I have had quite the love-hate relationship with hormonal birth control. Actually, it leaned pretty heavily toward the hate side. So, it was with great joy that I threw that junk in the trash. Twice. Yep, that’s right. I’ve come off birth control twice in the last six months.  I should really be an expert by now.

About six months before our wedding, I began taking birth control pills after a few years of being off any form of hormonal birth control. I was having a doozy of a time remembering to pop that little sucker, so my OBGYN suggested I make the switch to Nuva Ring. I loved, loved, loved the freedom of not having to remember to take something everyday. Around the same time, I started feeling really exhausted and kind of depressed. I knew that my depression was likely the result of the circumstances in which I found myself. Within the prior year my life had consisted of two moves, finishing law school and taking the Bar Exam, starting a job that was 60-90 hour weeks, getting engaged and planning a wedding while in a long-distance relationship, and casually looking for jobs in Mr. Blue’s city so we could be together. That’s enough to make anyone feel achy, tired, and depressed!

Fast forward to after the wedding, one more move, and starting a job with much better hours . . . I still felt horrible. Mr. Blue was seriously worried about me because I seemed like a different person. One day, my wanderings on the interwebs made me consider that my birth control might be partially to blame for the sudden and consistent shift in the way I felt. I decided to test my theory, and I stopped using the ring.  Within 48 hours, I was a new woman. Bliss!

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The next 3 months I used the FAM method and charted my cycles. We used protection during “dangerous” times and everything was fine. Then, we had one of those baby timeline fights. I realized that my intense baby fever was making Mr. Blue feel like he wasn’t enough, like I couldn’t be happy being married to him without a baby. It was time for drastic measures. I went and filled the birth-control prescription my new OBGYN had called in “just in case.”

When Mr. Blue discovered what I had done, he was pretty shocked because he knew how much I was enjoying having my body be my own again post-BC. I explained that it was the only way I knew to really show him that he was Numero Uno and that I treasured our marriage, even if babies weren’t part of the picture ever. I hoped that my new pills wouldn’t affect me in the same manner.  Long story short . . . achy, depressed Mrs. Blue returned. Within a couple of months, Mr. Blue had enough and “put his foot down.” It coincided well with his decision that we should start TTC in June because it would give my body a couple of months to adjust.

I was definitely nervous about how my body would react coming off birth control for the second time in six months. I’ve put this poor body through the ringer lately!  Coming off birth control seems to make most women a little apprehensive, especially considering how many horror stories there are about the process.  Here are the details of my two departures from birth control.

Coming off Nuva Ring

  • I took out the ring just a couple days before I was scheduled to do so.
  • Beginning on the 7th day after stopping, I had a short three-day period.
  • I began charting, and my temperatures were generally consistent and low pre-ovulation.
  • I ovulated on Cycle Day (CD) 13 and had a 27-day cycle.
  • Side effects: joy at feeling so much better(!), much more severe cramps with my period, and increased breakouts starting the second month off BC.
  • Here’s my Fertility Friend (FF) chart for the first month:

Coming off Trinessa

  • I stopped after the first full week of pills in my pack. I’m certain this is not recommended, but I just couldn’t wait to feel better!
  • Beginning on the 6th day off, I had a 4-day period.
  • I began charting again, and my temps have been ALL over the place. It’s a freakin’ roller coaster right now.
  • FF predicted I would ovulate on CD 15.  Other than my temperatures, I’ve had zero signs of ovulation (cervical fluid, ovulation pain, etc).  Eventually, FF showed that I ovulated on CD 12.  Then, it changed its mind and decided I ovulated on CD 17, which is later than I’ve ever ovulated in a normal cycle.  Honestly, I’m not really sure when or if I ovulated because my chart has been so wonky this month.  I’m basically just hoping things settle down next month because my cycles have historically operated like clockwork.
  • Side effects: general breast tenderness, sharp shooting pains in breasts, a few breakouts so far of the “I’m giant and I’m here to stay” variety.
  • Here’s my chart to date during the first month off:

If you’re coming off birth control soon, here are my takeaways points:

1. Give your body a few months to adjust. You never know how your body will react. My experiences have been somewhat different both times. Plus, if I were TTC right now, these crazy temps or not getting my period quickly would be driving me bonkers. It’s easier to go with the flow when I know I have a couple months to get the kinks worked out before we start.

2. Finish out your BC pack if at all possible. I think I really threw my body for a loop having a period, one week of hormones, one week of no hormones and another period. I won’t be at all surprised if I had delayed ovulation this time around.

3. If you had trouble with breakouts before, be prepared to deal with it again, even if you think you’re too old to have the acne of a 13-year old.  My Clarisonic has become my best friend while trying to counter post-BC skin.

4. Consider buying the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility and charting for a few cycles, even if you have no intention of doing so when you are actively TTC. We will stop charting (at least initially) when we begin TTC because we’re hoping to succeed using a more laid back method, but it’s reassuring to be able to see that my body is doing what it is supposed to, to learn exactly how long my cycles usually are, when I typically ovulate, etc.

5. Make sure you plan for another method of BC because you could begin ovulating very quickly.  The myth that it takes a month or two for the hormones to really leave your system and for you to become fertile again isn’t reliable.

6. My doctor advised being off BC for at least one cycle before TTC. He said the hormones would be out of your system within the first few days, but that it’s easier to calculate a due date if you have at least one period post-BC before TTC.

What was your experience coming off birth control?