Implant (Nexplanon)

The implant can improve dysmenorrhea (which is severe pain during one’s period). And, since it doesn’t contain estrogen, it can be used by breastfeeding women, smokers over 35, and others who cannot tolerate estrogen.

Using a method of birth control with estrogen increases a young woman’s risk of forming a blood clot by several times, but for women who have no history of stroke, blood clots, or heart attack, and whose family members have never experienced a blood clot, the risk is still quite low. Women with a history of these medical conditions in their family have a higher risk of forming a new blood clot; adding birth control with estrogen to the mix increases that risk to an unacceptable level. 


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

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 heavy flow and/or cramping. It can also help reduce the irregular bleeding that is sometimes a side effect of progestin-only birth control methods like the shot or the implant.

For most people, the risk of blood clots when using the ring, the patch, or the combined birth control pill (which is the most common type of pill) is low. 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. People who smoke can always use the IUD, the implant, the shot, the mini-pill (progestin-only pill), and any method that is hormone free (like condoms, for example).

If you feel like your birth control is changing your behavior, it’s time to talk to your health care provider. Everybody responds to birth control differently, and your provider can help you decide whether it’s time to try something else. It might be a matter of switching hormonal 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. The bottom line: If your current method is making you feel blah, don’t settle. There are a lot of methods to choose from and sometimes it can take a few tries to get it right.

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. Remember, there are a lot of birth control methods out there—you can find the right one for you!

This is a side effect that may be hard to fix, but if you’ve only had the implant for a few months or less, it could also lessen or go away on its own. Check out our Provider Perspective “Side effect spotlight: What’s up with spotting?” for more information.

If the implant is new to you (that means 6 months or less) and the side effects are bearable, give it a little more time—hormone levels will start to level off, so those hormonal side effects tend to go away.

Most methods will not cause weight gain. Many young women are starting birth control for the first time while their body is going through many other changes. Some women gain weight naturally when transitioning from their teens into their twenties. If that happens to be when a woman starts birth control, it’s easy to put the blame on the pill, patch, the implant, the hormonal IUD, or ring. The truth is each of these methods can be used without an expected weight gain. A recent study showed about 1 in 4 women who use the shot will gain some weight. However, the majority of women (3 out of 4) don’t gain much weight. So most women using the shot are able to keep their weight steady with healthy eating and regular exercise.

Any medicine has some side effects, but when people hear the negative stuff, it sticks in their brain like a cheesy old song you can’t stop humming. That’s just human nature, and it happens to all of us.

Remember that drug companies list every single scary thing you could possibly experience with a medication. Even if it’s super rare. They have to. It’s the law. So before you run for the hills, consider this: the potential side effects of something as harmless as aspirin are pretty scary when you read them, too. Birth control is definitely worth it if you aren’t ready to have a baby. Trust us, pregnancy has more side effects than we can count. There are so many different birth control methods that there’s something for everyone.

For women with high blood pressure, methods with estrogen–the pill (except for the mini-pill), the ring, and the patch–may make their 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 IUD, the implant, or the shot. Talk to your doctor about your condition and what birth control is best for you.

Just like when it’s put in, your arm gets numbed before the implant is taken out. But that’s the worst part and the whole thing usually only takes a couple minutes.