Not ovulating 18 months after Depo

[missleahy]

Hi there

I came off the depo injection in November 2015. I'd been on it for about 5 years. Before that I had a year break off it. Before the year break I was on it for about 3-4 years (I can't remember)
My periods are bang on regular and have been since I came off the depo. We're getting married in May 2018 and were hoping to start a family as soon as we can. That said, we're both conscious it's not easy and can take time and if we were lucky enough to fall pregnant before the wedding it wouldn't be the end of the world. So we've started to take measures to see if we'll be in a good place. Kris turns 40 in Jan though will be 32.
I've been buying the ovulation tests from Boots, and have been using a fertility app primarily to input and track my periods. In my fertile window I have been taking a daily ovulation test and they've been coming out negative every time. It seems like I am not ovulating at all.
The depot used to help keep my metabolism high and it used to keep me trim - since coming off it, I have put on a stone. I'm very active, cycle 2 hours a day and do 1.5 hours at the gym every day and I can't shift that extra stone which although leaves me at 62kg / 9.7st, I do need to lose it for my body shape.
I've cut drinking right down and eat really well.

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on what I could do to kick start my ovulation? Should I be making an appointment with my GP? And how worried should I really be?

If your periods are regular, you should be ovulating (unless your cycle is very short) - typically you ovulate about 14 days before a period starts. Are you sure you are using the ovulation sticks at the right time?

Yep - I absolutely am. Going on the 14-16 days rule of ovulating before a period starts. My periods are short and very light.

I'm not sure there's much you can do. I went through this, although did manage to get pregnant almost exactly 1 year after coming off depo. But in between I had loads of short frequent 'periods' and took forever to start ovulating. Even when I started gettting positive ovulation tests, I'm not convinced I was actually ovulating.

It can take up to 2 years to get out of your system However, after 18 months, I'd suggest talking to your GP. At the very least, they will probably agree to run some blood tests to check if you are ovulating yet or not. These should be more accurate than the sticks.

I know how frustrating it is. Hopefully it won't be too much longer now you've got this far. If it's any consolidation, once I did start ovulating properly, there doesn't seem to have been any other long term effects on my fertility. Good luck

Consolation to consolidation (stupid autocorrect)

And for those of us who love to test , you can buy massive bundles of ovulation dipsticks and pregnancy test dipsticks from online pharmacy supplies, very cheaply compared to the kits from Boots etc...

After I went to the docs after 18 months not ovulating after depo. Was prescibed Clomid which got me ov'ing after a few months and then I conceived quite easily. Depo is a nasty bastard.

Thanks all - that's really reassuring. I think / hope it's just a case of getting it out of my system. My periods are very short and very light...
I have an appt with my GP as I am freaking out. Really really appreciate all the advice. I will also look into the bundles of ovulation tests. I'm starting to think I maybe should just take one a day through the month to see if there is any LH surge at all, as opposed to just when apparently on fertile days. Depo is a nasty bastard yes. It so worked out for me for so long but I hadn't taken into account just how bad coming off it could be. I have all the symptoms of ovulation, just not actually ovulating!!!!!

OP have you thought about testing for ovulation on a wider window than that?

I came off the pill recently and was pleased to find my periods returned completely as normal (so far!) but when I tested for ovulation to reassure myself everything was working, I got no result on the first month by testing when my app suggested i did. So the second month I tested from a few days after my period every day, and found I actually ovulated several days 'late' but my period was still on time. Probably not ideal but at least it's happening - maybe you are the same?

Oops I was too slow and see you plan to do that already! :-)

Thank you teaping, that is what I think I will do, yes. It is very good advice and can't hurt at all. Appreciate the suggestion and that this is what happened to you.

I can understand I was on depo for 9 years and then I changed to the implanon implant for 6 years when I met my partner I came of an it took a while for my nperiods to come back proplery and now iin 2017 I had a sought of period cycle and my last period was 19/6/2017 and it's hard knowing if I'm pregnant or not because l have a millld learning disability because of my illness called classic maple syrup urine disorder so if doesn't show up in my blood or urine and I have a bump like I'm showing what should I do next

hey! i am going through the exact same thing now as you did
did you see your gp and were they able to offer any help/advice?

I was on the depo for many years before my two children and I always fell pregnant before getting my period back.
I bought a big pack of the cheap ovulation sticks off Amazon and I did one every day for two months and wrote the date on each one then lined them all up to see when I was ovulating xx good luck

Currently 19 weeks pregnant after having last Depo August 2019!! I wouldn’t say my periods were back to being regular and ovulation tests kept coming back negative until I eventually just decided to “go with the flow”....never been so surprised when I got that positive pregnancy test!! I think sometimes when you relax, nature takes its course. Easier said than done I realise

my periods have been regular immediately since coming off the depo it just seems from tests that im not ovulating, me and my partner arent trying too hard to get pregnant but wed be happy if it happened
im more concerned with if my body is doing what it should be and returning to normal, i also had a but of a cervical cancer scare last year which is still being monitored so ovulation returning would be a good sign

I would test your ovulation every day for a month. For me when I was testing, it was 10-11 days after my period started that I would ovulate.

Hi I had my first born back in 2013 I went on the depo from 2014 -2018 I came of depo November 2018 and I'm in a table relationship with my partner and we trying for a baby im only 28 nearly 29 and I cant seem to ovulate or get pregnant im doing exercises and losing some weight but just nothing isn't helping

Hi
I came off depo in October 2019, it took about 10 months for my periods to be more regular and for ovulation tests to come back positive. I am however now about 5 weeks pregnant so very hopeful.

For all the articles telling you about your ovulation being in the 14-16 window, my periods are like clockwork and I didn't conceive until I started using the sticks. I then discovered I was ovulating more like 11-12 days before the start of my period (go figure) and conceived the first time the stick came back positive. Obviously it might be something different for you, but I wouldn't 100% trust that window.