“Will drinking affect my birth control?”

Great question! Let’s break this down:

• Alcohol won’t affect the way the IUD, implant, ring or patch works.
• Alcohol doesn’t change the effectiveness of the shot.
• Alcohol will only affect the pill if you throw it up because of drinking, or you drink so much that you forget to take it. (Drinking that much alcohol can be dangerous, so please be careful and be smart.)

Even though alcohol doesn’t mess with your birth control, mixing alcohol and sexual activities can be dangerous. Alcohol can cloud your judgment and make you do things you normally wouldn’t do sober (consent = a must). It can also make you forget to use a condom (or use one incorrectly), which can leave you susceptible to STIs and unplanned pregnancy.

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These birth control methods don’t protect against STIs, so you should double up with condoms, too. (Get free condoms at a MS Health Dept. Clinic near you by using our Health Center locator!)

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“I have been bleeding for two months and I’m 25 years old. I have the Implanon and my three years of having it was in 2013 but I never had it removed. Do you think that’s why I can’t stop bleeding?”

According to the research on Nexplanon (the newer version of Implanon) the bleeding you are describing would not be related to a contraceptive device that was implanted in 2010 and “expired” in 2013. You
should see a care provider who will be able to evaluate why you are having bleeding for two months and will also be able to remove the Nexplanon for you.

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Besides using a condom, birth control pills/birth control is one of the best things to use to prevent pregnancy.  When used together, birth control pills and condoms offer an even higher percentage of prevention.  Yet birth control’s effectiveness greatly depends on whether or not you use contraceptives consistently and correctly. If you want your birth control pills to deliver its highest percentage of effectiveness, you can’t be careless with your chosen method, must always keep in mind that the pill isn’t your only option. Whichever your choice, use it always and the right way!

Because the pill is pretty often discussed, I want to offer a walk through with my experiences in getting a contraceptive implant. Like most people, I listened to my friends about how the process would be (in my case, this was the wrong idea!). They told me scary things that made me want to second guess myself, but what solidified my decision to get the implant was the information my doctor gave me. Note: Always ask your doctor about contraceptive options and the one you are choosing.

The day I went to get my implant, I was nervous for a couple reasons: I hate needles and didn’t know exactly what to expect. When I went into the doctor’s office, I sat and waited for them to call my name. When I heard my name, I went into a room and a nurse asked me a few question, like when my last period was and how much I weighed.  She asked me to lay back and wait for her to come back with materials.

First, she rubbed my arm with a numbing liquid so I wouldn’t feel the needle when it pricked me. After that, she stuck the needle in my arm, which had some more numbing liquid, but this time, it burned a bit. But it wasn’t so bad I wasn’t able to handle it. It took all of two minutes for the slight hurt to go away. Then she put the Nexplanon (the contraceptive implant itself) in a tool that she used to place the contraceptive in my arm. She felt around on my arm to make sure it was placed properly; it was. Then she bandaged up my arm and told me if I had any problems to call her. We were done.

Choosing a contraceptive is not necessarily hard or scary, you just have to know how to choose it to suit your needs. Your opinion and medical professionals’ is all that matters.

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