Does implant cause hair loss?

I was keen to try the implant as it seemed perfect for me on paper, but I ended up getting it removed due to very low mood and mood swings. Within a few days of insertion, I felt emotional all the time, getting easily upset and crying most days, and I didn't feel like myself at all. I regularly felt depressed, hopeless and overwhelmed. I also had irrational worries and anxious thoughts. I persevered with the implant for two years because I was convinced that these side effects would lessen over time, but I didn't notice any improvement. Throughout the time I had the implant, I experienced nearly constant light bleeding and spotting as well as breast tenderness. I found these side effects irritating as they interfered with my daily life, although I would have been willing to put up with them if I hadn't had the mood issues as well. Once I finally made my mind up and had my implant removed, my moods were back to normal within a week, and my periods returned to their regular pattern right away. In hindsight, I wish I had listened to my body and had it removed much sooner. For me the only positives were that the implant was convenient and effective, and the insertion/removal processes were fairly painless. I would say it is worth a try if these things are important to you, but my personal experience was so poor that it has put me off hormonal contraceptives entirely.

I had the implant for over 2 and a half years. When I first went on this, I didn’t have a period for a couple months but then after that I had around a month long period, this was then paired with the combined pill to help it regulate a bit more. I then ended up usually going 3 months without a period and then 1 week of a period with 2-3 weeks of very light bleeding. This was okay. I then recently had my period and since then continued to bleed for over 3 months. I decided that I couldn’t deal with this anymore as it meant rarely even being able to have sex within my relationship. I was going to get it removed early and replaced but decided against it as I reflected on the past year and the side effects that I did actually have. A key one that only really began to affect me around 2 years into it was vaginal dryness and vaginitis which I didn’t even realise was a side effect until recently. Pain during sex sometimes but a decreased libido too. I had also been up and down with my emotions, sometimes I felt extremely emotional and other times like I had no emotions at all. It did seem to work well for the first couple years and maybe getting it removed and replaced early might have helped but I just felt like I wasn’t really happy on the implant anymore, my mood was a lot lower, especially with side effects in mind. Lots of my friends use it and find it really good, I just think it’s luck of the draw how it effects you!

At 44 years old with high blood pressure, I was told that the combo pill was not an option so I decided to give the Nexplanon insert a try as a 33 year old friend of mine has had it for the last 5 years with minimal problems. It was inserted in the beginning of July. By the end of August I had lost almost 40% of the hair on the crown of my head. I also bled at a moderate level every single day of August and for another two weeks after it was removed in the beginning of October. Talk about an effective way to prevent pregnancy— neither myself nor my boyfriend are into bloody sex! Although the cramps calmed down before I had it removed, the depression and mood swings were also very hard to deal with. After it came out, I couldn't stop crying and being upset over the smallest things for several weeks. Although I could have tried to hang in there for a few more months, the hair loss was too much. And it continued to fall out until November. It's now February and it STILL hasn't started to grow back yet. Also, they're not kidding about being fertile immediately after removal... I got pregnant in December. Spending the new year dealing with an abortion was definitely not one of my resolutions for 2024 :( Long story short: If you're young, it's probably worth the hassle. Over 40, I strongly recommend against it!