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Experiences of coming off the pill

Hi,



I took my final pill yesterday (although still technically -on the pill' until the end of the 7 day break I guess). I have to say, how happy I was taking my last pill! It felt like a momentous occasion!!



However I'm now a bit nervous about what to expect. I'm trying to remember what my cycle was like before the pill. How did I know when AF was coming?! With the pill it's so easy and happens the same day every month! I'm a bit worried that AF won't happen for months, and I will have to be constantly prepared in case it creeps up on me!



Does anyone have any experiences of coming off the pill that they can share?



Thanks!
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Replies

  • Hi mo,



    The simple answer is unfortunately that there is no simple answer!



    It is different from pill to pill and woman to woman. I came off the pill after 16 years and first af was five weeks. It was another nine weeks until the second, and for the third, well that's anyone's guess!



    For some ladies it all kicks in like clockwork and for others they wait months. As hard as it is, you just have to try not to get hung up on it, because that certainly won't help. Just see what happens, and if you don't have a regular period within six months see your gp. In some areas they may prescribe something to kick start af or do blood tests sooner, but from what I can gather, six months is usually the earliest.



    Hope you get a nice regular af (or indeed a bfp) soon.



    Good luck image
  • Like mentioned above it will all come down to what pill you were on & how quickly your own body adjusts to life without it.



    I stopped taking the pill 'celeste' 4mths before conceiving DD1. My 1st AF occured as a light flow lasting 5days roughly 4-5wks post pill, the 2nd happened 3wks after that but was a lot heavier & lasted 8 days, the 3rd arrived 4wks later not quite so heavy & again 8days & my final flow before pregnancy arrived 28days later, heavy & again 8days.



    I will say that I was one of the lucky ones getting a 'cycle' pattern fairly quickly, others can take months so be patient & discuss any concerns with your GP.



    Best wishes & good luck.
  • I was on cilest for 4/5 years. took final pill and had withdrawal bleed and was pg before first real af! now have a wonderful 1 yr old and back on cilest! so be prepared that it is definitely different for each woman and each pill. good luck xxx
  • Hey

    I came off the pill in December 2010. I was on Yasmin, I had been on it for 13years I am now 28. I got my first period in the middle of Jan 2011 which was great as the doctor told me it could be a couple of months before it came.

    By Feb I was pregnant! So it happened really quickly for me. Isabelle was born 19th oct 2011. I honestly thought it might take up to a year to get pregnant. So you just never know.

    Good luck!

    Annie
  • Thanks everyone for all the comments! I'm on microgynem. I guess I will have to just wait and see and be patient!
  • I would definitely echo those saying watch out - it can happen quickly!



    It's different for everyone, but I was really lucky. Came off the pill in October 2010 and thought we'd give my cycles 6 months to settle down before TTC. Had first period 28 days after withdrawal bleed and settled in to 28-29 day cycle straight away. Then started TTC in May and got pregnant first month. As someone said above, I honestly thought it would take about a year to get pregnant.



    Sat here now the size of a baby elephant and 31+1 weeks pregnant! :lol:
  • I've not long ago come off microgynon30 so no guarantee, as the other ladies have said, that you'll have the same experience but thought I'd post to let you know. Like you it felt like a big deal to stop taking it!!!



    Basically I stopped taking it at the start of July after about 3-4 years on it and after my last 7 day 'break' my first cycle was 40 days long. As you mentioned, it seemed like forever to be waiting for it to arrive. The second was 30 days, the third was 30 days, the fourth was 28 days.



    I was starting to think I'd fallen into a regular pattern but I'm now on my fifth cycle since coming off the pill and I'm waiting for AF (day 34 and nothing but tested twice and not pregnant according to those). My cycles before the pill were usually quite long. I've been told I have polycystic ovaries so that might account for it but I'm hopeful I'm ovulating as I did use one of those ovulation tests last month and I did experience a LH surge on one day.I'm now wondering whether the fact that I've been trying to lose weight over the past couple of months (just a stone so nothing dramatic) has effected them too.



    The main difference for me has been that my periods being now proper periods, ie heavier so be a bit more prepared than you might be for a bleed on the pill. I have to say that quite a few people have also told me about how quickly they've got pregnant after coming off the pill and, if I'm very honest, I'm a tiny bit disappointed that I've not been one of them yet but I keep telling myself that it is early days and maybe we just need to be a bit better at our timing :lol: given that my cycles are irregular lengths.



    Good luck with trying!!! x
  • Hi

    I was on microgynon for 8 years then came off it ttc. I fell pregnant that first month. With my second baby I came off the same pill and conceived the second month of trying. Hopefully it will be the same the third time round!



    Good luck. x
  • Hi everyone!



    Thanks for all the replies!



    We are now as off January officially ttc (as this is when we discussed).



    So far things seem to be going ok with my cycle. I came off at the beginning of December, and what would have been my 7 day break ended on 7th December. On 23rd and 24th December I had pains which I remembered I used to get around the time I ovulated and changes in CM, and I was sure I was ovulating. I took one of those cheap tests and was negative on 23rd and 24th, but on the 25th it was positive!



    So if I did ovulate on this date I am hoping AF will arrive end of this week or next week. (I will be well prepared! Thank you Devonbride!)



    Am I right to think that If I ovulated, AF will definitely arrive around 2 weeks later? Or could it still be a long wait?



    I've been taking BBT each morning and since when I think I ovulated (confirmed by the cheap test) my temps have been erratic! Zig-zagging from 36.24 down to 35.95 then up to 36.24 and again down to 35.89 and continuing similar! It was the highest today at 36.6. Wondering if it may stay high now!



    It is so strange that I am looking forward to AF arriving!
  • hi,i took my last pill yesterday as me and partner want to ttc, ive heard some horror stories about ttc on cerezette and i just need some advice about how long to come off it for before trying, we obviously would love to start straight away but im scared!! please help.

    this will be our first time ever for both of us
  • Hi!

    I am on microgynon at tho moment and have been for nearly 10 years. Although we're not TTC for a good while yet I wanted to come off the pill as I'm feeling so worked up and stressed out on it. Speaking to a few friends who also felt the same on microgynon I have decided to come off earlier than planned. I am on my 7 day break at the moment then taken one more strip and stopping! I am however so nervous about not knowing exactly when it's all going to happen!! It's so nice being able to plan your 7 day break. Glad I'm not the only one who feels like this!!



    Good luck with everything Mo!

  • Hi ladies,



    I too have recently stopped taking the pill (Femodette) after 15 years on various bcps, so we can start TTC. Am waiting for AF to arrive, only been 4 weeks so may be any day now. It's nice to know that everyone has different experiences so not to worry if things happen slower (or faster!) than you may initially think!



    Good luck to everyone TTC! x
  • Hi Miniegg27 and Cheska8



    Good luck to both of you coming off the pill!



    I heard a lot of horror stories, but just to give you some hope, I came off the pill and am on my 2nd cycle now, and everything is working like clockwork! I was quite prepared to have a difficult time, but it all seems to be going really well.



    We are ttc now and I'm in the dreaded 2 week wait, which is horrible. Every day I'm thinking, -could I be pregnant?'. But I have to wait a few more days until my AF is due to find out.



    I hope both of you have a stress-free time coming off the pill!
  • Thanks Mo!



    I'm expecting things to take a little time to get going again, especially with being on the pill for so long. But hopefully it won't take too long.



    Good luck for this month, fingers crossed for you! Hope the remaining days fly by for you so you can find out.
  • So I took my last pill yesterday image !! On my 7 day break now then I'll be all natural!! Scary!!!!!



    How's it going for everyone else?? X
  • I stopped taking Microgynon at the end of January after being on the pill for about 12 years. Had the normal withdrawal bleed, and my first period started today, 30 days after day one of the withdrawal bleed. Feeling very lucky that it seems to have happened normally and fingers crossed it stays that way. Good luck all who are still waiting - it really must be rare to look forward to af! xx
  • Hi everyone! I hope all goes well for you! I've found out i'm pregnant after only 2 months of ttc. I came off the pill and my body was like clockwork! Hope it's the same for you all!
  • Huge congratulations Mojacobs and h&h 9 months x
  • YAY congratulations Mo!!! XXX
  • i have never used contraceptive pills and i am 39 years old. I am thinking of start using microgynon pills. one month. do you think if stopped i can get pregnant?

    i have a normal cycle of 28 days.

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