Dear nexplanon...
Implant birth control, you know I love you. I love not having to take a pill every night, I really love that you did not come with the dreaded weight-gain side effect, and I really, really, super-duper love the decreased migraines.
But the bleeding? That part sucks.
It would figure that, with my luck, I would end up in the unfortunate 1/3 of all users with increased bleeding. My first period on nexplanon lasted twelve days - three times as long as on the pill - my second one lasted sixteen days, and now I'm bleeding again, just two fucking weeks after my last period! And it's heavy. It also seems to be very connected to my abs: any time I work out or even have an upset stomach, bleeding is sure to follow. Goddamn am I glad I waited until I was single to get this thing...
It's so far out of my experience, I'm not sure how to handle it. My only experience outside of having very regimented periods on the pill was the years in high school before I was prescribed naything, when my PCOS ran rampant. Back then, I would go up to four months without a period. I'm actually hopeful that that's part of the problem now, and it'll clear up later: PCOS can lead to a build-up of endometrial tissue over the years, which a normal period on the pill can't fully flush out. So I am willing to wait, up to six months if I have to, to see if this is just a temporary flushing-out of the system, or my new normal.
Oh god, what if I meet someone before then? I can't imagine trying to schedule sex around this!
But the bleeding? That part sucks.
It would figure that, with my luck, I would end up in the unfortunate 1/3 of all users with increased bleeding. My first period on nexplanon lasted twelve days - three times as long as on the pill - my second one lasted sixteen days, and now I'm bleeding again, just two fucking weeks after my last period! And it's heavy. It also seems to be very connected to my abs: any time I work out or even have an upset stomach, bleeding is sure to follow. Goddamn am I glad I waited until I was single to get this thing...
It's so far out of my experience, I'm not sure how to handle it. My only experience outside of having very regimented periods on the pill was the years in high school before I was prescribed naything, when my PCOS ran rampant. Back then, I would go up to four months without a period. I'm actually hopeful that that's part of the problem now, and it'll clear up later: PCOS can lead to a build-up of endometrial tissue over the years, which a normal period on the pill can't fully flush out. So I am willing to wait, up to six months if I have to, to see if this is just a temporary flushing-out of the system, or my new normal.
Oh god, what if I meet someone before then? I can't imagine trying to schedule sex around this!