Nexplanon Safety For Your Body Essay Example

We all know what contraceptives are and that there are various uses, but the most looking use we are most looking for is not getting pregnant for X reason that we have. Often, we are not very well informed about contraceptives and we just go by what our mothers teach us or our friends talk about, but it is always good to do a little research and have a fixed option that makes us feel comfortable and safe.  I want to provide adequate information about a contraceptive, especially something innovative and that few dares to experience, probably due to lack of knowledge. 

This information can reflect safety and comfort for those who want to experience this contraceptive and also see if it is affordable price and above all safe without consequences in its use, this contraceptive is Nexplanon. But what is Nexplanon? ¨Nexplanon® is a device made of biodegradable material with a single road through ENG. This new device has the shape of a cylindrical rod 4 cm long and 2 mm thick¨ (Stefano 2012).  

We can see that this contraceptive size is not big; it is small and makes it stand out because it is implanted in the forearm and it will not be noticed at all. It seems very interesting that biodegradable material is made with natural chemical components, a small rod placed in the arm that does not pollute at all and thus prevents pregnancy. There is a slightly older version called Implanon but they are practically the same as Nexplanon. Your doctor inserts the implant under your skin in your upper arm, and it releases the hormone progestin to prevent you from getting pregnant. 

Diana Mansour mentions ¨Over 180,000 implants are now fitted each year, with approximately 6 million women using this method worldwide¨(Mansour 2010). Considering the figure, we can see that it is a contraceptive widely used by many women, thus reflecting that it is very effective and safe. Many women choose Nexplanon because it lasts longer than other contraceptives. Nexplanon can last up to 5 years and can be withdrawn at any time by a doctor.

You can get pregnant the moment you take it out. It is not like other contraceptives that need to go through a purification process first, as happens when you use birth control pills. There are other types of contraceptives that you must be changing it every year and something that other women find uncomfortable,so this is a product that ensures 5 years that you can be calm, but always remember that like any contraceptive is safe 99.99% leaving that 1% in difference that is with all contraceptives.

Mansour's research also describes the placement of the Nexplanon and the extraction where it is stated that the Nexplanon extractions were a success but the challenge was to place the implant inside the tissues but it was successfully achieved without any serious injury. 

The Nexplanon, as we already know, contains a type of hormone that makes our fertilization process not occur, so we do not get pregnant, but as a result of that, many women say they have gained weight with the use of Nexplanon. Nexplanon, as any contraceptive, has its effects, and one of them is the slight weight gain, but it is scientifically proven that it is not an increase that can damage health; however, everybody reacts differently.

According to the official website of Nexplanon says, ¨A study revealed that people who used the implant for one year gained 0.1 kg (0.22 lbs), which was similar to the weight gain of people who used the copper IUD¨. (Sharp & BV 2020).  So if your concern is weight gain, you can rest assured that it is not something to worry about and decide to use it with peace of mind. There are other effects that are mentioned such as headache, breast pain, nausea, ovarian cysts, pain or bruising in the arm where the implant was inserted and an infection in the area where the implant was inserted. 

This is not a complete list of possible side effects. For more information, ask your health care provider for advice about any side effects that concern you. In other cases it comes up that there are women who miss their period for the time they are using the implant, many times this may be an indicator that you should go for a check-up and other times it is usually normal because remember that these are hormones that you are receiving. Something that we must always emphasize is to always look for the best way to plan our family and keep an order in everything and Nexplanon helps you in this process while you decide.

Another question we ask ourselves as women before using a contraceptive is will I be allergic to that contraceptive? There are already cases where women can't use condoms because they are allergic to latex, so in this case you may encounter more than one allergic person, but these cases are very rare. Sullivan from the Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health explains why you may find someone with an allergy to the product such was the case of a woman in which in his article he talks and explains "The components of Nexplanon are etonogestrel, barium sulfate and ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer. In this individual we know that Implanon had previously been well tolerated. Implanon contains the same components as Nexplanon except for barium sulfate. The patient was informed that she is allergic to barium sulfate. The incidence of barium sulfate allergy is unclear. In one study, allergy was reported to be 2 per million¨ (Sullivan 272).

There are also questions about costs and In Family Planning Agencies they explain to us that The cost of Nexplanon can vary, depending on many factors. You may find the contraceptive at a high or low cost, but many times it is free depending on where you are located. ¨Medicaid paid for 63% of all implants provided in family planning agencies (Table 6); that proportion ranged from 47% of implants provided by health departments to 78% of those provided by hospitals ¨(Family Planning Agencies 1994). Over time, however, other measures were adopted to help lower costs and make it accessible to all. 

Whether it is a contraceptive to take care of our body, there are always doubts on the part of those who want to use it. Let's remember that it is a foreign body that will be implanted in our body. There have already been cases in which they have been tested and have not obtained results as good as the one presented to us by Dr. Barlow-Evans ¨Case of a 17 year old female who experienced distant intravascular migration of a Nexplanon radiopaque contraceptive implant. She presented with an impalpable implant and this was located by CT scan in the left lower lobe pulmonary artery. Significant migration of a contraceptive implant is a rare risk. The use of radiopaque contraceptive implants such as Nexplanon increases the ability to locate them if migration occurs¨( Barlow 2017).

Complications on insertion and removal: Pain, paresthesias, bleeding, appearance of pain                                                                                                                                                                                                     paresthesia, bleeding, hematoma, scar formation, infection or displacement into the vasculature, infection or displacement, including pulmonary vessels.Symptoms associated with implants in the pulmonary vessels include chest pain, dyspnea, cough or hemoptysis. Surgical interventions may be necessary to remove the implants.

For Dr. Barlow does not indicate that it is something very contradictory giving a somewhat opposing point of view to everything. There can be serious causes if not done by a person trained in the subject either a doctor or a nurse, that implant is placed under your skin, it is a mild surgical process where care must be taken because we have close to one of the arteries and if a bad process is done can cause severe damage, although over the years doctors have been improving the process of its placement. 

Finally, everyone is free to use whatever suits their body, but we can be sure that Nexplanon is a real help in these years, making many women who use it feel safe and comfortable with it. So you are the only one who can decide if you use it or not but I encourage you to try it, as only proven we can agree or disagree. 

Work Cited

Palomba, Stefano, et al. “Nexplanon: The New Implant for Long-Term Contraception. A Comprehensive Descriptive Review.” Gynecological Endocrinology, vol. 28, no. 9, Sept. 2012, pp. 710–721. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3109/09513590.2011.652247.

Mansour D, and Diana Mansour. “Nexplanon(®): What Implanon(®) Did Next.” Journal of Family    Planning & Reproductive Health Care, vol. 36, no. 4, Oct. 2010, pp. 187–189. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1783/147118910793048629.

Marck Sharp & Dohem BV, Nexplanon ,2020, https://www.nexplanon.com

Sullivan, Martin J. “Allergy to Nexplanon®.” Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health , vol. 38, no. 4, Oct. 2012, p. 272. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1136/jfprhc-2012-100366.

Family Planning Perspectives. Jan/Feb94, Vol. 26 Issue 1, p4. 7p. 6 Charts, DOI 10.2307/2136089.

Barlow-Evans, Rachel, et al. “Migration of a Nexplanon Contraceptive Implant to the Pulmonary Artery.” BMJ Case Reports, vol. 2017, May 2017, pp. 1–3. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1136/bcr- 2017-219259.