Carer, 21, has had contraceptive implant ‘lost’ in her arm for TWO YEARS – after doctors tried three times to dig it out
Annmarie Madden, 21, from Pontypridd, Wales, has been left with a big scar on her arm after medics unsuccessfully tried three times to gouge the device out of her
A WOMAN whose contraceptive implant has been “lost” in her arm for TWO YEARS is now awaiting an operation to have it surgically removed.
Annmarie Madden, 21, from Pontypridd, Wales, already has a large scar on her arm where she’s been poked and prodded by medics.
They have tried, unsuccessfully, to gouge it out three times, but an X-ray revealed the match-sized plastic rod is too deeply embedded in her arm to get to it without her going under the knife.
Annmarie, who works as a carer, said: “I want people to know what happened to me so that they can be aware when they get the implant it might be harder to be taken out than previously thought.
“When I had it put in, I was told that for it to be removed there would be a tiny nick of my skin and it would slip right out.
“But after two years of trying and doctors constantly digging around inside my arm, this implant is still stuck inside.”
Annmarie had the contraceptive implant fitted in 2013.
The device is a small, flexible plastic rod which is 4cm long and placed under the skin of your upper arm.
It releases the hormone progestogen into the bloodstream to prevent pregnancy and lasts for three years.
It’s a popular option for women who struggle to remember to take the Pill, or can’t use the hormone oestrogen.
Another benefit, usually, is that the implant can be removed “at any time”.
However, when Annmarie was due to have her implant replaced in 2016, doctors were unable to remove it.
“The first time they were unsuccessful they said I should come back and try another day, so I did, and that didn’t work either,” she recalled.
“The third time, at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, they had a proper root around and still haven’t managed to take it out.
“An X-ray was taken and they can see it but can’t get to it. It’s been too deeply embedded into my arm.
“Now, I’ve been left with a huge scar on the side of my arm.”
Annmarie says that she has not been able to have unprotected sex with partner Marcus, 21.
She said: “I haven’t been able to use anything successfully. I was on the Pill before I got the implant and it didn’t suit me.
“I tried the injection, which you are supposed to get every three months, but it made me quite ill. I’ve been advised not to use anything until I get this out in case it is still effective."
She added: “It’s so frustrating to be left with this in me.
What is the contraceptive implant and how does it work?
A contraceptive implant is a small, flexible rod that’s placed just under your skin in your upper arm. It releases a progestogen hormone similar to the natural progesterone produced by the ovaries.
Most women can have an implant fitted and it is effective for three years. It can be taken out sooner if you decide you want to stop using it.
The implant is inserted in fat inside the upper left arm, where it secretes man-made chemicals that prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg. It also thickens the mucus from your cervix (neck of the womb), making it difficult for sperm to move through it and reach an egg, and makes the lining of your uterus (womb) thinner so it’s less likely to accept a fertilised egg.
Some of the symptoms that women can experience with the birth control implant includes nausea, headaches, mood swings, loss of sex drive and acne.
The implant is over 99 per cent effective. Less than one implant user in 100 will get pregnant in one year.
Only a doctor or nurse trained to fit implants can insert the implant. You can go to a contraception or sexual health clinic or to the doctor or nurse at a general practice.
A specially trained doctor or nurse must take it out. They’ll give you a local anaesthetic injection in the area where the implant is and then will make a tiny cut in your skin and gently pull it out.
It usually only takes a few minutes to remove an implant, and it it’s been put in correctly, it shouldn’t be difficult to remove.
Occasionally, an implant is difficult to feel under the skin and it may not be so easy to remove. If this happens, you may be referred to a specialist centre to have it removed with the help of an ultrasound scan.
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“I had no idea that the implant could get lost in your body, and women should know that this can happen before they commit to it.”
Last year we told how mum Kelly King was left with a mangled arm after doctors "dug around" in her flesh to find her "missing" contraceptive implant.
We also reported how a teenager "nearly died" after crippling headaches turned out to be a severe reaction to her contraceptive implant.