Light then Heavy AF - weird periods since coming off pill

[iRawra]

Hey everyone,

Quite new to this so bear with me.

I came off the combined pill last year in August after being on and off for 10 years. We weren't TTC back then but came off to start to get back to normal which I thought would be a few months.

My AF off the pill was always a bit irregular but nothing weird, but very normal in terms of flow (couple heavy/moderate days then lighter few days). I've been pregnant twice before (once terminated, one miscarriage, both mistakes) so I know my body can do it which is the annoying part.

First cycle off the pill after withdrawal bleed took 2 months (ish) and I wasn't measuring anything back then (cycle length, ovulation) due to not TTC, and then I had three normal length cycles (between 25-35 days) so I was quite happy I was getting into the swing of myself.

In January we casually started trying after my last regular AF. I then didn't bleed til March and it was only spotting/light. AF appeared again yesterday after 102 days! It's extremely heavy and painful and I'm soaking through a lot of pads.

We went to the doctors about a month ago for many blood tests to alleviate my worries and they all came back normal.

Did anybody else have this when coming off the pill? I'm hoping this mega AF means I'm getting back to normal. I started trying to think about it less and am also in a non-shift pattern job now, so I'm hoping the alleviation of stress has helped.

Please can anybody reassure me?

AF still heavy today and I'm just trying to get myself to think this is me going back to normal!

Hi, I’m really sorry I can’t be of much help other than to say that it could just be your body settling after coming off the pill.

What tests did your GP do and what were the results? I assume you didn’t have a progesterone test to see if you were ovulating?

I think long cycles can be associated with pcos but if you’ve had tests and they were fine - and your GP is not concerned - it’s probably just your body getting back to normal.

@RoseIvy they didn't do a progesterone test for ovulation but they tested loads of things just to make sure my body is working properly. Full blood count, prolactin, lsh, kidney function, blood sugar, and others I believe and everything came back 'normal - no further action'.

I really do think it's a mixture of the pill and stress, but just really wanted to know how normal it really is.

@iRawra it definitely sounds as though your body is just regularising after the pill and I agree that stress can do all sorts of things to our cycles!

I would relax and see when you get your next period. If it doesn’t sort itself out maybe ask the GP for hormone testing to make sure that everything is fine (although most of those tests are dependent on being done at a certain time in your cycle which might be difficult to determine).

Are you taking any vitamins? I take a vitamin B complex and vitamin C which are supposed to help regulate your hormones/cycles so that could be worth a try? Unlike some of the herbal supplements they can’t do any harm to your cycles so are a pretty safe bet!

@RoseIvy I'm taking vitamin b complex, folic acid, magnesium, selenium, Vit D and zinc :)

Sounds quite a lot but I was taking the Vit D already as I just went through Australian then our winter so my body hates me at the moment haha! Could be another reason AF hates me. Let's hope now me and DH are settled here and I'm settled into work this is finally AF sorting herself out.

What stage are you at in your journey?

@iRawra it sounds like you’re doing everything right and that it’s just a waiting game for everything to level out. It’s so frustrating isn’t it! My cycles are pretty regular since coming off the pill last December but AF only lasts two days!

We are on month 7/8 ttc - we started trying as soon as I came off the pill. I seem to be ovulating fine (and my day 21 progesterone test confirmed ovulation.) At first my luteal phase was short (10 days) and it’s now lengthened (12/13 days) but I spot very slightly from about day 10/11 - it’s so frustrating! I cant help feeling that there’s something wrong, but it could be just that my body is also taking a while to get into the swing of things!