Confusion on withdrawal, period and ovulation

[jh4567]

Hi!
Me and my husband are trying for our first! I came off the pill cerelle 5 week ago.
I started to bleed heavily last Wednesday and this continued until Saturday/Sunday.
I don't know if this was a withdrawal or a period? Are withdrawal bleeds heavy?
TMI- but there was very small clots at times? Does this change things?
I have no idea on when I would ovulate either does anyone have any insight as to what's going on and I'm abit confused!

I think technically your first bleed after you come off the pill is called a withdrawal bleed. It can be a week or two after you stop taking the pill and some women get a bit of light bleeding, but for me my first bleed was about a month after coming off the pill and seemed to be a pretty normal period (heavy for 2 or 3 days and then becoming lighter for about 4 more days) and I think I had ovulated beforehand.

Your cycles can be a bit messed up for a few months after coming off the pill and sometimes ovulation can take a few cycles to start up again properly or become regular. I'd just count the first day you started bleeding as cycle day one and go from there.

I think clotting is fairly normal.

A withdrawal bleed usually happens within a few days to a week of stopping contraception so this sounds like a period.

I would suggest counting the first day of this as day one of your cycle and using an app like Ovia to track your cycle for the next few months so you can get an idea of what it’s like. It can take a good few months for things to settle down after hormonal contraception so don’t be alarmed if it’s a bit irregular at first.

You could also use temping and/or opks if you want to get a more specific idea of when you are ovulating but some people find these can make things more stressful. God luck!