Post Pill Cycles

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I’ve recently come off the pill in jan, and think I’ve had my first ‘period’ since my withdrawal bleed - if I can call it that!

So I thought I’d make a thread for us to share our experiences of coming off the pill. I know it can vary from person to person / how long you were on the pill. It’s not often something we want to talk about between friends esp if you’re coming off the pill to TTC!

I went back on the pill after having my son, so approx 2.5/3 years. Came off in feb, had a withdrawal bleed on 19th Feb. I’m on CD34 after a few days of spotting - so unsure if this is my period? It’s all very TMI - dark, brown and not enough for a pad. But I’m very confused if I should call this CD1 and go from there or wait it out...
 
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What sort of pill were you on? I came off the mini pill in about September and since then I've had two periods and some spotting. I'm not sure if it's because of the pill or just my body being really irregular and not getting back in a flow.
 
I stopped taking Cerelle in July 2020 looking to TTC after taking it for 8 years and so far still no period or any sort of bleed yet 😳 currently awaiting an appointment with a gynae consultant, all blood tests and a scan have come back normal. I’ve spoken to a fertility nurse and she has no explanation but thinks ill need something to kick start things. Just got to wait and see I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
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I was on the combined pill rivegdion just short of 3 years since I was 18. I felt like I wanted a break from all the hormones so came off it the start of December, had my withdrawal bleed then had 2 periods both on the 6th of jan and feb then my March period was 42 days later opposed to the normal 32. I’ve heard the first 3 months / cycles can be very irregular or not come at all due to your body getting used to not being on the pill will be interesting to see when my next one will be !
 
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I was thinking of coming off my pill (Cilest). Been on it for 12 years 😬 I’m not in a relationship and not currently looking. Feel like my body needs a break after being on it for so long, but worried about the side effects.
 
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I was on the pill since I was about 16 except 2 years when I had an implant and stopped taking at the end of jan as well. I’m 32 now. Have had 2 periods so far and not as bad as I was expecting although hating not know exactly when it’s going to be anymore.
I’ve noticed my skin has broke out recently and think it might be related.
 
I was thinking of coming off my pill (Cilest). Been on it for 12 years 😬 I’m not in a relationship and not currently looking. Feel like my body needs a break after being on it for so long, but worried about the side effects.
It’s difficult isn’t it - I really wish I was given more info when I went onto the pill about what would happen when/if I ever wanted to come off. When I came off my pill the first time I didn’t notice much difference except an increase in sex drive and I actually felt happier
I stopped taking Cerelle in July 2020 looking to TTC after taking it for 8 years and so far still no period or any sort of bleed yet 😳 currently awaiting an appointment with a gynae consultant, all blood tests and a scan have come back normal. I’ve spoken to a fertility nurse and she has no explanation but thinks ill need something to kick start things. Just got to wait and see I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️
Oh gosh - poor you!! I’m glad everything looks normal. I really wish they would educate women more about what the effects are because everyone think it’s having a baby can be so easy but for the most part it’s bloody difficult and not as easy as they make out!
I hope you manage to get some answers soon. I have heard of them being able to kick start with something to get things going

I was on the combined pill rivegdion just short of 3 years since I was 18. I felt like I wanted a break from all the hormones so came off it the start of December, had my withdrawal bleed then had 2 periods both on the 6th of jan and feb then my March period was 42 days later opposed to the normal 32. I’ve heard the first 3 months / cycles can be very irregular or not come at all due to your body getting used to not being on the pill will be interesting to see when my next one will be !
I’m the same - currently into cycle 1 off and cd34 with spotting. I managed to fall pregnant on my second cycle and now trying for baby no2. I don’t think I’ll go back on the pill next time (if we are lucky enough!)
 
Came off my combined pill in September due to severe risk of sudden stroke and have been super regular every month since, bar one period which was 3 days late.. was expecting the horrific painful periods of my 20s and been pleasantly surprised at how good they’ve been with length, pain free and not heavy (I ’m now 34) I’m using natural cycles for contraception which I’m finding great and really interesting to know what my body is doing. Actually find my worse symptoms now are at ovulation time. Skin has played up although this has never been great but does mean I’m taking more care skin wise which is never a bad thing. Doctor did say it can take up to 6 months for hormones to regulate.
 
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I’m pleased to see this thread! I stopped taking the pill around July/Aug ish. can’t remember exactly. 2-3 months no period at all. Irregular cycles now anywhere between 28-40 days. Didn’t think it’d take this long for them to get back to some sort of normal.
 
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I’m so glad someone has started this thread! I started taking the pill eleven years ago because I used to get a spotty chin in the week before my period, which when I look back wasn’t that bad, but at the time I thought it was awful and it could also feel painful and so when all else failed my GP put me on the pill. To begin with I took Dianette, but as you can only take that for so long I then moved to Yasmin and then on to Lucette because Yasmin is more expensive. After much soul searching I finally stopped taking it at the beginning of February as I believed it had been negatively impacting my mental health as I can trace my medal health issues back to the time when I began taking it. I can honestly say within a week I felt a cloud lift from my mind, the constant low level anxiety has gone and I only now realise how bad it was. I had a bleed four weeks to the day after I took my last pill. It may have been a proper period as I felt teary and emotional in the lead up to it. I also had more cramping than during my pill withdrawl bleeds.

Right now I have very sore boobs and in fact they have felt sore since I stopped taking it. Skin is fine at the moment, but I’ve heard that acne doesn’t return for around six months post pill. Hair is a little bit greasier and my skin is oilier.
 
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I’m so glad someone has started this thread! I started taking the pill eleven years ago because I used to get a spotty chin in the week before my period, which when I look back wasn’t that bad, but at the time I thought it was awful and it could also feel painful and so when all else failed my GP put me on the pill. To begin with I took Dianette, but as you can only take that for so long I then moved to Yasmin and then on to Lucette because Yasmin is more expensive. After much soul searching I finally stopped taking it at the beginning of February as I believed it had been negatively impacting my mental health as I can trace my medal health issues back to the time when I began taking it. I can honestly say within a week I felt a cloud lift from my mind, the constant low level anxiety has gone and I only now realise how bad it was. I had a bleed four weeks to the day after I took my last pill. It may have been a proper period as I felt teary and emotional in the lead up to it. I also had more cramping than during my pill withdrawl bleeds.

Right now I have very sore boobs and in fact they have felt sore since I stopped taking it. Skin is fine at the moment, but I’ve heard that acne doesn’t return for around six months post pill. Hair is a little bit greasier and my skin is oilier.
I noticed my hair is a little greasier and skin a little bit oiler post lucette too. I had a withdrawal bleed a few days after as normal and then I think I’ve had a very very light period/spotting - it’s been a bit confusing.

I’m glad you’re having a better time off - especially with mental health. I was on microgynon years ago and when I came off that I felt like a whole new person!

I’m so glad this thread is helping a few - I feel like it’s such murky water coming off the pill abs such a big decision
 
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I stopped taking mine in December 2019 after 15 years as I thought it was impacting my mental health. I didn’t have a period, or any bleeding, for 8 months and since around November 2020 I’ve had full acne down my back and neck/into my hairline. I didn’t think things would still be changing so far down the line, but the original reason I went onto it as a teenager was to control the acne.
 
I think The pill is often an easy option for a lot of GP’s. When I started to think about coming off it I did quite a lot of research and found that a lot of women went on it at about 14/15 because they were having heavy, painful or irregular periods. I think that’s awful because I know that my periods didn’t properly settle down and become regular (as in 28 day cycles) until I was in my 20’s! So there are women out there who dont really know what their natural cycle should be like because they were so young when they started taking it. I wonder if there’s an ulterior motive there because it reduces teen pregnancy rates?

Another thing I read is that in other parts of the world GP’s are reluctant to give women the pill, there was one story I read by an American woman who moved to Germany and her doctors wouldn’t prescribe it to her because it’s not seen favourably there. I believe its similar in Asia. Interestingly for contraceptive reasons the NHS now seems to prefer coils and depo injections. I wonder why that is?
 
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I came off the pill around Christmas time and didn't have any periods until 3 months later. It was the heaviest period I have ever had and longest too. I was bleeding heavily for nearly 3 weeks and the GP said they could give me another hormone tablet to help but I didn't want to take a hormone to get rid of another hormone tablet so refused it. I have not had another period since then. I have got acne and greasy hair and really emotional lol. I'm 24 and was microgynon for 2 years. Just wanted to give my body a break and have normal periods but it has really ruined my regular period cycle. I used to have really regular monthly periods for as long as I can remember.
 
I think The pill is often an easy option for a lot of GP’s. When I started to think about coming off it I did quite a lot of research and found that a lot of women went on it at about 14/15 because they were having heavy, painful or irregular periods. I think that’s awful because I know that my periods didn’t properly settle down and become regular (as in 28 day cycles) until I was in my 20’s! So there are women out there who dont really know what their natural cycle should be like because they were so young when they started taking it. I wonder if there’s an ulterior motive there because it reduces teen pregnancy rates?

Another thing I read is that in other parts of the world GP’s are reluctant to give women the pill, there was one story I read by an American woman who moved to Germany and her doctors wouldn’t prescribe it to her because it’s not seen favourably there. I believe its similar in Asia. Interestingly for contraceptive reasons the NHS now seems to prefer coils and depo injections. I wonder why that is?
I think I read that too - interestingly she worked for clue one of the fertility apps?!

I think the coil and depo have less hormone but I might be wrong. The injection put me off massively as I had friend who bled for weeks on end and there’s no way to stop it

I might consider the coil in the future but I certainly won’t return to the pill. It must be to do with teen pregnancy but I feel like there needs to be so Much more education on how it can effect you, I couldn’t believe really that until I was late twenties I had no idea what my cycles were like!
 
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I used to work with a girl who had the depo injection and she almost instantly ballooned in weight. She went from being very slight to piling weight onto her hips, bum and stomach. She also developed really bad acne. It put me right off it. Why are women expected to put up with this? Men aren’t expected to pump themselves full of hormones. It’s always on us isn’t it? The patriarchy in action.
 
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Came off Desogestrel mid Jan in view of TTC later this year. One withdrawal bleed & a period since coming off. Overall I think I feel better in myself. Haven't noticed a drastic change in my skin, have broken out a bit but I wear masks 13 hours a day so can't tell if its mask or hormone related as it was happening whilst on the pill too. I've noticed greasier hair, hadn't realised that could be to do with hormones til reading this thread. Ngl I was expecting to lose a lot of weight when coming off the pill but think it's more my denial of how much I eat 😂 was definitely blaming the pill last few months. Tracking my cycle using flo, find it useful to understand why I feel certain ways at certain points in my cycle. I'd been on different pills for 9 years so couldn't really remember my cycles (apart from very painful & heavy!).

My periods have been a bit painful but only for the first day or two. I know it can take 6 months to properly regulate so preparing myself to go back to heavy, painful periods. I am actually waiting for a second lap to see if I have endo (long story short they've found endo scarring on my first lap but wouldn't officially diagnose me) but my symptoms are actually better off the pill which makes me wonder if my recent issues were hormone related. They also want me to fit the coil when I have the lap, even though I said I'd like to conceive at some point later this year. The gyny Dr even wrote it on my notes to have it fitted & said I can give them a straight answer on surgery day, I'm not keen on it at all!

Glad this tread was started though, I found it so hard finding different people's experiences of coming off the pill. Dr's are so keen to get you on it.
 
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Came off Desogestrel mid Jan in view of TTC later this year. One withdrawal bleed & a period since coming off. Overall I think I feel better in myself. Haven't noticed a drastic change in my skin, have broken out a bit but I wear masks 13 hours a day so can't tell if its mask or hormone related as it was happening whilst on the pill too. I've noticed greasier hair, hadn't realised that could be to do with hormones til reading this thread. Ngl I was expecting to lose a lot of weight when coming off the pill but think it's more my denial of how much I eat 😂 was definitely blaming the pill last few months. Tracking my cycle using flo, find it useful to understand why I feel certain ways at certain points in my cycle. I'd been on different pills for 9 years so couldn't really remember my cycles (apart from very painful & heavy!).

My periods have been a bit painful but only for the first day or two. I know it can take 6 months to properly regulate so preparing myself to go back to heavy, painful periods. I am actually waiting for a second lap to see if I have endo (long story short they've found endo scarring on my first lap but wouldn't officially diagnose me) but my symptoms are actually better off the pill which makes me wonder if my recent issues were hormone related. They also want me to fit the coil when I have the lap, even though I said I'd like to conceive at some point later this year. The gyny Dr even wrote it on my notes to have it fitted & said I can give them a straight answer on surgery day, I'm not keen on it at all!

Glad this tread was started though, I found it so hard finding different people's experiences of coming off the pill. Dr's are so keen to get you on it.
Oh gosh they shouldn’t push you to have the coil if you don’t want it! I really wish doctors would let women take control of their bodies, esp the reproductive system when wanting to conceive in the near future!
 
I came off the mini pill in November 2019 and since then I’ve had regular periods every 28-30 days which is so reassuring, I found the mini pill so unpredictable for periods, one month I would have two small periods, then nothing for a month. It was stressful!