No periods after coming off pill 8 months ago

[deb21]

HI,
Im new to posting but wondered if anyone out there could help. Im 34, came of the pill eight months ago to TTC, and havent yet had a period (apart from the first withdrawl bleed). Have been to dr who has done regular blood tests and says LH and FSH fine, no polycystic ovaries. Dr says just wait and see. I dont seem to be producing any fertile CM, but so sick of looking in my knickers, I cant remember whats normal any more!
Anyone else had this experience after coming off the pill - expected a couple of months to settle down but not this long? any advice welcome -I need to kick start my body!

Think you should go back to gp and have a bit of a moan, i took a drug that induced a bleed (provera) maybe this would help kick start you body as it is similiar to the progestrone your body would make it it's second half of the cycle. I really would urge you to get a better response than wait and see from the gp, there must be a reaon for no periods, i don't ovulate and i still managed a few even though they were irregular.

HTH

It took 13 months for my periods to come back the first time I came off the pill - GP told me that they count anything up to 12 months as normal when coming off the Pill. It's no use to you if you're TTC though, so I agree you should go back to the GP.

thanks for the advice girls. Have to say, I really dont fancy 13 months of this, have a appt booked to see GP next week to discuss next step so await with interest.
Have either of you tried the ovulation tests?. I had a look in boots and they are 20 quid for 5, and you are supposed to chart for a month - any good or expensive waste of money?

You can get cheaper one off the internet (access diagnositcs or somthing) best to wait until you have a cycle pattern otherwise you will be wasting your money, i would recommend charting and buying the book 'taking charge of your fertility' let us know how you get on next week.

deb- it took me nearly 4 months to get a period after the pill. The GP was very dismissive at first but once I told her how frustrating it was as wanted to ttc, she did tests etc. I know I ovulated before that 1st post-pill cycle as the blood test showed I was in the luteal phase and I duly got AF a couple of days after the results. If you've been waiting 8 months I would keep pestering the GP for a referral.

I continued to have cycles of 45-60 days (though was ovulating) til I conceived. I am now ttc no.2 and went private to the fertility clinic as still have longish cycles (33+ days). They did a scan and I have PCOS- cysts on ovaries. So, your GP cannot possibly say you don't have PCOS just by blood tests. My blood tests have always been good and no other symptoms of pcos, just the cysts.

Wouldn't bother with the ovulation kits or charting until you get that first period. If you are anything like me, you might find it very demoralising. AND expensive!

Good luck with the GP next week

deb21

I would ask to see those blood test results again. You say that LH and FSH were tested - were these two levels compared against one another?. If they were not then a possible indicator of PCO/S could have been missed. LH and FSH can be okay if looked at individually but these two levels must ALWAYS be compared. In cases of PCOS one possible indicator of this is that LH is higher than FSH (they should ideally be the same).

I would hazard a guess that a condition like PCO/PCOS is behind the lack of periods.

The pill leaves your system very quickly after you finish taking the last one. Although there is no evidence to suggest the pill is responsible for failure to ovulate it can mask symptoms of any underlying hormonal imbalance.

If PCO/S is diagnosed stay well away from charting and opk's. OPK's are particularly of no use if PCO/S is an issue (the kit will just read the excess levels of LH thereby giving a false positive result).

I read you are going to return to the GP again, do not be fobbed off. You ought to be referred to a gynae.

General advice as well is that if you are over 35 and have been ttc for six months without success then a referral to a gynae should be sought.

From what I remember, LH was about 8 and FSH 14, though I didnt write these down and brain always turns to mush in the doctors. She said these were in the normal range but not particularly useful as a snapshot - would need to be measured over a cycle to make much sense. She said it was unlikely to be polycystic as I was not overweight, and not displaying any other symptoms. Very frustrating TTC and I havent even managed the first stage yet!

haven't read the rest of the thread yet, but this all happened to me.

My lovely GP immediately suspected PCOS and referred me to a gynae and for a scan - and the scan showed the cysts on my ovaries.

I wasn't overweight either, deb, you don't have to be.

Your GP isn't a specialist - she should be referring you to someone who knows (even my gynae consultant admitted he knew little about PCOS, so how's a GP going to?).

Deb21 - maybe don't rule out PCOS on lack of symptoms - I was diagnosed with PCOS at 18 - I am a slim size 8 with no acne or facial hair - not everyone has full on symptoms. Lots of 'famous' PCOS sufferers are the same - Jools Oliver, Victoria Beckham etc. Hope you sort it all out as must be very bewildering for you...

"She said it was unlikely to be polycystic as I was not overweight, and not displaying any other symptoms".

Oh dear yet another ignorant doc when it comes to dealing with such problems!.

Your doc should have also given you a copy of the results!.

You do not have to be overweight to have symtoms pertaining to polycystic ovaries. If this GP does not know what is wrong (and I still would put money on there being a problem like PCO at the cause) she should be referring you to a gynae.

deb- my dr's said the same. I probably didn't have pcos because I'm not overweight, ovulate every cycle (even though they have been long), no acne, no unwanted hair, blood tests all good etc. I am also fair skinned and pcos's are more often a little more olive skinned. It is only the scan that showed the pcos clearly. Some of the ladies on this board will testify to the fact I've been in extreme denial about the diagnosis because of my lack of symptoms. However, my pcos seems to be stopping me getting me pg at the moment so I am slowly coming round to the fact I need some medication to conceive.

I agree with ATM and would basically demand to be referred straightaway then you will know one way or another. If you are in a position to go private for an initial appointment you will be able to get a pcos diagnosis very soon indeed, or rule it out. Lots of luck and let us know how it goes.

or, can you see a different GP and push for a referral?

Hi girls,
Just to keep you updated, I saw GP the other day and she is going to refer me to a gynae. Not sure what this will involve or how long the referral takes - anyone any ideas?

Many many thanks for all your words of advice, nice to know youre all out there.

that's good news deb

mine took ages because the hospital lost the referral letter before it got on their system, but AFAIK hospitals need to give you an appt within 13 weeks now.

I had an ultrasound which showed the cysts, and then an appt in gynae with a clueless SHO and registrar. When I came back for the follow-up appt, I was seen by the consultant (much to my surprise), who of course knew a lot more about it.

Don't let yourself be fobbed off by junior doctors who may not be that familiar with PCOS. And make sure your ovaries are scanned.

Good luck x

Unfortunatly from being referred to getting an appointment it took nearly 3 months but as you are not having periods i should imagine this might be quicker for you.

All the best x

Good luck with the appointment deb - just to re-iterate the other posts, my periods took 14 months to come back when I came off the pill, and a scan confirmed pcos, despite the other symptoms being mimited ( a bit of acne, that's all really).

The good news was that I conceived 3 months after they returned, so don't lose hope, although I can see that it might feel that way now.

I wouldn't bother with ovulation tests until your 1st period comes back, as you are unlikely to be ovulating at present, and you will just spend a lot of money to feel depressed! I bought a slaiva testing kit from Superdrug for about £30 - you look through a mini microscope at a drop of your saliva each morning, as the pattern changes when you are ovulating - worked for me! Good Luck xx

Hi Girls,
Just wondering what happens next. I've had my first referral visit, and been given a 10 day course of progesterone to make me bleed. This has happened and have had a day 2 blood test. Trans-vag (ouch!) scan booked in for early next month.

I was just wondering if any of you out there had been through this before and knew what happens next. Im hoping the fact I can bleed is good news and means something is working?, though isnt this just the same as coming off the pill? Confused......

Hi just wondered what happened Deb as I am in the same boat? Any sign of a period and what happened at the scan? It's very reassuring to know that I am not alone. Was it PCOS after all?

Deb21- this is EXACTLY the same thing that happened to me- my levels were fine but then in nov after a referal to the hospital, a scan revealed PCOS.

I've been told i now have to wait 12 months TTC naturally before i can be reffered. I'm being positive as ive heard so many success stories, and I dont want to take any drugs.

I took my last pill at the beginning of Aug last year. 1st cycle was about 35 days, 2nd was 88 days. (which I though was long but looking at these posts maybe it's not!)
Ive had my bloods taken for testosterone and Ov fubction and come back 'normal' although I don't know what the figures were. I'm now on CD21 and waiting for a PCOS scan (trans-vag, [wince]) on the 4th Feb.
I have absolutely no idea when I ov - would LOVE to know. Been doing sticks for 5 days now and nothing yet [cheapo ebay ones )

I've noticed this thread is quite old, but wondered if anyone was still in this thread? Been off the pill for 9 months now and only had two periods - had blood tests which came back notmal & an internal which Dr said was normal but when I mentioned about the nurse saying one if my overies was enlarged - the Dr just said "oh it could be Polysistic Overies" - I badgered him saying well what next as I'm trying to conceive and I can't afford to go private - he has said he'll send me a federal to a Gyno and wait 5 weeks for a letter - I just feel so lost, especially wen Drs just don't seem to care and say "just wait"! Has anyone got any useful
Questions I should have ready for the Gyno?

[Hopefully below makes more sense, can't seem to edit my previous post to remove nonsense paste, have asked MNHQ to delete so reposting a more sensible version below in the hope that they do!]

Similar experience here. I had an appointment last week after 7-8 months of no periods post pill, had internal scan and had "an enlarged ovary"

Was told it could be "multi-cystic" rather than polycycstic. This seems to mean that it has a lot of follicles throughout but they don't sit in a ring round the outside of the ovary, as is apparently the case in PCO.

Two days later I get my first period. I did think something was amiss this month. EWCM in evidence and some signs of PMS.

Now have to decide whether I will wait and see if November brings more of same or go for hideously invasive test to check for tube blockages. The latter means we can't actively try for the next four weeks due to requiring an x-ray. Not sure how I feel about that.

Questions I tried to ask were:

What do hormone tests mean
I asked questions throughout the scan based on findings
Exercise and body fat (lots and low respectively but not underweight)

I found it really helpful to have written down all of my questions beforehand and take them with me. I don't suppose that there is any such thing as a stupid question in these matters.

Didn't feel like a great hearing instead played out as a rant about NHS referral system - not ideal methinks.