Overweight on nexplanon?

Hello Imalwaysparanoid,

Welcome again to EmpowHER. I am glad you reached out to our community with your concern that your weight gain might be linked to Nexplanon.

For the benefit of all our readers, Nexplanon is a small, soft, and flexible birth control implant—it’s just 4 centimeters in length. It provides up to 3 years of continuous pregnancy prevention.

The most common side effect of NEXPLANON is a change in your normal menstrual bleeding pattern. In studies, one out of ten women stopped using the implant because of an unfavorable change in their bleeding pattern.

After starting Nexplanon, women are likely to have a change from their normal menstrual bleeding pattern. These may include changes in bleeding frequency (absent, less, more frequent or continuous), intensity (reduced or increased) or duration. In clinical trials, bleeding patterns ranged from amenorrhea (1 in 5 women) to frequent and/or prolonged bleeding (1 in 5 women).

Other common side effects reported in women using NEXPLANON include: headaches; vaginitis (inflammation of vagina); weight gain; acne; breast pain; viral infection such as sore throats or flu-like symptoms; stomach pain; painful periods; mood swings, nervousness, or depressed mood; back pain; nausea; dizziness; pain and pain at the site of insertion. Implants have been reported to be found in a blood vessel, including a blood vessel in the lung.

This may explain the weight gain. In clinical studies, mean weight gain in U.S. of users was 2.8 pounds after one year and 3.7 pounds after two years. Again, please speak with your gynecologist about the 15 to 20 pound weight gain in 9 months.

Serum concentrations of etonogestrel are inversely related to body weight and decrease with time after implant insertion. It is therefore possible that Nexplanon may be less effective in overweight women, especially in the presence of other factors that decrease serum etonogestrel.

I hope this information, from the website, Drugs.com is helpful.

Regards,
Maryann