welcome to the US, Implanon...

The FDA has just approved a single-rod implantable contraceptive called Implanon. One little silicone hormone-dispensing rod is placed under the skin of the upper arm, giving you 99.9% effective contraception for 3 years (basically the only accidental pregnancies were in women who never actually had the rod implanted). Women have had access to it just about everywhere but the United States for the past few years. Here we've been more used to seeing contraceptive options go away (norplant, lunelle, even the sponge, for heaven's sake), and to tell the truth, I didn't really expect I'd be seeing any action on this one anytime soon. I'd heard that it was supposed to have been approved last year...

Granted, the fact that it's gotten FDA approval doesn't necessarily mean we'll be seeing it in our office anytime soon. Another implantable was approved in 1996 and never made it into production. I think Organon has got things under control, though, and will be able to roll it out fairly soon.

I imagine the folks that will be most likely to want to use Implanon are the ones who are using Depo Provera right now and liking it, since it's a progesterone based system rather than estrogen and progesterone combined. It's definitely not going to be for everyone -- lots of people stop Depo because of irregular bleeding or weight gain, and some people don't like that their periods might stop altogether. But for folks that like Depo -- how would you like to not have to get that shot every three months? It will be another option that's acceptable to prescribe for women over 35 who smoke, since they can't do combined estrogen and progesterone methods like the pill, patch, or ring.

There's no perfect method out there. Every method has drawbacks, but it's good to have choices. Ideally everyone would be able to find something that was acceptable to them, easy to use, and effective.