How soon to go off the pill?

I have been on the pill for going on 12 years

we just had the talk- and figured out we both want to TTC with in the next 2 years

I am going to be 31 in May

the reason why I am asking this so early- is b/c I have my annual in a few weeks- and want to be prepared to talk to the doctor

are there any other questions I should ask? or tests I should get?

I am still in shock my DH wants to have a baby soon- I thought it was going to be a battle

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

well the "standard" answer I've gotten is that it can take from a year to 18 months for your cycle to regulate itself once you come off BC.

I honestly think this is a CYA for the docs but nonetheless, they have to cover themselves.

It took me about 6 months for my cycle to get on track but I did have a rouge 35 day cycle which really threw me off, but other than that my cycles have been pretty consistent.

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

I only got off BCP a month before we wanted to start trying, now we've been trying for 5 months. My cycles have been 29-30 days (except this last one, don't know what was going on there, lol). We haven't gotten PG yet, I'm not sure that I was Oing all those other months.

If I could do it over I would have stopped taking them 6 months before we started trying. At least then I would have been able to chart my cycles and have a better idea of when I O.

HTH! Congrats on having "the talk"!

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

Well I decided to come off the pill a year ago in hopes for a quick time TTC. Needless to say, I am still here & still nothing. My cycles seem to be regular right away but then I was thrown some loop holds. I had a couple of months were I had cycles in the late 30's & my longest 47 days. Since then, I have gone back to an average of 29-31 days.

I think that personally, I would have come off the pill sooner if I knew it was going to be this difficult & use backup method of BCP. But of course, there was no way to predict this. I would talk to your Dr & do what is best for you on a personal level.

Glad to hear you guys are in the "stages" of TTC though

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

I think it is different for everyone. My friend went off the pill and got preggers the next month!! Good luck!!

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

Well, all I can say is make sure you ARE ready the moment you go off the pill - I had assumed it would take us several months to get preggers, but I got pregnant the first month we started trying when we went off the pill!

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

I think 6 months prior is a good gauge as long as you use back up protection. It usually takes 3 months for your cycle to regulate so you can start tracking and learning your cycle once it becomes regular.

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

Beth, first of all, that is great news

I was on BCP for over 12 years as well. I came off in April (right after we got married), got af in May and June and was pregnant in July. I am not sure if that is the norm though

But be prepared, if you come off of BCP and do not use protection, you CAN get pregnant right away

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

I went off 2 months before we were planning on TTC (we used protection in the meantime). I didn't chart my first cycle but it was quite long - around 36 days. The second I started temping and was able to figure out an approximate O date and an LP - it was really useful in helping to understand my cycle. I got pregnant on the third cycle - our first actually TTC. I felt like that was the cycle everything came together in terms of signs of ovulation for me - I knew exactly what was going to happen when. For the first half anyway, by the second half I was PG!

Anyway, my point is that I think for me, it took my body about 3 cycles to regulate, and I would suggest coming off at least 3 full cycles before you actually want to TTC. You can learn a lot, especially if you're charting/temping.

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

Honestly, I would go off sooner rather than later. More and more it seems that people say they wish they had started tracking their cycles sooner because they would have picked up on a potential problem sooner. to you (when the time comes)

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

I agree with being prepared/using protection if you do not want to get pregnant right away...we have twice come off of birth control and been pregnant the next month! I never expected it to happen as easily as it did for us!

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

I went off in November and got pregnant the first month we "really" tried which was February. My cycles were long after going off so I used OPK's to determine when I O'd.

oh and by the way! Congrats...welcome and for when you're ready!

Message edited 4/8/2008 5:42:13 PM.

Re: How soon to go off the pill?

thanks everyone for the advice

I am going to speak with my Doc and my DH to figure out the best time

I have alot to think about!!!!!!

I can't wait to be a full time poster on this board!