Is the great never ending period a cause for concern?

January 18, 2011 9:22 AM

Ive been bleeding erratically. Is it worth it to see a doctor?

I've been experiencing unusual bleeding, and Im not sure if its worth seeing a doctor or not. Here's the pertinent details:

- I'm 27 and on my third implanon implant. This one is 4 months old. With my past 2 implants I stopped bleeding entirely for the first year, then bled rarely and erratically for the next 2. I drove GPs mad because I never knew when my 'last period' was, because I didn't have normal periods.
- for the past 3 months I've been bleeding, with a more pain than I'm used to, every two weeks for 2-3 days, with a bit of spotting in between. My cervical mucous (a bit TMI) is also an odd light orange.
- Im up to date with STI tests and pap smears, so to the best of my knowledge nothing weird there.
- my partner and I want kids in the next 3-4 years, so I'm concerned about my future fertility.

If I was back in Australis I'd pop down to the GP without thinking twice, but we recently moved to Europe and my health insurance situation is still working its way through my partner's employer. I'm concerned, but I also don't want to go through the expense and hassle of finding a doctor only to have them shrug and say it's the implanon. What say you, hive mind?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Yes. Go see the doctor. I was on a low dose pill once and didn't stop bleeding for awhile. I got off it. You don't have to put up with bleeding and pain. Go see a doctor.
posted by anniecat at 9:30 AM on January 18, 2011

Go to a doctor, preferably an OB-GYN. It might be nothing, but you can't know whether it's nothing until you check.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:31 AM on January 18, 2011

Not checking is not worth the risk. Even if not related to the implanon it could be a polyp or something else.
posted by anya32 at 9:49 AM on January 18, 2011

My dad is a (retired) OB-GYN. On his list of shameful-ass things about society and health-care is that even women with access to health-care for gynecological problems are often not-so-subtly told that they have to put up with side-effects and pain that would be viewed as absolutely unacceptable in any realm that wasn't related to the possession of lady parts, and that seeking care for these problems or side-effects is whining or wasting money/health resources.

If it is feasible financially, you do not have to take one for the team here. (Not that anyone should.) And if you get the hairy eyeball from a medical practitioner, that is a problem with the practitioner. It is perfectly reasonable to want frequent, painful bleeding to stop, even if it 'just the Implanon.'

Fuck that noise.

So please: seek care and do not feel foolish or wasteful for doing so. Take care of yourself, okay?
posted by Uniformitarianism Now! at 10:42 AM on January 18, 2011 [9 favorites]

Slightly off topic: You don't say which country you're in, but you might be surprised at the cost of a visit to the doctor. Health-care-related things in many (most?) countries here are absolutely nothing like what we hear from Americans.
posted by rubbish bin night at 1:18 PM on January 18, 2011

Obviously I am not a doctor but implanon caused serious side effects of bleeding and pain for me, I switched to Merina and had very good results. Good luck, go talk to your doctor!
posted by Augenblick at 1:24 PM on January 18, 2011