Amenorrhea when implanted birth control: What you need to know

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Trinh Thi Thanh Huyen - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Many women are often concerned that the contraceptive implant will cause menstrual changes such as: Menorrhagia, amenorrhea or amenorrhea, affecting reproductive health.

The implant is a temporary method of preventing pregnancy by inserting a thin rod containing a certain amount of the hormone Progesterone into the skin under the arm. This hormone will be released into the female body in a dose just enough to inhibit ovulation. Therefore, the case of missed period is also quite common (accounting for 38% or more than one phase of the number of cases performed).
Objects that can apply contraceptive implant method are very wide, including: Breastfeeding women, women over 40 years old, people with uterine fibroids, cardiovascular diseases, obesity , diabetes or high blood pressure ...
The effect of the contraceptive stick:
Releases progestin that thickens cervical mucus and prevents sperm from entering the ovary. Prevents ovulation in half of cycles. Provides up to 99.95% effectiveness in preventing pregnancy, similar to female sterilization.

The advantages of subcutaneous contraceptive implant can be mentioned:
Fast and simple implant procedure: For Implanon implant, just one implant has been effective in preventing pregnancy for up to 3 years. After conducting tests and a general assessment of your health, the doctor will numb the area and insert the rod into the skin under your non-dominant arm (usually the left hand). The implant procedure only takes about 2-3 minutes, very quickly. If the correct time of implantation is followed (the first 5 days of the menstrual cycle), the couple can have normal sex without having to use contraception. The contraceptive stick will take effect immediately after 24 hours of implantation and will not affect your sexual progress. Fast fertility recovery time: After a period of implantation, if you want to get pregnant again, just go to medical facilities to perform the procedure of removing the rod and your fertility will be restored. quick recovery afterwards.

When choosing this method of birth control, there is usually no need to do anything extra. However, it should be noted that the contraceptive implant does not prevent sexually transmitted diseases (such as syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV/AIDs, Herpes, hepatitis B...), so in In some cases, you should still use the attached condom to keep yourself safe.
In addition, you should also remember to remove the rod on time because if the implant is left out of use (3 or 5 years depending on the type), the contraceptive effectiveness will be reduced and the rate of unwanted pregnancy will be very high. .

Like other birth control methods, the implant has its own advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, in the first 1-2 months after implantation, women may feel some unusual changes in their body such as: Headache (16%), weight gain (12%), acne (12%) , breast tenderness (10%), mood changes (6%)... Among which, menstrual changes are the most obvious:
Amenorrhea: From 6 months to 1 year of using implants, women can have Menstrual periods may be less or even absent (amenorrhea). So, is it okay to have a missed period with the contraceptive implant? In fact, this phenomenon is very normal and the amount of menstrual blood does not accumulate in your body. The IUD tends to affect a woman's menstrual cycle and up to 70% of women amenorrhea completely during the time of implantation, some people have a period for a few months and some women still have regular periods. menstrual flow is also very small. Menorrhagia: In contrast, there are also women who have more menstrual periods, menorrhagia in the first few months of using implants. Normally, a normal woman's menstrual cycle lasts from 3-7 days. However, when menorrhagia occurs, the "red light" period of women will last for 2-3 weeks, causing certain discomforts and troubles.

These are all effects of endocrine drugs, not dangerous diseases. Usually after 1-2 months these symptoms will subside, so you do not need to be too worried. Usually, your doctor can prescribe you some hormone balancing drugs to help your body get used to the implant to support, but if after 3 - 6 months the condition does not improve, you can consider the solution of taking the rod. out. After removing the rod, your period will return to normal and you will be able to get pregnant again.
Master. Trinh Thi Thanh Huyen is highly trained in obstetric ultrasound, laparoscopic surgery and hysteroscopy at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology and has more than 13 years of experience working at Hai Phong Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital.
Currently, the doctor is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital

Recommended video:


Reproductive methods performed at Vinmec