stopping the pill

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
stopping the pill
5
Mon, 03-22-2004 - 3:11pm
hey everyone...

i need some advice...

i've been on the pill for 9 months now. its been going really well.. this is my first time at it, and i really like it. i know exactly when im gonna get my period and it shortened it, period used to be 7 days or so, now its only 4 - 5 days.... the thing is, my boyfriend is asking me to stop taking the pill because he wants to have a baby. i dont have a problem with having a baby, but i just kinda dont want to stop taking the pill cuz of the advantages. im afraid that if i stop, my period is going to go back to the long 7 days, and when i first starting the pill, for the whole first month, i was bleeding. then it stopped and started again 2 weeks later... i was so frustrated. now its more regular, what if i stop the pill and i start bleeding like that again? i gotta go through all that again?

has anyone stopped taking the pill and had good results? i know everyone's difrerent, but i just want to know what other has experienced.

thanks...

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2003
Mon, 03-22-2004 - 5:00pm
I feel wonderful off of the pill! My periods are short, my cycles are long. Before the pill my cycles were long, my periods were long, and I had horrid cramps... I don't get cramps these days (I also had cramps & mood swings on the pill), and my moods are reasonably stable. However, I was on the pill for nearly 10 years, so who knows how much my body would have changed on its own in that time. And, every woman's body reacts differently!

NOT that it is any of my business, but have you considered talking about marriage BEFORE you start trying to have a baby?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-29-2003
Tue, 03-23-2004 - 6:57am
I quit the pill last Aug and have never felt better! I lost weight, have more energy and my mood is great. My periods are about 26 days apart with 2-3 days of spotting and 2-3 days of an actual period.

The thing is, when you get pregnant you wont have to worry about your period because you wont have one till about a month after the baby is born and even later if you breastfeed! The only thing you dont know is how long it will take you to get pregnant. Some get pregnant the first month off the pill, some up to a year. Best of luck! ~Josie
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2003
Tue, 03-23-2004 - 7:17am
peekkaboo ~

When I stopped taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen, I didn't have any problems. My periods were still shorter, which was super nice! I was off the pill for about 3 years and didn't have any problems; now I'm back on and things are still ok.

~heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-27-2004
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 10:45am
peekkaboo-

I was on the pill for about 2.5 yrs and stopped about 3 months ago. My periods have been late, but short. My last period I spotted for a couple of days, and then had my period for maybe one day. I guess it takes a while to get back to your normal cycle. Anyways, the worst thing for me after stopping the pill is that I got bad acne on my face and it took almost 2 months for the worst of it to disappear. I haven't had acne since I was a teenager, so it was a difficult situation to get use to.

Good Luck,

iswgirl

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Wed, 03-24-2004 - 2:36pm
hi, just wanted to let you know i had the same problems as you did prior to starting the pill (ortho try) and i tested the theory by stopping my pill for one month. i had HORRIBLE cramps my first cycle off BCP but i was highly irregular prior to starting the BCP and a month after i stopped the pill my period started all on its own.....but of course with bad bad cramps, but still the same cycle length of 4-5 days. test it and if it continues maybe your doc can give you some meds to soothe your pain, i will definitely have to ask for some when i decide to go off BCP and start TTCing :) GOOD LUCK!