Combined pill vs Implant

I had several fortnight long periods on this pill. My regular periods are horrific so I was initially willing to take any side effects the pill had, and even though my regular level of pain/vomiting/fainting went away, I barely had rests from bleeding, my mood swings and hormonal breakdowns were uncontrollable, I gained a lot of weight, and I still had nausea and cramping. After over 18 months the side effects still had not dialled down so I had to quit.

Nice to stop menstruation but in no way worth it for the awful psychological impacts. Mental breakdowns were indeed had.

My boobs have got so much bigger but my skin it completely cleared my awful awful acne and I have the clearest skin now.

Great if you want to have sex and not worry about pregnancy’s however the change in my physical appearance and mood swings have been crazy and I will be getting it removed asap as I can’t go on like this

Some infrequent cramping and bleeding but in general a good experience. Despite a lot of fear and generally being very bad with needles, a very good fitting experience (thank you to the nurse for introducing me to glucose shots that reduced the delayed faint for me!), and very convenient to not have to think about it for a few years. Feeling for it has not been as bad as it sounded, and while you cannot avoid side effects as easily - unlike a pill or patch you can't just stop taking it or take a break - they have not been worse than a usual cycle, and happen less frequently so overall, happy!

Great, less to worry about. But the cramps are brutal as well as the mood swings.

Random bleeding throughout which was frustrating. Partner felt like I seemed happier in general once I came off. Suffered anxiety attacks after coming off the implant (may or may not be related currently unsure)

Great for if you are looking for contraception that you can forget about and prevent periods however it caused lasting weight gain and awful mood such as unreasonable anger which was almost misdiagnosed as a personality disorder until I came off the contraception.

I had 3 implants back to back and really rated them. I felt they personally kept me in a very even emotional space as I didn’t have hormonal cycle mood fluctuations and didn’t experience any persistent low mood on it. My period stopped when I had the implant (which I loved) and had no side effects, which was great as after coming off the implant to conceive found when on no hormones I got terrible headaches and acne around my period which I had forgotten about! On reflection I probably did have slightly worse skin on the implant but not significantly. Around the 2 year mark each time it ‘ran out’ and suddenly there didn’t seem to be enough hormone to stop my periods and had persistent breakthrough bleeding which prompted me to get them changed early each time which resolved the issue. I have since been told you can take ibruprofen for a few days to counter this but have no experience of this. The reason it gets 4 stars not 5 is I really struggled to get it taken out as many health care practitioners are trained in insertion and many less is removal. When I wanted to start a family I was told there would be a 3 month wait for removal which was absolutely unacceptable to me and I ended up getting a family member who is a Dr to cut it out at home as I was so desperate. This lack of bodily autonomy I found very distressing and has put me off getting one again incase there’s a delay removing it, however it was late 2021 so may have been in part due to Covid so have to take that into account

I’ve had the implant for 2 years and it’s great that I haven’t had a pregnancy scare. However, my periods are so irregular it’s a joke. I keep track of my periods on an app called Flo and my cycle seems really abnormal. One month I’d be spotting for a week then my period would be over, the next month I’d either miss the whole month or I’d be bleeding on and off for 12 days or more, stop and be on again a week or 2 later, it’s never the same week every month. I can’t keep up with how irregular it is so I’m thinking to change contraception.

I found the procedure fine. Changed from the pill so I didn’t have to take medication daily which was convenient. I did get acne on this contraception which did get severe so had to change.

Loved that it was bullet proof and low maintenance + Long lasting. Didn't like the irregular bleeding in the last year so changed to the pill early for more flexibility and control

Have been using the implant for years. Went to clinic to get replacement, would be my fourth, and practice didn't put implant in. Only discovered months later. Scary process all round, getting 10+ appointments to locate it! Only to be told it wasn't inserted in the first place.