Using the Pill at a Young Age, Does It Cause Infertility Later? Problems?

Well, I didn't have periods for five years as a teenager due to an eating disorder, then I went on the Pill at 20 and stayed on it until 38. The month I went off it, I got pregnant... The Pill should not affect fertility later. If a person has infertility problems, they would have had them whether they took the pill or not.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/sfeature/sf_qanda_prese...

"Does the Pill affect later fertility?

Though ovulation may be delayed when a woman first stops taking oral contraceptives, there is no evidence that long-term fertility is affected. In fact, there is some evidence that women who have never been pregnant and use the Pill will have a lower risk of infertility later on. Women who have irregular periods and fail to ovulate before starting oral contraceptives may continue to have this problem after stopping the Pill."

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I started the pill at 16 and was on it for most of the time for 15 years. I had a few breaks in between (never more than a few months) and returned to a regular cycle immediately. I ultimately got pregnant on the pill at 31 (forgot to take it ONCE, yes, only one pill and I doubled up when I noticed), so I can probably say that it had no effect on my fertility at all.

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I started taking the pill around age 18 and was pregnant within two months of coming off it after ten years. I think they are lower doses than they used to be. I do like the pill since I always knew when my period was coming and it was lighter, the main reasons I started taking the pill.

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I started taking the pill at 13 to control really heavy periods, and took it until I decided to try to get pregnant at 25. I conceived two weeks after I stopped the pill. After my son was born I went back on the pill until it was time for baby number two. I got pregnant six weeks after stopping the pill the second time. I'm not sure if this is common, it was just my experience.

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I went on the pill at 14 (for anemia... I had no idea what sex was) and stayed on until 31. Got pregnant two months later, so no infertility issues here.

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I went on the Pill at 18 and went off the Pill at 28 to get pregnant... two weeks after stopping the Pill PREGGERS! I asked my doctor this question too and he said that there is no impact on long-term fertility. If you were "regular" before going on the Pill, you will be "regular" immediately after stopping and vice versa.

My sister was put on the Pill at 15 by her OBGYN b/c of some moderate medical issues. Went off the Pill at 27- pregnant a month later.

It's a synthetic hormone that your body metabolizes like anything else. When you go "off" of it, there isn't a "residual" level of hormone once the body has metabolized it within a few days.

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T., it would be best for the teens you are talking about to talk to their own healthcare providers about this rather than asking this question here. It's not like they don't have to have a prescription for the pill - they have to be seen by the doc to make sure that they are healthy enough for the pill.

For girls who end up with problems like endometriosis, the pill can actually preserve fertility.

Please send these girls to their doctors instead of finding out medical info from non-medical people.

D.

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I had really irregular periods thru my entire teen years, went on the pill at 21 or 22 and stayed on it till I was in my 30's and we decided to try to get pregnant. I got pregnant immediately! And after i had my son I had a regular, predictable cycle. It should not affect fertility later on. If you have fertility problems, you have them. The pill shouldn't have a long-term affect on that.

But make sure the teens that are asking understand how the pill works, how it is to be taken and that certain meds-antibiotics-affect the how effective they are.

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I started the pill at 14 years old. There was a history of female problems and the doctor said that he wanted me on a regular cycle to attempt to prevent problems in the future. I was also sexually active at a young age (nothing to do with being on the pill). I didn't start trying to have a baby until I was 27. I stopped taking the pill at 26. I haven't ever had to really "try" to get pregnant - it just happened when I stopped trying to prevent it all 3 times.

I would guess that the amount of "messing" with your system depends a lot on the particular form of the pill they are put on. There are many different ones out there. They need to talk to their doctor about it. As embarrassing as it may seem, the doctors talk about this stuff every day and they are surely not the only teenagers asking about the pill! Also, please remind them that just because they are on the pill does NOT mean they can stop using condoms!

Oh, and I HIGHLY recommend that ALL girls read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". I wish someone had handed me that book when I was a teenager. It will help them to understand all the ways that their "cycles" affect their lives, emotions, & how to deal with it all.

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I had been on the pill since I was 17 (never went off them).... At 32, I stopped the pills on a Sunday - TWO weeks later I got pregnant! I know its Different for Everyone, but just wanted to tell you about my situation with it.

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I started taking BC when I was 16 and was on it until I was 23. I was off of it for about a year before I became pregnant. We were not truly "trying" though. It just happend. I have been pregnant 3 times since stopping birth control, so no issues here.
The county health department or local Planned Parenthood is a great resource for and obtaining birth control and safe sex information. I would direct them there.

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I used Ortho-try-cyclin from the time I was 14 (due to endometrosis and irregular periods) until 18 then switched to a different birth control pill, started TTC at 20 yrs old, it took 5-6 months to get pregnant. After I had my daughter, I used the Depo shot for 3 cycles (9 months) and switched to the mini pill because I was still breast feeding but once my daughter was weaned at 13 months, so after 4 months of the mini-pill, I switched to the Nuva ring and had used that for 7 years and stopped using that in Dec of 2010 and have been TTC again (at 28) with no luck yet. I don't know if it has anything to do with being on birth control at a younger age or the fact that I started having periods at 9 or maybe I'm just not going to ever get pregnant.

I read this article a few weeks ago and found the info interesting... Whether or not people agree with all of what this doctor says, making an informed decision is important for all women. You will have to scroll down a bit to get his comments.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/0...

I've been on and off of the pill since I was 12 (I'm almost 29) and I have two kids; I wasn't even trying to get pregnant when I got pregnant.

I went on the pill at a young age (13 or 14) due to severe menstrual cramps to where I would miss 2 or more days of school every month. It was hereditary for me...my grandmother and mother both suffered. I have had 2 kids and got pregnant within 2 months of being off the pill. I have had no adverse effects of being on the pill at an early age. I am actually still on the pill....after having my last child, I now suffer from menstrual migraines. Now I only get my period 2 times a year!

NO way! I was on birth control since the age of 14 (endometriosis) and at 22 (after being on constantly all those years) I was off for a week and got pregnant with my little girl. And that's after being told I'd not be able to have kids on my own. Then i was on Mirena between her birth and march and I was off mirena for a day and bam, baby in my tummy.

nope n im a mother of 6 n i started on the pill at 16. I also was told i was going to be not able to have kids becuase i took the pill from 16 to 22. they was wrong never had any type of medical procedure to be pregnant either all natural

I started the pill at 16. When I went off at 29 to have my first I got pregnant within 3 months. For number 2 I was on the pill for a year and got pregnant within 2 months. So for me it did not effect me it seems, though I am sure everyone is different.

I was on the pill from 16-30 nonstop. When I did go off of it to get pregnant, I had no problems and conceived 2 cycles afterwards. I went back on when my daughter was 3 months old and went off when she was 14 months. Again, had no problems and conceived again after only 2 cycles.

I cant tell you if it does or doesn't my sister in law was only able to conceive on the pill there is no explanation why this happened. I have a niece and a nephew now she did not get pregnant while off the pill for 10 years then went on it and bang my niece off the for 4 years on them then my nephew. She ended up getting a hysterectomy a few years ago but no one is still able to explain why this happened. I was on it from 16 to 20 it took almost a year to conceive with my first son. Then I went back on it and was on it till I was almost 30 my second son was conceived on the pill. No I didn't miss any. What I did find out a few years later is a doctor told me the way my uterus was tilted I shouldn't have children at all. Everyone is different Planned Parent Hood in Michigan is great go with the girls if they would like or make sure they have a list of questions they want to ask. Only the person taking them can make the decision to honestly take them. There is no saying what messes with your reproductive system and in this day and age with so many hormones and chemicals in the food/water supply NO one can say it is one thing or another.

I started the Pill when I was 17 for irregular menstrual cycles. I went off the Pill when I was 24 to try for a baby. I was pregnant within 6 months. After we had our daughter in April, I was pregnant again in November (oops, but a happy oops). So no reproductivity issues for me!

I never used the pill or any hormonal BC's as a teen or an adult I truly believe that it does eventually mess with your fertility.

I started on the pill at age 13 due to being on accutane. I stayed on it until I wanted to get pregnant. My doc had kind of brought up that I might want to go off of it for a while the year before we got pregnant since I had been on it for so long. I was on the pill for 12 years. I stopped taking my pill last week in January and I was pregnant by the end of March. I really just think everyone's body is different and if you are a healthy person, not doing anything that could hamper you getting pregnant ie. smoking, doing drugs, and it has been shown being morbidly obese could hamper your success at getting pregnant.
Good luck keep at it and just remember trying should be fun and not stressful.

I don't know if it does or not.

I can tell you that each one of my daughters and DILs that took the pill before they decided to have kids had problems having kids (getting pregnant). My wife never took the pill. She had no problems getting pregnant.

Good luck to you and yours.