I got my Mirena IUD out a little over a month ago. I was really happy with the Mirena for the three-plus years I had it. The side effects from the hormones were not as extreme as those I had experienced in the past with birth control pills, plus I didn’t have to think about taking a pill every day or getting refills from my OBGYN. Could it get any easier? Not to mention my periods pretty much stopped altogether while on the Mirena. Score.

The plan is to start TTC in October, but as I’m gearing up for that, I’m trying to track my period and figure out as best I can when I’m ovulating. Unfortunately, I’m not on any kind of regular schedule yet. After getting the IUD out, I almost immediately got my period, or at least what I think was a period. It was super super light, and it lasted only two days. It’s hard to remember back to what my periods were like pre-Mirena, and I do remember them being short and light, but not this light.

Now, we are going on thirty-six days since the beginning of my last cycle (if you can call it that), and no sign of Aunt Flo. Yes, I have tested (using First Response pink dye test, natch), and the test pretty clearly indicated not pregnant. I mentioned my late period to Mr. Cotton Candy, and he said something along the lines of, “Oh yeah, I was listening to NPR and there was some story about how they don’t know what the long term effects of IUDs are.”

Cue me panicking. The next day, I started Googling “period after Mirena” and getting scared about all of the people who hadn’t got their period back even months after having their Mirena removed (and they were also NOT getting pregnant). Thoughts started to flash through my head. Will it take months to get my period back? Does the fact that I didn’t have a period with Mirena mean that it’s going to take me longer to conceive? Will I be able to conceive? Did I screw up my fertility?

I pretty much immediately realized I was having an over-the-top reaction. There’s no real reason to believe that anything is wrong with my fertility, as I was able to get pregnant with Little Cotton Candy four years ago, and I’m still under thirty-five, which is where doctor say it starts to become more difficult to conceive. And I also realize that there are many women with fertility struggles that I can’t even begin to comprehend, and I need to take a few deep breaths and appreciate that I have been privileged when it comes to fertility. After checking in with some mom friends, who reassured me it was not time to panic, I calmed myself down.

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Now, I’m taking things one day at a time. I’m expecting a period any day now, and I will also begin using the ovulation test strips that a generous friend passed on to me a few days ago to see if I get any clues to what is going on with my body. Period or not, we will begin our official TTC #2 journey on October 1st. Mr. Cotton Candy and I have discussed that ultimately we are OK if are not able to get pregnant with a second baby. Sure, we will be sad, but if we don’t have luck this time around, we will be happy with our little family the way it is. I’m trying to let go and let whatever happens happen. Is that my favorite thing to do as a person who likes to be in control all the time? Definitely not. But I’m working on it.

Who else has experienced TTC after Mirena? Did you go through a similar waiting game? Also, when the heck do I start testing for ovulation if I don’t know when my cycle is?