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Hey Aunt Vadge,
I got the Implanon about 4 or 5 months ago and had been getting about two periods a month and a lot of spotting in between as my body got used to it. It’s settling down now, but in the last week I’ve been feeling quite down and not as interested in sex with my partner.
I’m worried the Implanon is the reason, but honestly I don’t want the hassle of finding another option. Is it likely the implant, or is it me? Will it settle, or is this how I’ll feel until I get it removed? Any way to improve my mood without removing it?
Thanks,
Concerned
Australia
Dear Concerned,
The Implanon implant releases a steady trickle of one synthetic hormone — a progestin — into your bloodstream over about three years. Progestin mimics your natural progesterone, but the molecule is slightly different, and that matters for how you feel.
Normally progesterone rises in the second half of your cycle after ovulation (its job is to support a possible pregnancy), then drops away when no pregnancy happens, which brings your period.
A constant low dose of progestin keeps your body in a sort of permanent ‘maybe-pregnant’ state: it suppresses ovulation, thickens cervical mucus into a sperm-blocking plug, and thins the endometrial lining — which is exactly why you get the erratic spotting and breakthrough bleeding rather than tidy monthly periods.
The two-periods-a-month-then-settling pattern you had is your lining adjusting to all that.
That’s how it protects you, but the same artificial hormonal state has knock-on effects, and mood is a real one.
Implanon suits some women beautifully and turns others into someone they don’t recognise — and you’re far from alone: in the research, mood changes, low libido and pelvic pain show up as recognised side-effects (one study of 80 women logged depressive mood, pelvic pain and loss of libido; a larger Swiss study of over 1,000 found mood swings in around 8%, alongside very common bleeding changes), and a chunk of women in both had the implant removed early.
So it’s smart to put the implant on your list of suspects for feeling flat and off sex.
That said, low mood and low libido have plenty of causes, and it’s only been a week, so I’d sit with it a little longer and see how you go rather than rushing to remove it.
If the sadness and flat desire are still there in a few weeks, it’s well worth considering taking it out — the hormones clear your system quickly once it’s gone, so it makes a clean little experiment, and since it’s affordable on Medicare here you can always have another (or a different method) fitted later.
Just don’t drift along feeling bad for months when the fix might be a short doctor’s visit away — and don’t fall into the trap of assuming contraception is automatically harmless, because for a fair few women hormonal contraception quietly dampens mood, libido or energy and they never join the dots.
In the meantime you’ll still need contraception, so think about what comes next rather than going unprotected. The pill is one option, and because it contains oestrogen as well as progestin (and every brand uses a slightly different molecule), a different formulation may suit you far better than the implant did — your body’s less starved of a normal-ish hormonal profile.
I’d steer clear of the injection for now, since it works like the implant but can’t be undone for three months once it’s in.
And longer term, do remember your natural cycle does a surprising amount of good for your whole body, not just the reproductive bits — it’s fine to want reliable contraception and to plan, at some point, a break to feel what a healthy, un-interrupted cycle is like, since ovulation is when many women feel most themselves and most switched-on.
For now, give it a little time and see how you feel.
Best,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information based on current research and our clinical experience, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
