Loosing my mind TTC!

[twodogsandcounting]

Hi all,

My husband and I got married in July and have decided to try for our first baby.

I'm growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of education we're given when going on the pill as a teenager - I was really not expecting it too be this complicated to get pregnant!

I came off microgynon mid pack on the 23 August. I had my withdrawal bleed from the 25th until the 31st. 30 days later on the 23 September I had my first normal period which again lasted 7 days.

Last week (15 October) I started to get period cramps and discharge with brownish/pink streaks in (sorry TMI) so I was expecting my period to come earlier this month, however that stopped by Thursday (17 October) and since then I've had sore boobs, nausea, bloating, mood swings - all common PMS symptoms but no period. I'm now on CD 30 and still no sign of AF. I have done two clear blue tests and both have been negative.

I know it's early days so in fairness I'm not expecting to be pregnant but as someone who already suffers with anxiety I'm worried that it's going to take years for everything to regulate again!

Totally agree with you on that one! Hubby and I got married last July (2017) and have been TTC since then with no hint of a bfp or anything.

We were only talking the other day about how there is so much on not getting pregnant (and quite rightly so when your young) but nothing in actually understanding your body and cycles and the effects (long term) of abdcontraception....and basically how hard and frustrating actually trying to get pregnant can be!

Wish you lots of luck and baby dust in your TTC journey @twodogsandcounting

That discharge sounds like a possible implantation bleed to me. Test again in a couple of days, if no AF by then. Might be too early for the two tests you’ve already done, especially if your cycle length is unsettled.

Completely agree, especially with @MrsM2017. Teenagers need to learn much more, it really is all about preventing infections and pregnancies. There is no education on IVF and fertility issues that may occur.

I just poas because I couldn't wait until Thursday for AF. Must stop looking at it hoping a line will appear from nowhere 

@twodogsandcounting Those symptoms sound like what I believe my implantation bleed was.

When I came off the pill in June, I had 1 four week cycle, then a six week cycle, and my last would have been a 7 week cycle as I didn't ovulate, and conceive, until week 5.

So don't worry if you're not showing a BFP yet. You could have ovulated late and it may just not be showing as pregnant yet.

Clear blue are crap for early testing you need first response x

I'm so with you OP. I told my doctor I wanted to have my implant removed. They told me about 4 times that if i didn't want to conceive right away, we'd need to use other protection. I told them that's ok, we are Rx. At no point did they tell me it can take on average six months. Af 5 months now and waiting for blood test results to find out if I'm ovulating or not. Every month is bloody torture!

I think you need to try to relax, OP. You've only been off the pill for 2 months, so why are you assuming that it may take you years to concieve?

As for info on contraception, it's all available online and you should definitely do your own research. People do get pregnant by missing a few pills/not restarting a pack when they should and an unwanted pregnancy is a very serious thing - so I don't think the information given at school is bad. There are lots of people who unfortunately would take the risks if they knew the stats and then we'd have way more unwanted children and abortions that could have been avoided.

If you're not pregnant this month, take it calmy. What's the rush? Once you have a baby, they will be with you forever so even if it takes you a year that's nothing.

I went off the pill in April and started TTC after 2 cycles (thinking my periods would be normal by then, but they stayed crazy irregular). I got pregnant on cycle 3 of trying, and if we're going by statistics, you will almost certainly have a similar experience :)

Remember that even if you have sex at the right time, regardless of previous contraception, the chances of pregnancy are only 25% each month. So it's completely normal for it to a year or more - bit of luck involved!

Relax, enjoy the time left as a twosome and good luck!

I completely understand that I may not get pregnant straight away, but what's frustrating me is how long it takes for my periods to go back to normal. I'm finding the pms symptoms really hard to deal with as I didn't have any whilst on the pill and the symptoms I have this month are slightly different to last so I just wish I knew what was normal. If my periods came like normal every month then I won't be as worried if it takes time to conceive but the fact they may not even regulate for a long time is what's stressing me out as I don't want to spend months feeling like this just waiting for a period :(

You could delay TTC for a few months? The NHS recommends waiting 3 months after going off the pill before TTC.

That said, even with irregular periods you can still concieve. Track your periods with an app and use ovulation sticks maybe? I knew my fertile window based on discharge (elastic, egg white-like means ovulation is coming)

My cycles were 42 days, 35 days, 30 days and 39 days until I conceived (think my next one would have been 40, so after 3 months hopefully most people are regular again).

Stressing about it won't help you and you know that it can take a while so the best thing to do is relax and be positive. The statistics are on your side: you'll get pregnant soon.

I wish I'd never gone on the pill. My fertility never came back properly and we had to have ivf.

@faeriequeen, there is absolutely no evidence the pill has a detrimental effect on fertility. In fact, some studies even show that long-term use of oral contraceptives actually improve the chances of getting pregnant (possibly because they protect against some fertility problems like endometriosis).

I'd heard this too @artemis2!

For me, contraception was amazing and I have no regrets - I was on the implant for 5 years and it was so easy. But I do wish I'd done more research about the return to fertility. I hadn't realised quite how quickly I'd go from thinking I might be ready to get pregnant to being desperate to get pregnant.

It's been 5 months for me now. Tomorrow I get the results of a blood test to show if I've ovulated. I've had positive OPKs and EWCM, but erratic BBT, short Luteal phase and AF is very light and short. Just have to keep FX it's good news.

@RMarieClaire, fingers crossed for you!! Hoping you will get your BFP very soon!

Try not to stress about it. I know it's easy for me to say but it's still early days.
I'm old and wise now(!) but you could guarantee that when I used to worry I might be pregnant, my AF would be late!

I came off the pill in January after over 10 years on it. I was 35.

By April I was pregnant, though sadly had a MC at 5/6 weeks.

Immediately fell pregnant again and I'm now 27 weeks.

Just a quick update, AF arrived this morning so I was panicking unnecessarily as usual! 33 day cycle compared to last ones 30 day so still pretty regular - I'm just a worry wart!

At least now I know what pms symptoms I get so will be better prepared.

The TTC journey continues :)

It took 8 months for my periods to return to normal after coming off the pill, and 13 months to conceive, which was frustrating. However for me it was worth it for the 10 years of pregnancy protection I had, and for the regular, light bleeds and flexibility of being able to take packets back to back if I wanted to avoid a bleed that month.