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

[KylieP]

I came off the pill 5 months ago and I don't think I'm ovulating, so am trying acupuncture, starting on Tuesday. I was freaking out googling a bit and I saw this article below, and wondered if the my body might have gone into "hibernation"?! This article might be PR-influenced but wondered if many people have to wait a while to ovulate? www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3350809/Pill-can-delay-a-baby-far-longer-than-you-want.html

i came off the piull in october and still waiting, it is so frustrating isn't it?

I didn't attempt any ovulation prediction but after coming off the pill it did take a while for my periods to re-start and even then my cycles were all over the place. I conceived my DS in December (2011) after taking my last pill mid march and in those 9 months had just 4 periods. I calculated that we conceived him following my second acupuncture session to regulate my cycle so fingers crossed for you too

It is so frustrating! And ooh that's great pegster, I hope acupuncture does the same for me, I won't get my hopes up too much for it to work that quickly though to avoid disappointment oh who am I kidding, hopes are now sky high! x

kylie I also read that article shortly after coming off the pill and it really freaked me out. my periods came back straight away but no idea if I'm ovlating, my temperatures say No and my OPK sticks say yes! No idea which to believe!

I haven't tried OPK sticks - were your temps just pretty constant then, like mine, or all over the place? I've heard PCOS sends them all over the place, have you got PCOS? My doc seems to be having trouble diagnosing me, my ultrasound said I did have suspected PCOS and she made me do a blood test but then said she was limited on the tests she can run and can't tell much from the blood test?!? Need to get a referral to a specialist really but in the meantime hoping that acupuncture might help. Good luck x

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

6 months

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

Hi, you definitely can have a period without ovulating apparently, how annoying is that! Also you can ovulate some cycles and not others. That's why I'm a bit worried about going on drugs (clomid) to start me ovulating when I'm hoping I will start naturally or at least naturally some months. Although lots of people on here seem to do well from clomid? happilymarried what tests do they run and how many cycles do they test you for?

Oh and I forgot to say I'm not even sure I'm not ovulating but my theory is based on my bloody frustrating temp chart (no rise) and also my irregular cycles. Apparently irregular cycles are a sign of not ovulating :(

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

Oh I see so you have to do the tests on certain days? I was thinking about what to say to work if I need to keep going back for appointments - do you just say doc appointments and leave it at that? Am worried work might get suspicious that I'm ttc (but I know that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, getting pregnant is much more important!) x

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! :)

Ahhh yay! You must be feeling so overwhelmed! Ok I'll try not to let the temping thing get to me, it's my fourth cycle though since December, but I am feeling more positive now I have my first acupuncture session tomorrow and a couple of holidays coming up. How long were your cycles? Were they regular? Mine aren't :( And you're so right about work, it's just the other day I was saying how cute a baby was and my boss said "no, you mustn't start getting broody!" - I know she didn't mean to be nasty but def insensitive as I just got married last year and am 30 and struggling to conceive (fair enough she doesn't know that last bit!). Then someone else at work started saying she thinks I shouldn't leave it too long as am 30 and so many people struggle post 30, I might not be able to get pregnant etc..argh! Anyway congrats crafty, heaps of luck with the pregnancy x

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.

Mine were and are irregular, I think the pill masked PCOS so think I have that but my doc is being a bit rubbish and not diagnosing it properly. It def says on my ultrasound results 'suspected PCOS' or something along those lines. I'm slim though so I must have lean PCOS. DH has been amazing thank god, so relaxed even though he is 35 and really wants kids, but not once has he made me feel like it's my fault (even though it is - or at least it's my stupid ovaries fault!) I'm thinking for now I'll try relaxing and acupuncture plus enjoying my holidays, followed by pushing my doctor for a referral in July and looking into clomid etc. Wish me luck! I'm going to start OPK'ing too, the more I look into it now, the easier it will be to explain to a specialist. It must feel amazing to get the BFP and a bit surreal? I can't wait! x

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.

She was quite honest about that (my gp), she did seem a bit clueless about it, I knew more - put it that way! We agreed I'd come back in July and I think the fact I was temping helped as I can say I have a problem i.e. I'm having periods but not ovulating based on temps. Also the fact I have suspected PCOS should mean I get referred faster I hope. cavemum what are you going to do now clomid hasn't worked? Why can't you keep taking it as it's making you ovulate? I've just been googling and found that a low GI diet MIGHT help PCOS, have you heard that? x

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

How old are you cavemum? Also do you think even when you stop taking clomid, it could have kick started ovulation for you? (so you might then ovulate naturally even though you're not taking clomid?) I can imagine that happening? Have you tried acupuncture or anything like that? x

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!

Have just been freaking out, reading about infertility stats, I feel like an emotional wreck too! I am hoping my first acupuncture session tomorrow will help me relax but also help my body to work better. I almost can't bring myself to think/write it, but are there couples out there who just can't conceive? I always thought that was so rare, but maybe it isn't as rare as I thought? Sorry am usually a lot more positive about ttc but having a bit of a rough day with it today :( x

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

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.

Thank so much cavemum, you're right it is common, and stressing isn't going to help at all and maybe even do the opposite! No more obsessive googling for a while :) really freaked myself out tonight! and thanks too pipbin I'll go back to my doc in July and insist on ovulation tests/a referral and take it from there x