A while back I began taking birth control pills. Like many others, I did so in order to control cramping, regulate my period and prevent pregnancy. However, I soon discovered that my body is extremely sensitive to the timing part of taking the pills; if I was even 15 minutes off my allotted time one day of the month, my period would come early and painfully. After several years of this and of trying different types of pills, I finally decided that enough was enough and began looking for a different form of birth control.

About a year ago I began researching the Nexplanon implant, which is a matchstick-sized implant that goes in the arm. It remains in the arm for up to three years, at which point it is removed with no complications (aside from the typical bruising and pain at the injection site). I finally received it two weeks ago, during my college break. The implant was fairly large—or at least the needle was. The nurses injected my left arm with Lidocaine and explained that the implant would go in between my bicep and my tricep. They had selected my left arm as it was my non-dominant arm. The implantation itself was painless, except for the slight burn of the lidocaine. It felt like pressure in my arm, nothing else. The pain, however, came after.

That night I was able to take off the gauze that was wrapped around my arm. The waterproof bandage that remained under it would stay on for two more days. A large bruise was already forming around the implantation site. I carefully showered and put on a baggy t-shirt to wear to bed. What I forgot to consider when I got the implant was that I sleep on the side that my implant is in. The sleepless night that followed was terrible, especially as I had an internship interview the next day. The next couple of days slowly got better until I was finally able to comfortably sleep.

I took the waterproof bandage off and the bruise was still a beautiful yellow-green color. I realized that I could feel the implant through my skin and had a lot of fun convincing people to touch it, particularly my younger sister's friends. Most people are a bit unnerved, especially when they had to press on the bruise to feel it. I still have a bit of what may turn out to be scar tissue around the site, but other than that I've fully healed.

In the end, I've found several great things about my implant. I personally believe it has helped my bipolar depression and anxiety because I now receive a steady dose of hormones into my body instead of the larger once-a-day dose. When I first got my period afterwards, it was the lightest period I've ever had and there was no pain. It took some adjustment to figure out when I would get my period, but so far it's been fantastic. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, as it isn't the best method for everyone. Personally, I like my implant because it gives me a steady dose while taking out any sort of human error. In three years, maybe I will want kids. If that happens, then my implant can easily come out, and I will be fertile within a week. It is a great form of "LARC", which is Long Acting Reversible Contraception. I will definitely get it again in three years if contraception is still the best plan for me.