Nexplanon Placement

Nexplanon is one of the most effective types of birth control. It is more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.

It has a hormone called progestin, which stops the release of eggs from your ovaries. It also thickens the mucus around your cervix (the entrance to your uterus), which stops sperm reaching the egg to fertilize it.

It is a quick procedure that can be done at your healthcare provider’s office.

• First, part of your arm will be numbed with a local anesthetic.
• Then, your provider will insert the Nexplanon under the skin of your arm. You may feel a pinch, like a shot, when it is inserted.

Your arm may be sore for 1 to 2 days. You may have some pain at the site where the Nexplanon was inserted. You can take acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) to help relieve the pain. Use this medicine only if recommend by your healthcare provider. Check with the healthcare provider first before taking any type of medicine.

• Keep your arm clean and dry for 24 hours.
• Remove the stretchy bandage (called Coban) before you go to bed. If the Coban feels too tight or uncomfortable at any time before bedtime, remove it by unwrapping it or cutting it. This bandage simply helps reduce swelling and is not essential to care for the site.
• You can remove the clear rectangle bandage and gauze after 48 hours.
• The surgical strips (the pieces that look like cloth tape over the insertion site) will fall off on their own in about 1 week. You can take off the strips if they have not fallen off after 7 days.
• Avoid heavy play or exercise, such as wrestling, for 1 week after the procedure. There are no other activity restrictions for play or exercise, as long as they do not include direct contact to the insertion site.
• We recommend that you not swim or submerge your arm in water for a few days after the procedure. Showers are safe even within the first 24 hours after placement.

Nexplanon starts working right away if it was placed within 5 days after the start of your period.

• If you had Nexplanon placed at any other time during your menstrual cycle, use another method of birth control, like condoms, for at least 7 days. Ask your healthcare provider to see if this is needed.

• Nexplanon does not protect against sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, warts (HPV), gonorrhea, chlamydia or herpes.
• You should always use condoms to decrease the risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection.
• If you think that you have been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection, please call the clinic.

• Pain, irritation, swelling, bruising, infection, or scarring of your arm.
• Irregular or unpredictable menstrual periods (this is most common in the first 6 to 12 months).
• More bleeding, less bleeding, or no bleeding. After one year, 1 in 5 people will stop having periods.
• The time between your periods may vary and you may have spotting.

People with the following conditions may not be able to use Nexplanon. Check with your healthcare provider if you have had:

• Allergies to any component of Nexplanon
• History of breast cancer

• The Nexplanon should be removed and replaced by a healthcare provider no more than 5 years after placement. If you do not get it taken out on time, it will stop working and might be harder to remove.
• You need to make an appointment to have your Nexplanon removed and replaced on ________________.

• Your healthcare provider can remove it anytime. Like insertion, this can be done in the office.
• Your arm will be numbed, and your provider will make a small cut (incision) and remove the Nexplanon.
• You may have some soreness and bruising.

Call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card and ask if your policy covers this type of birth control. You may need to explain that Nexplanon is an implantable contraceptive. Your insurance company may ask for the following information:

• National Drug Code (NDC): 0052-0272-01 or 00052-0272-01
• Billing code: J7307
• Insertion procedure codes: 11981 or 11975

Call the clinic if you have any of these symptoms or concerns:

• You have bleeding, pus or increasing redness, or pain at insertion site.
• You have fever or chills.
• If the implant comes out.
• If you are worried that it may have moved, cracked or broken.
• You have a positive pregnancy test or think you might be pregnant.