off birth control--What is my body doing

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-11-2006
off birth control--What is my body doing
3
Wed, 12-31-2008 - 6:03pm

OK, here are the facts:
End of November-period starts. Using Mirena IUD for 2 1/2 years, periods very light.
December 3-period has pretty much tapered off. I get my IUD removed. Bleed for a few days. Ovulate? Not sure. My cycle's always been irregular, so it's possible.
December 14-husband and I make love. Technically used protection, but (TMI, sorry but it matters) were not very careful during foreplay. Fertilization could have occured.
Around December 17-period starts again, just 2 weeks after the last ended! What's going on? Was definitely not just implantation bleeding. Lasted on and off through the 22, emotions everywhere, heavier than my periods had been on the IUD but not like they were before I got it in.
During the next week-occasionally notice something odd, like tendency to cry really easily, cramping, but brush it off because there's no way I could be pregnant-just had my period, I'm assuming I'm just on that post-IUD roller coaster.
December 28-husband and I make love, no protection
December 30-noticing mild nausea, fatigue, get tired and out of breath just putting my toddler to bed.
December 31-nausea continues, especially after eating, still fatigued (the same extreme kind I had last time I was pregnant), lower abdomen feels full and bloated, cramps especially on left side, lightheaded, some heartburn, out of breath just from walking through the snow.

What is going on? It doesn't seem like I could be pregnant, but I sure feel suspicious. Why did I have two periods so close together? When is my body going to be back to normal? Pre-IUD I had irregular cycles, but only once this close together, and I was under way more stress then. We got pregnant in one shot and on accident the first time, so I know we're very fertile. And while I had the IUD I had pregnancy symptoms pretty severely every few months before my period. But I just had my period, so if it was the same sort of thing they wouldn't be starting for another week. Arg! Similar experiences? Ideas, anyone?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-04-2004
Wed, 12-31-2008 - 6:45pm
If you had a very heavy period the odds are good that you're not pg, but you can always take a HPT to ease your mind. If you were on BC for over two years, it's probably just your hormones going back to normal. People don't often realize just what an impact BC has on the body. It can take several cycles for your body to get back into a groove. I would highly recommend charting your BBT. It will help you determine whether or not you've ovulated. If, after a few cycles, you notice a pattern of anovulation you can see your Dr about getting on some Clomid. Since you were so fertile I'm guessing that you'll be back to normal in no time. Just have some patience with your body while it adjusts. (I know, easier said than done!) Good luck. Baby dust!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-10-2005
Wed, 12-31-2008 - 7:18pm

I'm a post-Mirena TTCer.

Expecting

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-11-2006
Sun, 01-11-2009 - 9:42pm
So, I took a test the Friday after I first posted and wasn't pregnant, which I pretty much expected. But the symptoms did not go away. The pain in my side actually got worse. I made a doctors appointment for this Monday, but after lifting some heavy boxes on Friday I started getting bad pain in my back and side and had to go to the ER. Unfortunately, I had a lot of gas so they couldn't see my left ovary :P, but there was some free fluid in there and the doc's pretty sure I have a cyst. Turns out the nausea, dizziness, and breast pain I was experiencing are all symptoms of a cyst! This may also explain many of the "pregnancy sypmtoms" I would get while I had my IUD in. I always got them with that stabbing pain in my left side. Any doctors I talked to didn't want to makke a connection between the IUD and my symptoms, because those things aren't supposed to be side affects after the first few months of having the IUD. But cysts are. So now I know I wasn't crazy, which is nice. I'm going to go get looked at next week and get this thing figured out. Thanks for your help.