"i got my first implant in january 2014 and it&#039;s definitely effective as a birth control. i can definitely say i did gain weight but it&#039;s a combination of becoming less active and metabolism slowing down with the birth control. the only downside for me was that i bled for 2 months straight after i got it. not crazy heavy bleeding. more like the lighter end of a period. then then they just stopped which was actually what i was going for. i got it more for the reason of hopefully stopping my normal period which was usually about 8-12 days every month, very heavy, with cramps so bad i&#039;d usually have to sit in a hot bath for an hour to help. my normal periods actually caused iron deficiency. not everyone has a bad experience with nexplanon."