Going off birth control...what should i expect?

The first thing is your cycles might be very long at first. "Normal" is 28 days of course (bunch of phooey) but your first few might be 40+ days. Your body is going to try to ovulate for the first time in however long you have been on the pill.

Your bleeding may be really heavy the first few cycles too. It will be heavy just because of hormones but it will likely SEEM heavier anyway since when you are on BCP you aren't having a "real" TOM.

If you don't want to get pregnant be VERY careful those first few cycles post-pill. Your hormones etc will be leveling out and things are likely to be all over the place.

You shouldn't expect to gain any weight but do be mindful of your cal intake as ovulation and TOM hormones can make you want to eat more, and bad foods too.

I have done NFP/charting for almost 4 years now so if you need any help/advice let me know!

It depends on the person.
I actually need it to be normal. When I got off of mine for a while, I didn't have my period for months, I got the WORST pms and my acne flared up beyond belief! It was awful, needless to say, I went back on it and things are just now turning back to normal.
Good luck with you tho.

I ended up pregnant! I always had a lot of problems on the pill.

I can't wait until hubby has his vasectomy and I can go off again!

^^^ Me too!!^^^^

Can I just say how much I love the vasectomy? We had decided that if my third was a c-section for any reason, I'd have my tubes tied. Natural delivery and he'd get the vasectomy. No issues during birth, so 3 weeks later, he went in for his 30 min procedure. We've not regretted it yet. It is awesome!

To get pregnant

No seriously, both my sister and my cousin had been using the rythm method successfully for the last year and both are now pregnant. The also combined it with the pull-out method which does not work either, as both have shown!

If you don't want a hormonal contraceptive but do not want to get pregnant look into a paraguard IUD or get fitted for, and learn how to use, a diaphram.

Actually, when used properly NFP/Sympto-Thermal Method has a much lower pregnancy rate than the diapghram does.

From the Planned Parenthood site:
Effectiveness
Of 100 couples who use the symptothermal method correctly for one year, 0.4 (fewer than one) will have a pregnancy.

VS

If women always use the diaphragm as directed, 6 out of 100 will become pregnant each year.

4 years going strong here....no issues at all.

When I went off the pill I unfortunately didn't lose weight but my mood stabilized within days. I also got my period within days so expect your cycle to change. I've since gone on the Nuvaring. I experience no symptoms with that.

When I stopped taking it, I didn't have any side effects like moodiness or weight gain. I was taking BC to regulate my cycles because they would come once every 3 months. I was on Ortho TriCyclen Lo and I was just fine.

Certain BC I have heard from people's personal experiences made them gain weight. I had a cousin who gained mega weight from being on the NuevaRing (sp) for a month. She gained 20 lbs and she has NEVER been heavy.

But now that I'm lighter and healthier, my body seems to be governing itself just fine, which makes me (and my OBGYN) happy. =]

I cam off all hormonal birth control at the same time as starting on here.

I'd been on a variety of contraception for about 17 years so figured my body wouldn't mind a rest from it all.

I've lost 23lbs since mid jan. I have a feeling this may be partly due to ending my prescriptions.

double post

I was on the pill for 14 years. Never had a really issue but as I got older I had more problems regulating my hormones. Over the years I've tried that patch (horrific migraines) the ring (damn thing kept falling out) and I was on the progesterone only while nursing (no problems with that one, kinda liked it as far as oral is concerned)

But I must say, an IUD is the GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!! If the hormones are the problem then get the one without them. I have the mirena with the progesterone and I LOVE IT. PMS? What PMS! water weight cut in half, no flow to speak of, and I don't have to worry about forgetting to take it ( I was bad about that, hence baby #1 LOL)

Hey all,
So as you may or may not know last week i had terrible heart palpitation and went to the E.R.... They ended up just saying that i had an episode of tachycardia. I called my doctor who is more into the natural approach as possible and she told me that my birth control could be the cause. I know that some people have problems with it and i have been on birth control for almost 4yrs. I was unsure but my fiancee and i have also noticed that my mood swings are ridiculous! It is to the point where i am so emotional that i cry and yell and we fight over stupid petty things. I don't want this to ruin my relationship or our future marriage. He told me yesterday he will not leave no matter what. We are soul mate. Anyway, because of all this i am going to stop taking my pills and take the more natural tract ovulation and cycle route. I was wondering what happened to you guys when you when off birth control?
I have heard that people gain weight and that is a very scary thing for me. I really do not want to gain or get acne. Which i have also heard can happen. Anyone drink yogi women's moon cycle tea? Did it help?

sorry for the rant i just need some help and want to fix all this before it ruins my fiancee and my life. Thank you all who can help.

To get pregnant

No seriously, both my sister and my cousin had been using the rythm method successfully for the last year and both are now pregnant. The also combined it with the pull-out method which does not work either, as both have shown!

If you don't want a hormonal contraceptive but do not want to get pregnant look into a paraguard IUD or get fitted for, and learn how to use, a diaphram.

Please DO NOT confuse the rhythm method with natural family planning. They are not the same thing AT ALL.

OP - If your doctor has not already suggested it, please read TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR FERTILITY. It is the most reliable method you can use for natural family planning and is NOT the rhythm method or just counting days crap.

As for the Yogi tea, that mostly just helps with cramps. You can drink raspberry leaf tea fro the same effect. And I have found they work. The Yogi tea is more flavorful because it has other ingredients, but I actually like plain raspberry leaf tea (not raspberry tea, raspberry *leaf* tea).

I've been on the pill for 12 yrs. And I was depressed, crying for no reason, angry, violent. So I looked at the label for side effects and everything I was going through was on that label. So I've been off the pill for a yr and my mood did a 180. No depression, no crying, no anger, no violence. But the down fall is my periods r longer, heavier and the cramps are worse. Me and my boyfriend use condoms now which he hates. I talked to my doctor about the whole taking pills does it really make you gain weight and he said no. He said the most you would c would be about 5 or so lbs. He said its about your lifestyle are u active bc if not u can gain weight but that wouldnt be from the pill. Recently it seems my family keeps taking a vacation when I'm on my period which sucks. So now my boyfriend wants me to get on microgestrin. Thats the one where u have no period. My sister has been on it for awhile and she has no problems. I was on ortho-tricyclen and the off brand?cant think of name right now but I heard Yaz was BAD! I mean its on those lawyer commericals right??Like if this happened to you while taking Yaz then you could have a case? Dont think I would be taking that. I'm reluctant to get on the pill again bc I'm scared I'm going to go back to my old ways.

Nothing happened to me when I went off mine. Nothing whatsoever, actually, but I was on a low-dose one already, because my family has a history of clots with birth control, so that might have made a difference. It's a completely individual thing, since every woman's body will react differently.

I didn't gain or lose weight on any birth control until I got the Mirena IUD. I'm not sure if it was the IUD or just my metabolism slowed as I turned 20 years old, but either way I gained weight pretty quickly after getting it and it's been really hard to get off compared to how I used to lose weight easily. You'll probably lose weight when you get off the pill!!

In theory birth control tricks your body into thinking that it is pregnant all the time so it never ovulates because it doesn't need to. Thus it can make you gain weight because your body thinks it's pregnant.

I lost a few pounds, but I'm pretty sure it's the reason I've been getting severe acne. I'm just hormonally messed up now. In hindsight, I probably should have stayed on it.

Edit: I also have Bipolar I, and I feel as though my mood as improved since being off of it. I took Ortho Novum, which has a pretty heavy hormone balance to it, and I only took it because I have a brain tumor that affects my cycle. So, going off of other types of pills may be different....obviously.