Coming off Birth Control and Having Issues

You've received some very good advice. I just thought I'd add one more thing. My hubby and I have been using natural family planning for a year and it works amazing. It also, like someone else mentioned, involves taking your temperature every morning and charting your cycles to find when you're ovulating. It works beautifully for both achieving and preventing pregnancy. It basically is an updated and very improved version of the rhythm method. If you're interested they have a site with books and such at www.ccli.org. I have heard it takes awhile for your body to "bounce back" from being on birth control. Good luck with your pregnancy!!

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I know you have a lot of good responses so far, but I just wanted to give you my two cents as well. Whatever method you use to increase your fertility, there is a website based out of Canada where you can order inexpensive ovulation and pregnancy test strips. If I remember correctly (it's been a couple years) it is www.saveontests.org it might be .com, not sure. You can get simple test strips that are delivered right to you, for a lot cheaper than the drug store ones. There are instructions on the website for how to use them; make sure you have Dixie cups or something, since these are dipped in the urine and not urinated directly on. Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be when conception takes longer than you want!

I had some irregular stuff going on too when I got off birthcontrol. It took me 10 mionths to get pregnant the first time. Then when my hubby had a Vasectomy, I got off permanently. It took about four to five months before my hormones leveled off. It was having crazy PMS (which I never had beofe) and weird cycles...two days long but close together. Now I am back to were I was in high school before birthcontrol with 30 day cycles. So give it some time for your hormones to settle in. And stopp thinking about babies. I only got pregnant (I had two miscarriages before the first live birth) when I got involved in karate and stopped worrying about it. The second child took a month to concieve.

To see if you are ovulating, use the ovulation test sticks, they look just like pregnancy test sticks and are sold right next to the pregnancy tests and all the other "family planning" stuff. Good luck, I'm hoping to get pregnant soon too so I know how the months can feel like years.

I also had all kinds of problems, both on and just off birth control. Fortunately for me, I'm usually so regular, I can "set my watch by it," AND I can feel slight pain in my ovaries when I'm ovulating. So for the past 4 years or so, I have been using nothing but the "rhythm" method for bc.

I hated bc pills! They made me sick, made me gain weight, and just generally messed me up. I would advise not going on them again if you can find another good method. I have pretty much decided something that stops your body from doing what it's supposed to do (when healthy) can't be good! :)

As far as getting pregnant, give it time. It may take awhile the first time. It took me well over 6 months (maybe more like 9 or 10) to get pregnant the first time, but my other 4 pregnancies (3 babies, 1 miscarriage) all happened the same month I started trying. I think maybe sometimes our bodies aren't used to getting pregnant and just take awhile for it all to click. Just use this time to continue getting yourself mentally and physically ready for a pregnancy and nourishing your marriage.

If you are concerned about ovulating, you can by an ovulation (or basal) thermometer, that you use every morning before waking up and record the results. When you ovulate, there is a spike in the temperature. Maybe that will help you know better what's going on with your body and plan when your pregnancy will happen.

Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy and child!
J.

Hello,

I was having trouble with irregular cycles and had the same concerns, then I tried acupuncture. I'm happy to say I'm the proud mother of a beautiful 8 year-old daughter, and my cycles have been regular ever since.

S., There is a special wild yam cream you can buy in a health food store. You use it 8 days after your cycle starts and use all of it with in three weeks. This cream actually helps your body create more progesterine. This hormone helps women get pregnant and keep the pregnancy going. YOu will want to use this for as long as it takes. I persoanally use it all the time. I found out about this the hard way. I was pregnant and kept having premature baby boys. I was drinking milk heavily laden with estrogen and eating meat from cows that had been shot with estrogen to make them fat. After my last baby was born at 25 weeks gestation, I was introduced to this mexican wild yam in a cream form. It changed my life. Then I gave up meat entirely and made sure all milk I drank was hormone free. (I could make my own thank you). I know many women are able to get pregnant after a couple on months using this cream. I know you can look up information about estrogen dominance online which I hope you get a chance to do. Hopefully it can change your life also!

I had all sorts of weird things happen to me when I went off a few years ago. I started spotting for a while, missing periods all together, and then it took us a year and a half to get pregnant. The biggest thing I can recommend to find out if you're ovulating is one of those ovulation tests you can get at the store. They're a little expensive, but there are several in a package. Be patient with yourself, and just know it takes a while for the birth control to get out of your system. If you go a full year, then start talking with your doctor about your concerns.

it is too soon for your periods to get too normal so soon after being on the pill. I was on the pill for 3 mos this year... i have non-cancerous cysts on my ovaries.. the pill was to "give my ovaries a rest"... anyway... didn't help with the ovaries and took 3 mos to get back to "normal"... in the mean time I was spotting and having what i called "tsunami" periods. then two months of being late, neg. test, then heavy bleeding... the up-side? well, now i'm 8 weeks preggo... so hang in there.. i know it seems like forever... one thing i'd also mention, that i think someone also did... i really had some great results regulating my hormones & fertility w/ accupuncture. it can help throughout your pregnancy too.

In addition to learning about your cycle and fertility (Taking Charge...), I recommend you get the book "Fertility Cycles and Nutrition." You can learn natural ways to increase your fertility and improve your overall health. Also, remember to relax and have fun trying!

I just wanted to suggest that relaxing and trying not to stress too much will help a lot in regulating your menstrual cycle though I know that is easier said than done. After trying to get pregnant for several months and not having success, I started becoming more frustrated and then didn't have a period for 3 months! That has never happened to me before and the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me. They said I was totally healthy. So it is amazing what our bodies will do when we become stressed. And I actually got on birth control which regulated my cycle and then got pregnant the next month-lol. Anyway, I don't want to assume that you are feeling extra stressed about getting pregnant but just try to relax and know that sometimes it does take time to achieve a pregnancy.It took us 9 months to get pregnant but we now have a healthy beautiful 10 month old baby girl. I know that waiting to get pregnant can be stressful and frustrating but try to enjoy the time you have before children because you can never get it back and each stage of our life is meaningful and worthwhile. Looking back I wish I hadn't stressed so much!

Chlomid. I didn't ovulate for 9 months and this got me going. Two cycles later, preggo. The basal temperature did not go up for me, btw, while I ovulated, and waiting around at age 37 was not an option.

If you want to try having kids right away, I don't see why your Dr. could not prescribe this now.

Before you start doing all sorts of things with your dr or trying meds, I would very highly recommend that you read the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. (In my opinion this should be required reading for every woman!) You need to learn how to find out yourself whether or not you are ovulating, instead of just wondering if you may or may not be b/c your dr isn't sure. There are very simple ways to find out whether or not you are. If you indeed are not, then you can start running down the list of reasons why you may not be. Even something as simple as your body fat percentage can immediately affect your ovulation. When I was ttc my youngest baby, I was having issues with ovulation, and even though my dr was a fertility specialist, I found it to be more beneficial to know for myself what was going on (and subsequently correct the issues and get pregnant), instead of just having my dr-though I love him dearly!-tell me to chart cycles for months on end, run expensive lab work, or look at the possibility of invasive test procedures. Though some women end up needed medical help to regulate things, it seems that so many just default to it when not necessary.

Unfortunately women aren't warned about things like this being side-effects of using birth control. It seems all we are ever told is "go ahead and use it, and when you stop things will be fine and it should just take a few months to get pregnant". Sadly, it is very common for it to take quite a while longer for you body to readjust to life after hormonal birth control.

I would stop seeing the Dr.! Dr's want to give meds to solve problems, and it sounds like that could be part of the problem. If you are healthy than don't see the Dr. Let your body go back to it's natural state and stop worrying about it! It sounds like you may not be sure about this whole baby thing anyway, maybe you should explore that! Middle school kids can be annoying, I know I have a 6th grader myself. He is at that age, but when his true nature comes out he is so sweet and awesome, and those are the moments worth having them for! Good luck!

I would say that your best bet would be to go get an ovulation test/kit. You can find them next to pregnancy test in any grocery store. This way you will know if you are ovulating, and if you are it will show you the best days for becoming pregnant on your own. If you find you are not ovulating you will then know and can decide at that time if you would like fertility help from your Dr. Medicine like Chlomid, which will help you out with ovulating so you may conceive.
Good luck, relax and enjoy trying to make that baby!

Something to increase your fertility is increasing your soy intake. Soy is good for a lot of woman's health concerns. I have a wonderful DVD that explain a lot about woman and child health. If you are interested in getting one send me a message and I can get that to you.

Just curious - even with your regular cycle before the pill, do you KNOW that you were ovulating? The pill may or may not be the culprit here.

My experience is very different - I've always had very irregular periods. I took the pill for a year, and things were great but as soon as I went off it, I started being irregular again (imagine trying to get pregnant, be 2 weeks late, then get your period. aargh!). Finally, I took a prgestin pill for the first 5 days of each calandar month, to regulate my period, and got pregnant in about 3 months.

Then I got the shot (depo) after baby #1 and never got my period back. Finally went on the pill to get it back, took it for less than 6 months, then got preg 3 months after quitting.
Again, after baby 2, no period till after I was done nursing and tried a low-dose pill (very irregular) then back on the regular pill for a few months before deciding to try for #3. Pregnant in less than 3 months after quitting the pill.

My point in all this is that, sometimes our body reacts differently to the pill (and other contraceptives) than somebody else. It doesn't mean that we are 'broken' or that there's anything wrong with the pill. You may want to ask your doctor about natural remedies to help you ovulate (or look up a nurse-midwife - she may know some great things too). But I would avoid fertility drugs unless you KNOW that you're not ovulating and that there isn't another option. Sometimes it just takes time for our body to get in sync. Be patient for a few months. Things could easily work themselves out.

Like many of the ladies said, Taking charge of your Fertility is a GREAT book. It outlines perfectly how to temp to see if you are indeed ovulating. Another avenue you may want to try is taking Vitex, it's an herb that helps with leveling out those hormones correctly. It comes in a fertility blend vitamin, or you can buy it by itself. Theyhave it at GNC an such. my 1st was conceived on Clomid, and my 2nd and 3rd were big surprises, so now that we are trying for #4 my doc wants to give it a bit to be sure it't not just my body getting all the birth control out of my systerm rather than the infertility issues again, so I've been taking vitex hoping to start a regular cycle. I have seeral friends who have had success with that, and using evening primrose oil, and natural progersterone cream

I would recommend reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. It will help you understand your cycle, as well as teach you how to chart to find out if you ARE ovulating. THe charting is very unseful in getting pregnant, as well as just interpreting your cycle. Good luck!

I am also a jr. high teacher :) I agree with pp that mentioned the book, Taking Charge of you Fertility. So many of us rely on pills to help us prevent pregnancy and then expect it to happen right away. I was like that also and was frustrated when my body was confused when I stopped taking bc after 2 1/2 years.

I also recommend charting your basal temperature. That will tell you if you are ovulating or not. fertilityfriend.com can help get you started and give you great details of how to do it correctly. I was surprised to learn that I ovulate around day 20 of my cycle rather than 7-14 which they say is average. The point is we are all different and just because it doesn't happen right away doesn't mean we need to jump on Clomid.

Good Luck figuring out your body and getting pregnant.