Trying to conceive after coming off Dianette.

[fells]

I have been on different pills for the last 12 years on and off (more on than off) First I was on Marvelon for a couple of years, then I went on to Celeste for a year and then went on to Dianette. I was on it for about 7 years and came off it last May. Ttc since January but periods have been quite erratic. My cycle seems to be long (about 40 days on average) and not particularly regular although my last two cycles have been slightly shorter. Should I be concerned or is this fairly normal after coming off Dianette? Getting a bit dispondent now. How soon should I pay a visit to the doctors?

Why were you on Dianette in the first place? It's often prescribed for PCOS related problems so maybe the long cycle could be to do with the reason you went on it?

Hi fells, your story sounds like mine. I was on various pills for about the same amount of time then Dianette for a few years to deal with delightful acne on forehead. Came off Dianette before Christmas - acne came back, cycles between 27 and 37 days, cramps some months, none the next etc.
Spoke to family planning doctor when having a smear the other month and she said that whilst the pill can leave system immediately (which is why some lucky b*ggers get pg without having a single period) it depends on the individual (one friend didn't ovulate for 8 months after stopping). Also Dianette is one of the strongest pills so can have a longer lasting effect.
This does seem to ring true for me, and was certainly a comfort. I asked her if I should see the doctor but she said they won't listen until you've been ttc for 12 months (although I think this varies by doctor).
Since then I've become v. scientific, taking temperature, using opks etc. and have found out that my luteal phase is always 12 days. This means that with irregular cycles, the cycle day I ovulate changes each month. As I've been keeping track of when we've been bd'ing (sad I know) I can now tell that out of the 7 months of ttc, there have only been 2 when we've actually timed it right (previously went with the assumption that you ovulate around cd14).
Feel a lot better knowing this, so am more relaxed about thinking it could happen any time. This didn't stop me being despondent when wasn't pg this month, but as I've also read that 3 out of 4 fertilised eggs don't implant due to various natural reasons, I reckon I've got to have at least another 2 goes before going to the doctor!
Sorry to ramble on, but hope it helps to know you're not alone! Bibi

Hi Fells,

I also wondered the same as thirtysoemthing in that Dianette is often prescribed to women with an underlying hormonal imbalance. In such cases PCOS is often to blame.

I would ask the GP to have a blood test done in order to see what your hormone levels are like now. If there is a discrepancy between your LH and FSH levels I would ask for a referral to a gynaecologist for further evaluation.

It does sound like your cycle is irregular and as such is more like to be anovulatory (a "normal" cycle is one of between 21 and 35 days or with less than 4 days of variation from month to month). Having periods in itself does not automatically mean that ovulation is happening.

HTH

Hawaii

Hi 30something, 808state and Bibi20!

So, you can have a period without having ovulated. I wasn't sure about that so thank you 808state. Can you ovulate and then not have a period but not be pregnant?

I was initially prescribed Dianette for my skin but then it became my main contraceptive.

Yes, Bibi20 our stories are similar - it is reassuring to know that my funny cycles/periods could have an explanation. So ovulation always occurring on day 14 is only a guide line in the same way we are led to belive that everyone except us has 28 day cycles! I have also been using a thermometer and opks and have realised that we haven't necessarily 'done it' at the right time every cycle. Despite this, I intend to give it a couple more goes like you and then see the doctor. Strictly speaking I won't have been trying for 12 months but I could always bend the truth a little!

What exactly does anovulatory mean?

I was prescribed dianette because of PCOS (just to help me to be more regular..), I think that it was 3m after I stopped that myu periods become very irregular again (but I was always like that, so not much worry here). Why did you come off Dianetee, if you are trying to get pregnant try to get an apointment with a gynecologist, the problem of irregular periods is that it's nearly impossible to know when you are fertile and you may need a little help.

...and finally I read the title of the thread, yep, get an appointment as soon as possible (not because it's urgent but because NHS waiting lists are eternal). You may need some treatment (which is mostly pills) but don't worry, I have been told for ages that I had one oportunity in a million of getting pregnant without the treatment so I didn't have much hope. Got pregnant in my second fertile period.

Anovulatory means no ovulation. You can have periods and not ovulate, but you can't ovulate and not have a period (unless you get pregnant).

The time from when you ovulate to when you see your period is virtually always 14 days in all women. If you have a longer cycle, it tends to be because the first part of your cycle is longer. So for example you always have a period every 40 days, you probably ovulate on / around day 26 instead of day 14. Bearing in mind that sperm can live on average 5-7 days inside you and the egg lives for about 72 hours, then you'd need to be having regular sex on days 21-29 of your cycle (ish).

If you periods are always irregular then it is difficult to calculate when you ovulate, but just because you have irregular periods doesn't mean you don't ovulate. You just need to have lots of sex, all of the time! HTH

Only about 12% of all women have an exact 28 day cycle. Ovulation is not an exact science; ovulation can occur either earlier, later or not at all in any given cycle. It is certainly not always on day 14!!.

A cycle beyond 35 days and especially if such irregular cycles have been like this for a long time are more likely to be anovulatory (i.e no ovulation that month). In such circumstances opk's and temp charting are not worth doing. Many docs do not take any notice of such methods primarily because they are unreliable indicators. Both methods can also cause stress over time. OPK's are particularly bad to use if you have an irregular cycle because such tests are just reading the excess amount of LH hormone you are producing.

I would pay a visit to the doc asap and ascertain properly what your hormone levels (LH and FSH) are like; Dianette is often given to women with underlying hormonal imbalances. I see it was given to you originally for your skin problem - again PCO/PCOS may well be the underlying cause of such.

Do seek medical advice and if you get nowhere with the GP then insist on a referral to a gynae. Sounds drastic but you will need to be persistant in order to get answers.

HTH

Hawauu

Thank you all for your advice.

I think some of my cycles have been anovulatory. In my last cycle I didn't appear to get a truly convincing positive result with the old opk but I did notice an increase in temperature which only lasted 9 - 10 days so my period came earlier than expected. However, this cycle seems to be more 'normal'. I am pretty sure I ovulated on 16th as my opk was positive and I had slight lower abdomen pain for a few hours. Had sex (sorry not familiar with these alternative expressions yet as new!) on 15th, 17th and 18th. Not expecting to be pregnant as I am very pessimistic and do not have that 'feeling'/physical symptoms that I could be so I expect my period in a week or so and that will be 29 days since the last.

Is there a best time of the month/cycle to go to the Doctors to have the blood test or does it not matter?

Also, are female doctors more sympathetic as a rule?

What are the chances of conceiving if you have PCOS/PCO?

Cheers everyone and good luck!

Me again. What are the symptoms of PCOS?

What is the difference between PCOS and PCO?

The main problem of having polycistics ovaries is that you never know when you are ovulating as cycles can be anormally long and never regular. Every person is different, in my case I went 2-3 yrs without the pill and didn't fall pregnant but I did the second month after being in treatment (the treatment is just to make you regular enough so you have a stronger chance), I have also a cousin with PCO who tried for 5 yrs, fell pregnant during the first month of treatment and again (without help) when her baby was 3m old.

It doesn't matter when do you go for the doctor, in my case I had a scan which revealed the cysts.

just found this thread, took me 9 months to conceive after coming off Dianette, was prescribed for acne and I had been on it for years and years before ttc.

opk's were picking up ovulation but was not getting pregnant, same old story stopped stressing about it had sex once that month and got pregnant, good luck fells!

hi the celest isnt as strong thankfully

It took me six months to conceive after using Dianette. My first two periods were shorter than normal, and my fifh one was a long cycle. I was on it for bad skin and it worked like a charm.

Hi, I would love some advice from anyone wo has been on the dianette pill. I have been on dianette fro nealy 6 months now for my skin, i had regular periods before and have never had any problems with them so i know i do not have PCOS or anything like that.
Iam getting married in August and me and my hubby to be have decided to start trying for a baby in October i have read that vitamin B6 is good for your skin so i am going to start them in a few weeks and also will take folic acid soon too but i woundered if i should go back on to cilest, which is not so strong, for the next 6 months and risk having bad skin for my wedding or will it not make any difference to change my pill to a less strong pill to give me more of a chance of getting pregnant?
Thank youfor any advice & help

Lucy

Hi Lucy,

I am planning to ttc towards the end of the year and came off the pill last month & started taking folic acid. Am doing this so that I can get back into a regular cycle as have been on pill for 8 years. Originally went on dianette for skin, stayed on it for a few years then doc swapped me to Yasmin. Was a bit worried about spots reappearing but a month off and all is seems fine. I don't think that changing to a different pill would make much difference, some women seem to fall pregnant quickly after coming off, while others take longer - just depends on the person. There is a thread on this board with people who are waiting to ttc, so if you want some company come and find us!

The thread is called 'ttcers and unreliable contraceptive users anonymous'

I've been off Dianette since Aug 2005 and STILL TTC! Well...given my asexual soon-to-be-ex-husband, the 'Trying' part didn't happen so much.

My first cycle after Dianette was pretty normal, I even ovulated. After that it got pretty ropey, averaging 50 days (some ovulatory, some not).

Hi Sarah I came off that same pill in Dec 07, had a bleed at end of January but since then no periods, and I'm deffo not preggers (have done several negative tests!). I'm sorry to hear about your troubles and just wanted to say hi and best of luck in the future. I hope you meet a lovely new man and fall quickly!

I originally went on it for my skin at 16, I suffer from migraines and when I tried Yasmin instead about 6 years ago the migraines got worse so I went back to Dianette. It's ironic we try so hard for years NOT to be preggers and then when we do want to do it we find that the pill has buggered up our systems so much

I have a post on here from August 2004, DD1 was a month old

It did take me 9 months to conceive her after coming off Dianette, am now on pregnancy no4 and it has taken 1 month, 1 month and 2 months. Coincidence I don't think so.

In terms of skin, it's not been that bad but I cannot wait until I finish BFing no3 will be straight down the doctors for Dianette.

Sweetkitty - did you use any form of contraception after coming of Dianette the first time? How long where you on it originally? Hope you don't mind me asking...

No nothing at all

I was on it oh years and years probably about 7 or 8.

I really do think it took ages for my body to readjust to being fertile again, next twice I fell first month of trying.

Thanks SK. I've just come off of Yasmin after 8 years of being on Dianette/Yasmin. Not planning on trying for a few months though, so hopefully cycle will have got into a normal pattern by then.

I was on Dianette for about 2 years, prescribed it partly for acne but mostly just because my doctor said it was a 'new good contraceptive' that worked perfectly if you didn't want to get pregnant (because all the other pills i tried gave me really bad side effects).. After reading all of this though it seems more like once you take dianette it's gona stop you from getting pregnant for months afterwards too!

I've only been off it trying for 3 months now, but my cycles have been majorly long (44 days and then 55 days).. Kind of worried because i had anorexia for a year before i started taking contraceptive pills, and know that not eating majorly messed up my cycles.

I'm a little bit worried about whether the previous Anorexia could now be affecting my fertility, rather than it just being the after-effects of the pill :( And to be honest, i just dont know what to do..