8 months off Nexplanon after 10 years on it

I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone else is going through this and needs comfort! A little backstory, I was on Nexplanon for nearly 10 years. Obviously getting it switched out at the recommended time each time. I got it in the first time when I was 15 years old. Here are some side effects I had while on it and how it’s changed since getting off!

• Absolutely no sex drive whatsoever. This is what finally caused me to get it removed. This side effect also just continued to worsen over time, not sure if it’s the combo of Nexplanon + getting older but after getting it removed my cycle is normal and my libido is wayyy up! So fun! •Huge emotional swings. It was really hard for me to control my emotions and slightly annoying or upsetting things felt like the end of the world. I would cry and cry. Get more angry with my partner. It literally made me feel psycho. Now I have a super regular cycle. • Irregular periods. There was only a small time on Nexplanon where I didn’t get a period at all and that was quite nice. All the other time I was either having a period every 2 weeks, spotting constantly and towards the end my periods had “normalized” by getting one at the same time each month but it would last for 14-16 days. •Nexplanon I truly believe to have made me go gray early. Premature gray hair does not run in my family at all and after some research hormonal birth control can cause that in some women. Now I’m 24 years old and have probably hundreds of gray hairs. I don’t foresee this being remedied unfortunately.

Getting off of it has been the best thing for my mental health. I went through my entire adult life thinking I was severely mentally ill. Of course now I’m not perfect but I don’t feel the complete and utter despair I once felt. My cycle is healthy and I track it now and can feel that in my luteal phase I’m not as horny and when I’m ovulating I am. Also just has such a better grasp on reality. I no longer feel like a shell of a person.