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Stopped birth control pill

edited Oct 17, 2019 7:02AM in Trying to conceive
Hey everyone! I gave birth to my son years ago, two years ago I had an abortion (due to abuse from a stranger). Since the abortion my periods were regular but always contained tissue. I was on the pill for six months, stopped the pill mid-pack (after the first three pills) On Sept 15, had withdrawal bleeding three days later which lasted Sept 18-23; then had unprotected sex with my husband from that day onwards every day until Oct 8. Oct 10 I started to spot brown discharge, there seemed to be a little tissue in it but I’ve always had some tissue coming out ever since my abortion two years ago. The spotting went on for 5 days, intermittent, there was never a flow, sometimes it stopped all together for many hours, even a whole day, and then returned, but it never came out on its own, only when I used the toilet, and only a little bit, only one day had a bit more reddish blood. Then it stopped for two days and now, four weeks since the beginning of my withdrawal bleed, the spotting started again, but this time there is no tissue, it is brown and watery, very little, and has already stopped for several hours. This entire time I only had very mild cramping and twinges in my very lower abdomen, mostly on the right side, but since yesterday all over. At first I thought these are AF cramps but they didn’t get stronger like they usually do when I’m on my period. Since I have been pregnant twice before, I recognized many symptoms of pregnancy. I feel extremely nauseous, my breast are tender but not really sore, but feel heavy and big. I feel dizzy, have intense food cravings, am unusually moody and weepy, lower backaches and crampy, slightly pulsating lower abdomen. The only difference between this and my last pregnancy is that my breasts are a bit less sore now. I understand that my hormones must be whacked up since I stopped taking the pill but according to some pregnancy apps I must have ovulated around Oct 6-8. Now it’s Oct 17, took a pregnancy tests this morning and it was a BFN, very disappointing. During my last pregnancy I took the test around this time and it was positive. Of course at that time I wasn’t stopping the pill. If it wouldn’t be for the spotting that has been going on for like 7-8 days on and off and of course the BFN I could swear I am pregnant. My doctor also told me before that I am extremely fertile, my first pregnancy was conceived within the first cycle of trying, and the second that ended in abortion was conceived right after my period ended. Sorry for the long story but it’s kind of a unusual circumstance. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Is there still a chance that I might be pregnant? Thank you all so much! I’m extremely nervous, I wish so much to have this child. 

Replies

  • There is a chance you could be pregnant, but unfortunately apps can’t predict ovulation, especially after you just stopped the pill. I stopped my BC in June after finishing a whole pack and started using OPKs and I didn’t ovulate until 20 days later. It’s hard to say when you ovulated without using OPK or BBT since you just came off BC. In my research when I stopped, I also read that stopping a pack mid-pack can take longer for your body to regulate as opposed to stopping at the end of a pack. Since you got a bfn, I would wait maybe a week and see what happens and test again. All those symptoms you described are symptoms I got the first month I came off the pill too while my hormones were all crazy from coming off the pill. I will keep my fingers crossed for you and I wish you the best of luck 🤞🏼
  • Thank you so much for your response Rachel. So with all of these similar symptoms did you end up being pregnant the first cycle after coming off the pill? My theory now is that maybe the spotting I experienced right around or before conception might have been something like a breakthrough bleeding or hormonal spike from having quit the pill a few weeks earlier. I hope it was not AF but I doubt it because I’ve never had a period like that in my entire life. It was way shorter and never a flow, sometimes it seemed to have stopped completely and then going to the toilet a little bit came out again. I put in a pad just in case but throughout those few days I didn’t have a single drop on the pad, it only came out when I peed and not every time. It was definitely not a normal period but in my prior two pregnancies I didn’t have any bleeding, only the cramps, the first one not even that cramps. The only reason I am suspicious about what it was is that I thought IB must be watery but it was a little gooey but no clots. And then of course the BFN...This makes me think that like you I might have ovulated later than usual due to coming off the pill. That would put me at around 12dpo now. It couldn’t be 11dpo because the day after the spotting started. So if this spotting was indeed not my period then I am already a few days late for my period now, but I guess it’s hard to tell since I just came off the pill. My last pregnancy occurred right after taking out a copper IUD but I didn’t have the spotting but I guess that’s also because there were no hormones involved. Unfortunately I can’t do a digital test now since I’m traveling in Taiwan and the only tests I could find have a sensitivity of 25. I hope I even did them correctly since it’s all I’m chinese. Anyways 10/18-19 I had very very little spotting, brown and this time watery, today 10/20 all spotting has completely stopped and I’m only feeling very mild twinges every now and then in my lower right abdomen. Nausea and dizziness are increasing big time. Oh dear!
  • I wasn’t pregnant my first month off, those symptoms I had were all because of stopping the pill. I was definitely convinced I was pregnant though! But AF came about 30 days after I stopped my pill. It is a big adjustment coming off BC for sure. My periods used to be very heavy, like 5 days of changing a tampon every 3 hours, but after coming off the pill, my periods were 2-3 days. About 1 day of flow and the other 2 days were just spotting when I wiped. Do you know when you may test again?
  • Maybe the spotting I had was my period after all??? It sure didn’t seem to be a period (color, flow, texture, amount, nothing like a period I’ve ever had and I’ve been on and off the pill several times over the years). I had that for a few days then it stopped and the last couple days I had brown and light watery spotting which already stopped. Today puts me at around 40CD if that wasn’t a period. I took a test yesterday and it was negative again 😢. 
  • It could have been a crazy period if your tests are negative 😕 my periods were nothing like they were before BC once I stopped. Using ovulation kits is what helped me a lot. Maybe you could start taking those to see if you will ovulate soon
  • Still didn’t get a proper AF but I decided that I’m not pregnant this cycle because the last 2-3 days, two weeks after the first day of my crazy spotting, I felt quite some activity in my ovaries and then my CM was perfect egg whites, stretching over an inch between my fingers...haven’t seen that in a while. That’s when I realized I must be ovulating. Today not much ovary activity as far as I can tell. Took one last pregnancy test for the heck of it and it was of course negative. Today two weeks ago (the onset of the crazy bleed) was also the last time I had sex, then my man went overseas...and of course now that he is not here, I am ovulating. I think it’s highly unlikely at this point that I’m pregnant because even if I ovulated two weeks ago, which I thought I was then, now at 14dpo I should have at least a faint line or sore breasts, like I had in my previous pregnancy. I’m 99% sure I’m not pregnant but I will still refrain from medications and anything potentially harmful for the next couple of weeks until AF arrives. I am just amazed by the power of mind (and BC cold turkey) though; was convinced I am pregnant. Was on and off the pill several times over the years and never experienced pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, phantom implantation cramps and all of that. From this I really learned that symptoms don’t actually mean so much especially if there is wishful thinking. My husband is still convinced that I am pregnant because of my symptoms and absence of AF since the spotting I had a couple of weeks ago was really not like a period. We could have had sex without any mess at all. Now I feel silly because he doesn’t believe that I can tell when I’m ovulating and since I have all the symptoms, negative home pregnancy tests are not reliable. And I’m thinking the other way around now. Anyways I feel motivated to prepare my body well for my upcoming pregnancy, I’m positive that next year this time around we will have a little baby 
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