Implant (Nexplanon)

Yes. Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs, like naproxen, can decrease menstrual flow and cramping. So if you have heavy or painful periods, your health care provider may recommend taking ibuprofen to help reduce your heavy flow and/or cramping. These medications can also help reduce the bleeding between periods that are a normal side effect of progestin-only birth control methods like the shot or implant.

Most methods will not cause weight gain. Most people gain weight over time (whether they are using birth control or not), so if you use birth control for a few years, weight gain may not be related to your birth control specifically. The exception to this is the shot. Some people who use the shot will gain some weight. However, the majority of people who use the shot don’t gain much.

Spotting refers to a small amount vaginal bleeding that is unpredictable or irregular and not related to your period. Spotting can be a normal side effect of some birth control methods, especially progestin-only ones like the shot, implant, mini-pill, and hormonal IUDs as well as with low-dose combination birth control pills. When birth control causes spotting, it isn’t dangerous and generally doesn’t make you lose that much blood, even though it might seem like it.

There are positive and negative things to say about every method. And everyone’s different—so what you experience may not be the same as what someone else experiences. And what side effects are “worth it” to you might be different than for someone else.

You can start by thinking about what’s most important to you about your method. Is your top priority using the method that will be the most effective at preventing pregnancy? Something easy to use? Something that makes your period lighter? Something that you can stop and start without seeing a provider? There are birth control options for all of these. It’s also common to try more than one birth control option before finding one that works for you, so don’t settle if your current option isn’t working.

Most people who use hormonal birth control—combination pill, patch, ring, implant, shot, and hormonal IUDs—will have less painful periods than those who don’t. This is because these methods of birth control make the lining of the uterus thinner. There’s less tissue in the uterus to shed (that’s what happens when you have your period), so periods are lighter. One special note on the implant and the shot: for some people, these methods cause more days of spotting or bleeding in between periods, but periods become lighter and less painful overall.

Using a method of birth control with estrogen, like the combination pill, patch, and ring, increases your risk of forming a blood clot, but if you have no history of stroke, blood clots, or heart attack, and your family members have never experienced a blood clot, the risk is still quite low. If you have a history of these medical conditions, you have a higher risk of forming a new blood clot already so adding birth control with estrogen to the mix increases that risk and isn’t recommended.

Progestin-only methods like the implant, mini-pill, shot, and IUDs don’t increase your risk. If you’re worried about blood clots, we recommend talking to a health care provider about which birth control options are the safest for you.

It can be complicated to tell exactly how hormonal birth control affects mood, but you’re the only one who truly knows how you feel. Everyone reacts to birth control differently, so if you feel your birth control might be contributing to depression, talk with your health care provider. It might be a matter of switching methods or deciding whether to avoid hormonal birth control altogether, or you may choose to wait it out since some negative side effects go away with time.

Most people who use the implant have fewer, lighter periods. That means the implant can improve dysmenorrhea (which is severe pain during your period). And, since it only contains one hormone—progestin—it can be used by almost anyone.

For most people, the risk of blood clots is low when they use the combination pill, the ring, and the patch. But smoking increases this risk. If you are over 35 and smoke 15 or more cigarettes a day, the combination pill, patch, and ring are not safe options for you. If you’re over 35 and you smoke less than 15 cigarettes a day, talk to your provider about whether these birth control methods are safe options for you.

If you have high blood pressure, methods with estrogen—the combination pill, the ring, and the patch—may make your blood pressure even higher, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Fortunately, there are lots of highly effective birth control options that are safe and estrogen-free like the progestin-only pill, all types of IUD, the implant, and the shot. Talk to a health care provider about your blood pressure and what birth control is an option for you.

Spotting with the implant) is a common side effect that can be really annoying but usually isn’t harmful. That being said, you’ve got options. If you’ve only had the implant for a few months or less and the bleeding is tolerable, you can wait it out and see if it goes away on its own. You can also talk to a provider about using medications, including combination birth control pills or over-the-counter ibuprofen, to try and stop the bleeding.

When getting the implant placed, you’ll be given an injection of numbing medicine through a small needle—that’s usually the worst part. Then your health care provider inserts the implant in your arm, which usually takes less than a minute. That area of your arm may be sore and bruised for a couple days.