NEXPLANON is a hormone-releasing birth control implant for use by women to prevent pregnancy for up to 3 years. The implant is a flexible plastic rod about the size of a matchstick that contains a progestin hormone called etonogestrel. It contains a small amount of barium sulfate so that the implant can be seen by X-ray, and may also contain magnesium stearate. Your physician will insert the implant just under the skin of the inner side of your upper arm. You can use a single NEXPLANON implant for up to 3 years. NEXPLANON does not contain estrogen.
What if I need birth control for more than 3 years?
The NEXPLANON implant must be removed after 3 years. Your healthcare provider can insert a new implant under your skin after taking out the old one if you choose to continue using NEXPLANON for birth control.
What if I change my mind about birth control and want to stop using NEXPLANON before 3 years?
Your physician can remove the implant at any time. You may become pregnant as early as the first week after removal of the implant. If you do not want to get pregnant after your physician removes the NEXPLANON implant, you should start another birth control method right away.
How does NEXPLANON work?
NEXPLANON prevents pregnancy in several ways. The most important way is by stopping the release of an egg from your ovary. NEXPLANON also thickens the mucus in your cervix and this change may keep sperm from reaching the egg. NEXPLANON also changes the lining of your uterus.
How well does NEXPLANON work?
When the NEXPLANON implant is placed correctly, your chance of getting pregnant is very low (less than 1 pregnancy per 100 women who use NEXPLANON for 1 year). It is not known if NEXPLANON is as effective in very overweight women because studies did not include many overweight women.
Do not use NEXPLANON if you:
- Are pregnant or think you may be pregnant.
- Have, or have had blood clots in your legs (deep venous thrombosis), lungs (pulmonary embolism), eyes (total or partial blindness), heat (heart attack), or brain (stroke)
- Have liver disease or a liver tumor
- Have unexplained vaginal bleeding
- Have breast cancer or any cancer that is sensitive to progestin (a female hormone), now or ever
- Are allergic to anything in Nexplanon
How is the NEXPLANON implant placed and removed?
Your physician will place and remove the NEXPLANON implant in a minor surgical procedure in his or her office. The implant is placed just under the skin on the inner side of your upper arm.
- Perform a pregnancy test before inserting NEXPLANON
- Schedule the insertion at a specific time of your menstrual cycle (within the first days of your regular menstrual bleeding).
Your physician will cover the site where NEXPLANON was placed with 2 bandages. Leave the top bandage on for 24 hours. Keep the smaller bandage clean, dry, and in place for 3 to 5 days.
Immediately after the NEXPLANON implant has been placed, you and your healthcare provider should check that the implant is in your arm by feeling for it.
If you cannot feel the implant immediately after insertion, the implant may not have been inserted, or it may have been inserted deeply. A deep insertion may cause problems with locating and removing the implant. Once your physician has located the implant, removal may be recommended.