Help for a newbie please - best time to come off the pill?

[angeltattoo]

hi folks,

I am 30 and have been on the pill for 15 yrs!

Hubby and I want to start TTC At Christmas time...ish...because basically, life-wise Sept 2013 is the earliest we can have a LO. This is due to my studying and us having a one bed flat so this gives us time to save to move etc.

Having said that, because it's all planned I'll want to conceive as soon as possible. I'll be 31 when we start TTC and we want 2 or 3 kids.

So, my question is...do I come off the pill immediately before we TTC OR do I stop 3-6 months before we want to start trying, to give my cycle a chance to get back to normal?

I ask because I have several friends who caught immediately and several who have waited months for their periods to return. Because of these conflicting experiences it's really hard to know what to do for the best?

I just know that having waited so long to start TTC I will want to be ready!

I'm sure this has been asked before but any help/advice gratefully received!

15 Years is a long time. I would in your position come off the pill for a year and use condoms during that time.

I'd come off ASAP if I were you... Well I practically am you! After 15 years on the pill I stopped in Sept 2011 and haven't seen AF since!

I came off Cerazette in June 2011 (having been on the pill for about 13/14 years) and am still TTC so I would recommend coming off ASAP, using condoms and tracking cycles.

You may be lucky but the difficulty I'm having is that I don't know what 'normal' is for me anymore as haven't had natural periods since I was 16 - and what was normal then! If you can get a good idea of your cycles and fertile times when not TTC it will be really useful when you do start trying :)

I would come off asap and user other contraception methods, if you don't think that is right for you as a couple, then give yourself at least 3 months off the pill before you start. I came off at 29, my periods came back straight away, but were irregular for about 4 months.

Thanks so much for the advice.

I think I'll come off the pill in Sept, giving me a few months until we really start trying.

And hope for the best, I suppose.