Going Off Birth Control

DH and I are planning on starting ttc in the later half of 2017.

I’m currently on the pill. My [name_m]SIL[/name_m] told me that the pill takes three months for the hormones to filter out of the body’s system.

I am of course going to consult my doctor, but I’m just wondering if her information is accurate. If anyone else went off the pill a bit earlier, knowing that it would take longer ttc?

That’s a good idea to consult your doctor to the time frame of how long it takes.

Everyone I know who took the pill had varying experiences with how long it took to get a period back. I took a pill for almost a year many many years ago. I did end up with a period the next month but I was was never regular or consistent for about a year after getting off of it.

I have friends who didn’t have any issues and went back to normal immediately. I think it’s more to do with your specific birth control, your body and the length of time you’ve been taking it so your doctor will have the best advice and info.

It can take months for your body to adjust to no longer taking the pill, not for the hormones to leave your body. Really, it varies from person to person. For some, their period takes months to get back on a normal schedule, for others, their schedule is never disrupted.

For me personally, it took two months to get pregnant with both of my children and in both cases, during the one month between when I got off the pill and when I conceived, my period arrived as scheduled. I have a friend who was off the pill for two weeks (she was moving at the same time her prescription ran out and didn’t refill it until they were all settled) and because she mistakenly thought that the hormones took time to leave her body, she and her husband had unprotected sex and she got pregnant.

It’s really the luck of the draw and you’re not going to know how your body will react until you’re off the pill.

I think it depends greatly on your body and the circumstances, but this was my experience- I was on the pill for 12 years, from the age of 16 to 28. I used Dianette for about half of that, then went straight onto [name_f]Yasmin[/name_f], which help with acne and are slightly different from other pills I believe. I was told by the doctor that as soon as you come off birth control that your body goes back to normal immediately, and for some people maybe it does; I’ve had friends who came off and became pregnant immediately. But it took at least a year for my body to get back to normal. First off, my acne went completely crazy, as if the hormones I had been blocking for years were suddenly rushing back and my body didn’t have a clue how to regulate them. I also had very sporadic periods in that year. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though we planned to ttc straight away, it was clear my body needed time to adjust. Exactly a year after I came off it, my body seemed to suddenly settle down and I became pregnant. I was later told by a fertility doctor friend of ours that, as a general rule of thumb, he reckoned it took a month for every year on the pill to get back to normal. That would be right for me- 12 years on the pill, 12 months to recover. To be honest, because I’d been told that the recovery should be immediate, I was completely freaking out about all the weird side effects I was having. I was sent for tests for PCOS and other hormone imbalances, and I was really worried. But then it all came good, I’ve had 2 smooth and successful pregnancies and my periods are regular now. I wish I’d had someone tell me that it can take time and there’s nothing to worry about!

Good luck with the ttc!

Thanks berries!

A friend of mine and I both got pregnant the first month off the pill, so while it can take time to become pregnant, it can also happen immediately even if you’ve been on the pill for more than a decade.

I’m currently on the pill myself, and have been for 6 months. I had a talk with my doctor when I started it about coming off of the pill when the time came, etc. and how long it takes for it to be effective. It depends on the strength of the dose and the length that you’re taking it for. Three months is the general rule of thumb though!