Women's Health Issues: LadyGardening for Dummies

oh, thank you.

prettyrestless wrote: »

Do you have it?
I had it for over a year but got it removed as I felt it wasn't suiting.

How do you find it?
Well most importantly, no babies! I found the insertion and removal to be ok, not that painful and quite quick. I had occasional periods - once every 4/5 months. No spotting in between.

Many side effects?
Hair loss was one of my main ones. Luckily I had a really thick head of hair so it wasn't too noticeable but in a year I lost about a quarter of my hair. It's all grown back since I got it taken out. I can't really comment on moods etc because I have depression anyway but I don't think it made it worse (although I am on antidepressants). I didn't get acne or have headaches, which I've heard are common enough side effects.

Did you gain weight?
Yes about a stone and a half in the year I had it. However I can't say this was the implanon. It could have been the other meds I was on or my extreme dislike of exercise.

Thanks for your honest reply.

My hair is so thin as is so wouldn't like that myself. The pill has been working fine for me for years, I just felt I wanted something a bit more permanent as I'm too young for sterilisation just yet. I like the fact that implanon still works even if you vomit/have diahorrea.

My initial choice was the Mirena coil as I didn't like the idea of an implant in my arm. But discussions today with my doc about having to check the coil threads etc got me worried - I just felt like it sounded less safe than the pill.

Actually - one thing I forgot to ask doc was in relation to my exercise regime. I actually exercise a lot and I am worried that lifting weights might upset the bar. Some of you will probably laugh when I say this now, but I'm not talking very heavy weights, just 10kg kettlebells, but I work out 6 days a week using them.

To be honest, I've just lost 2 stone and it took 2years of really hard work. I don't want to put it back on! Of course I don't want to get pregnant either though. But the hair loss, depression, acne etc... I already have enough stress/pressure in work without adding to it with this.

I guess really the only way to know is to get it in - the beauty of it is that I can get it back out if it's not for me.

Just wanted to see what experience Irish ladies in recent years have had with it.

Oh, and my doctor inserts a lot of these each year. So she knows what she is doing, so that is good as I have read that most problems result in poor insertion.

I have just had a baby and the doctor has now put me on microlite pill. I was on yasmin for years before this but he said that it can cause blood clots and to try microlite instead so I said I would. I have now been taking it for nearly 3 weeks and today and yesterday I am bleeding. Even though I'm not on my 7 day break. Is this because my body is getting used to the new pill or is this a known problem with microlite. Is anyone else on this pill and how is it for you? Thanks in advance.

muffinman11 wrote: »

I have just had a baby and the doctor has now put me on microlite pill. I was on yasmin for years before this but he said that it can cause blood clots and to try microlite instead so I said I would. I have now been taking it for nearly 3 weeks and today and yesterday I am bleeding. Even though I'm not on my 7 day break. Is this because my body is getting used to the new pill or is this a known problem with microlite. Is anyone else on this pill and how is it for you? Thanks in advance.

I took that for a year, the breakthrough bleeding happens because it's such a low dose pill. For me it stopped after a few months, but if I was a few hours late taking a pill it would start up again. It might help if you take it at exactly the same time each day.

Hi ladies!

I've had the Implanon Bar for 3 years in October, and that means removal time is coming close!

I've yet to book the appointment but I'm quite nervous to. Does it hurt? As far as I'm aware it's a small incision and they reach in and pull it out, I'm terrified that cut will hurt, regardless of however brief it is! That said I'm going to have to get it removed either way, I'd just like to be prepared for it.

I'd also like to get some advice, what do I do after the bar is removed? Is there a "cool down period"?

I'm not sure should I get another one in. While it was great to not have to worry about periods and have a failsafe in case condoms broke or whatever, I feel like it totally sapped my energy and I put on a lot of weight over the 3 years (I also went to college in that time so the lifestyle changes there probably contributed, however I could eat what I wanted before and never put on weight at all. I do feel like the bar shares a large proportion of the blame). I do think I need another contraceptive though, I'm 22 and terrified of the idea of pregnancy, so much so that I feel like not having a second contraceptive other than condoms will put massive amounts of strain on our relationship.

I don't know what to do about it all, and it's making me very very nervous. Any advice/experiences/suggestions appreciated, thank you!

Hi ladies. I am going for a colposcopy on Wednesday afternoon and just looking for feedback from others that have had one. Depending on what they do obviously, but are you able to continue your daily tasks eg working etc after it or do you tend to be sore and bleeding etc?

Were you able to go back to work after?

Been there myself, had no sex drive whatsoever on microlite and had annoying side effects when I changed pills. I also went from having a "sore boob week" on week 3 of taking microlite to "ridiculously sore boob month" the whole time on Yasminelle, which was no help with sex drive! I refused to try another pill as a result and went off entirely for a while with my doc#s approval (doc's other suggestion was a progesterone-only pill, and he did agree with me when I said sure I might as well go off it in that case, as it was still taking hormones but less effective at preventing pregnancy. Personally it wouldnt have been a disaster if Id gotten pregnant at the time, but not ideal, so we were really careful with condoms all the way).

I have to say I didnt notice a massive change in sex drive in the few months I went off the pill, BUT I still didnt really want to be pregnant so was probably less spontaneous, and maybe more aware of my cycle cos it took a while to get normal periods again and I found ovulation time really painful. After talking to a medic friend about different options, Mirena coil seemed like my best option and it has been great. If you;re firmly no children then it's brilliant to have something long term that you can forget about. It was daunting at the start but well worth it in the long run.

Hi does anyone know how much the implanon costs in pharmacies and does it cost less if you have the drug payment scheme?:)

Faith wrote: »

Thanks ladies. I had a bad experience with side effects on Cerazette a few years ago, so I'm a bit afraid of another progesterone-only option. I'll discuss it with a doctor though.

Anyone have any experiences with the nuvaring?

/edit: Just spoke to a medical colleague about Mirena and apparently it's a localised release of hormones, so side effects are minimal compared to oral contraceptives. She did say that her experience of having it inserted was horrific though

I had the Mirena inserted last year. I was knocked out for the actually insertion as I was having another procedure done as well. Afterwards though I had some cramping that night and some bleeding for a couple of days but nothing too bad. I was worried about the loss of sex dive but thankfully there hasn't been any. I had a couple of very light periods and some spotting in the first few months but having had anything in the last 6 months.