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Contraceptive Implant

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maryodriscoll

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Hi everyone, well ladies in particular.

I have to share this with you as I am so angry and I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this. 4 years ago I visited the doc to discuss contraception to change from the pill. I had various options discussed and most were deemed not good apart from a coil or an implant. I was told that out of all the options the implant was the best option for diabetes as the coil had infection risks and the others hormone complications but as the implant was only progesterone it would not affect my control.
One year later I was having some problems physically and hormonally. My control had become irratic and there seemed to be no logical pattern. I was concerned that it was the implant so I went back to the doctors. I was told that it was highly unlikely that the control issues were due to the implant but in case there was risk that it was not working they would replace it with another implant.
For the next 3 years I had increasing control issues. I developed retinopathy and experienced a lot of pains in my hands, elbows, knees and other places which I saw various doctors for and a rheumatologist only to be told there was nothing they could find and it was probably fibromyalgia. I developed a frozen shoulder which I ended up paying £500+ to a osteopath to help with. I kept questioning if it could be the implant and repeatedly told (with a grin) it was highly unlikely. my HbA1c was in the region of 7.5 to 8 and only managed to keep it that low by testing 10 times a day and injecting/correcting 8 to 10 times a day. The swings daily were anywhere between 1.8 and 30 with the daily, monthly and weekly measurements from my meter averaged 10. I now have big lumps in my injection sites too. I had a lot of imotional problems during this period due to the immense pressure to keep things as controlled as I could and still failing. I developed numbness and pins and needles in my hands a feet. I was exhaused emotionally and physically and my sleep patterns were awful, waking 5+ times a night. I was put on amtryptaline for the pains and to help with the sleep problems.
3 months ago, despite reticence by the doctors, I had the implant taken out. The doctor who did it kept trying to persuade me it was a mistake not to replace it and that it would not be the cause of my issues or my control and in fact it was more irresponsible of me to risk getting pregnant.
I have just had my HbA1c taken. It is 6.9. My average meter readings are below 8. I am hoping that the retinopathy and neuropathy will improve with time and the pains will go away - who knows.
Without a doubt - it was the implant. Why do the doctors not know this!?!?!?!
 
Hi TP,

Sounds like you have had a rough time. At one point earlier this year I had considered the implant and simply hadnt had time to go and see about it ( I now have other issues.) However my niece has had the implant and told me that she has had nothing but problems ( she isnt diabetic.) I am sorry for all the probs you have had . Thanks for lettin g us know about this anyway and hope you start to have better luck in the future.

Lucy.
 
The problem is that you swapped from the pill to an implant!

Doctors are aware that there can be issues for the diabetic with both the pill and implants, hence a doctor will generally start off a diabetic on the Pill, so that any issues can be monitored and if necessary change of make or type of Pill can be tried to get a good match... Then if all goes well with the Pill, then an implant becomes an option due to they have an idea of it's effect..

In your case if you hadn't had problems with the Pill, there is no reason to believe that the implant was the route of your problems...
 
Thanks TP, Shop, Jopar

I understand what you are saying Jopar about the pill etc and I am sure you are right but this does not really explain why doctors insist on treating patients as if they are stupid and taking the control and choices away from us by withholding information.

I have questioned the implant as a possible cause of my issues in excess of 5 times and each time I have been made to feel stupid at the sugestion. I know there are choices to be made over things like this and that medication affects us all differently but I wish there was a more open approach to sharing information and I wish doctors would get over their annoyance of people self diagnosing or questioning their opinions. Because we have a national health service we are not treated as customers and therefore it is very much a "tell" service rather than a consultation. Lets not forget that we pay for this service.
I should repeat that to myself as a mantra because I am one of the worst at just accepting what I am told by the doctors and not pushing the point firmly enough when I should disagree. :think:
 
Hi Maryodriscoll!

Thank you for your post. I was offered the implant a couple of years ago to try to control heavy bleeding - I declined as I wasn't happy with the lack of information surrounding it and any possible effects on my diabetes. (I was also unhappy with the idea of controlling my symptoms without confirming the cause, but that's another story :roll: ). The gynaecologist implied I was stupid for thinking my diabetes was in any way connected with my hormones. Once my diabetes came under control with the use of insulin, the bleeding went away. I never did have the implant fortunately. However, my insulin needs and my BG control do alter significantly throughout my cycle. Many women on this forum report the same issues. There is definitely a connection between hormone levels and BG levels. My DSN accepts there is and says she believes it is due to a degree of insulin resistance in the days leading up to the period. So maybe the implant alters the hormonal balance enough to cause some insulin resistance? Who knows!

Smidge
 
as a non diabetic but a mother of a diabetic daughter i have several thoughts on this. during a ladys cycle are mood may change are cravings change and fluid balance changes thus bs will be out of kilt. many ladies crave carbs with pmt so i can see the link. my daughter really craves carbs at this time. now contraception.... combined pill not recommended to my family as cause migraines and we are a higher risk for breast cancer. also have to think heart diease/stroke increase risk... mini pill can cause continous bleeding. depot inj just made me put on weight . it lasts 12 weeks and gave me x3 pmt in one go. don.t fancy implant but the marina coil an absolute life saver. stopped by periods completely. no weight gain. lovely moods well mostly and easily put in and removed/renewed.however not really suitable if haven.t had babies.
 
Yes the hormonal shift that you experience through your cycle can impact on your blood glucose... How it effects it is pretty individual, some experience from half way through their cycle, others might find that their BG just increases for several days before the start... Other's like me have BG's that drop very quickly and at short notice which is causes some problems... or one month you get one thing happening then the opposite happens the next month..
 
I again must be very lucky, I've never had any problems with the implant. I don't get all moody and grumpy during my period either, I have never understood this when friends as they get moody.
 
maryodriscoll said:
Hi everyone, well ladies in particular.

I have to share this with you as I am so angry and I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this. 4 years ago I visited the doc to discuss contraception to change from the pill. I had various options discussed and most were deemed not good apart from a coil or an implant. I was told that out of all the options the implant was the best option for diabetes as the coil had infection risks and the others hormone complications but as the implant was only progesterone it would not affect my control.
One year later I was having some problems physically and hormonally. My control had become irratic and there seemed to be no logical pattern. I was concerned that it was the implant so I went back to the doctors. I was told that it was highly unlikely that the control issues were due to the implant but in case there was risk that it was not working they would replace it with another implant.
For the next 3 years I had increasing control issues. I developed retinopathy and experienced a lot of pains in my hands, elbows, knees and other places which I saw various doctors for and a rheumatologist only to be told there was nothing they could find and it was probably fibromyalgia. I developed a frozen shoulder which I ended up paying £500+ to a osteopath to help with. I kept questioning if it could be the implant and repeatedly told (with a grin) it was highly unlikely. my HbA1c was in the region of 7.5 to 8 and only managed to keep it that low by testing 10 times a day and injecting/correcting 8 to 10 times a day. The swings daily were anywhere between 1.8 and 30 with the daily, monthly and weekly measurements from my meter averaged 10. I now have big lumps in my injection sites too. I had a lot of imotional problems during this period due to the immense pressure to keep things as controlled as I could and still failing. I developed numbness and pins and needles in my hands a feet. I was exhaused emotionally and physically and my sleep patterns were awful, waking 5+ times a night. I was put on amtryptaline for the pains and to help with the sleep problems.
3 months ago, despite reticence by the doctors, I had the implant taken out. The doctor who did it kept trying to persuade me it was a mistake not to replace it and that it would not be the cause of my issues or my control and in fact it was more irresponsible of me to risk getting pregnant.
I have just had my HbA1c taken. It is 6.9. My average meter readings are below 8. I am hoping that the retinopathy and neuropathy will improve with time and the pains will go away - who knows.
Without a doubt - it was the implant. Why do the doctors not know this!?!?!?!
Click to expand...

I know this is an old thread but.... i had the implant put in in august, i had a baby in may ( to which i get gestational diabetes) i was tested and my bloods were back to normal, after i had the implant i bled for nearly 3 months and the doctor panicked took loads of blood and put me antibiotics. I started to notice a lot of pain all over. I had x-rays done and finally they thought i had reactive athritis. It turned out i had developed fibromyalgia AND my blood sugars had sky rocketed. I am putting off having the hba1c as i am certain the implant has caused ALL of this and doing the hba1c now might put me as diabetic or something (i know its stupid but i am intolerent to metformin) the doctors are really trying to get out of removing the implant (i have 6 kids and gestation diabetes) they are telling me it will be 4-5 month wait (didnt wait that long to put it in) so i went to another clinic and it was worse. Embarrasing. Being told if i take it out i will get pregnant ( well derr is that why i have 6 kids!!! Any way i told her she isnt supporting them and we will find a way) i am tbh looking to cut it out myself looks simple. But did the pain go after removing the implant? I am glad to hear your bloods went back to normal and i really hope mine will too.
 
maryodriscoll said:
Hi everyone, well ladies in particular.

I have to share this with you as I am so angry and I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this. 4 years ago I visited the doc to discuss contraception to change from the pill. I had various options discussed and most were deemed not good apart from a coil or an implant. I was told that out of all the options the implant was the best option for diabetes as the coil had infection risks and the others hormone complications but as the implant was only progesterone it would not affect my control.
One year later I was having some problems physically and hormonally. My control had become irratic and there seemed to be no logical pattern. I was concerned that it was the implant so I went back to the doctors. I was told that it was highly unlikely that the control issues were due to the implant but in case there was risk that it was not working they would replace it with another implant.
For the next 3 years I had increasing control issues. I developed retinopathy and experienced a lot of pains in my hands, elbows, knees and other places which I saw various doctors for and a rheumatologist only to be told there was nothing they could find and it was probably fibromyalgia. I developed a frozen shoulder which I ended up paying £500+ to a osteopath to help with. I kept questioning if it could be the implant and repeatedly told (with a grin) it was highly unlikely. my HbA1c was in the region of 7.5 to 8 and only managed to keep it that low by testing 10 times a day and injecting/correcting 8 to 10 times a day. The swings daily were anywhere between 1.8 and 30 with the daily, monthly and weekly measurements from my meter averaged 10. I now have big lumps in my injection sites too. I had a lot of imotional problems during this period due to the immense pressure to keep things as controlled as I could and still failing. I developed numbness and pins and needles in my hands a feet. I was exhaused emotionally and physically and my sleep patterns were awful, waking 5+ times a night. I was put on amtryptaline for the pains and to help with the sleep problems.
3 months ago, despite reticence by the doctors, I had the implant taken out. The doctor who did it kept trying to persuade me it was a mistake not to replace it and that it would not be the cause of my issues or my control and in fact it was more irresponsible of me to risk getting pregnant.
I have just had my HbA1c taken. It is 6.9. My average meter readings are below 8. I am hoping that the retinopathy and neuropathy will improve with time and the pains will go away - who knows.
Without a doubt - it was the implant. Why do the doctors not know this!?!?!?!
Click to expand...


Hello I know this post is very old. But I am going through the exact same thing only I am on the Depo Provera. I understand that they are both the same thing but the implant produces hormone over a longer period. My sugar level has gone from hba1c of 7.1 to 13! Never in my life has my blood sugar gone above 13 on a daily basis. It is now in the 24s.... its erratic and i find my insulin resistance has shot up. I do feel that any form of contraception is bound to have an effect on blood sugars. I actually said to my nurse, i see now why females put on weight with the depo... it is because their insulin resistance shoots up and so their pancreas produces more insulin than usual causing weight gain.... in the same way we would have to inject more insulin and gain weight.... do not have depo or implant
 
Alexm5079 said:
Hello I know this post is very old. But I am going through the exact same thing only I am on the Depo Provera. I understand that they are both the same thing but the implant produces hormone over a longer period. My sugar level has gone from hba1c of 7.1 to 13! Never in my life has my blood sugar gone above 13 on a daily basis. It is now in the 24s.... its erratic and i find my insulin resistance has shot up. I do feel that any form of contraception is bound to have an effect on blood sugars. I actually said to my nurse, i see now why females put on weight with the depo... it is because their insulin resistance shoots up and so their pancreas produces more insulin than usual causing weight gain.... in the same way we would have to inject more insulin and gain weight.... do not have depo or implant
Click to expand...
Lol, now in the problem of choosing between diabetes and another baby!

They say just stop having sex!!!
 
Much of the medical profession seem to be very against diabetics trying to conceive lol. I get looks of horror from the GP when I refuse to take certain drugs (eg, Statins) because they are not recommended to women who are ttc.
 
I had major problems with both the pill and with an IUD. When I was done having kids my hubby went in and got snipped. It is a minor outpatient procedure for a man and the total recovery was one day on the couch watching TV. Of course this is not an option for couples that may want more kids but it takes two to have a baby and it should not all be on the woman.
 
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