I had forgotten just how GOOD BC can be!!

[fisherofmengirly]

I just came off the pill, and after only taking it for a year and a couple of months, I had totally forgotten how painful cramping can be off of it. I''m hoping that the pain lessens as your body adjusts back to being off the hormones for a little longer. Someone please say it''s so. I''ve not been doubled over in pain in years; it was like high school all over again!!

 

[lumpkin]

Can you take ibuprophen? If you know your period is coming and you begin to feel the initial discomfort before the cramps really start, take double the dose of regular strength ibuprophen and it may help a lot. You may have to continue to take it the first half or full day of your period.

The other thing that helps is to drink a glass or cup of raspberry leaf tea (Natural Medicinals) a day during the week before your period is due to begin. I was really skeptical about this when a friend told me about it, but it does help when I remember to do it.

Sorry you have cramps. No fun.

 

[Sha]

Ouch!! Sounds painful!

Are you off BC to TTC already, or just to regulate your cycle?

I'm planning to go off in July - to HOPEFULLY TTC in October (anniversary). I'm really curious as to how my body willl change too. I don't even remember what my periods were really like before BC...even though I've only been on for about 2 1/2 years now. Unlike my friends though -I never had bad cramps or long periods...so I'm hoping it stays that way. One thing I'm looking forward to it losing weight. I gained a good 5 pounds on BC and my breasts went up a few cups - so I had to get a whole set of new clothes.

My mother can't wait for us to TTC and keeps dropping hints here and there. Yesterday she sent me an email about my BC - that she's heard it can affect the ovaries/reproductive function if you're on it for a while. She wanted me to check with the gynaecologist to be sure. I told her I hadn't heard of that but would do some research.

Does anybody know about this? Most articles I've read said that fertility should return within 1-3 months of stopping the pill. I was on another forum yesterday, though, and a girl mentioned research that show that the pill increases infertility by wearing away the lining of the uterus?

 

[dani13]

I have the worst periods EVER. 7 days of pain, cramping, and EXTREMELY HEAVY bleeding. I just couldnt take it anymore, so my doc started me on bcp a few yrs ago. I ended up stopping them after experiencing some annoying side effects though. Well, last yr, I started a new bcp that I LOVE....I feel so good on it, my periods are so nothing now, its so wonderful! I will not be stopping my bcp''s until a month or 2 before we start TTC, which wont be for quite awhile....I dread even having one regular period again....it was so horrible.

 

[Anastasia]

Date: 2/8/2008 9:29:36 AM
Author: Sha
Ouch!! Sounds painful!

Are you off BC to TTC already, or just to regulate your cycle?

I''m planning to go off in July - to HOPEFULLY TTC in October (anniversary). I''m really curious as to how my body willl change too. I don''t even remember what my periods were really like before BC...even though I''ve only been on for about 2 1/2 years now. Unlike my friends though -I never had bad cramps or long periods...so I''m hoping it stays that way. One thing I''m looking forward to it losing weight. I gained a good 5 pounds on BC and my breasts went up a few cups - so I had to get a whole set of new clothes.

My mother can''t wait for us to TTC and keeps dropping hints here and there. Yesterday she sent me an email about my BC - that she''s heard it can affect the ovaries/reproductive function if you''re on it for a while. She wanted me to check with the gynaecologist to be sure. I told her I hadn''t heard of that but would do some research.

Does anybody know about this? Most articles I''ve read said that fertility should return within 1-3 months of stopping the pill. I was on another forum yesterday, though, and a girl mentioned research that show that the pill increases infertility by wearing away the lining of the uterus?

Sha - I''m not sure of the statistics or medicine behind it, but I believe that you are fertile immediately after stopping the pill. Back when I was trying to get pregnant, they recommended using alternate BC for a few months after going off the pill, in order for your body to regulate, not because you aren''t fertile during that time.

I know I got pregnant with my third child IMMEDIATELY after stopping the pill!

 

[Sha]

Date: 2/8/2008 11:44:40 PM
Author: Anastasia

Date: 2/8/2008 9:29:36 AM

Author: Sha

Ouch!! Sounds painful!


Are you off BC to TTC already, or just to regulate your cycle?


I''m planning to go off in July - to HOPEFULLY TTC in October (anniversary). I''m really curious as to how my body willl change too. I don''t even remember what my periods were really like before BC...even though I''ve only been on for about 2 1/2 years now. Unlike my friends though -I never had bad cramps or long periods...so I''m hoping it stays that way. One thing I''m looking forward to it losing weight. I gained a good 5 pounds on BC and my breasts went up a few cups - so I had to get a whole set of new clothes.


My mother can''t wait for us to TTC and keeps dropping hints here and there. Yesterday she sent me an email about my BC - that she''s heard it can affect the ovaries/reproductive function if you''re on it for a while. She wanted me to check with the gynaecologist to be sure. I told her I hadn''t heard of that but would do some research.


Does anybody know about this? Most articles I''ve read said that fertility should return within 1-3 months of stopping the pill. I was on another forum yesterday, though, and a girl mentioned research that show that the pill increases infertility by wearing away the lining of the uterus?

Sha - I''m not sure of the statistics or medicine behind it, but I believe that you are fertile immediately after stopping the pill. Back when I was trying to get pregnant, they recommended using alternate BC for a few months after going off the pill, in order for your body to regulate, not because you aren''t fertile during that time.


I know I got pregnant with my third child IMMEDIATELY after stopping the pill!

Thanks, Anastasia.

That''s good to know. I guess we''ll use some alternative method (or maybe even nothing!-depends on how strict DH is) in July once we''re officially off BC. I can''t wait!

 

[diamondfan]

My doctor told me that you can go off and start trying immediately. Some people agree with this and some do not. I am not TTC anymore so I am not sure. I am back on the pill, even with having had a tubal, because my hormones are totally out of whack. I am not using it as birth control. There is a body of research on this I am sure. I was told the pill is not in your system that long once you stop it, but I recall still feeling better giving it a month or two to get my period on my own. Not really sure what the prevailing wisdom is today, since the pills are so different today.

 

[Sha]

Date: 2/9/2008 11:48:23 AM
Author: diamondfan
My doctor told me that you can go off and start trying immediately. Some people agree with this and some do not. I am not TTC anymore so I am not sure. I am back on the pill, even with having had a tubal, because my hormones are totally out of whack. I am not using it as birth control. There is a body of research on this I am sure. I was told the pill is not in your system that long once you stop it, but I recall still feeling better giving it a month or two to get my period on my own. Not really sure what the prevailing wisdom is today, since the pills are so different today.

Yeah, I think it''s best to wait until your body naturally regulates itself as well. I can''t remember what my natural periods are like. It''s been a while.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I stopped getting the Depo at the end of year after over a decade of being on it and I had cramps so bad I thought I was dying of some sort of internal disease before I figured out it was only my period again. Ack!!! (BTW, we are not TTC, I just did some more research and decided pumping my body full of steroids was probably a bad idea--too bad it took me 10+ years to figure that out, LOL... ) I don''t know what I''m going to do now long term but this whole menstral thing is not exactly a barrel on monkeys!!!

 

[Julianna]

Date: 2/8/2008 9:29:36 AM
Author: Sha
Ouch!! Sounds painful!

Does anybody know about this? Most articles I''ve read said that fertility should return within 1-3 months of stopping the pill. I was on another forum yesterday, though, and a girl mentioned research that show that the pill increases infertility by wearing away the lining of the uterus?

This is not true. The point of taking the pill (one of the points, I should say) is to make the blood lining of the uterus thinner so that there is less liklihood of 1. spotting and unexpected bleeding, and 2. something building up in the lining of the uterus that shouldn''t be there. That''s not a bad thing, it''s a good thing.

I''ve bugged every GYN I''ve ever had about longterm effects and infertility (I''ve been on the pill about 4 times longer than you) and they all give me the same answer: no proof. No evidence. Which is good because I''d jump right off the pill bandwagon if I thought for a second that it was hindering my chances later in life of conceiving. I guess it varies from person to person as to how long it takes before your body is like "woohoo let''s formulate a child here!!"

 

[Sha]

Date: 2/12/2008 2:33:26 PM
Author: Julianna

Date: 2/8/2008 9:29:36 AM
Author: Sha
Ouch!! Sounds painful!

Does anybody know about this? Most articles I''ve read said that fertility should return within 1-3 months of stopping the pill. I was on another forum yesterday, though, and a girl mentioned research that show that the pill increases infertility by wearing away the lining of the uterus?

This is not true. The point of taking the pill (one of the points, I should say) is to make the blood lining of the uterus thinner so that there is less liklihood of 1. spotting and unexpected bleeding, and 2. something building up in the lining of the uterus that shouldn''t be there. That''s not a bad thing, it''s a good thing.

I''ve bugged every GYN I''ve ever had about longterm effects and infertility (I''ve been on the pill about 4 times longer than you) and they all give me the same answer: no proof. No evidence. Which is good because I''d jump right off the pill bandwagon if I thought for a second that it was hindering my chances later in life of conceiving. I guess it varies from person to person as to how long it takes before your body is like ''woohoo let''s formulate a child here!!''

That''s good to hear! My mother wanted me to talk to an OBGYN too, to find out. She''s convinced they''re harmful. I think she''s thinking of the older, higher-dose pills though - not the more modern ones.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 2/12/2008 3:37:37 PM
Author: Sha

That''s good to hear! My mother wanted me to talk to an OBGYN too, to find out. She''s convinced they''re harmful. I think she''s thinking of the older, higher-dose pills though - not the more modern ones.

She might be right about that, some of the older ones were quite freaky.

I take low-estrogen-whatever-generic they want to give me.

 

[Rachie]

Date: 2/8/2008 9:22:21 AM
Author: lumpkin
Can you take ibuprophen? If you know your period is coming and you begin to feel the initial discomfort before the cramps really start, take double the dose of regular strength ibuprophen and it may help a lot. You may have to continue to take it the first half or full day of your period.


The other thing that helps is to drink a glass or cup of raspberry leaf tea (Natural Medicinals) a day during the week before your period is due to begin. I was really skeptical about this when a friend told me about it, but it does help when I remember to do it.


Sorry you have cramps. No fun.

Another thing that helps me is taking magnesium. A friend of mine doesn''t like to take ibuprofen or any other drugs and uses this to help relieve her cramps and it also lightens her periods. I have taken it on a few occasions and it has worked. Cramps are not fun and I hope you find something to relieve the pain!

 

[divergrrl]

Date: 2/9/2008 11:48:23 AM
Author: diamondfan
My doctor told me that you can go off and start trying immediately. Some people agree with this and some do not. I am not TTC anymore so I am not sure. I am back on the pill, even with having had a tubal, because my hormones are totally out of whack. I am not using it as birth control. There is a body of research on this I am sure. I was told the pill is not in your system that long once you stop it, but I recall still feeling better giving it a month or two to get my period on my own. Not really sure what the prevailing wisdom is today, since the pills are so different today.

I got pg the first few weeks after going off the pill with both kids, so I never really had many "off the pill" cycles.

Like you, I had a tubal after my dd was born in Sept & I had my OB give me some BC last week, cuz I was SICK to death of having 9 day periods with the worst cramps, horrible acne (I''m 37 for crying out loud), and scary mood swings.

Ew.

God Bless the pill...and hey in my Yaz literature, it says it helps reduce all sorts of girlie cancers...so whoo hoo.

As far as hte pill and fertility...it actually sort of preserves it. You don''t ovulate when you are on the pill, so you have more eggs when you do TTC.

It does not make you less fertile at all...in fact you are more likely to ovulate more than one egg your first cycle off...so keep that in mind!

 

[LegacyGirl]

Ugh I know how that can be. I got back on the ring after stopping because the pain just would not go away for me. I hope it does for you.

 

[sunkist]

Oh Fisher I''m sorry about your cramps! I''ve been thinking about that too, not looking forward to periods and cramping when I get off the pill. Now I''m thinking about staying on the pill till DH is ready to start TTC and then get busy so maybe I don''t have to experience that many cramps! ((crossing fingers)) I hate cramps too. You know what works best for me, sleeping! It''s even better than ibuprofen (which doesn''t work for me if the cramps have already started). Ya, taking a nap is the one thing that makes my cramps go away. Hope you feel better quickly.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Recently, three of my close friend went off the pill after at least 8 years on it to TTC. One never got her period, got preggers right away both times she tried!, the other took 2 months and the final took 3 months. So I don''t think being on the pill affects your fertility! At least based on my careful experiment of watching 3 friends

One reason that some doctors recommend you wait one month after going off the pill is that without having at least one period it is harder for them to figure out when you got preggers.... but with ultrasounds at 12 weeks now they can date your conception so closely that I don''t think that''s an issue anymore.

divergrrl I''ve heard about the protection from cancers before, but I''d never heard that before about "preserving" fertility. It makes sense, especially the part about possibly releasing two eggs, but I am curious to learn more about the possibility that it prolongs things... I had always thought that the problem with aging and fertility wasn''t running out of eggs (we have like a million), it was that the eggs age, and they would still age sitting in the ovaries while on the pilll... but maybe there''s more to it than that!

DD

 

[diamondfan]

Diver, I am 42 and had the tubal so I was a bit concerned. I do not smoke, but still, over 35 the pill is not really good, or so I thought. But I was bleeding almost all of the time between spotting and getting a period every 21 days...and I had wicked terrible cramps and gushy days so bad I could not leave the house (sorry if it is TMI!!!). I am spotting on the pill, but just started it, so I am doubling up for 3 days and seeing if that helps. I hate this but not sure if it is peri menopause.

 

[anchor31]

I''m sorry you feel this way! I hated the pill, it was making me depressed, so I''m glad to be off it. Fortunately, while the acne came back (yuck), the cramps didn''t. I hope it gets better for you!