Effects of going off birth control??

[KatieMK]

Hello! FIRST POST EVER! Hooray!

(side note: is there a thread going over all the acronyms on this site?? I can't find one! I think I've got most figured out, but it would be SO HELPFUL)

Just wrapped up our first month TTC. I think. Took a test in what I assume is a safe number of days from O and got a BFN, but no AF yet. It should be showing up Saturday, if my numbers are right. Here's the thing, though... I've been on the pill for so long, I'm not exactly certain that my natural cycles will mirror what they were. And we only went one month using alternative methods so I'm not sure I know if things have "normalized" or not, or if they need to. Anyone have any insight on this?

I DO know that the minute I stopped taking the pill, I blew up like a balloon! SO BLOATED. Which is a common pregnancy symptom, so I'd like my body to adjust so that I don't have to wonder "is this not-taking-the-pill" bloat, or baby-bloat?" Does anyone know if that's normal? Are there "withdrawal" symptoms of going off the pill?

I'm so glad I found this site. This whole process strikes me as a little bit lonely if you're keeping the fact that you're trying quiet.

 

[xLottiex]

Hey... welcome!!

I'm quite new too we are on cycle#2 TTC baby#1. Last cycle we were NTNP (not trying not preventing) but this cycle we have been using OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) and I've been charting my BBT (basal body temperature)

I came off the pill 2 years ago and I have put on a stone since but in that time we have moved into our own house (doing our own food shopping has been dangerous lol) but I cant remember becoming bloated straight away. I was on Microgynon30 for 4 years. They do say its a symptom from coming off the pill though. So is this your first cycle off the pill?? Baby #1? I'd love to hear more!

I agree it can be quite lonely when TTC and no one knows... there is only so much our other halves can take in afterall!

 

[KatieMK]

Ohhh... BBT's a new one! Thanks!

Well, my butt has LITERALLY doubled in width in two months, which could be partly due to the holidays, but LORD I hope not. I guess the situation is really forcing me to concentrate on treating my body better which can only be a good thing for growing a baby. It better also be a good thing for shrinking my butt.

My husband (DH? OH?) and I were married this past September, and this is #1 for us. We're still in cycle #1, but I'm just waiting for AF to show at this point to start cycle #2. And we're definitely not at a point where I want to tell him I'm so bloated I fart all day and then ask him to whisk me off to bed and make a baby. I'm hopeful we won't ever be at that point, actually!

 

[xLottiex]

Haha oh god the christmas holidays are also dangerous!! We have SO much chocolate left we could last 20 years I'm sure!! Forget human baby its all a food baby lol.

OH -other half
DH -dear/darling husband.
It takes me longer to put capital letters on my phone than it does to type 'husband' lol so I'll just stick with that!!

Do you recon you could be pregnant now? Did you track your ovulation in any way? Do you know how many dpo you are? (days past ovulation)

We kinda went 'at it' a bit too early this cycle and by the time I got a positive OPK my poor husband had had enough. He said thats my lot for the month! This was on CD21 (cycle day) I got a +OPK so assuming I ovulated CD22. I think we could have caught the egg???

I'm 7dpo and i feel AF is on her way !

How old are you and where are you from if you dont mind me asking??

I'm 23 from North East England

 

[crazycatlady5]

I experienced the same thing a few months ago, I came off bcp (birth control pill) in sept and had been on it for nearly a decade! Had tonnnnnes of symptoms and was so confused!

Bloated the whole month, crampy terrible stomach. My skin was the worst it's ever been in my life, I never ever get/got pimples, not even as a teenager, and I must have got 5 or 6 that cycle, my breasts changed as well and I got headaches.

It seemed like a lot if the symptoms from coming off the pill were similar to pregnancy symptoms to me, which I found confusing and annoying.

Hope that helps!

 

[KatieMK]

Thanks Cat! That DOES help. I've been trolling around through the threads on these forums over the past few days, and I think I've decided that I'm going to try and control my anticipation until I get some hormone-induced symptoms. Right now, symptom spotting is kind of fun, but just in case I'm in this for the long haul, I want to pace myself! Which basically means I'll be paying a lot of attention to my boobs and stomach I guess! LUCKILY I've started to feel like my bloating is starting to subside over the past couple of days, so that should help too.

Lottie, I'm not "tracking" per se... no OPKs or BBT for me, but I'm tracking days and paying attention to my body. Since I really JUST came off BCP, I'm paying lots of attention to when my cycles start/end, and trying to pay attention to any cramping in the in-between times. I'm not sure if they will change as my body normalizes, and since a difference in the length would effect my O date, determining my cycle length is my priority right now. The cycle started Dec. 20 for me, so I would anticipate AF to come again Jan 17. Going by the textbook would mean I O'd Jan 3, but I'm fairly certain I O'd Dec 30. I tested Jan 13, which would be in the 10-14 DPO range I guess. I'll probably wait to test until I miss a period in the future, but this was the first chance for me and I wanted to. PLUS, DH and I are headed to California to visit family tomorrow, and we're supposed to go wine tasting. Thought I'd better check and see if I'd be OK to do that!

I suppose there's always a chance I COULD be pregnant since no AF yet, but I really doubt it this cycle. If she still hasn't arrived by early next week, I'll sneak out to the store and get another test to be sure. DH is really enjoying the process of TTC, so if I'm not, it's not because we didn't do what we were supposed to! I can't believe your OH told you he'd had enough! He better learn to pace himself!

We're are in our thirties, and live in Maine in the US. I'm just 33, so I'm a little anxious to get things going here. Tick tock!

 

[crazycatlady5]

Sounds similar to me, it's our third cycle, I'm still not using opks or temping. If still a bfn the maybe next cycle. I finally feel like things are going back to normal this cycle. I had ovulation symptoms this time and hadn't before so I'm not sure if I oed my first two cycles off. So I'm either 6 dpo or 10 dpo based on that. I've had really long cycles so far. Dh and I are both 29, but we want to have a few kids so also feeling a bit of time pressure.

 

[Buttermere]

Hi all... I came off of BC (microgycon30) in July after 8 years of being on the pill religiously...i was always so regular before coming off the pill and before going on to it and since then its taken probably four cycles for my periods to go back to the 27/ 28 day cycle! we used protection for the first month and then had december off so it has been a not trying but not preventing method until this month where we've every other day leading up to and including my fertile window! But I don't know for definite if i ovulated or not as i'm not tracking... other than listening to my body and checking my cervix and cm! only difference this month is that i've had cramps on day 20 with a single spot of brown and lots of white cm! but still unsure whether this is my body's still getting used to periods again!? Good luck to everyone trying- when are you all planning to test? Xxxx xxxc

 

[Trying4first1]

Hey. I came off birth control at the end of July last year. I must say tha first few months you will have every pregnancy symtoms going. I was so moody too it was horrendous! I think it's the effects of coming off the pill. Obviously some women are lucky and do actually become pregnant. The month I fell pregnant I had hardly any symtoms compared to normal. Unfortunately that ended in an early MC and I am still ttc, but it's only cycle 2 since my MC. Hang in there ladies, I would say I was back to normal after 3 months

 

[littlelily]

Hello lovely ladies, so glad I found this thread. I am finishing my pill up this month and then just waiting to see how my body is off it. Nice to see some advice. Keep us posted

 

[crazycatlady5]

Good luck as you start to ttc little lily!