TTC - after 10+ Years on birth control

[RxCx]

Hi,
I'm new here, but felt like I needed somewhere to chat where I might not be alone.
I'm 28 and my husband and I have made the exciting decision to start trying. I'm scared because I was on the pill for about 13 years. We are 4 months in but still nothing. Surprisingly my first 3 months my cycle was normal, my 4th cycle started a bit earlier but only by 3 days. Now I think my ovulation cycle will be out. I'm scared that having been on the pill for so long will hinder my chances of getting it right.

It took me two and a half year to conceive after being on contraception for 13 years. 1.5 of those was to get my period back but if you were on the pill then I'm assuming you had periods in between

Everyone's experience of coming off of the pill is different but I just wanted to confirm that in theory there's no reason to worry about how long you were on it for. I was only the pill for 14 years before coming off of it. I was the same age as you and conceived my son on my second cycle.

I would recommend DTD every other day of the month of possible (not just aiming for fertile week). And fingers crossed you get lucky 🤞.

Thanks!
It just feels nice to talk about it with others who understand and reading about other peoples experiences.

Hi @RxCx I was on BC for 13 years too!
I had withdrawal bleed and then only an 18 day cycle before my first proper period which was a bit weird, as other people who were on the pill seem to wait ages for it to come back if anything!
Now on first proper month of TTC but no temp spikes confirming ovulation and no peak OPKs.
Have you been having regular cycles in that regard or not ovulating yet?
Feels like I can't even get off the starting blocks without normal cycles and it's disheartening when others coming off the pill get pregnant on cycle 1 or without even trying! 😩 Does worry me a bit but everything you read says taking up to a year is normal.

Hi @Emmgrem, I stopped my pill at the end of my normal cycle rather than half way through and just didn't take it again in the new month.
Luckily I fell straight in to a normal 28 day cycle from the first month and got my period as normal with no bleeding in between. I have had peak OPKs as well that actually fell in line with an app that I have, I wasn't sure how accurate it would be but seemed to be right on the mark. What I found unusual was that my in my 4th month my period started about 3 days early. Just waiting to see what happens this month now.
Try and stay positive, I know it can be stressful, I totally understand but what I have learnt so far is that it is absolutely different for everyone. X

Don't worry, As pp said everyone is different but when I came off the pill I got pregnant inside 2 months and when I mentioned it to friends I was astonished loads of them said they got pregnant in the first month or two of trying after spending their 20s on the Pill. So the Pill is not necessarily a culprit here.

Just give it time, too early to start worrying.

Hey @RxCx - it really does vary I think. I came off the pill after 12 years and went straight into a clockwork 28 day cycle, currently on cycle 7 of TTC our first, and no luck yet. My best friend came off hers after 10 years, had a messed up cycle for two months and then fell pregnant! She didn't think she had even had a proper period!

As some of these ladies have said, my only advice would be not to worry / focus too much on when you actually ovulate, I fell into that trap (by monitoring my cervical fluid) and there were a few months when I am sure I missed the ovulation in hindsight. My husband works shifts so we were not able to DTD as often as we would have liked but we have just made it work these last few months. Hoping we get our BFP soon.

If you are worried that you do not ovulate, my best tool has been to track my BBT / basal body temp. I started doing this after five months of disappointment and now feel a lot more confident in when I ovulate. Some people find this adds stress but I think it is just very easy as you do it when you wake up and just make a note in an app (I use femometer). Once you have ovulated you will know, because your temp will continue to rise for a few days. It then drops the day before your period, or if you are pregnant, it will continue to rise. It doesn't give you answers each day but allows you go to back and look at patterns in your cycle.

It is strange and lonely journey, you will drive yourself a bit mad! Try to DTD every other day from the day your period stops and you won't miss it. I hope it happens soon for you both x

@RxCx Hi :) just thought I would share my experience with you - I was on the pill about 13 years, came off it early April at 31 to TTC and am now 7 weeks pregnant, so took us 7 months, although within those 7 months we only had 5 cycles to try as my cycles were all over the place. I had one that was 55 days, and wasn't ovulating until really late in my cycle. Even on the cycle we conceived I didn't ovulate until CD30. I think the previous months we didn't have much of a shot as I had a short LP, but started taking a few things to help with that and it worked :) there's a thread 'post pill TTC' with loads of us who are TTC after stopping the pill x