Cycle changed after pill. 23 day cycle

[esunny]

Hi
im just wondering if this is normal? My periods before the pill were 4/5 days and 28 days. Now a year after stopping the pill. My cycles are regular being 23 days and 2/3 day period (very light and barely any cramps) which is a good thing as my other periods used to be soooo painful!

should I be worried they have changed or is this normal after being on contraceptive for 8 years? Thank you x

23-35 is classed as a normal range 😊 Contraception definitely changes your natural cycle. I was always regular 28-30 days before contraception, heavy flow, bleeding for 5-7 days. After about 7 years on contraception, it took me almost 8 months for my periods to come back at all (depo injection). now they’re anywhere between 28 and 34 days, bleed for 3, light-medium flow. The only thing I would say is to try and track your phases within your cycle if you haven’t already, as sometimes a shorter cycle can mean a too short luteal phase which can impact fertility. If you’re really concerned you can always go to your GP and ask for further tests x

Thanks so much for replying. How do I track my luteal phase? Xx

Luteal phase is the day of ovulation up until your period, where your uterine lining will thicken in prep for implantation. So if you track your ovulation date (either through LH testing strips, body basal temperature, or just estimates from apps like Flo), you should be able to calculate how long it is. E.g., if your cycle is 23 days, and you ovulate on day 10 your luteal phase would be 13 days, which is within normal. I think if it’s less than 10 days it can cause issues with conceiving x

This happened to me too - exactly the same, I used to have regular 28 day cycles and a 4-5 day period. After coming off the pill at the start of the year they are 23-25 and my periods are 2 days.

I did track ovulation using Lh test strips, basal body temp tracking and in the last two cycles the clear blue digital advanced ovulation tests (these are super easy and avoid needing to learn the other two!)

My ovulation is pretty consistently on cycle day 14 according to these tests - this leaves my luteal phase as 10 (or sometimes less) so I was worried about this but I have got pregnant and did with my first too. I also had a day 21 progesterone test this cycle which was a bit low but I'm now 5 weeks so I'm hoping this one sticks

You can request a 'day 21 progesterone ' test from your GP if you've been trying for 12 months or 6 if you're over I think 35/36?

Oh lovely thanks for replying. It’s nice to hear somebody who has gone through similar! I will track my ovulation going forward. I’m thinking of starting with my temperature. Best of luck for your pregnancy xxx

Al just out of interest which pill were you on? I was on Desogestrel xx

Bumping this thread as I have been having a similar issue. I took desogestrel for 8 months while breast feeding (in the past I had always taken the combined pill with no issues after stopping). Came off it 7 months ago to TTC for baby #2 and have since had shorter cycles with spotting for between 3 and 7 days before my period (and sometimes several days after my period) and so far no success in getting pregnant. My cycles used to be 29-31 days and have recently been 25-27 with the spotting starting around day 23.

I am having tests/checks but can't work out what is wrong so far. I am worried this pill has really messed me up.

Did anyone find their cycles eventually returned to normal? How long did it take?

Ps I am tracking my hormones using Mira and ovulation has been on day 14 or 15 for the last 3 months. My hormones look ok except my progesterone starts to dip rapidly quite early (although after 7 days post ovulation which is when the doctor tells you to do the progesterone test so I don't think I'll get told I have low progesterone) . The dip in progesterone does seem to coincide with the spotting.