Implant and Side Effects

[Fender909]

Dear Scarleteen,

I've had the implant (Implanon) for a about three months now and have no major complaints. I am very happy to have a birth control method that is at 99% effectiveness rate, even on its own. I still check for it regularly with my fingers and it has stayed in place.

I've had two "periods" so far with the implant - one was pretty soon after I had it inserted and lasted longer than my periods usually do - mainly spotting. Then a second one about 40 days after the first started, which was very light and only lasted about a day or two. That was about a month ago.

The past couple of weeks I have experienced some breast growth that is becoming noticeable to both me and my partner. Some soreness is occurring, which is listed as a side effect of the implant, but I was wondering if breast growth is known to occur as a result of the artificial hormones in the implant. I normally don't wear a bra, but the growth is making me kind of uncomfortable and makes me want support!! This may just be puberty as well, as I am still only 17 (going on 18 in less than a month!).

Just wanted some insight!! Thank you so much!

[Eddie C]

It could be a side effect of the implant, yes, but also just puberty as you mentioned. It would be hard to say which one is unless you stopped using the implant and see if there is any changes but I don't think you want to go that far.

[al]

Hi there Fender909,

It could be that breast growth you're experiencing is a side effect of the medication - it's listed as a possible post-market side effect of Implanon, along with breast tenderness. It could also be a part of the weight gain that is also listed as in the side effects. Or, like you said, it could be because your body is still growing and changing. Speaking from experiences of lots people I know who are taking hormonal birth control, breast growth/tenderness is a pretty common symptom.
If you find that it's really bothering you, you can check in with your healthcare provider about it and see if there's a different type of contraception that works for you. I think that it's awesome that you're paying such good attention to your body though, and educating yourself about your medications!

[Fender909]

Yay, thanks for the fast replies!

I'm very happy with the implant, I enjoy having a method that I don't have to remember to interact with and that has high effectiveness!

The growth is kind of uncomfortable for me though. My breasts are kind of tender and sore, are there any remedies for this? I'm starting to notice little stretch marks too!

[Jacob]

Hi Fender909,

I just had a quick pan through all the information on the internet which revealed plenty of remedies for breast tenderness from lavenda oil, to soybeans, to applying icepacks, to over-the-counter painkiller gels, to sleeping-bras, bra-fittings & massage. So there probably are ways to make it less uncomfortable but there might be an element of trial and error to find out what works for you.

There's not really one thing we can recommend but exploring what works and trying different remedies provided they are safe seems like a good way for you to go forward.

[Fender909]

Thanks so much!

One more thing - when should one take a pregnancy test when on the implant? Since periods on the implant are quite unpredictable, and a missed period is the first symptom of pregnancy, when does one know it's time to take a test or visit the doctor?

[Fender909]

Ps: this is something I've wondered about for awhile, with no sure answer!!

[Karyn]

The general rule with pregnancy tests is that you need to wait two weeks at the very minimum before testing, and that rule still applies with the implant. If you have a reason to be concerned that your implant has failed at a certain point, then you can test once it's been at least two weeks since that incident. Sometimes people using methods like the implant find it reassuring to keep a few pregnancy tests around just to take occasionally, but the implant is so unlikely to fail that testing for pregnancy isn't really necessary unless you know that something has gone seriously wrong with it.