Help - From a man!

[moby124]

Hi everyone

I'm hoping some may be able to help or give advice. I'm a 30 year old man and I've beenever married to my wife for 2 years this June.

We are soon going to try to start for a baby properly but I'm a little worried. My wife has always struggled to have regular periods. When we gother married she went on the birth control pill and she had a regular monthly period. But she came off them 3 months ago and hasn't had a period.

Is there anything she could do to help regulate them naturally? She's also 30 and I want us to give ourselves the best chance possible to get pregnant! She hasn't got polycystic ovaries for info. Would something like pregnacare help? Just wondering if anyone has been in the same boat and can give some advice 😊 she's also 30.

[Artioo2]

30 is not a worrying age for getting pregnant. Irregular periods after coming off the pill are common, they're likely to settle down. 3 months without a period after birth control is not unusual.

My advice would be to stop stressing about it and see what happens for a few months once you're actually trying. I would imagine your stress is making her stressed, which isn't useful. If after 6 months nothing has happened, talking to a GP about it would be the way to go.

"Struggled " to have a regular period is a really weird way of phrasing it. It's not something she can control through sheer effort!

[SpecialStains]

It is normal for periods to take a while to come back after stopping hormonal contraception. If your wife is concerned at the length of time she can always go back to see her go.

You should def be taking multivitamins before you start trying - there are ones formulated for ttc or pregnancy multivitamins will do fine (asda own brand will be as effective as banded pregnacare). Just make sure they have 400ug of folic acid in.

You can also help your sperm count by avoiding alcohol, don't wear tight pants and avoiding things like cycling and hot baths. Dh also took ordinary multivitamins and ate lots of foods with zinc in.

Do the deed lots. Ovulation prediction kits can be useful, but maybe not until you've had a period.

Good luck.

[Vap0]

Hi Moby

Welcome! I'm afraid the pill can mess with periods for quite some time after stopping. I think the bleeds you get when using the pill aren't proper periods but I may be wrong. I don't believe there is anything that can really speed things up getting back to normal other than time. I have read on here that some of these all in one supplements can cause havoc with luteal phases and cycles in general so I have opted for a folic acid supplement and a calculator and vitamin d supplement. You may want to read other people's experiences too before making your decision. Perhaps buy some cheap opk's (ovulation predictor kit) from Amazon or eBay and get her to test every day to give you an idea if she is ovulating or not. I'm afraid the dr won't offer any assistance until you have been trying for a year. You may also find more assistance on the conception forum where all the ladies who are ttc hang out rather than the people who are already pregnant.

Best of luck

[JayBeanie]

Hi, I had the same when I came off the pill, no periods for about 9 months. I saw the dr and they weren't very interested, they just said to be patient. I went for acupuncture (without really believing it would help) and had a period within 2 sessions. I was amazed and am now a complete convert. I'm now 7 weeks pregnant and convinced the acupuncture helped Good luck!!

[Cassie2015]

Hi Moby,

I was on the pill for over 10 years and definitely regret it! Things do settle after a while but putting fake hormones in your body to force it to work a certain way is bound to cause a little bit of trouble afterwards.

Like others have said, it sometimes take time for the body to do things on its own again.

Pregnacare tablets are a very good idea, taking folic acid before actually getting pregnant is a good idea. It also ensure that in the first 2 weeks(ish)of pregnancy (straight after ovulation and before a test comes up positive), the baby already get the folic acid.

I was not trying for long but there is one cycle where I decided I would give my all to try. I cut down all sweets/cakes and basically rubbish foods and ate healthy, making sure I got my 8 glasses of water and 5 a day. I also exercised every day for about 45 minutes. My thinking was I had to get my hormones back on track and being healthy was vital.

I also learnt how to recognise my fertile cervical mucus and hubby and I had sex every couple of days in my fertile window.

I am 4 weeks and 3 days pregnant so it worked for me.

best of luck xxx

[FoxgloveStar]

Have regular sex. That's the most important thing!

[moby124]

Just an update - she's going to have a blood test to see what could be causing it. She's only had one regular period in the past 6 months so hopefully the blood test will point us in the right direction. Did anyone else have a blood test to see what was causing their problems?

Have heard agnus castus is also good - can anyone give advice on that? :)

Hope you can help guys!

[Artioo2]

I really wouldn't start taking an unprescribed medication based on just 3 or 4 months of irregular periods when you haven't even started TTC in earnest yet by the sounds of it. It is common for periods to take a while to return and settle down after coming off the pill. I would give them a chance to start again and see what results the blood test gives you and what your GP says before looking at anything like agnus castus.

[Vap0]

Hi
They will probably give her a day 21 blood test which will say whether she is ovulating or not, although that will be a difficult thing to time if she doesn't regularly have af. You're lucky to get that done after such a short time of ttc so get in there before they change their mind. I also agree not to take any supplements (apart from folic acid) unless the dr tells you to as they can really mess around with your system and can stop things from working. It's still early days, I'd wait to see blood results and take it from there. Good luck

[Shelby1981]

If she wants to take folic acid before becoming pregnant (which is a very good idea) I'd recommend the Seven Seas Trying for a Baby multivitamins, they have everything you need and as a bonus the tablets are really tiny (same as the pill) whereas some are giant! Some of the reviews claim they regulate your periods - not sure I believe that - but can't do any harm

[ShesGotLionsInHerHeart]

I took agnus castus after coming off the pill and conceived before I even had a single period.

Also big yes to acupuncture; I swear by it and my acupuncturist treats tons of women who have irregular cycles.

[cantbelieveImquittingcoffee]

Another vote for acupuncture! I had a mirena implant with progesterone in and didn't have a cycle for 4 years - had it removed, had weekly acupuncture and got my first period 28 days later. This was a few years ago now but I think acupuncture (along with good levels of self-care as described by a PP) and chilling out about it all helped me conceive within only a few months of proper trying aged 37. Good luck and try not to let it get on top of either of you!

[moby124]

Thanks everyone.

I suppose the worry is she's always had irregular periods (one or two a year) so our window of opportunity is limited. Hopefully now she's going to the docs and having a blood test it'll help to determine the cause and medication could help make them more regular? I hope so

[LumpishAndIllogical]

I wouldn't panic, my cycle didn't return to normal for a year after stopping hormonal contraceptives.

I didn't stop them to try and conceive though, but after that year passed we decided to TTC. I was pregnant within a month!

During the year after stopping the contraceptives I became super healthy, regular exercise and healthy eating and Lost two stone. I didn't drink or smoke at all, neither did my partner. I think this really helped me conceive so quick after deciding we wanted a baby again.

Being healthy (as possible, particularly limiting drinking and no smoking) is one of the best thing you can naturally do for conception.

[LumpishAndIllogical]

Good luck OP! Hopefully it works out quick for you

[MyBreadIsEggy]

Your wife can still ovulate without having a period! I had my implant removed in mid-January, didn't have a period at all whilst on it, and didn't have one after it was removed - I'm 6-7 weeks pregnant now. So don't be too worried about her periods. Your both only 30, so that's on your side too
As others have said, don't stress about her not having periods, give her body a chance to regulate itself again, make sure she's taking folic acid, and get shagging like a pair of happy bunnies

[moby124]

She's been for a blood test and rang this morning to get the results. She's been told they'd (the doctor's) would like to see her later this month (25th March) - it can't be too serious if that's the case?

[MyBreadIsEggy]

Did they not give her the results?? Just said they wanted to see her again?

[moby124]

Basically yeh, not sure if that's a good sign or not?

[MyBreadIsEggy]

Sounds a bit weird to me.
If there was something wrong with the results or if the results were perfectly fine, they should still tell her when she rings up for them
Maybe the results weren't clear so she needs to have another test?? If it was something urgent then they would want to see her sooner than later in the month.
My money is on inconclusive results so they want another blood sample. What was the purpose of the blood test in the first place?

[moby124]

She managed to get an appointment earlier and the tests have come back fine. We've been told to keep trying and if we're still struggling in the summer to go back. Kind of frustrating in some ways as was hoping it'd be clear why periods weren't regular. BUT, also happy the tests were ok. They tested for loads (took four bottles away).

So, we need tips to try and get pregnant! :D

[GeneralGrevious]

I have found having sex the best way ;)

[moby124]

Haha, I think that's going to be our best shot ;)

Seriously, is there any lifestyle changes we could make (we're both slim and healthy!) or anything like that?

[CatsCantFlyFast]

I'd ask for a copy of the tests so you can see exactly what they tested for. Not having regular periods for 2 years, regardless of the fact you're trying to conceive, should be investigated and not brushed off surely. I would make an appointment with another gp to ask for a second opinion personally

There are lots of books about getting pregnant - and lots on the internet which will help with suggested lifestyle changes, eg zita west, sperm meets egg plan etc

[CatsCantFlyFast]

Just to clarify - I think you are saying she hadn't had regular periods before going on the pill. Therefore the problem isn't just an issue since coming off the pill