Anyone else about to take the plunge and stop bc pills?

[teachermummy2b]

Ive read another thread with interest about ttc after the pill & saw that a couple of posters were about to stop their bc pills so thought a new thread might be in order!
Im getting married in August & currently finishing my last packet of Yasmin. Excited & nervous all at the same time!

So who's with me?

Xx

Hey ladies, I just wanted to share my experience of coming off the pill. I came off yasmin in October last year and other than a break through bleed I had nothing for about 6 weeks. Then I had a few months of craziness! Basically had random length cycles, random length bleeds and lots of crazy symptoms. The worse month being one where I was convinced I was pregnant, only to get numerous bfns and then AF to arrive after 6 weeks again. I went to the doctors to have basic tests done and everything came back fine. She just told me that it takes some people longer to get regular cycles back after coming off the pill. Just to give you context, I'm 26, normal weight, previous normal periods before I went on the pill at 15 and no other health problems.

Anyways, I got my first 'normal cycle' in May and in June I got my BFP! I'm now around 11-12 weeks pregnant.

There are plenty of women on here who will try and scare you in to thinking you have PCOS or something else wrong if you are like me and take longer to settle down, but ignore them unless you have other symptoms. It's true the hormones leave your body quickly, but that doesn't necessarily mean your cycle will kick back in straight away! Obviously some women do get a regular cycle quickly- lucky them!

I found OPKs useless unless you're willing to test loads of times a day, including at work- which I wasn't! But I found temping helped. It gave me a clue of when I was ovulating, tied in with ewcm and also therefore an idea of when to expect AF and to test. I refused to test until AF was late- for me it's not worth the heartbreak of chemical pregnancies or having to analyse 'squinters' to death! When I got my BFP it was a big thick line and it appeared within about 5 seconds of me putting the test down!

My advice is don't worry if it takes a while, take conception vitamins because they are supposed to help regulate hormones too and happy dtding!! Oh yeah and don't worry too much about not drinking or what you're eating etc. The month I got my BFP I'd been on holiday and had a glass of red wine every night :) I'm convinced being relaxed helped!

Hope that helps :)

Mrshjb Can I ask whether you had any cramps at all while you were waiting for your first AF?

I didn't have any cramps the first time. It didnt really feel like a normal AF in any way to be honest! Lasted 11 days on and off and was an array of colours (tmi!!!)

Well ive done it - im no longer on the pill! Very excited, although really dreading not knowing when to expect af :(

Siarie - im looking forward to an update! Its sounding very positive ...

Yeay! Well done teacher im keeping my FX for you.

mrshjb congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience. Makes me feel a bit better about having a glass of wine at the weekend! Its good to know that patience pays off. I think my cycle may take a while to return to normal as still no AF or even withdrawl bleed, although i have been getting light cramps since coming off the pill.

hows everyone else getting on? siarie any progress?

MrsHjb,

thank you for your post. I have to confess i was a bit overwhelmed with all the conception test and temp taking and watching for aunt flow etc. when i first started reading post. i thought i was taking it a bit too free flow because i just stopped taking my pill in May and started taking pre concept vitamins and was hanging back taking it easy.

I have to say aside from taking bits with me becasue i have no idea when AF will come I'm happy. i have had relexology because i heard it helps but really because I like massage and it relaxes me. my Hubbie and I start trying seriously thursday and i'm just looking forward to spending time with him and taking time out to think about our future whatever form that takes.

hope everyone has enjoyed the weekend.

Exciting times teacher mum! Welcome to the club!

Thanks for the post Mrs hjb. Good to have a dose of reality and so fantastic to hear your news, very chearing!

Don't worry freedom, I'm in the same boat. Trying hard to take it easy and not pressurise the situation. Not even agreed with hubby that we are ttc, just that we're no longer trying not to! But also so very excited as to what the future holds!

I stopped my pill 3 weeks ago, so expecting af next week or week after...we'll see....

All I've done is stop bc and take multi vitamins.

I too am just enjoying time with my hubby. Such a happy time making this decision together and we also celebrated 5 years of marriage on friday. So all blissed out after a trip to Paris.

What news girls? Siarie, any progress?

xxx

Happy anniversary secret squirrel. Nothing to report here ladies. First dtd night is Thursday so we are celebrating on wednesday. My last night of food freedom aka the last supper. The menu will be soft cheese, pate, strawberries (my little plants have yielded a bumper crop of 2) with champagne we got as a wedding gift last year.

Wish me luck ladies.

freedom that sounds so nice, in jealous! Enjoy yr evening and good luck :)

Hi all, can I join you please?

I came off the pill (Gederel) in April and started trying in May. Periods seem to have returned to a fairly reasonable pattern (30 days last month) and this month we have used some internet cheapie OPKs, which seem to suggest that I ovulated later that usual estimates (around day 19)
This means I am just starting my third two week wait.

I am 30, married and trying to conceive our first.

Oh and just to add, we weren't planning to start trying so early but agreed that as we didn't know how long these things can take, or what life holds that we might as well let nature decide the right timing for us. I was slightly nervous that we would then conceive straight away and we would think that we could have waited, but as it has already been three months then I think we made the right decision. Better to try now with no pressure, rather than feeling we're on a time limit further down the line. Good to have people to share this with, we haven't shared with anyone else in real life.

So update ladies, it's been a VERY confusing time for me. Just to rewind I stopped taking birth control on the 1st of July. Then I started my OPK tests so I could work out when I was ovulating.

My OPK got dark but not as dark as the control line on the 4th of July, then the following days went light again. I thought Oh I must have missed the positive but hey ho we are DTD every other day so it doesn't matter.

So fast forward I have been POAS trying to work out what on earth is going on, waiting for AF that is still showing as due this Thursday on all my apps.

Suddenly yesterday I get a OMG this is for sure postive OPK test and loads of EWCM. Turns out I ovulated today, my temp dropped yesterday and have started to rise today, so I just need a few more rises and I can confirm ovulation this time. A lot of research and it's not unusual after birth control for your body to TRY and ovulate but not manage it, only to do it a bit later than normal.

All in that hopefully puts me at 0/1DPO right now so providing my temps follow correctly I will begin waiting again.

On the plus side, things all being well I should be able to test on the 27th so that's not too long away and still a potential July BFP.

I just wanted to update you so that someone might benefit from what I've had so far. All of the symptoms I had were from my body kicking back into action and preparing for ovulation after not doing it for so long. I had forgotten what it feels like and certainly I think you get used to it when you have that continue cycle of hormonal changes over the month.

So good luck everyone!

Hi Siarie
Good to have others to share these things with, I try to keep my husband in the loop but he is struggling to keep up with what everything means.
I have found the OPK tests fairly easy to use, although I have got more relaxed about the times of taking the tests and the supposed waiting time before you test. Hasn't seemed to affect results.
I am using the Ovia app to track info, and that is really good because it is free and provides instant feedback/analysis about the meaning of any data you input and the impact on your chances of being fertile. It has really helped me make sense of everything. Fingers crossed for us!

I didn't know that was possible so good to be aware! Thanks siarie and FX for you.

welcome justyouwait the ovia app, is that available for windows phone? Im trying to find a good one but it seems that fertility friend etc are only for iphone and android

Hi catnip85- I am using it on iphone but it does seem to be available for android too. Search for Ovia fertility or Ovuline!
I tried a couple but settled on this one, and is definitely more detailed and responsive than other free apps I tried...

Oops sorry, just saw that Windows is different to android. Please excuse my ignorance. Still worth checking though, and I think they have a web based / desktop version which you could use if they don't have a windows app...?

Just signed up for the desktop version- it looks really useful, thanks justyouwait much appreciated :)

has anyone tried reflexology or acupuncture to boost chances of conception? Ive heard it can help but not really sure how!?

Welcome justyouwait!

Gosh, that sounds wonderful freedom, what a great idea!

Thanks for the update siarie. It's a bit of a confusing time, isn't it? I get odd tiredness or other symptoms too, I'm sure it's just my body adjusting but it can be hard not to read into it.

Just been plugging all my stats into ovia (thanks justyouwait) and I should have my next af on 29th, so not long after you siarie. Fingers crossed!

xx

Hi justyouwait! It is a secret fear of mine that it might happen straight away, glad to know i'm not the only one to think that! Obviously don't want it to take too long but as it's a new thing it's quite scary.

Oooh Sairie good to know your body seems to be ovulating so quickly! Fx for you :)

Happy anniversary freedom!

Hi everyone - wow thanks for the welcome, and good to know you're all finding the Ovia app useful. Feels good to finally share these things with people experiencing the same things, I have been lurking on the boards for a while now but nice to finally find a group to belong to!

teachermummy2b - glad to know I'm not the only one feeling a bit scared! Just feels so strange after so many years trying not to get pregnant. In someways I feel like I am focusing on the science of conception, rather than thinking that this will (hopefully) lead to a baby - although of course I know it will. I am trying to tell myself that marriage felt strange, until it finally happened and it now feels the most natural thing in the world, and I am hoping parenthood is the same!

Are we all trying for our first?!

Hi ladies. I have a question for you, may be a little premature and vain, but gonna ask it anyway! Are any of you doing anything about minimising stretch marks now? I used bio oil for some teenage growth spurt stretch marks and it really transformed the look of them. I know I'm susceptible to them and was thinking of using bio oil just to get my skin in tip top condition before hand and hopefully to minimise them when they come.

What are your thoughts or plans? xx

I've got some bio oil but I won't start using it until I get my BFP, I Also am going to invest in the Mama Mio products which I've heard are better (www.mamamio.com/uk/).

I had really bad ovulation pains last night and today my OPK has gone negative so I'm hoping I ovulated last night. I haven't had a rise in temp yet but I am really wondering if my environment isn't quite right, I might have to try keeping the aircon off next cycle!

I get bad stretch marks too at even the slightest weight gain. Ive been moisturising lots but haven't tried bio oil. Can it be used to prevent stretch marks? Try palmers cocoa butter body lotion, ive found it to be really good. i think they do a range of maternity products too

P.s. Its not vain squirrel we all worry about them! :)

I think to prevent stretch marks as best as possible you want your skin to be moisturised and the best quality you can get it. If you get really big then of course you might get them anyway but the more you can do to try and make your skin supple the better :)