TTC and irregular periods, do i need to be patient?

[choccyleigh]

Hi, all new to this really (mumsnet and TTC) and wondering if you ladies can help with any ideas or reassurances!.
I was on cerazette for over 5 yrs, stopped in dec 2011. Period arrived Feb-April (thought id wait longer!), missed may and june popped to drs as getting pregancy symptoms but neg test result, advised to wait etc, had a heavy period in july and lasted all in all about 3 weeks and now this month nothing, its hard to work out dates etc when the cycle is over the place let alone annoying when p arrives.
Just wondering is it worth seeing the gp/nurse at this stage? would they even do any tests? or just wait and be patient? is my situation just normal and just need to wait for body to work itself out etc?

I would seek medical advice now from the GP as your menstrual cycle is irregular in nature.

Something is causing this to happen and it is in your interests to find out why.

A common cause of such problems is a condition called polycystic ovaries, another possible one is problems with the thyroid gland. Both these can be detected through blood tests.

You can have blood tests done to see what your hormone levels are like; with irregular cycles the blood tests can be done according to calendar days i.e day 2 and day 21. I would also mention to the GP your three week bleed in July as that does not sound right either.

Or it could be nothing. I took about a year to get regular periods back & even then my cycle wad much longer than average & could vary in length.

What I did was start counting the days of my cycle in a diary. I was able to spot a rough pattern & therefore guess when would be my fertile time.

I also had a detailed record in case I didn't conceive that I could show to the doctor/specialist.

It took about another year after coming off the pill to get pregnant & we wern't trying all of that time or trying very hard!

I think our fertile time is around middle of the cycle.

Thanks a lot for your replies. I been keeping a record and will book apt with Dr just for piece of mind, I can get quite stressed sometimes so it won't help. Just wanted to check I wasn't expecting too much too soon
thanks ladies x

Just to clarify, it took 2 years after stopping taking pill to get preg.

Hey choccy - I know how you feel! I was on microgynon till last year and then put onto cerazette which I stopped taking in Feb. Took me month and a half to get my period and since then its been all over the place. I kept a note of my dates and input them onto an app and it worked out my cycles now range between 30 and 33 days but still hard to judge when I'm ovulating :-( Been TTC since June so not long but my friend has just had her second baby and my other friend is half way through her pregnancy, my turn now please!

Hello! I'm in a similar boat, only second month off Marvelon but have had one normal cycle then one tiny short one and some random spotting.

I saw my GP for my smear when I was about to start TTC, and her advice was do nothing but have loads of sex for the first 6 months or so and don't expect regular cycles etc for a bit. So you're already through that 6 months, could be time to find out more! Good luck!

Hi peeps, I'm in similar boat, just got married and starting to be TTC. Came off marvelon on last march and have only had Three periods since. I went to my gp and am now being reffered to fertility Clinic as I have have cysts, but very nervous about probably getting put on loads of Drugs eek. Would love to try naturally but my last cycle lasted 3 months and 8 before that so drugs probably best.
Have been charting after reading the fertility awareness method book so at least will know when I ovulate hopefully lol

Sorry to hear about all the problems you all are having. I am posti just to let you know I believe it is unusual to have irregular periods for long after coming off the pill. I think I went back to normal after one or two cycles. The pill simply masked an underlying problem with yor cycle.

So do push for medical help. Most of the other mums I know who have fertility problems use a private clinic. But I think it's worth pursuing te NHS route first. Hopefully your GP will take you seriously.

Yeah, I have lots of cysts on my ovaries (poly cystic ovaries but not the syndrome cos hormones are fine) but they haven't seen a reason why they're irregular, they just said I'm not ovulating so looks like ill be trying Clomid just waiting for referral. Know its gonna be difficult, just want to get started already!

wanted to say that it took 18 months for my periods to return to normal after being on pill for ages. I would go to doc though- I got one to rule out Pcos and there was nothing to see.