects, if you are having them.

I also think it's hard for people who haven't been pregnant to know that way more often than not, you do feel differently when you become pregnant. But for many people, if not most, we do know something is up when we are because we just don't feel the same as we have when not pregnant.