Questions about going off the pill??

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-16-2007
Questions about going off the pill??
5
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 4:00pm
Hello!
I am new here & hoping to get some insight :)
My last period was the end of November. Then I started a new pack of BC Dec. 3rd and only took it for 11 days (ending Dec 13th) because we decided we were ready to start trying to get pregnant. Right after going off, I had spotting for a few days. But since then, I have not had a period.... so it's been over 30 days...is this normal??Just curious how long it will take for my cycle to get back to normal. AND since I've not had a period yet, am I still ovulating? I started the ivillage fertility planner, but can't get anything accurate since I don't know my official cycle start date.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks!!

LMc.jpg picture by laurajmcpherson

preview image

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 9:07pm

Hi lala2012, welcome to the Birth Control board!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-22-2006
Wed, 01-17-2007 - 4:04pm

Hi. I, too am just finishing up my 1st month on BCPs. I figured my body should still be on a 28 day cycle,as it has been for so long. I was expecting my period, and eventually it did come- today, which would be 32 days after my last. Longer than I thought. That's the thing I am not likgin about being on the pill- the unpredictability

As Jill said, the Toni Weschler book is great. I just got it, and am learning so much that I feel i should have already known!

Good luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-16-2007
Thu, 01-18-2007 - 12:35pm

Buttercup...
Thanks so much for your input! I'm glad that your cycle finally started. I'm on CD35, which is counting from the first day of spotting since I went off my BCP's. So, I'm still anxious. I just want to have a regular cycle, so I can get onto better charting & hopefuly be pregnant soon! I never knew it would be this much work!

Thanks again~ Good luck to you too!

LMc.jpg picture by laurajmcpherson

preview image

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-12-2002
Fri, 01-19-2007 - 4:19am

Hi lala2012,

Because you stopped the pill mid-pack, your body is more confused than it would have been if you'd finished the pack first. Once your body works out what is happening, you will get your period. You can use this waiting time as an opportunity to work out the basics of charting your fertile signs. You will know when you have ovulated, because the software will tell you, but you will get a jump in temperature that is followed by high temps until your next period. If you don't ovulate for a while, you may find that you have an anovulatory bleed first, due to the lining building up, and then things should start coming right after that.

If you had irregular cycles before going on the pill, these will come back, and you will have to find out the cause of your irregular cycles if you want to achieve pregnancy relatively quickly.

Your first cycle day will be the first day of full bleeding that you get. While there is nothing wrong with charting now, spotting is not counted as the start of a chart. Spotting can be used to identify issues in your cycle. If you spot for a day or two during the middle of your cycle, this is called ovulation bleeding, but if you spot early in your cycle, or later in your cycle, this can indicate a hormonal issue, especially if you spot for a few days before your period comes on full force. Charting will help your gyn, endocrinologist or fertility advisor to work out what might be going on.

Toni Weschler's "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" will clear up a lot of things for you, so you should read this. It's easy reading, and you will feel more comfortable.

Also, you might want to follow me to the NFP/FAM Board in my siggie - the girls over there can give you a lot of advice about charting your cycles, for both conceiving and avoiding pregnancy.

I'm not sure if you can share links to your cycle from the iVillage fertility advisor or not, there may be an option to allow people to view - if you can give us a link, this can help us girls at NFP/FAM to tell you what we think is going on with your cycle, and help put your mind at ease a little :).


 


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 01-16-2007
Fri, 01-19-2007 - 9:16am
xploziv1,
Thank you so much for your help! I will log into my fertility chart & see if there is an option to post it. If I can figure it out, I'll go over to your other board and post it.
Thanks again~

LMc.jpg picture by laurajmcpherson

preview image