Did it take you a while to start ovulating after the pill?

I've charted for years but I think it's quite hard to start/learn when you've just come off the pill, because you won't really know what to look for and you are likely to be faced with at least a few confusing charts anyway. Have you read the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility"? It is a wonderful guide to charting if you haven't.

Purely anecdotal, but my friend was charting straight off the pill and she found that she did ovulate but not every month; and also that even when she did ovulate (temp shift) the cervical fluid wasn't really in a clear fertile/infertile pattern. In the end she just went more by the temps I think and did get pregnant quite quickly.

I was on the pill for about 15 years non-stop and I'm sorry to say OP but it took a whole 12 months for me to ovulate after stopping. I didn't have a period the entire time. It was very frustrating, and worrisome. I went to the GP after 10 months and he did bloods. All normal and he said it can take time for some women (especially given how long I was on it). Just before ovulating again for the first time I seemed to go through a second puberty - greasy skin, spots all over my back. Then I ovulated (knew I had - I felt it), puberty went away and I went back to normal very quickly (including the horrible heavy long periods I hadn't had since I was 15!). Conceived on 3rd/4th cycle (I was 31). There was nothing wrong, it was just time. I'm sure checking with your GP in a few months is a good idea. Good luck.

i think it depends on how long you were taking the pill doesnt it? i was only on it for about 4 months stopped in feb i had two periods that month which was mad... and annoying normal one in March and April then found out im pregnant last week. Ive read about how the chemicals in the pills can mess up your system making it take upto a year before ovulation is regular again.

and if it is poly ovaries... please dont give up hope or stress. my friend has it she lost a tiny bit of weight last year and now has a gorgeous daughter

KylieP

No googling!. However, Verity's website www.verity-pcos.org.uk may well help.

One in five women show signs of having polycystic ovaries (PCO); it is more common than people realise. The stats for PCOS itself is about 1 in 10.

I would go back to the GP before July and insist on a referral to a gynae at a subfertility unit. If PCOS is suspected it should be investigated thoroughly; GPs are pretty much useless at dealing with such issues and PCOS often requires careful management.

DO not use OPK's either because these kits read LH. Many PCOSers have an excess of this particular hormone to start with so the kit ends up reading this excess level hence multiple positive results. They are not worth the money.

Low GI/GL eating plan can help women with PCOS; any excess pounds can exacerbate symptoms so do try and remain within the correct weight range for your height.

Interesting that you can have periods without OVing.

Kylie I was sent for blood tests which showed that I was OVing.
I went to the hospital to have them done in a drop in clinic. You have to have them a week before AF and then on day 3 of your cycle. They call the first one day 21 because on a text book 28 day cycle day 21 would be 7 days after OV and before AF.
It didn't cause me too many problems with regards to work as it was a drop in thing and no appointment was needed.

The best advice I can give is STAY AWAY FROM GOOGLE!!!

Honestly, you will make yourself feel worse. from what I have read I understand that as many as 1 out of 10 women probably suffer from PCOS, so it really isn't that uncommon.

I hope the acupuncture makes you feel better

I'm 31 this week. I'm hoping the Clomid might have kick started something. I'm trying not to throw too many things at it at once, otherwise there is no way of knowing what works!

I might well look at acupuncture or reflexology to help me de-stress. I'm a bit of an emotional wreck these days!

I have heard about the low GI diet and do try to follow one, though not strictly.

I don't know what the next step is. I have an appointment with my consultant in July . I'm hoping they'll let me have a few more months of Clomid, but who knows. I was told there is some evidence that prolonged Clomid use can be linked to ovarian cancer. On the upside, they will let women take 150mg a month for several months, so I can't see that a few more months of 50mg will hurt me.
At my initial consultation they told me the next step for me after Clomid is IVF, but I'm not sure that I'm ready for that yet

In my experience Drs will not investigate until you have gone 6 months without a period. I came off the Pill in May 2010, had 1 period in June and then nothing.
I went to my GP in September and was told to come back in January. Multiple blood tests, ultrasounds and an HSG later they diagnosed PCOS which had, as you say, been masked by the Pill.

I'm now on my 6th, and final, cycle of Clomid. I've been lucky that 50mg has been enough to make me ovulate, but sadly I am still not pregnant.

I am also slim and, barring having the skin of a puberty-ridden 13yo, have none of the other "classic" PCOS symptoms.

Do keep pushing your Dr to send you for more tests. GPs know very little about fertility issues, after all the nature of their job is to know about lots of different things and not specialise in one area.

I know Kylie some people can be so insensitive, it's annoying but try not to let it get to you, your boss is a bit Out of order IMO though, you are entitiled to have a baby if you so wish and by law they can't discriminate against you for it (although I know in reality this does happen). I know when it comes to the time I have to tell my boss, they will be less than pleased for me, but it's their loss.

my cyles were 28 days before I went on the pill when I was 15 and 10 years later they went straight back to being 28 days. what were yours like pre-pill as this might give you some indication. I know that it can mask irregular periods and PCOS, wishing you the best of luck in getting to the bottom of your problem.

I ditched the temping about a week ago as it was turning me into a crazy woman, would recommend OV sticks though (just the cheap ones from ebay) as they are cheap enough to test a couple of times each day so you can be sure you dont miss it. I know they dont tell you when you have OVd but there is definitely some comfort in knowing you get a LH surge.

Kylie dont despair, my temps were all over the place all throughout my cycle which led me to think that I didnt ovulate, however I must have because this morning I got my BFP :) came off pill at beginning of march and had 2 cycles since then, BFP 2nd cycle

as for work, it's none of their beeswax, if anyone enquires just say 'womens problems' and in my experience they tend to ask no further questions! even if it's NOT womens problems thats what I tell people to stop em being so nosy!

hope everything works out for you! :)

I'm not sure to be honest, I'm in the early stages have a blood test tommorow which is day 21, this is testing various hormone levels and my thyroid etc...I don't know much more apart from that. She said to have these blood tests, we would look at the results and go from there! X

Pipbin I was going to ask the same question, I have been following this thread with interest! I came off the pill a year ago, did opk for about 6 months and got smiley faces and have a cycle of 30-33 days. I was pretty sure that all was good and I was ovulating but apparently the opk just tell you there is a surge in hormones so you might not ovulate and now the doctor is sending me for blood tests to check I'm ovulating so I guess you can have a period without ovulating!? X

6 months

Not wishing to sound daft but can you have your period without ovulating?