Coming off the pill

[Naomhan]

Hi, this is my first post on this particular forum though I have posted elsewhere on Mumsnet before. My husband and I have discussed starting a family in the next year or so. Ideally I'd like to start trying in the autumn and as I have cysts on one of my ovaries, I will do as my endocrinologist has advised and come off the pill six months beforehand. I suggested to my husband that I should take my final two packs of the pill and then come off it. He agreed.

I have started my penultimate pack and was fully intending of taking one final pack before stopping altogether as I don't want to stress of a pregnancy till much later in the year when hopefully we will be settled in a new home. But I have been searching on Google for people's experiences of coming off the pill and on one thread a woman was adamant that the type of pill I am on (Microgynon 30) was responsible for two of her miscarriages and causes miscarriages and difficult pregnancies resulting from any conceptions in the year after stopping the pill. She said it takes up to a year to get it out of your system.

Now, I have found no medical evidence to support her claim, but I was starting to wonder whether I should finish the pill after this pack just to give my body more time to adjust? Would it be worth going to see my doctor and talking about our plans? I know it is just one person on a forum and there were many success stories on the same forum, but I have been on the pill for nearly 14 years and I am now 33 so I don't want to leave things too much to chance.

Finally, having briefly come of the pill two years ago while having tests for PCOS I experienced all the nasty side effects like sore boobs and acne. I was relieved to get back on the pill actually! Does anyone have any suggestions about how to minimise these side effects through diets or supplements? I already exercise quite a bit but plan to step this up too. Sorry for all the questions - I really am a newbie when it comes to this!

It sounds like baseless scaremongering to me. Medical studies have actually shown that women are more fertile in the months immediately after they come off the pill (google it :) ), and before we ttc I asked my GP about coming off the pill early to get it out of my system, and she said (basically) that was tosh and there was no need (though I don't have cyst issues :) ). I suppose you only have to look at the amount of "whoops, I missed 1 pill!" babies in existence to see that's true

I can't advise on PCOS, but I know there's a dedicated PCOS ttc thread in Conception somewhere, it might be worth searching :)

Totally agree with other poster, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the Pill can cause the kind of problems you describe. The Pill leaves your system very quickly - how else do you explain how some women that miss just a few Pills end up pregnant?!

I've often heard it said that pregnancy should really take 12months - ie you should take 3 months to prepare yourself: eating healthily, cutting back/out alcohol, smoking, etc and of course taking Folic Acid.

I also have PCOS, and my skin has gone through really awful stages since coming off the Pill. They recommend following a low GI diet as PCOS has been linked to insulin resistance.

I was also told by a doctor that getting the pill 'out your system' is utter nonsense and the only reason it has been recommended in the past is to get your cycles back on track so they can more accurately date your pregnancy before the 12 week scan.

Thanks for the advice on the side effects I can expect and reassurance over these miscarriage claims. I was a bit surprised how adamant this woman was and how other posters weren't challenging her. Maybe she was just upset about the miscarriages and looking for something to blame?

I am trying to shift to a low GI diet at the moment and cut down on alcohol and I am thinking of taking supplements for folic acid from June onwards. Would it be worth looking into vit B, either through supplements or having fortified cereal for breakfast? I've read in some places that it helps with acne.

The one thing I have heard mentioned that I think will be hard is coming off caffeine. I know you need to do it anyway once you are pregnant but I think I would probably find it hard before then.

I thought stopping caffeine would be hard too as I drank several cups of coffee a day, but I've changed to decaf so I still get my psychological fix and since switching I only drink 1 or 2 cups of that a day. I had to keep my 1st cup of the day fullcaff for a couple of weeks, but once that ran out I haven't really noticed the difference any more.

I do have some fullcaff filter coffee in the cupboard for an occasional Sunday treat though

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had some of my sisters' caffine free tea and found it made me feel thirsty so I am not looking forward to ditching tea and coffee. Still, it's only for a little while. I might have to keep the first cup of the day at first too.

The contraceptive pill does not cause miscarriages and it does not take a year to come out of your system. Miscarriages are most commonly caused by a genetic fault in the embryo which is not compatible with life. There is a lot of crap about fertility and miscarriages on the internet if you google it though. Most of it is not based on medical facts. Microgynon is no different to other combined pills in this respect. You will resume your fertility once you stop taking it.

I'm another one that changed to decaff when starting ttc. The first few weeks are the worst - I had headaches and fatigue (and I was only coming off 1-2 cups of coffee a day!) - but then you sort of get over it and it's fine.

If you're not a fan of decaff, why not try some fruity herbal teas or green tea? :)

Agree with other posters re the pill and miscarriage, but it's not nonsense that it can take a while to get out of your system. Everyone's bodies are different and while there are ladies that can miss one pill and get pregnant there are many others who have been off the pill for months and still no sign of a period.

I'm 6 months in (and counting!) and have come across many others in the same boat...so not to try to depress/alarm you but don't worry if things don't go back to normal straight away.

If things have not returned to normal within a month or two it is usually due to other underlying issues, not the Pill. This was certainly the case for me, when coming off the Pill I failed to have a period for over 6 months. Investigations later revealed that I have PCOS which was masked by the Pill.

Although the pill doesn't take time to 'get out of your system', if you have irregular cycles normally it can mess them up for a bit. It took me the best part of a year to get back to sensible cycle lengths (then got pregnant!). I would be inclined to stop the pill now, if you can bear the side effects, and use the time to start observing your fertility signs and recording your temperature, so that when you're ready to start trying you have a good idea when your fertile times are. I used this as a method of contraception as well before we were ready to start trying. 'Taking Charge of Your Fertillity' is really good book for this, if you haven't already heard of it. Or you may not be such a control freak as me and prefer to have a more relaxed approach!

Thanks for the latest comments and to Medium Orchid for the book recommendation. I think I will finish this month's packet and consider taking the last one. I am also trying to lose a bit of weight and change my diet so hope that helps when the PCOS / pill withdrawal symptoms raise their ugly head!