Ovulation after stopping the pill

[lucymk22]

Hi everyone,
I came off the pill in September to start TTC, normal withdrawal bleed. I am now day 50 and no sign of my period. I have been having period like tummy and back ache but only loads of watery discharge (which is odd) and no period and not pregnant.
I had been on the pill since I was 16 (10 yrs) and so don't really know what my normal cycle would look like, but it was over 3 months every time and very irregular before so I'm just stressing myself out that something else might be wrong.
I have read a lot on here that other people have had absent or irregular periods when coming off the pill (which I was blissfully unaware of or might have stopped taking the pill earlier).

My question is: how long did it take you to start actually ovulating after coming off the pill? and is it possible to ovulate even if you don't have regular periods/ without a period?

I think i'm just stressing because I feel like I don't know my body's "normal".
Thanks so much.

Everyone is different coming off the pill. I was on the pill for 25 years & then went straight back into a normal monthly cycle…my friend took 9 months to get her cycle back.
You can ovulate & not have a period but it isn’t very common & usually means there is something else going on. Your progesterone levels peak after ovulation to start thickening the walls of your uterus ready for implantation. If this doesn’t happen progesterone levels start to drop, signalling your body to start breaking down the lining of your uterus, as it is no longer needed. So if you aren’t getting your period it could be a hormone issue but can also happen if you are underweight, stressed or have another underlying medical issue. If you have the money to do it then I would highly recommend getting a fertility MOT done. I had one done recently for £395 at a private fertility clinic. They do an internal ultrasound to check your ovaries & uterus for any cysts & to make sure it’s all healthy. They also count your follicles which gives you a good idea of your egg reserve & they take blood & tell you your AMH levels.
this would probably be a good start for you to see if there are any issues. You can have this done on the NHS but you have to have been trying for a while (I think 2 years for your age group) before they will do this.

Hi @lucymk22 I don't really have an answer as in a similar situation but if it helps you feel less alone with it all! I came off the pill in April to ttc#1. I had a few cycles of 29 to 35 days thereabouts initally then last cycle was 65 days, this cycle just been was 60 days. Now cd6 of new cycle. I'm similar age to you and was on pill for 8 years. I have found bbt really helpful for this last cycle, pretty certain I ovulated, my ewcm, temp rise and dates pre AF all tied up so think I ovulated around day 44 to 48 of this cycle. It's taken me around 7 months to actually be convinced I have ovulated this time, I think bbt has really helped. I gave up opk testing after 40 odd days so never got my positive peak. I've had bloods and scans which have been normal so far, got seen quicker as had really severe pain cycle before this one, suspicious of a cyst but wasn't scanned for several weeks after signs resolved unfortunately. I don't appear to have pcos. Hoping things settle down this month but not convinced. Hope AF comes soon for you. I end up just wanting AF to come in spite of bfn with these long cycles to get a "reset", it's so frustrating feels like you get so much less chance of conceiving than with a normal length cycle. Best wishes to you x

Everyone is different! I ovulated within a few weeks though and then regular-ish cycles resumed. It can take several months though!

its a bit of an unknown.

First time coming off the pill took 6 months to have a period and then a couple of irregular ones and then conceived. I was on it for 16 years.

I’m trying to conceive again so come off expecting the same to happen and I was on day 36 and my period started this time! Had been on the pill for nearly 5 years this time