Over the past few weeks, I’ve been dealing with a mix of symptoms that started with a lingering phlegmy cough, nausea, fatigue, headaches, and breast sensitivity. A few months prior, I noticed my implant (I'm on Birth Control) felt uneven or indented. My discharge was initially creamy but then became stretchy/slippery, and then returned to creamy again a week ago. I also started feeling abdominal sensations like pricks, tightening, and discomfort when I moved or coughed. My stomach began looking more forward, sometimes feeling firm in certain spots and soft in others, and my weight changed from 152 to 160 pounds, raising my BMI from 26.9 to 28.3. I'm an 18-year-old female, and I'm overweight.
When I spent five days in Canada, all of these symptoms became noticeably stronger. My nausea was worse, my stomach felt more prominent, and the abdominal sensations were more intense. After I came back home, some of the symptoms eased, but not completely. I continued to feel a deep, shifting firmness in my stomach that sometimes hurt when I pressed on it and changed in tightness depending on how I moved or tightened my muscles.
During this whole timeline, I took a pregnancy test on December 29 and another one yesterday (Jan 4) morning, and both were negative. Even though my nausea has gotten worse, everything I’ve been experiencing has unfolded alongside being sick, traveling, feeling stressed, noticing changes in my implant, and paying close attention to my body. Note that I haven't had my period since September 3rd. This summary reflects the sequence of what I’ve gone through without assuming the cause.
With that being said, on Wednesday (Jan 7), I plan on going to my local Planned Parenthood to get my birth control checked out. If there is anything wrong with it, I plan on getting it removed, but not replaced. I've had two birth control implants my whole life. The first one was a year and a half ago, followed by it getting removed and replaced 6 months ago, when I got my current implant, which I believe got broken within the first 2 months of having it. If my implant does come out, I plan on not having sex until both my partner (18M) and I (18F) are ready to have a child.
Before you hate on me, I'm an extremely paranoid person when it comes to being pregnant, even if I'm on birth control. I'm always disappointed when I see a negative on my pregnancy tests. (I always hope for a positive). I feel like it's better if I don't have sex, so I can avoid the disappointment I'm going to feel each time I take a test. Also, condoms aren't always effective if I get off birth control. I don't want to risk it. And besides, my partner and I don't like condoms, that's if we can even get our hands on some. My partner and I are not ready for a child yet!