Post Pill TTC - Party Hard with a Vengeance

[TheHotelCalifornia]

It’s that time again, the 5th post-pill thread of ladies who are experiencing the highs and lows (mainly the lows…) of coming off the pill and TTC! Here you’ll find stories of delayed ovulation, crazy long follicular phases, crazy short follicular phases, light AFs, short luteal phases, long luteal phases, confusing temp charts and blindingly white OPKs, to name a few. Join us, won’t you? We're a lovely bunch and we'd love to help you make sense of post-pill life if we can!

Welcome back:

@mintgreenlife
@juno231
@kay00
@sperr
@mrsmacmc
@chinchilly
@curcurbita
@tillybabs
@ams19
@moocher90
@trying4one
@flowerbudd
@pumpkineverything
@tatty1987
@mancmama39
@elsie2021
@danielle2012
@spencer22
@charwils
@ftm94
@lobster8
@musicaljojo
@laurat94
@crabette
@moocher90
@cams50
@thedaydreambelievers
@K80AWE
@emmgrem
@MissC07
@MOL234

Apologies if I’ve forgotten anyone, please tag them!

@MissC07 the only advantage of waiting till first AF is that it's generally easier to date any resulting pregnancy! Otherwise can be hard to work out where things should be at

Hi everyone please may I join?

I came off my pill May this year, having been on combined pill for about 13 years and mini pill for the last 2 years - with no period. Since coming off ive had very long cycles starting with 54 days, now the last 2 cycles have been 42 days.

Im using easy@home opks and clearblue connected (I tend to use easy@home until I see a rise and then confirm with clearblue too). I might just switch to one of these now im getting the hang of them! I have had peaks on the last 2 months of using these but each cycle resulted in BFN.

Currently on CD1 AF shown her face tonight 16days after my peak on opks?!

Congrats to all that have got their BFP already ❤

@Keeppositivekeepsmiling hi! I just use easy@home OPKs and the Premom app for recording them. A 16 day LP is great! Mine are only 9 days which can make it more difficult for implantation

@keeppositivekeepsmiling morning! And welcome! I would say you probably ovulated 12-48 hours after your peak opk. If we assume it was 24 hours then your LP was more likely to be 15 days, which is a really decent length!

@mrsmacmc oh no! I had shingles as a child, can still remember how uncomfortable it was! Hope it goes soon.

@Keeppositivekeepsmiling all sounds good for post-pill cycles :)

So my temp rose again this morning, 36.48. officially the highest I've recorded at! So FF gave me my cross hairs and all the apps have confirmed ovulation at CD35! So excited to be 3dpo and potentially in with a chance, even if it was our first month! 🥰🥰🥰

@laurat94 that looks great! Yay for your first TWW!

Morning!! How are we all!

8DPO for me, I had some pinkish CM last night, also quite crampy, I’m kinda thinking AF is comimg early 🙄

Well full on AF has arrived this morning after spotting yesterday! 😩 Forgot how awful it is haha.
However that means I've only had an 18 day cycle 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'm grateful to get my AF back so soon as it's seems post-pill some of you waited for ages, but maybe not this soon as short cycles aren't going to help me fall pregnant!

What's more after a temp dip yesterday I've had a huge rise again today back to 36.92 which is one of my highest recorded temps! Surely my temp should be steady falling and staying low on AF?!

@Emmgrem that certainly is odd! If you are having your first proper period off the pill I wouldn't worry too much about the length of your first cycle as your body is still adjusting and your temp is very high... perhaps just an anonymous?

If your temp remains high for the next three days and your bleeding stops however then perhaps you are just ovulating now?

@Juno231 thanks!

@ChinChilly without trying to get your hopes up too much, is that not perfect timing and symptoms for implantation?

@Emmgrem sounds odd, but not everyone has the same temp patterns etc. But maybe keep an eye on how you feel throughout the day - if you're not feeling well the temp spike could be fever related rather than cycle related?

Morning all,

I'm 14DPO now so thought I would type everything out for you...this might be a long one!!

As a recap...

I came off the pill late March, my cycles were: 30 days, 37 (o on CD33, 4 day LP), 53 days (o possibly around CD42, but not sure), 32 days (think anovulatory), 34 days (o on CD25, 8/9 day LP), O on CD30 - BFP!

I started off just taking folic acid and vitamin D, but then for cycle 2 started taking a prenatal vitamin (naturelo if anyone is interested). I took that for two months, then stopped and eventually ended up on a rather complex cocktail, which I was taking for about 6 weeks before I got my BFP. This was...

• Omega 3
• Vitamin E
• B complex
• 100mg B6
• Vitamin D
• 500mg magnesium,
• 30mg zinc
• Ubiquinol (only half the daily recommended dose as it's so expensive!)
• Selenium

I was also taking agnus castus from about 6 weeks ago, I started taking just one a day about half way through my last cycle, but then increased to two a day around a week or so into my BFP cycle.

I should also add I had been suffering from IBS for a few years, and had a blood test about 3 months ago that showed my TSH was outside of the 'ideal' for TTC and pregnancy at 3.5, when it should be under 2.5. Because of both of these factors, I decided to go gluten and dairy free, and had been gluten and dairy free for about 2.5 months before I got my BFP. I had my TSH retested about 5 days before my BFP and it was down to 2.5.

Symptoms by DPO (typing this out from my phone, so apologies if anything is a bit TMI!)

O day: High & open cervix, super dark OPK, tender/bruised feeling on right hand side just in from hip bone. Cervix back to medium by 5pm. Very bloated in evening.

1DPO: Cervix low and hard, sore nipples.

2DPO: EWCM in morning, but thicker/sticker than usual. Sore nipples, bruise feeling gone from side.

5DPO: Slight heartburn in afternoon & low backache. Nipples still sore.

6DPO: Sore nipples, a few minor 'twinges' throughout the day, hot in the evening.

7DPO: Sore nipples, temp went up, boobs sore, hot in the evening.

8DPO: Slight cramps around lunch time and again mid afternoon. Nipples don't seem to be as sore.

9DPO: Nipples sore again. BFN on IC (possibly an extremely faint line). Stretchy CM in the morning. Increased sex drive, slight pelvic pain.

10DPO: BFP with FMU on FRER and CB digital. Boobs/nipples not sore in the morning, but side of boobs sore by afternoon. A few tiny specks of blood late morning when wiping. Very bloated in the evening and mild cramps.

11DPO: Stretchy CM in morning. Slight achey tummy and gurgle. Slightly achey lower back. Bloating and pressure in tummy mid afternoon. Sore side boobs by afternoon.

12DPO: Anxious first thing. Darker line on FRER with FMU. Higher sex drive. Stabbing pain in lower tummy at 6pm. Slightly achey tummy in evening and thick/stretchy CM. Sore side boobs by afternoon.

13DPO: Hot and sweaty in the night. Anxious first thing again. Boobs sore all day/night. Tired in the afternoon, most painful boobs so far.

14DPO: Had to get up at 4am to eat a banana as so hungry. Single stabbing pain woke me up just before. Boobs sore in the night and first thing. Darker line on FRER with FMU.

Hope this is helpful! I've attached my chart up until today and my tests too, I don't know why the 10DPO FRER has gone so yellow urgh, it actually doesn't look like that in person!

Let me know if anyone has any questions :) xxx

I should have mentioned that going gluten and dairy free completely cleared up my IBS symptoms also - I strongly believe sorting out my IBS and lowering my TSH played a huge role in getting my BFP x

Also lol and me having to get up to eat a banana last night! General symptoms have been that I've been hungrier, and I find I get hungry very quickly, from probably around 8/9DPO. I also have some dry skin around my hairline and ears which is random, and on/off acheyness in my lower abdomen, but not as much as I expected from other people going on about cramps in early pregnancy. Also feel like my CM hasn't come in properly yet, as I've just had one instance here and there of stretchy CM x

@LauraT94 it would be the perfect timing for IB but I think I’ve written myself off for this cycle as I don’t think we DTD enough on the run up to ovulation!

Thanks for sharing @MintGreenLife that’s really helpful, glad the GF and DF worked for you! That GF and DF for you birthday will be even better now!

@MintGreenLife loool love the 4 am banana - that's pure desperation that is! Love your progression lines as well, please take a dye stealer pic later this week! Considering I used to suffer from IBS, have intermittent psoriasis and slightly elevated TSH I think I should probably try and cut down on dairy and gluten too...

@ChinChilly I agree that I'm hopeful that's another IB!

@Emmgrem That's a very high temp but I will say temps sometimes don't drop until a few days into the new cycle. My CD4 temp last cycle was still in the mid .50s when my FP temps are normally around the .10 mark for reference :)

CD3 here and my AF seems to have stopped already. So I basically had a medium bleed Tues evening/night, spotting yesterday and that's it lol. Perhaps it will show up tomorrow again if I'm unlucky.

@Juno231 haha I know, how ridiculous! I was so hungry it was stopping me from sleeping, so after about half an hour of laying there trying to ignore it, I gave in.

I think it could be well worth a try. I'm not 100% sure on my situation with psoriasis (sounds weird I know) as I've had two occasions in my lifetime of getting a type called guttate psoriasis, after a bad infection, where I basically end up covered all over my body in the stuff. Last time that happened I was 21, so I'm not sure if that means I have psoriasis or not, I suppose it could mean I'm prone to it, and I do have naturally dry skin, psoriasis runs in my family too. So as you say, there are quite a lot of similarities there. I think the key thing may be gluten, as even if you have a mild intolerance, it can trigger an auto immune response, which can elevate your TSH. I've had some advice and am going to stay gluten and dairy free throughout pregnancy.

I definitely will. I was thinking I would do another CB on the weekend, and maybe a few more FRERs next week and then leave it there xx

@MintGreenLife whatever you do, don't get bamboozled by the hook effect! You see so many ladies on MN panicking about that :)
Yeah I know what you mean about being unsure psoriasis wise - I've had phases where both my knees, both elbows and lower back are covered but for the past year mine has pretty much disappeared? I just have a tiny patch on my left elbow at the moment. And weirdly with my IBS - I had it really badly for maybe 3 years and then it seems to have gone away overnight and now it's rare for me to have flair ups. I also went through about 2 years of chronic, full body hives that stopped around the same time my IBS stopped too. There's definitely a theme of auto immune responses though so would be best to cut down on inflammatory foods... I'll get dairy free milk today then!

@Juno231 wait, I have absolutely no idea what the hook effect is?!

Well I imagine psoriasis and IBS are connected, think perhaps IBS can also be an auto immune response, or from too much inflammation in the body, so it sounds like you're alright at the mo :) I think milk is the worst culprit for my IBS. I have almond milk now, as too much soy isn't good for TTC, although you most likely already know that! I also have some vegan cheese which honestly isn't as bad as it sounds, but cheddar is low lactose anyway, so I may reintroduce low lactose dairy when I get past the 12 week point xx

@MintGreenLife thank you for the whole story... it was more of an epic! With a happy ending

I'm interested in cutting back the gluten and dairy, but I think I am completely addicted to dairy so it will be difficult... I might wait to see what my progesterone and TSH tests come back with. If my progesterone is low i'm hoping that's more to do with my age than my diary consumption haha!

I love that you had a banana mid-night snack :D I quite often have a small glass of milk before bed so i'm not too hungry going to sleep (there I go with my dairy addiction again !)

@Kay00 no probs :)

Let me know what your test results come back as, have you sent them off yet? I think I got my results about 3 days after I sent it back. I guess if you feel OK with dairy then maybe not necessary? I had several things going on that I needed to improve. Haha oh gosh I know. Wow you really do love dairy! I don't think I've drank a glass of milk since I was a kid, sounds like a good strategy though :)

@Juno231 is that an unusually light period for you??

I had another small temp rise again today... so i'm cautiously saying i'm 3DPO. If I am then I will be completely chuffed with my Ov on CD16! Maybe those CoQ10's are working? On the downside... I didn't locate an LH surge despite testing 3 x a day!!

My temp this morning was 36.16... out of curiosity i waited 10 minutes and popped my thermometer up my floof and the temp was 36.49. Interesting. I wonder if I am just a mouth breather in my sleep - haha

My other theory is that my temps have been getting gradually lower and lower (pre and post ovulation) for the past few months and I wonder if my thermometer is out of whack. So I have ordered another so I can test my current against the new. If they are the same, then I might start vaginal temping from my next cycle start.

@MintGreenLife hehe. I often have a glass of milk with a couple of biscuits as my evening treat i'm such a child! haha!

Also... no, I haven't had them in the post yet, they should arrive any day. But I need to post them back on Mon/Tues/Weds or Thurs morning only, so I won't be doing the tests until next week.

@MintGreenLife it kicks in around week 6/7 and is essentially when your HCG levels are so high that the pregnancy tests start malfunctioning and show fainter lines and people start panicking that they're miscarrying. In reality, if you add water to your wee sample (like 50/50 from what I hear!) you'd get a strong line again lol. But yeah basically don't test past week 6.

@Juno231 Ohh thanks! I think I'll just do a few more next week and leave it there, I'll be five weeks from early next week. Thanks so much for letting me know this! x