No period since coming off pill 8/9 months ago

[lenalove]

Hi all, just looking for some general advice really!

I came off the pill after 10 years being on it (started age 17 following painful and fairly light but never missing periods, cycles of c. 30-35 days) around 8/9 months ago. Since then, I haven't had a single period other than the initial withdrawal bleed. Equally, I have had no symptoms or anything at all to be honest - it's as if NOTHING is happening. In fact, I actually feel better overall than I did on it (better mood, skin, energy, no PMS).

I am lucky enough to have health insurance and so got a private referral from my GP to a consultant who has now ordered blood tests and an ultrasound. I suppose the most likely outcome is PCOS (?) but I can't help but feel that would be surprising seeing as I did have my period pre-pill and have no symptoms.

Has anyone been through something similar? I know of course I need the test results but my husband and I are hoping to TTC in the next 6-9 months and I am very anxious that something is wrong.

Any experience shared greatly appreciated, thanks. 🙏

Hey @lenalove, I'm going through this exact thing now. It's ben 13 months since I stopped the pill and no period.
Blood tests and ultrasound didn't show any problems so I'm still in the dark.
Did you results she anything?

Hi both, sorry to hear you've experienced this. I came off my pill December 2021 and had my first period nearly exactly one year later. I think my second is starting atm and I did ovulate this cycle (it will be a 37 day cycle so a bit on the long side) so a sign that things are settling.

My bloods were normal but mildly polycystic presentation of ovaries on two ultrasounds.

It's a horrible thing just waiting for it to all settle down but if you have a good GP it should open doors to a referral for fertility treatment which is what's happened with me. In theory it can be fairly easy to treat when TTC as they just need to give you something to kickstart ovulation. The ball was rolling with this for me just before my period returned but I hadn't actually started the drugs yet - may still go on them to regulate cycles though.

Good luck, I felt like a total medical anomaly at the time because everyone else seems to return to normal straight away but I think it's more common than we think!

Hey @Apat10, thank you so much for responding! That's exactly how I feel right now.. no one can tell me what the reason is because everything is so normal in my blood tests and scans.. not even a slight sign of polycystic ovaries.

Fortunately, I have now been referred for deeper investigation and treatment which should be in the next 3-6 months but in the mean time it would be great if it returned on it's own.

Did you do anything to try to get your period back or make any changes? I guess there's probably not much I can do.

@stardust1994 great that you are on the list for further investigation/treatment! Mine came back a few weeks after my referral to the fertility clinic came through last month so I do wonder if the relief of feeling like it was being taken seriously helped. Stress can be a factor!

The only other thing they mentioned to me at the clinic is weight/exercise. I am naturally petite with a BMI at the bottom end of the healthy range. She told me to put on a kilo (easily done thanks to Christmas!) and to stop any cardio because that can make a difference.

Periods are just a nightmare. I spent all of last year desperate to start bleeding and now they've restarted I'm TTC and was sad to see mine starting this week!! Though I am of course happy that the one I had last month doesn't appear to have just been a one off.

Really hope yours settle soon!

Best of luck with trying to conceive @Apat10.

My situation is actually slightly more complicated than initially explained but it's so odd that I usually don't bother going into the details.

So it's been:

• Dec 2021 - Sept 2022 with no period
• Sept 2022 - End of Oct 2022 I magically became pregnant despite no period but miscarried at 10 weeks.
• Now no period again - I had hoped the pregnancy and miscarriage would mean my periods would return but sadly not

Do you mind me asking what your BMI was? Mine is 21 which I believe is very average.

@stardust1994 so sorry to hear about your MC, that must have been awful especially after the initial joyful surprise. If you managed to ovulate before though you can and will manage it again though!

I think some of us must just be more susceptible to big hormone shifts than others. I had weird symptoms when in withdrawal - hives that came up every evening at 10pm for 2 months, heart palpitations, oily scalp in just one spot, acne etc. It felt like going through a second puberty! Thankfully all settled now so have faith!

I am sure hormone levels are massively impacted by what you've been through too so hopefully they just needed a bit of time to rebalance and will get there soon.

My BMI was 19.5 I think. Yours sounds perfect really but I think the idea is any sort of calorie deficit means that ovulation is one of the first things the body sacrifices so I've just been getting through the Xmas chocolate to keep energy levels topped up!

Thanks @Apat10 :) My BMI was also 19.5 when I first stopped the pill but I purposefully gained some weight to see if it would help which I guess it did. I've always been naturally quite slim and athletic but I guess maybe I was underfueling without realising.

Yeah, to be honest I was really on edge during the pregnancy because of never having a period. Whilst the miscarriage wasn't because of that I was just constantly worried. I want to try to be calmer if I'm lucky enough to fall again.

Ooh that message sent too early.

I was going to say that my skin was also dreadful after stopping the pill and isn't great now but hopefully that will settle soon enough.

I hope your journey to conceive goes well :) keep in touch x