Long-Acting Reversible Contraception: What To Know

Sponsored by Organon

Your story is still unfolding, with new chapters full of romance and adventure. You’re already busy with the life you’ve planned. It may be time to talk with your doctor about b​irth control.

When you want something that is just as effective as daily or monthly methods, you may want to consider an option like long-acting reversible contraceptives. Because your story should be the one you write yourself.

What Exactly Are Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs)?

LARCs are highly effective at preventing pregnancy, last for several years (depending on the option), are reversible, and can be removed by a trained healthcare provider if your plans change. The two main types are: 

Choosing the Right B​irth Control for You

Choosing b​irth control is a personal decision, and you should feel empowered to talk with your healthcare provider about what makes sense for your body, health history, and preferences. Because every heroine has choices, and this chapter is about learning which one fits your plot.

A helpful place to start is by identifying what matters most to you:

You can bring questions like these to your healthcare provider:

Bring these questions so your appointment reads like a well-paced chapter and moves your story forward. Women at different life stages may find LARCs align with their priorities, especially if they want something long acting that is low-maintenance.

A LARC Option to Discuss With Your Healthcare Provider: NEXPLANON^® (etonogestrel implant) 68 mg Radiopaque 

One of the options you may want to ask your provider about is NEXPLANON, the only FDA-approved arm implant. NEXPLANON is a long-acting prescription b​irth control for the prevention of pregnancy in women of reproductive potential for up to 5 years* and is over 99% effective.^† We speak up for ourselves in all kinds of ways. So let’s apply that confidence to asking for b​irth control, too. It’s not a fantasy—just a conversation to have with your healthcare provider.  
 
*NEXPLANON must be removed by the end of the fifth year
^†Less than 1 pregnancy per 100 women who used NEXPLANON for 1 year.
 
Important Safety Information
Don’t use NEXPLANON if you’re pregnant or may be pregnant; have or had blood clots or certain cancers; or have liver disease, liver tumor, or unexplained vaginal bleeding. Immediately after the implant is placed, you and your healthcare provider should feel for it. If at any time you can’t feel the implant, contact your healthcare provider right away and use a non-hormonal b​​irth control method (such as condoms). Removal of the implant may be difficult or impossible if it isn’t where it should be. While uncommon, ectopic pregnancy (occurring outside the womb) can occur which can cause serious internal bleeding, infertility, and even death. You’re likely to experience changes to your period. NEXPLANON may raise the chance of serious blood clots which can cause heart attack, stroke, or death, especially if you smoke or have other risk factors. For more information, please see more Important Safety Information below, and click here to read the Prescribing Information including the Boxed Warning, and the Patient Information, and talk to your healthcare professional.

NEXPLANON works by releasing a steady, low dose of the progestin hormone etonogestrel to prevent pregnancy by:

Your healthcare professional will place and remove the NEXPLANON implant using a minor surgical procedure in their office. Your healthcare provider will numb a small area on your inner, non-dominant, upper arm with local anesthetic (spray or lidocaine) and will insert the implant, which is soft, flexible, and about the size of a matchstick (≈1.6 in/4 cm). In clinical studies, 5.2% of patients experienced insertion-site pain.

NEXPLANON provides pregnancy prevention for up to 5 years, can be removed at any time by your doctor, and must be removed by the end of year 5 but can be removed earlier if plans change. NEXPLANON is over 99% effective.^† It’s also important to know that the most common side effect is a change in bleeding patterns.

“The right decision around contraception starts with a conversation with her doctor, including her priorities and what matters most in her day-to-day life and over the next several years,” said Anita Nelson, MD, Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Western University of Health Sciences and Organon health partner. “Long-acting options like NEXPLANON offer effective pregnancy prevention without the daily or monthly administration of other methods.”

Why Women Explore LARCs

Women often consider LARCs for different reasons. Sometimes, it’s a desire for a method that is long-acting and can be reversed when the contraception plans change through different life phases, such as starting college, changing jobs, discovering new relationships, traveling, navigating the years between having kids, or even deciding their family is complete.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all method,” said Dr. Nelson. “I encourage every patient to bring questions and talk openly with her healthcare provider to identify whether a long-acting option, like NEXPLANON, belongs in the conversation to decide if it is the right contraceptive for her.”

Preparing for Your Appointment

Bring this checklist to your appointment with your healthcare provider to help guide the conversation:

Indication

NEXPLANON is a prescription medication for the prevention of pregnancy for up to 5 years.

Important Safety Information

You should not use NEXPLANON if you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant; have or have had blood clots; have liver disease or a liver tumor; have unexplained vaginal bleeding; have breast cancer or any other cancer that is sensitive to progestin (a female hormone), now or in the past; or are allergic to anything in NEXPLANON.

Talk to your healthcare professional about using NEXPLANON if you have diabetes, high cholesterol or triglycerides, headaches, gallbladder or kidney problems, history of depressed mood, high blood pressure, or allergy to numbing medicines (anesthetics) or medicines used to clean your skin (antiseptics). These medicines will be used when the implant is placed into or removed from your arm.

Immediately after the NEXPLANON implant has been placed, you and your healthcare professional should check that the implant is in your arm by feeling for it. If at any time you cannot feel the NEXPLANON implant, contact your healthcare professional immediately and use a non-hormonal b​irth control method (such as condoms) until your healthcare professional confirms that the implant is in place. You may need special tests to check that the implant is in place or to help find the implant when it is time to take it out.

The implant may not be actually in your arm due to failed insertion. If this happens, you may become pregnant. Removal of the implant may be very difficult or impossible if the implant is not where it should be. Special procedures, including surgery in the hospital, may be needed to remove the implant. If the implant is not removed, then the effects of NEXPLANON will continue for a longer period of time. Other problems related to insertion and removal may also occur, including vasovagal reactions (such as a drop in blood pressure, dizziness, or fainting), pain, irritation, swelling, bruising, numbness and tingling, scarring, infection, injury to the nerves or blood vessels, and breaking of the implant. Additionally, the implant may come out by itself. You may become pregnant if the implant comes out by itself. Use a back-up b​irth control method and call your healthcare professional right away if the implant comes out.

The most common side effect of NEXPLANON is a change in your normal menstrual bleeding pattern. In studies, 1 out of 10 women stopped using the implant because of an unfavorable change in their bleeding pattern. You may experience longer or shorter bleeding during your periods or have no bleeding at all. The time between periods may vary, and you may also have spotting in between periods.

If you become pregnant while using NEXPLANON, you have a slightly higher chance that the pregnancy will be ectopic (occurring outside the womb) than do women who do not use b​irth control. Ectopic pregnancies can cause serious internal bleeding, infertility, and even death. Call your healthcare professional right away if you think you are pregnant or have unexplained lower stomach (abdominal) pain.

The use of NEXPLANON may also increase your chance of serious blood clots, especially if you have other risk factors, such as smoking. If you smoke and want to use NEXPLANON, you should quit. Serious blood clots can occur within blood vessels of different parts of the body, including legs (deep vein thrombosis), lungs (pulmonary embolism), brain (stroke), heart (heart attack), and eyes (total or partial blindness). It is possible to die from a problem caused by a blood clot, such as a heart attack or stroke. Tell your healthcare professional at least 4 weeks before if you are going to have surgery or will need to be on bed rest, because you have an increased chance of getting blood clots during surgery or bed rest.

Cysts may develop on the ovaries and usually go away without treatment, but sometimes surgery is needed to remove them.

Besides changes in menstrual bleeding patterns, other common side effects reported in women using NEXPLANON include headaches; vaginitis (inflammation of the 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.

Call your healthcare professional right away if you have pain in your lower leg that does not go away; severe chest pain or heaviness in the chest; sudden shortness of breath, sharp chest pain, or coughing blood; symptoms of a severe allergic reaction, such as swollen face, tongue, or throat and trouble breathing or swallowing; sudden severe headaches unlike your usual headaches; weakness or numbness in your arm or leg or trouble speaking; sudden partial or complete blindness; yellowing of your skin or whites of your eyes, especially with fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, dark-colored urine, or light-colored bowel movements; severe pain, swelling, or tenderness in the lower stomach (abdomen); lump in your breast; problems sleeping, lack of energy, tiredness, or feeling very sad; or heavy menstrual bleeding or if you feel that the implant may have broken or bent while in your arm.

NEXPLANON does not protect against HIV or other STDs.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please read the Patient Information for NEXPLANON and discuss it with your healthcare professional. The physician Prescribing Information, including the Boxed Warning, also is available.

Start the Conversation–Determine a B​irth Control Option With Your Doctor for Your Story

If you’re interested in exploring NEXPLANON or any LARC, talk with your healthcare provider to help determine what’s right for you and your health. Learn more about NEXPLANON at www.NEXPLANON.com.

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