Hi guys, Iām new to Mumsnet šš½ Iām hoping to find some moral support with TTC post birth-control. A year after coming off the pill, it seems my body is still trying to regulate my hormones and periods, and itās certainly making TTC difficult!
To provide background, I was on birth-control (Microgynon 30) for 11 yearsā¦YIKES. My doctor put me on it at a young age due to bad period cramps, however my periods were always regular prior to this. In hindsight, this was NOT the solution, but itās all so easy to go on the pill and as a young girl, it felt like the ācoolā thing to do.. not so cool now! For around 8 years I was on the pill, I then had the implant for a year or 2 and then I went back to the pill.
My current partner and I have been together for some time now and just over a year ago, we discussed coming off the pill to prepare my body for pregnancy. We were not desperate to get pregnant, but we were very much of the mindset that we would be over the moon if it did happen sooner than expected. A year later, and I certainly underestimated what it would take to get pregnant. We have actively been TTC for over a year now and had little luck. This hasnāt been helped by my irregular periods of late.
Below I have detailed my cycle lengths post birth-control and I have noted whether I ovulated. Note, I have been using natural cycles to track my periods and ovulation.
Cycle 1 - 24 days, no ovulation
cycle 2 - 28 days, ovulation day 16
cycle 3 - 56 days, ovulation day 44
cycle 4 - 37 days, ovulation day 25
cycle 5 - 31 days, no ovulation
cycle 6 - 45 days, ovulation day 31
cycle 7 - 29 days, no ovulation and super light period
cycle 8 -40 days, no ovulation and super light period
cycle 9 - 72 days, ovulation day 59
As you can see, my cycles are all over the place. After cycles 7 & 8 post pill, I was concerned due to non ovulation twice in a row. I booked in with a gynaecologist who referred me for a HSG, standard blood test and anti-mullerian hormone test. I was told at first glance the HSG looked normal and I am yet to receive formal confirmation and results of the bloods. My follow up appointment is late August.
My latest cycle felt very different to the usual. It may be a coincidence but I started to take the Conceive Plus ovulation support & fertility support capsules prior. You will see that my ovulation was ādelayedā as such, but my LH tests (the clear blue smiley face ones) were indicating a rise in esteogen with the flashing smiley on cycle day 27. This continued for over a week until I ran out of tests. I felt as though my body was trying to ovulate as I could feel twinges in my lower belly and pelvic area, and noticed a shift in hormones with tiredness and mood swings between my body ātrying to ovulateā and actually ovulating. The 30 days between such was the worst, it seemed to affect my sleep, my mood, I broke out in spots and my belly hurt on and off for the whole time. Has any one else experienced this with delayed ovulation?
For information, I am in good health, eat a balanced and healthy diet and exercise 3 times a week. I also take ovulation support and fertility support supplements religiously. I started taking these before cycle 9 and do believe they helped me to ovulate that month..
If anyone has ideas on next steps, ways to regulate my cycles or ideas to help us pinpoint my fertile window despite the irregular periods.. Iām all ears! X