Anyone TTC after stopping the pill?

[Nazz10]

Hi,
I’m a newbie to mumsnet and a newbie to TTC.
My partner and I are TTC after deciding to postpone our wedding to end of summer 2021 (was originally May this year) due to covid. Our plan was to TTC after marriage but we’re so impatient and thought we would give it a go now.
I have been on the pill since I was 16 (I am now 27). Switched to implant in October 2017 then got it removed in January this year to go back onto the pill. Anyway, I stopped taking the pill on 13th May. However... I had gone straight onto the next pill pack to avoid the withdrawal bleed 7 days prior to this so hadn’t had a bleed for 5 weeks. Had a withdrawal bleed 16th-19th May. I have been checking CM, no EWCM that I’ve noticed yet. Have also been using ovulation test strips daily and all been negative so far.
I’m using the Clue app (always have done since switching to implant to track periods) and it’s saying that I’m currently in my fertility window with today being my most fertile day yet no signs or positive ovulation test. Could the extra 7 days of pill-taking messed up my cycle more than it would have done coming off the pill?

Anyone else TTC after stopping the pill? Or have conceived? What are your experiences? Any tips?

Hey @Nazz10 very similar situation here ☺️ We were due to get married in September and although we haven't officially postponed we most likely will be doing so in the next week or so and have pencilled in a new date for 2021 with our venue. Because we knew we were likely to not be able to have the wedding this year I came off the pill in April. Like you we were going to get straight on TTC after the wedding. This is our first cycle TTC and I'm currently in the TWW at around 8/9DPO.

I had my withdrawal bleed a few days after stopping the pill, and then first natural AF arrived 30 days later. I've been trying to track ovulation using OPKs and BBT. I got a positive OPK on CD20 but then another surge 5 days later, so no idea if I actually ovulated or what went on there. Think your cycle can be a bit all over the place after stopping the pill, so it's worth doing everything you can to catch your ovulation, as well as DTD every other day of course. Can make it more challenging as will probably need to DTD for longer throughout your cycle to avoid missing an opportunity, but you never know your cycles might come back quickly ☺️ X

Hi, @MintGreenLife ahhh so glad I’ve found someone in a similar situation!
That’s reassuring that you got your first AF 30 days later. I am currently on cd22 so a bit too early to say if my cycles are back to normal. Just a bit worrying that I haven’t got a positive OPK yet. Clue predicts that I’ll get AF on cd36 but I think that’s because of the late withdraw bleed I had due to taking the extra week. Prior to the pill I remember my cycles being pretty bang on 28 days but I was obviously much younger then so I’m not sure now. Technically speaking, if they remain 28 day cycles then AF should arrive next Saturday/Sunday. Time will tell I suppose.

When are you going to test?

It's so nice to find people to talk about this stuff with isn't it ☺️ My second cycle off the pill seems to be longer, as I didn't ovulate until CD20, but then possibly even later considering the second LH surge! I'm going on the first surge so will most likely test from the 11th which is two days before AF is due. That gives me a 33 day cycle this time. Apparently you can get AF without ovulating. I spoke to someone the other day that was having her periods like normal, but no ovulation for several months. These kind of things are quite normal after coming off the pill from what I understand, so don't worry too much if your cycle is quite long. Also shouldn't matter how late ovulation is, as long as your luteal phase is a decent length 12-14 days. But saying that I've also read that it's totally normal to have a short luteal phase in the first cycle or two after coming off the pill ☺️ It's all easier said than done isn't it. Every tiny thing I'm like 'why's that happening?!' But then manage to remind myself that it's all totally normal post pill x

@Nazz10 message above x

Thank you @MintGreenLife. That’s been really helpful and reassuring. I’m not too stressed about it to be honest. We have given ourselves 3 months to TTC based on when I would need to start shifting baby weight pre-wedding to fit into my dress (I picked up my dress a week before lockdown). In which case I would just go back onto the pill for a few months and then come back off a month or two before the wedding. But obviously we would both love to have one ASAP. We will just see how things pan out over the next few weeks/months.

Are you doing anything else to help speed things along or anything else that is helpful/vital? We’re both taking pregnacare conception and still researching and learning new things everyday

I was on the combined pill for 14 years. I came off of it last year when TTC. I had my withdrawal bleed as usual a few days after finishing that month's pack. Then my first period was around 36 days later, no idea if I ovulated during that 36 days but I assume I did. The next month I conceived so I don't know exactly how long my cycle was/would have been but I reckon it was around the 33/34 day mark based on my dating scans.

It often does take awhile for your body to fully regulated back to whatever your normal cycle length is. But that doesn't mean it needs to get there for you to stand a chance at conceiving.

The best advice I can give is to DTD every other day throughout the month (not just when you expect to be fertile). I estimate I ovulated on CD19/20 (ish) when I fell pregnant, so well out of the fertile window of the tracker app I was using, but I wasn't using OPKs, Temping or checking cervical mucus.

Good luck with everything!

I've just seen your newest post. A number of people report that 'pregnacare conception' extends their cycle length. It's probably not the case for everyone but I'd have a quick look online and see what you think (if you haven't already).

@Nazz10 ohh you're far more sensible than me re planning around the wedding. We are hoping to still get married in September this year but with a small ceremony of no more than 10, but obviously only if we're able to by that point. Then we are postponing the 'wedding' with all our friends and family for September next year, and I've basically decided that that'll no ahead regardless of whether I have a baby or a big bump. Obviously if I'm about to pop or we have a newborn we will have to have a rethink. I picked my dress and paid for it in December and it's meant to be ready next month 😢 I'm sure I'll fit into it one way or another next year 😂

I read a really good book called 'the impatient women's guide to getting pregnant' and found that really helpful. We also used preseed this month as after coming off the pill you can be a bit dry urgh. Other lubes aren't sperm friendly. I only had EWCM for two days in this cycle, and it was 5 days before I got a positive OPK so no idea what happened there! X

@Curiosity101 I stayed away from Pregnacare for that very reason. Am just taking folic acid and Vit D.

Fantastic you conceived so quickly after coming off the pill ☺️ I'm not massively hopeful as bit strange I had two LH surges this month, but a small part of me is optimistic. Nervous to test. That's great advice, we have slowed down the DTD after doing it every other day and a few bouts of every day from CD6, but should probably be keeping it up just in case I haven't ovulated yet x

It took us almost a year to conceive ds after stopping the pill. I’d been on it around 7 years then, with a break only when pregnant with dd (who was conceived on the pill!)
I’m not sure if it took that long because I’d been on the pill previously, or just because. In the end I stopped doing ovulation tests and charting etc as it started to take over my life, we went abroad to give us all a break and the sunshine must have worked it’s magic

Good luck!!

Aww congratulations @Curiosity101 and @Chinks101

Thank you for the info! I did not know that about pregnacare! I’m going to look into that. I was taking folic acid but then switched to pregnacare about 5 days ago just because I wanted a multivitamin too but the other multivitamins also had folic acid in them and didn’t know if too much would cause any harm so thought better not risk it.

@MintGreenLife sounds like a great plan to me. I wish we would have done something like that but OH didn’t want to. He wants his whole family there (his side are very family orientated and it would kill them if they couldn’t watch us get married) so just postponed everything altogether.
A part of me also thinks well if I am pregnant or a brand new mum, selling my dress and buying another wouldn’t hurt right? 😳 that would give us an extra few months to TTC but would mean I have to start the dress shopping all over again. We just really want to start a family and I think I’ll be a little bit bummed if we don’t conceive in the time frame we have given ourselves

Oops sorry. Meant to tag @Chinks123

Thank you @Nazz10! Dp refused to take any supplements or change any of his habits, and every month had a very blasé “it will happen eventually” attitude, I think because dd had been unplanned he assumed it would happen quickly. Hope it’s quick for you.

@MintGreenLife It must be really frustrating when the testing gives you unusual results. It's one of the reasons I promised myself I would just DTD every other day rather than doing any sort of fertility tracking. It made knowing when to take a HPT difficult, but I know what I'm like and I would obsess and obsess. For me it's definitely an ignorance is bliss kind of a situation. Good luck though - and it really is true what they say, you're not out until your period arrives!

@Nazz10 Thanks - DS is now just over 9 months old and me and DH are starting to talk about TTC #2. I had the implant put in 7 months ago but have just had it removed. We're going with non hormonal birth control methods for the next few months and will then consider what we want to do at the end of the year.

We did discuss using OPKs next time round but agreed that we'd just follow the same plan as last time and fingers crossed we're as lucky. With respect to vitamins I didn't take anything when TTC first time round, this time I think I might take Folic Acid but I tend to eat a lot of fortified cereals and dark green veg anyway so I reckon I probably have quite good stores of it anyway.

It must be very tricky trying to decide whether to delay TTC for the wedding or not. My only thought is that you should have a think what is a higher priority for you? Plenty of people get married whilst pregnant, or just after giving birth. However it is super tricky. For example I couldn't have imagined doing anything strenuous before at least 8 weeks PP (I had an emergency section and was also in and out of hospital a lot). I'd also be very hesitant about being in the first trimester and getting married. Some people have very strong symptoms and it may suck the enjoyment out of the day if you're very sick/exhausted etc.

Hi, I'm also TTC after stopping the pill on 22nd May. Had my withdrawal bleed as normal but currently waiting for my first natural AF.
I've got the Flo app and that is saying that my ovulation date should be today based on a 28 day cycle as this is what I always had before starting the pill. I've been using opk's this week but all have been negative so I'm taking from that that my cycle hasn't gone back to normal straight away which is annoying but expected! Hoping that everything will go back to my normal cycle soon.

@Nazz10 aww, a small ceremony wouldn't be right for everyone, for us it just seems like the best way to still have a positive outcome from the situation, but who knows where we will be in out TTC journey by the time next September comes around! It's to tricky when you start trying to think about timing everything. I've given up and have thrown caution to the wind and am just going to try my best to go with the flow, which is very unusual for me ha. If there's one thing this whole situation has taught me it's that you can't plan for anything really and to be a bit more laid back about how/when everything happens x

@Curiosity101 thanks so much :) AF is meant to be due in 6 days so we will see. Should take a leaf out of your book really and focus on DTD every other day rather than worrying too much about OPKs etc. When you're going for it every other day I guess tracking and trying to spot ovulation etc is fairly pointless anyway x

Hi @Amethyst2502 what cycle day are you? I'm on my second cycle since coming off the pill and I didn't get a positive on OPKs until CD20. I didn't even see a slight increase or darkening of lines either, just a dark line all of a sudden and then it was back to faint again by the next day. If you're testing daily I'm sure it'll come soon :) x

@nazz10 - I came off the pill in mid march, got a withdrawal bleed, didnt get a positive ovulation test until end of may and still havent had a period! It can easily take 3-6months for your periods to return to normal apparently

@MintGreenLife That's the theory yes, every other day means you don't need to know when to time DTD. I've seen too many people miss their fertile window because of trying to time DTD with the fertile window. But then others use it very successfully. But I appreciate everyone is different so it's just whatever works for you .

@TheDaydreamBelievers - If you're not pregnant then you should expect your period to arrive 14-16 days after a positive ovulation test. So if you tested positive at the end of may then you're probably not due on for another few days yet.

@Curiosity101 I found trying to track things quite frustrating and disheartening at a few points during this cycle, but think if I was getting clearer results it would make me feel better. I might try following what's going on with my cycle for now, but if it's getting on top of me will just focus on DTD every other day and leave it at that. We're generally DTD everyother day anyway ☺️

@mintgreenlife Hi on my calender I am only on day 14 so it seems like I am being too impatient haha! So I will keep on testing and see if anything shows up in a few days time!

Aww yeah just keep testing, sure you'll get a positive soon :) it may be late because your cycle is still getting back on track, but that'll just mean this cycle will most likley be a bit longer, so not an issue x

@Amethyst2502

Heeyyy... Can I join? Ttc number 1. Had my withdrawal bleed after stopping the pill 2 weeks ago. I'm not using any apps atm except one that I can track my opks as I have nooo idea when my natural period is going to start so thought I'd start using the apps after that. Just took an opk and it is quite a lot darker than before although still negative I think... Can your lh increase gradually? Dtd pretty much every other day xx