going off of birth control...?

rhapsdy · 04-21-2008, 10:50 PM

Ok...I haven't been around here in awhile, but I'm hoping it's ok that I'm posting again.

I'm wondering if I can get some advice or your experience when going off of your birth control.

I'm trying to get a lot of stuff in order, including my hormones and my endocrine system. The more research I do the more I'm convinced that I need to get off of the Nuva Ring now. My husband and I would like to have kids in the next few years. I'm so worried about it taking forever to get my body going so that having kids might be an option.

Obviously, I have PCOS so I know that trying to get pregnant will be hard, but I figure it will only be harder the longer I stay on birth control.

Am I right here? I am also dealing with Hypothyroidism and other endocrine imbalances and am currently searching for a doctor who will stop pushing pills and start trying to work with me to get to the root cause of issues instead of just treating symptoms.

Any personal experience or advice would be greatly appreciate. I'm not really sure what to expect once I do come off of birth control. I've been on them for almost 10 years and before going on them I was having horribly irregular periods and random bleeding.

Thanks so much!

-Kelly

taylorluvs2run · 04-22-2008, 01:30 PM

I know that when I came off BCP I became a different person. I gained 40 lbs and felt blue and tired all the time. This is when I realized that I had PCOS. I have been back on BCP for 2 weeks now and already lost 10 lbs and I feel 100% better. I am not ready to face PCOS off of the BCP but eventually will when I want to have another baby. I would think hard if you are ready for your body to be thrown into a hormonal tail spin. I would def. have a alternative plan. Read up on herbs and alter. treatments.

Good Luck!

holacandita · 04-22-2008, 02:25 PM

I think everyone has a different experience coming off BCP. I know for me, I had the exact opposite experience of the pp. I was depressed, anxious, and extremely emotional while on BCP... as soon as I came off, my mood improved dramatically. It was a complete 180. The downside for me is that when I'm not on the pill, I don't have a period. My LMP was 11/1/07 so I went to the doctor recently and she gave me Provera to start my period. I took it and did. She also gave me another BCP prescription to start this Sunday. However, Sunday came and as I was recalling the way I felt while on the pill and the way my life was negatively impacted, I could not bring myself to take the pill. I have an appt with my gyn on Monday where I'm going to discuss my options, because I just really do not like being on the pill and how it affects me. I know I won't be regular for a while, but I'm planning on dieting and exercising in order to lose weight, because I know that can help dramatically. I would also really like to manage my PCOS without having to be on BCP.

Good luck... I know that each person reacts differently, so if you decide to go off the pill, I hope it's a pleasant experience for you. I hope you can find a doctor who's more willing to work with you... I'm interested to hear what my doctor says when I tell her I didn't take the pill. I'm afraid I'm going to get yelled at!

soopergal · 04-24-2008, 03:06 AM

Sorry I have no answers to your question except I want to do exactly the same because I want to try for a baby at the end of this year. Good luck and I hope there will be more replies your OP.

almostMRS · 04-27-2008, 03:58 PM

i would like to start trying for a baby this summer... i'm making an appt with my gyn in the next few weeks to discuss going off bcp.. i know it's different for everyone but i will let you all know what i'm told

rosemarys_babee · 04-28-2008, 11:24 PM

I have no particular complaints about birth control pills. On the other hand, I don't love them either. I needed them to function because my body freaks out when I don't have periods and I start getting very sick. I've recently started Byetta and lost 45lbs and my periods seem to be coming more naturally now, even though I am still on the pill, so I will be speaking with my Dr about going off of them, too. Not because of any problems, but because it would be nice to save money and see if, after 12 years on the pill, my body really will do what it's supposed to do on it's own. Good luck finding a Dr that will fix the problem and not the symptoms...I would recommend going to the Dr recommendation section and finding someone in your area that specializes in PCOS and work with them...it really helped me. That's what I did and I finally ended up with an RE that does a lot of work with PCOS patients and couldn't be more pleased. I've had more progress in the 5 1/2 months I've been seeing him than I had in the 16 years I spent seeing countless other Dr's who couldn't help me or, worse, figure out what was wrong with me.

ecgorder · 05-01-2008, 02:29 AM

Getting off BCP was how I found out that I had PCOS in the first place. I had gotten on BCP when I was 16 for irregular periods (told it was just puberity) and didn't get off until I was 26. I went back on BCP and recently have felt much worse than ever! I have now been off BCP for about 6 weeks and of course no cycle.

If you are not TTC then stay on BCP the side effects of BCP are much less than being on nothing when you have PCOS. If you are not ovulating at all (like me) than getting pregnant is going to be a challenge.

Good Luck!

mpatch · 05-10-2008, 01:26 AM

I am on BCP and Met and have been taking both for 2 months now...I am on my last active pill tomorrow and after that I am not going to start back up...I am going to just let my body have a period and then continue to work out and diet like I have been doing. I want to be drug free...I don't want to take any pills...especially ones that I always have to worry about blood clots and acidic liver problems with. I know a handful of girls that went all natural and just stayed on a regular diet/exercise routine and lost weight and their periods and ovulations came back and a lot of their PCOS symtoms went away so I am going to give it a try!

reubenthetadpole · 05-11-2008, 12:08 AM

I'm not sure why you think being on the pill for so long has altered your fertility in ways that you wouldn't have if you were never on the pill...I've never heard that.

jsr72 · 05-12-2008, 11:51 PM

Your post caught my eye for several reasons. I just went off bcp for the second time and have had a completely different reaction each time. The first time was when DH and I were TTC for the first time. I went off the pill, felt ok on and off of it, when I went off bcp, I did not get AF for many, many months which led to my dx of PCOS.

Fast forward, I got pg, had DS went on the minipill, then no pill (still no AF) then onto Yasmin. I took Yasmin for a year and just went off it last month. Lo and behold, I got AF! I stopped taking it bc I was feeling lousy while taking it: anxiety, anger, lack of sex drive, etc. Since going off it, those feelings have gone away.

So either way, I've had mixed reactions to it. At this point, I'll blame PCOS for the whole thing bc I just can't explain it. GL to you!

MeLsWeEtIe · 05-13-2008, 12:11 AM

I didn't notice any difference in my mood when I took myself off the BCP. I'd been taking my BCP's since I was 15 after the doctor started my period. I still gained weight like crazy, I still had hair issues, and well, went back to no periods. I have noticed that the hair on my face is growing faster and seems to be taking over more area than it used to, which sux @$$. Luckily, I have a husband that doesn't care and loves me the way I am, weird hair issues and all. My reason for coming off the pill is because at the time, I was working myself up on metformin and my doctor told me that if we wanted to start a family, I could come off of my BCP's and we'd see if the met would regulate my cycle. I quit for a while *both* and was just kind of enjoying not having to take pills...but then my responsible side kicked in and I'm now back on my met. I have noticed that I actually can lose weight with metformin...I lose weight by running up the stairs with my rear end puckered and hoping I'll make it in time. The sweat when I almost don't make it or when I sit down in relief...to notice there's no toliet paper in the bathroom has to be burning calories SOMEWHERE!!! lol But in all seriousness, I was sick of relying on a BCP to regulate my cycle...and as soon as I come off, I was back to no periods. I want to give metformin a chance and I hope to build myself up to my recommended dosage so we can try to make a baby. BCP's will not help me with that. I seriously have to rack my brain to remember when my last period was. I think it was in November of 2007 and I've been struggling since. I've not yet scheduled my gyno appointment but we're going on vacation this next month and with everything that has gone on this year, I've decided to just do it after we get back. I'm hoping to be past the diarrhea phase of met and really get to where I need to be.

sapphirepl · 05-13-2008, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhapsdy

. . . and am currently searching for a doctor who will stop pushing pills and start trying to work with me to get to the root cause of issues instead of just treating symptoms.

I'd be very interested in knowing if you find one like that!
GL. Keep us updated.
I've only ever been on BCP for less than a year, and when I went back off, my period was only as irregular as it was before going on them.