When did you go off birth control before TTC?

bmo88

Greetings All!

I typically hang out on the BOTB board because we are not going to TTC until January 2017. But as the date draws near, I am starting to do a little more planning. My biggest question/concern is when to go off BC. I am trying to weigh pros and cons. I know my experience will be different from others, but would love to discuss with others.

Personally, I have been on the Mirena IUD for 9 years. So I know nothing about my natural cycle and have not had a "normal" period for almost a decade. I have read that after removal, there is typically a very heavy period for about 1-2 week and that after 4-6 weeks the hormones are flushed from your system. My OBGYN also said that it's possible to get pregnant immediately upon removal. 

My concern is around understanding my cycle and getting back to normal. I am 28, almost 29 and not super worried about fertility issues (given no previous issues), but I am hoping to increase the odds of pregnancy within the first few cycles. So....I am contemplating going off BC in mid-to-late October to have almost 2 months of cycles or if late-November would be fine. 

Ideally, I wouldn't want to get pregnant before November, but it would not be the end of the world. We would TTA essentially until January though. 

So, my question to all of you is: when did you go off BC before TTC? Would you have changed the timing? Just curious about everyone's experiences.

thatcma

I went off my Mirena on 8/25/16 and have been NTNP (not trying not preventing) since then, so not long in my case. I got my first period the next week, but that doesn't happen to everyone. Good luck!

busymommy23

I had my Mirena removed in Oct of last year. I had had it in for 3 years. It was a rough removal and I ended up in the er a few days later due to severe pain. It's all normal, not trying to scare. I had a quick few days spurt of bleeding then about 2 weeks later I had another full week period, very heavy. I've had normal monthly periods since. We got pregnant in Feb of this year but sadly I had a miscarriage a few weeks later. We've been unable to conceive since. DH'S SA seems to be normal (I say seems because I've yet to talk to my Dr about the results due to them being out for a family emergency) and our timing see.s fine, so now my fear is that something is going on with me. I loved having the Mirena in but since removal ND TTC trouble, I totally regret getting it. That being said, I'd have yours removed sooner rather than later. The Mirena causes the uterine lining to thin out and it will need time to thicken. That may take a few cycles. So yes, it is possible to get pregnant if you ovulate right away, but my Dr advised me to wait at least 2 months. I hope my post doesn't worry you as this is just what is happening to me. I also suggest to not Google anything because reading some of the boards about Mirena will scare you. 

catem07

Lurking from BMB. I took my Mirena out on June 3. Got my first period (no bleeding after removal) on June 23. Started trying after that, got a BFP on July 22. 

I believe Mirena does not prevent ovulation, so you can start temping before you remove it to get an idea of your cycle--but I'm not sure whatever you learn will apply post-removal. 

adirat

You know that this is a board for women trying to get pregnant, right? So we have no idea how long it's taking us between birth control cessation and getting pregnant because none of us is pregnant. What your doctor said is right -- some women get pregnant immediately, some don't. No one else's experience is going to inform yours. 

slaven

I had skyla IUD (also progesterone but lower dosage) removed in July. I had regular AF with it in and my cycles have stayed the same. I'm on cycle 3 of TTC since then and no BFP yet. It's really no guarantee. You could have it removed in Oct and get KU in Nov so if that would be bad for you, then wait. You could also end up trying for months and months with no fertility problems before a BFP. There's just no way to tell. If getting KU after January is important then I'd wait since there's always that chance. 

bmo88

@adirat: I do know what this board is for and I will try not to read into your post too much (since tone is hard to read), but you are coming off as somewhat rude. 

If you actually read my question, I asked how long before TTC you went off birth control. I did not ask how long it took you to get pregnant. Definitely a difference in the two questions. So my question is perfectly relevant and your post is kind of a moot point. 

Also, I know everyone's experience is different, I was just seeing what other's did. There are hundreds of posts asking about other people's experiences on this forum, even though everyone has a different situation.

So honestly, if you don't want to answer the question, that is fine. But I don't seen anything wrong with posting it and it's not against TOU.

But thank you to everyone who has posted what they have done in their situation.

bmo88

busymommy23: No worries, not scaring me at all! Definitely a good perspective to have. Thank you for sharing! I didn't realize that the uterine lining needs to rebuild, so a few months to do so might be a good thing. Also, I will avoid googling things

catem07 : Thanks for the info!

slavenski: Thanks for sharing. Yeah, January or after is ideal, but we would be fine it it happened earlier. I am just curious to start tracking cycles since I have never done it before and it has been almost a decade since having a period.

hay1122

Lurking... 

The Mirena IUD is a progesterone IUD, so yes, it does prevent ovulation.  Due to the progesterone, the uterus is quite prime to receive a fertilized egg, so it is very likely that you can become pregnant in the cycle after having it removed.  I had a Paraguard IUD (no progesterone) and conceived in the next cycle after removal.  

So, if you are waiting until January to conceive, have it removed in December.  Easy Peasy!

PolarBear517

I struggled with this question as well and ultimately decided to stop birth control right before trying to conceive rather than allowing time for my body to regulate before TTC. I was more strict about our pregnancy timeline because I planned it around my graduation date. While we could have used condoms for a while, I know DH wouldn't have been thrilled about it PLUS I had hellish periods before BC so I didn't want to go through more periods than I had to.

I started temping and taking OPKs right away to get a handle on what my body was doing. My physician didn't have any concerns about TTC right after birth control, but some do recommend waiting a cycle.

It's really a personal matter. Some women regulate right away. I ovulated on CD 23 this cycle and have no clue if that's my "norm" or if it was delayed because of BC. Some women don't ovulate their first cycles. So you have to weigh the possibility of regulation delaying pregnancy against the possibility of pregnancy a little earlier than desired, because you never know what will happen. For me, taking longer to get pregnant because of delays related to regulation seemed less frustrating than the possibility of having a baby in the middle of my last semester of graduate school or having months of painful periods without the possibility of pregnancy because I was TTA. For what its worth, I did look up scientific studies and most found that women who tried conceiving directly after birth control had the same rates of pregnancy after a year as women who did not take birth control prior to TTC (with the exception of depo provera).

Good luck!

bmo88

PolarBear517: Thanks for the response! I am TTA right now because of grad school, with a graduation date of May 20, 2017. I just didn't want to potentially give birth before that date. I would be fine getting pregnant before then, so I understand the feeling. 

I am not so much worried about going off birth control and TTC rate as much as I would like to learn more about my cycle. So definitely some things to consider.

slaven

My experience with a progesterone IUD is opposite what @hay1122 said. I ovulated every cycle and had AF so progesterone doesn't always prevent ovulation. Since you, OP, haven't had AF then yes I'd say you haven't been ovulating. Contrary to what hay1122 said, my dr highly highly recommended waiting until I had one AF after removal before trying even though I had regular AF. While you can get KU right away, the chance for miscarriage is very high because of uterine lining problems. I think this is specifically for us who had progesterone IUDs, not paraguard. If you have it removed in October or November I'd use a back up method (even just pulling out considering the low chance of conception each month) while your cycle regulates and you start charting. 

bmo88

@slavenski : That makes sense! We will definitely take precautions to TTA when I am off birth control, likely condoms. My doctor also recommended waiting about 4-6 weeks (or one cycle) to TTC after removal, so we wouldn't go for it right away even if we waited to remove in December.

Sirius37

@bmo88 I was on hormonal BC so I'm afraid I can't offer better insight like the other ladies have, but I remember you from the BOTB board and just wanted to say hey!

bmo88

Sirius37 : I remember you as well! Thanks for posting. When will you be starting your TTC journey?

catem07

@hay1122 It does not stop ovulation in all women. Mirena works by "Thickening cervical mucus to prevent sperm from entering your uterus, Inhibiting sperm from reaching or fertilizing your egg, and Thinning the lining of your uterus."

LadyMillil

I was on a BCP and stopped when I wanted to get pregnant. Every women in my family gets pregnant immediately after stopping BCP so I didn't want to go off the the pill until we were ready to start trying. My cycles regulated right away. Unfortunately, the BCP was masking symtpoms of IF. Because of my experience, I would suggest going off hormonal BC sooner and using a different method to avoid so your cycle can regulate.

mrsdaddario

I was on hormonal BC and went off a few weeks before our wedding. We started trying right after our wedding. I as well wasn't concerned about fertility issues since I had never had reason to believe I would have issues. But here we are, a year later and a PCOS diagnosis and no baby. I agree with PP's that it's definitely a personal choice. If you go off now and start keeping track of your cycles, the benefit is when you're ready to try you'll have all of that data to work with. (Temping, Charting, OPK's, etc.) The downside is you'll just have to be extra careful about unprotected sex! Good luck!

Also, I just want to kindly point out that there are women on here who have had previous pregnancies. All walks of life. FTM, STM, maybe even TTM's. So I don't think this was an unreasonable question for this board. 

izza2

I had my nexplanon implant removed when we were going to start trying. I knew nothing about tracking cycles and charting and BBT and anything of the sort. I joined TB a few weeks before having it removed and learned a lot during my lurk-dome that I wish I'd known previously. I got my period 4 weeks after having it removed. Temping showed that if I ovulated (which I'm not convinced I actually did at this point), it was 3 weeks after removal.

This time around, I'll probably stop the patches the cycle before we start TTC again just so I have one cycle of temping to get re-used to it and maybe help regulate my body and just because. H is convinced that the reason we didn't get pregnant when we were TTC previously was because my body was still trying to regulate from the Nexplanon, although my temps showed a clear O date and a regular LP after that first period.

[Deleted User]

I went off my hormonal BC (I was on nuvaring, so a little different) about a month after my wedding, so in April 2014 and I didn't start TTC until April of 2016.  I just wanted to be off HBC and become familiar with my cycles, but I was also pretty fine with having a baby whenever and we are also great with using condoms during my fertile week so there wasn't really any risk involved.  My cycles regulated themselves immediately and I really enjoyed temping and using Fertility Friend and all that stuff.  

I think if you really don't want to get pregnant right now - like you would be unhappy with a positive pregnancy test - then you should stay on it.  But if your reaction to a positive pregnancy test right now would just be happiness then I think getting off the hormones and getting familiar with your cycle would be potentially beneficial.  

Sirius37

@bmo88 It has already begun! DH and I started TTC when he came back from deployment at the beginning of July. We're about to start our third round of trying. I look forward to seeing you around here soon!

mrsegan13

We wanted to go off (bcp) in May to start trying in August, but we spent the summer in a third world country with malaria risk and my doctor said no way. So, we couldn't go off until we were ready to start TTC. I ovulated on CD24. Not sure if that's me or the pill. I was on bcp for over 13 years, so I truly cannot remember. 

catem07

Also keep in mind that plenty of people are not on hormonal/copper birth control, use condoms, and don't get pregnant. It's not like you have to open the floodgates as soon as the goalie is pulled. 

leksiL

**lurker--siggy warning**

I went off Mirena in December 2015. I just want to caution you that the first month is really hard. I suffered from significant symptoms of depression and moodiness, which is totally unlike me. So I would suggest you doing it while on break from school if possible, in case the same thing happens to you. 

I switched to another form of BC (the patch) immediately after Mirena removal until we were ready to TTC. The patch was nice because you can pull the plug so to speak when you are ready. 

Good luck! 

RainyDays86

I also wanted to comment that I went off birth control in January 2014 before conceiving my son in March 2014. We used condoms for January and February while I monitored my cycle and got a handle timing, and then we actively started trying in March which is when I conceived. I found it very helpful to have a month or two to figure out my cycle and have things regulate, although I was on hormonal BC so my experience might be a bit different. This time around I went off BC in June and until this month we've been using the pull-out method with success. Pull-out is not as reliable as condoms, but we were willing to accept that risk since an unintended pregnancy wouldn't have been the worst thing by any means. Again, it took my body about a month to have regular cycles after going off BC. I personally like knowing when I'm going to ovulate so I have liked having a few cycles of tracking things before trying so we can be more deliberate with when we try. If get you don't want to get pregnant until January, to be safe I would keep your IUD in until January. However, you might want to then give it a few months to things regulated before really trying.

sqfibemom

I's definitely suggest getting it out a few months before you want to try and just use condoms or chart and abstain as needed. It would be good for getting used to charting and getting your body back to normal after the hormones.

I got pregnant while on the pill with DD1 (long story but basically my colitis made my BC null and void but I wasn't aware). I got my Mirena out before TTC DS, bled a little a few days after removal then nothing for 44 days. The first real AF post Mirena was RIDIC, like a crime scene in my bed. Two cycles after removal I had a c/p and then three cycles after that I got KU with DS. FWIW, I've used copper IUDs since and really like them. I got pregnant the week after removal both times (but the most recent time ended in a c/p).

BigBadWolf12

I was on a BCP for acne control and didn't go off of it until we were ready to actually TTC. That was Oct 2015. It took until April for my cycles to regulate. TW: I got KU in June and had a MC in July. Here I am now. In hindsight, I wish I got off the pill earlier to let my hormones regulate because as much as I hate acne, I hate not having a baby more...

lmc929

Took me over a month to get my first period post IUD and it has actually been pretty light. On day 4 right now and it looks like I am nearing the end.

Good luck!

Kenya715

***lurker/siggy***

I was on Nuvaring for 11 years. Stopped using it in November 2015 to NTNP until April 2016. Got a BFP after 2 months of actively TTC. It definitely took my body some time to adjust to no longer being on BC. Like PP have said, it's a really personal decision when you decide to stop and you should be ready for anything to happen. Some people do get KU immediately but remember it can take a healthy couple up to 12 months to get a BFP. Everyone is sooooo different. The reason I would suggest stopping earlier is to learn how to chart and learn about your body. It can be a confusing process and takes at least 2 months to get the hang of it so you can compare one month to the next. Once you start charting and know when your fertile week (FW) is, you can abstain during that time. Even if you are TTA until January, start participating in the TTGP threads (WTO and TWW). I learned SO much from my time here and met some really amazing, supportive women. 

NamelessAria

I stopped taking birth control after my husband and I decided we wanted to TTC. We had the talk at the end of December 2014 and decided we'd start TTC in January 2015 so I stopped taking BCPs January 2015. I grew up hearing my mother talk about how she always got pregnant the first time she'd have unprotected sex. She was definitely one of those ladies who discontinued birth control and immediately got pregnant without even having a period first.  And she never had any miscarriages or anything. So I really thought that I'd stop BCPs in January 2015 and be pregnant within a month or two with my take-home baby.

My cycle didn't really regulate till September 2015. The September to October cycle was the first cycle were I ovulated at a "normal" time. All my previous cycles were 50+ days. 

**TW: Losses mentioned**

I did get pregnant in October. So it took me awhile after stopping BCPs to get pregnant. Unfortunately it was an early MC at 6w4d. My husband and I started TTC again immediately since my doctor cleared us to do so. I got pregnant again in March and had 3 chemical pregnancies in a row (March, April, May cycles). Then I had 2 more chemicals in July and August. So because of how relatively easy it is for me to get pregnant (though I can't seem to stay pregnant) I'd say the delay between stopping BCPs and my first pregnancy was likely due to how long it took my body to regulate.

If I had everything to do over again I would have stopped BCPs sooner. And I would have went to an RE sooner once it was obvious something was wrong. And who knows, maybe if I'd done all that I'd have a baby now or I'd at least be pregnant with my take-home baby. Or maybe it wouldn't have made any difference.

My advice would be to discontinue hormonal birth control a couple of months before you plan to actually start TTC. While you're waiting to be ready to TTC I'd suggest using barrier protection like condoms. This will give your body time to regulate if you end up being one of the ladies who need the extra time. Worst case scenario is your body regulates right away and you wasted money on condoms since you could have just kept the IUD. But personally I'd rather have wasted money on condoms than have wasted months on end waiting for my body to get it together post hormonal birth control. But that's me. You need to do what is right for you and your husband.

Best of luck.

bmo88

Thanks for all the great advice ladies! I really appreciate the perspectives and hearing everyone's experiences. After talking with DH, I have decided to have my Mirena IUD removed on October 14. We will TTA until January 2017 by using condoms. 

I really want to understand my cycles better, give my body time to get back to regular cycles and to learn how to chart. I am looking forward to hanging around these boards and learning from many of you!

NYTino24

I went off BCP 9 months ago because I have / had? a blood disorder and wanted to see what my levels were without the BCP before TTC. I didn't go back on after the hematologist did the blood work because he said he now doubts I ever had it. Tell that to my bleeding gums, easily bruised body, and heavy clotting periods! Anyway, I was not taking placebo pills for the last 6 months prior to that at the advice of my Gyn, who said I only needed to be off for one month before TTC. Well we were delayed due to Zika, but now that it's almost showtime I am so glad I got on here and learned about charting and temping because I have a much better grasp of what my body can do on its own. If I stayed on BCP and then immediately tried, I wouldn't have known I have a 32-36 day cycle most months and probably would have gotten frustrated due to wrong timing. Good luck!

mamashan12

Both times I got pregnant were immediately after coming off BC. Everyone is different though. Good luck!  

tripledaggerWed95976

*****tw loss mentioned******
i got my mirena removed Jan 2013.   I got pregnant the following month... And then I MC'd when I was 8wk along.  
Every woman and every pregnancy are different though.   

SaphireSweetie88

I went off about a year before DH and I actively started TTC

MissBlair226

*Dirty Lurker from LFAF*
Sorry to revive this thread and add to any board clutter guys but since the other thread was closed I thought this would be the appropriate thread to answer @bmo88  question about what to expect after the removal of an IUD. 
I don't have personal experience but work for an obgyn and can tell you what I have seen. 
You will most likely have some spotting for a couple days but the irritation to your uterus(depending on how difficult the removal is) can sometimes jump start a period. 
Generally is can take 2-3 months for cycles/hormones to regulate with possible irregular bleeding between. 
I've never had a patient have anything too severe. 
Good luck with the removal!

bmo88

@MissBlair226: Thanks for the response, very helpful! Hopefully you won't get "flamed" for reviving an old thread! But who knows...then again, it doesn't really matter. 

MissBlair226

bmo88 said:

@MissBlair226: Thanks for the response, very helpful! Hopefully you won't get "flamed" for reviving an old thread! But who knows...then again, it doesn't really matter. 

No problem. 
I just wanted to shed some light from a professional stand point. 
As long as your strings aren't too short it should be pretty simple. 
I'm not worried about it. 
This board is generally pretty cool plus the "flaming" allowed these days is nothing like it was when I joined years ago. 
This thread will get pushed down into oblivion once again in no time. 

bmo88

@MissBlair226: That's good to know as well regarding strings, though I am not sure on their length. 

I am sure this thread will fall off the front page soon enough. I actually requested the other one get closed so people would stop having a conniption. As much as it's disliked to have threads "clog" the page, people sure kept it going by posting, lol. 

MissBlair226

bmo88 said:

@MissBlair226: That's good to know as well regarding strings, though I am not sure on their length. 

I am sure this thread will fall off the front page soon enough. I actually requested the other one get closed so people would stop having a conniption. As much as it's disliked to have threads "clog" the page, people sure kept it going by posting, lol. 

They just have a specific way they like things and in a lot of cases when it gets pointed out people are quick to call them "bullies" or worse so naturally they are defensive and exhausted by drive-by posters which recently they've had a lot of. 
As a group they have a method that works for them and are some of the nicest most supportive people. 
I really think if you shrug it off, become involved in their threads, offer support and get to know them, you will find you really like this community and even may make great friends as I have.
I urge you to stick it out because once you do start TTC these ladies will make the all the difference in your journey!