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mishquiche

going off of BCP.  I?ve been on them for about 6 years now.  My current prescription runs out in August and am wondering if I should just go off of them then instead of waiting until December as planned.

 

I?ve heard that your body is rid of all of the hormones something like 48 hours after you stop, so is there really any advantage to stopping them a few months before you start TTC?

 

I always had fairly regular cycles prior to BCP, but I know going off of them could change that so I guess I wonder if it would be helpful to stop taking them earlier to give my body time to regulate itself and to learn the ins and outs of my new cycles (I am currently charting).

 

Any feedback or personal experiences you would like to share would be great!

nykola

I went off BCP and it took less than a month for my cycle to be regular again.  One of my best friends went off BCP and was pregnant her next cycle. I think each woman is different.

As far as advantages, I think if you get off BCP it will give you more time to figure out your cycles and help you plan better for TTC, especially if you intend to use charting.  Also should your body have any trouble getting back on track, it will give you a bit more time to ramp up for later this year when you "officially" start TTC.  That said, if you go off BCP now, there is a much higher chance that you may get pregnant well before December if you are not dilligent in using other methods :-)  If you are okay with that, then I say go for it.

Life off of hormonal BCPs is and was so much better for me. I'm always more prone to recommending people get off BCPs the sooner the better.

HTH

Alli923

Even though we just started TTC last month, I went off BCP/NuvaRing a year ago.  I was tired of taking hormones and I wanted to have time to make sure my cycles were regular, learn how to chart, etc.  Also, because I have a history of depression and PPD in my family, I wanted to be able to have a better understanding of how I function without the BCP hormones and hopefully be better prepared for how that might affect me once we have a baby.

We just used condoms over the last year along with charting to prevent.

jwt6

I had been on the pill for 8+ years and the only problem I ran into after quitting BC was that my cramps intensified. It took me 6 months to get pregnant after but we weren't really "trying" we were just letting nature take its course. Good luck.

cmcmillan

I got off bcp about 3 months before we started ttc, I wanted to know my own cycle so each month wouldn't be such a guess for our timing.  We used condoms during those months.  I had been very, very regular prior to bcp and am glad that didn't change, even after having dc. 

pearly1

nykola:

I went off BCP and it took less than a month for my cycle to be regular again.? One of my best friends went off BCP and was pregnant her next cycle. I think each woman is different.

As far as advantages, I think if you get off BCP it will give you more time to figure out your cycles and help you plan better for TTC, especially if you intend to use charting.? Also should your body have any trouble getting back on track, it will give you a bit more time to ramp up for later this year when you "officially" start TTC.? That said, if you go off BCP now, there is a much higher chance that you may get pregnant well before December if you are not dilligent in using other methods :-)? If you are okay with that, then I say go for it.

Life off of hormonal BCPs is and was so much better for me. I'm always more prone to recommending people get off BCPs the sooner the better.

HTH

?

This. I went off 6 months before TTC just in cause my body took a while to regulate but found that my cycles were pretty regular from the beginning. I used the fertility friend website to keep track of my charting/temping which I found to be really helpful, as are their message boards.

We got pg on our second month of trying, 7 months after I went off bc.?

McJen715

In November I stopped taking my BC (Nuva Ring). I started charting immedietly and had regular cycles right away (I'm on cycle 8 now). We didn't really "try" the first two months, I just wanted to see what my cycle was like.

I agree with nkyola, life off of BC is much, much better. I would get off BCP before you TTC so you can learn your cycles, and let them readjust if needed.

mishquiche

Thank you all for your input!  I'm going to talk more about it with my doctor when I go in for my annual exam, but I think I am going to stop taking them in August.