Introducing Myself

walgrrl

Hello All!
I am brand new here.  My husband and I just got married in June.  We are not ready for a baby yet, but we've talked about it and we think next summer might be a good time to start trying.  I'm just here to do a little preliminary research to find out what I'm in for.  I've been on the pill ever since H and I started dating (7 years ago), so I'm wondering how it will be when I finally go off it. 

For those of you who were long-time BC pill users, what did you experience when you went off the pill?  Are there side effects?  Does your cycle immediately go back to normal or is it whacked out for awhile?  Should I go off of it not until we're actually ready, or a few months before and just use condoms in the meantime?  I know I have plenty of time to think about this, but I just want to be ready for when the time comes.  Thanks!

Ducktale

I had almost no change after getting off BCP, but I'm lucky and I've never had too many issues with my period. The difference for me is slightly more acne, and my cycle is a bit more unpredictable (ranges from 27-31 days). I got my period on schedule that next month and have been semi regular (within that range) ever since. We're TTC in the spring, so no anecdotes on how this affected getting pregnant.

bugandbibs

It can vary widely how long it takes for you cycle to regulate. Generally, you can look at our cycles pre-BC to give you an idea. If you plan to start charting, you may want a couple of non-hormonal BC cycles to get the hang of things. However, you could get pregnant right away so make sure to use back up BC until you are ready to ttc.