Implant vs Combined pill

I have had the Nexplanon implant for 10 years now with no breaks in between. I find the convenience and reliability of it far outweighs any negative side effects. Having it inserted is easy, the removal can be sometimes challenging but it is once every 3 years so not too bad. Maybe I have been lucky but I have had no issues with my skin and little weight gain. I am also happy to not have regular periods. Initially my periods were all over the place but it is something I have gotten used to. My periods are often lighter now too and I barely get any cramps. I am happy with it as evidenced by continuing on it for so many years.

I’m on my 3rd implant. It’s worked well as in no prgnancy scares my periods have stayed regular this time but previously have had less bleeding and sometimes months without any bleeding. I never managed well with taking a pill everyday so it’s easy to get in under local anaesthetic and you don’t have to worry about it for 3 years. I’ve noticed I still get PMS symptoms and mood swings around the time my period is due, no real skin symptoms but I do suffer with bloating because of the implant. I did have a year break between this one and my last due to Covid and not being able to book an appointment. I noticed that my sex drive was sky high without, which I wouldn’t have realised had I had not had a break. My periods where back to normal straight away. Over all I would recommend it, simple insertion and no major issues with it in.

Pleased I switched from the combined pill. I felt for a while that I had been experiencing symptoms of oestrogen excess including migraine and lipedema. Despite doing a marathon and strength training I could not lose body fat. For the first time I have been able to lose weight on the implant. I do eat healthily and exercise a lot including strength training. I like that there is no room for error. No changes to appetite or mood for me. Acne is a bit worse but nothing that is not manageable, I would say this is the only main side effect for me that has held up. Periods are regular but I tend to bleed for a few more days than I would usually unless take ibuprofen for 3 days which does shorten back to normal. Overall I am happy and will continue. The positives outweigh any side effects so far. Don't be put off by its terrible reputation. I think you have to try these things for yourself as different for everyone.

I didn’t experience any major side effects on this pill. My mood was better when compared to other pills

This pill was pretty seamless for me. It did not affect my moods or skin. My periods were very light, lasted a few days with little to no cramps. My libido suffered significantly and this symptom worsened as time went on which is the reason I switched to a non-hormonal method. Other than this, it was a great option for me.

I have endometriosis and adenomyosis and was put on microgynon by my gynaecologist. I was happy at first because my severe and constant pain disappeared (and only reappeared during my period, and even then it was only 10% of the pain I used to experience. However, the negative side effects unfortunately didn’t make the lack of pain worth it. My mental health (which was already quite terrible as I suffer from OCD and anxiety) crumbled. I was depressed and had CONSTANT mood swings. I was irritable, always in a bad mood and snapping at my husband. I also felt like a zombie, unable to focus on anything and feeling so disconnected and dissociated. I also put on water weight. I’m a small woman who runs a lot, so it was definitely linked to the pill. After doing some research, I asked my doctor to switch me to Eloine, and so far it’s been AMAZING. My mood has stabilised and I honestly feel the happiest and most connected to the world I have in a long time. I think Eloine has balanced out my endometriosis-induced hormonal imbalances and I feel amazing. For context, I’ve tried 4 types of combined pill: microgynon (androgenic), cimiszt (less androgenic), millinette and femodene (also less androgenic). I’ve also tried the mini pill cerazette and I was on the implant for 1 year. All of these made my mental health crumble and I spent 8 years of my life (18-25) battling with deciding between having bad mental health or having endo pain. Don’t try microgynon!!!!! And do research into the different types of combined pill. I never researched and just took what the dr gave me. The Lowdown really helped me research!

Overall had a very negative experience, especially with my mental health. I had severe anxiety. It works for lots of women, but not for everyone.

So far I don't have a bad word to say about this pill! This is the second combined pill I've tried after being on Microgynon 30 for about 6 months a couple of years ago. The experience I had on Microgynon was very negative and scared me out of trying any other combined pills until I read up about Drovelis. I'm in a long term relationship and only on the pill for contraception reasons, so slightly improved skin is just considered a bonus for me! It's nice to have found a pill that actually positively affects my mood rather than negatively impacts it like Microgynon did for me. I also lost my sex drive completely on Microgynon, but have been pleasantly surprised that I haven't had the same experience with Drovelis. I would even say it's improved my orgasm experience and feel like I get more aroused than I used to before being on pill - which I didn't expect at all! The only negative I've found with Drovelis is the occasional spotting when taking the active pills. This happened around month 3-4 of taking it but it seems to be happening less now. The spotting isn't heavy enough to use a pad or a liner but isn't ideal (hence the 4 stars). I feel like this is a great pill to try if the older generations don't work for you :)

I’ve got prescribed drovelis because I have irregular periods and my acne got extremely worse during the last 3 months. I’m now at the end of my second dose of drovelis and unfortunately my skin hasn’t recovered or got better yet. Actually I think it is quite worse and painful. Although the pill didn’t change my lifestyle and my period are regular now. I hope someone who had really bad acne to come forward with their experience because I’m starting to lose hope.

I've been taking Lucette for 14 months after being contraceptive free for 3 years. I haven't noticed major differences at all, however I do feel a slight mental dullness/brain fog as you usually do with the pill which is annoying but that's just part of the side effects. Overall I'm happy with it and wouldn't change to another pill! It's also helped my acne prone skin a lot

I have endometriosis and I'm mid-gynae referral so we're in the position of trying the pill to reduce my endo symptoms. I tried Millinette and it was awful (really anxious and bad headaches) so we switched to Zoely. It's not prescribed much near me so we had a real struggle getting hold of it. After I started taking it the first thing I noticed was there were no headaches and my mood/anxiety felt fine so that was really good. The downside was being unable to get through 2 packs without spotting, the intention was to take 2 or 3 packs back-to-back to keep my periods at bay, but my body just decided it was going to bleed when it wanted, so I ended up having to break halfway through every second pack. My periods on this were actually MORE painful, and I found that I had sharp cramps most days but just for a minute or so. I've persevered but had to stop because it's completely out of stock on the NHS. So now I'm switching to Lucette and I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Very minimal side effects so far (3 months)

Very helpful for my acne and confidence, but my mood noticeably changed to feeling numb quite often. I’ve felt very physically and mentally tired over the last 13 months, but can’t remember a time before then. Great at stopping my periods for 4 months, before I breakthrough bleed and take a break. When I do bleed, it is extremely heavy, but it is less painful.