Hi all,

I was wondering if any ladies out there would know where I could go to have a contraceptive implant removed from my arm? I had it implanted in the UK but the 3 years are up and I need to get it out! I did go to one gyno who's website said they dealt with this, but when I got there, he told me he didn't believe in them and to go to hospital to have it removed. I'm hoping not to have to go hospital...

Thanks in advance!

Go to the Frauenklinik at Bruderholz (or get a referral from your gyno), and it'll be dealt with on an outpatient basis. Do you have a particular aversion to hospitals?

If you need a gyno, my wife's is http://www.doktor.ch/arzt-aerzte/lud...t-schweiz.html - speaks English!

No specific advice, but I had them twice and both times had to have them removed by someone who had been specially trained, and with the help of an ultrasound to check the position - mine were too deep under the skin. The person who had this special training was an ultrasound technician at the hospital... and I'd recommend going for an 'expert' rather than someone 'thinking' they can do it (the first person I went to wasn't able to get it out, and left me with a nasty bruise and cut).

I'm kind of glad the first gynae you saw didn't stuff it up...

I'm not squeamish at all, so didn't find it traumatic, though, and had fun watching this young ultrasound technician guy try to be very diplomatic, cutting it out of my arm and worrying because I was watching him do it (he thought it'd be better if I looked the other way)....

Thanks for the details. I currently see a male gyno who does not agree with the implant at all. It will be good to get a different point of view.

Did you go to the Frauenklinik for this? Have you had one inserted here in Switzerland too? My gyno doesn't agree with them so wasn't happy to recommend for me to have a new one put in.

Thanks!!

The thinking has changed about the implants - because they now have 'Mirena' which is an IUD using the same chemical. My GP in Australia was very 'pro' Mirena because he had seen over and over women who were having trouble having the Implanon removed. The Gynaecologist who inserted the IUD for me here in Switzerland told me that he considered it like using a sledgehammer - the dosage is much higher in your blood than the IUD. So, yes, I think you may find some doctors prefer the IUD. For my Australian GP the main reason was that Mirena (IUD) has to be inserted by a gynaecologist, but can be very easily removed (I saw one GP here in Switzerland who told me she took her own out !) and so he felt that if a woman had complications he could easily remove the IUD himself and it would be instantly resolved.

However, I had bad complications with the IUD. Severe pain and bleeding for months (I am not exaggerating when I say that I bled constantly for 4 months). I saw one GP in Zurich (a female doctor) who told me she had also had problems with it and now would not recommend it at all. She told me she actually took her own out. The gynaecologist I saw had lots of trouble getting it in properly in the first place (he had to stop trying to put the first one in and then try a second one). Then I got an infection. That puts me at risk of permanent infertility.

However, in our case, we are done having kids and our next stop is something permanent. We were told the IUD would be good for our situation, and it's given us about 3 years to think about whether or not we want more children (we have 3 children).

Having had both - and having had complications with both - I'm not sure I can recommend one vs the other. I believe both contributed to me feeling depressed over time, and I have a lot of pain with the IUD and problems with it interfering with sex, the gynaecologist had trouble putting it in, and then I had an infection and bleeding for 4-5-6 months after it was put in.

However, I can't regret having either, because when it comes to ultra-reliable contraception, the options are not broad. I fall pregnant very very easily (first possible moment x 4 - had one early miscarriage).... so the prospect of having an 'accidental' pregnancy is very real.

I would be reluctant to recommend the IUD to someone who has not already had children. I would be more inclined to recommend the contraceptive implant because although the 'dosage' was lower, I actually was less depressed with the implant than I am now with the IUD.

But that's just my personal experience. I know someone who four children and had a copper IUD put in and 'loves' it....

Thanks for the feedback!

I must say, I've never had any issue at all with it. The checks up I was having with the clinic in the uk after implantation showed that I was one of the success stories. Periods are very few and far between and only last a day or so. It is hassle free and completely safe! Or at least it has been so far. I'd like to say I haven't been hormonal at all and any strops I have had were completely justified

So it looks like the Frauenklinik at the hospital is the way to go. I also need to find a gyno who can implant a new one though. My current one doesn't agree with it. Perhaps the Frauenklinik can implant as well as remove...

I wonder if I would be so lucky second time around