Come off BC- but try to NOT conceive for a few cycles- doomed to condoms?

[Anonymous]

This is a bit of a bizarre inquiry I am sure- but here goes: I will be TTC in the coming year (1st time)- have been on BCP for over 10 years consistently. I want to come off the pill and allow my body to regulate itself/ get my hormones and have at least 1 or 2 "real" cycles before wanting to be pregnant. I know this may sound silly but I don't want to go from being on BCP to being pregnant- I am really curious to see what my cycle/body feels like once or twice before being pregnant.

Its probably the way things will work out anyway, but there are lots of people who get pregnant on the 1st month off. I haven't used condoms in ages, and before BCP I was a teen/20something who was not risky enough to try any kind of cycle timing (I was condom diligent for other reasons too).

So I am trying to look up stuff about 'natural family planning' but since I have no idea how long my cycle will be for the first 1-2 months that I want to avoid pregnancy, it seems like I can't figure out what days to avoid and which days are "safe" (yes,, yes I realize this is not 100% safe).

Does anyone have any easy/clear resources they have used for natural family planning right from the pill- google is downright overwhelming

[Anonymous]

You could also just do other stuff besides intercourse for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could also just do other stuff besides intercourse for a while.

Oh for sure- but we are pretty frequent, get cranky (either of us) if we go a week or more, so just trying to figure out which days are "all the way" days and which are "high school boyfriend" fun times as I like to think of them!

[Anonymous]

yup, condoms. we used them for a few months as i regulated before ttc #1 (now almost 2 yrs old) and are just off them again as we try to ttc #2 (didn't want to go on hormonal bc between pregnancies). they suck. the bonus is you enjoy ttc that much more when you're ditching condoms am hoping to convince DH to get a vasectomy after we have a 2nd..

[Anonymous]

Just use condoms. It's not that big of a deal. Any family planning methods require you to have a decent understanding of your cycles, which you won't be able to have right away anyway.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all, that's what I figured. Sigh. But really, not a big deal, I know that.

[Anonymous]

Any barrier method is fine -- a diaphragm, for instance. To conceive, just don't use the diaphragm.

[Anonymous]

We used withdrawal for a year. I know it's not totally fail proof, but we weren't totally opposed to getting pregnant--as in, it wouldn't be the worst thing if it happened at that point. I wanted to regulate cycles too, but I would have been fine if I hadn't had that chance. Moot point; we never conceived during that time!

[Anonymous]

I used vaginal contraceptive film successfully as birth control. It's not as reliable as condoms, but still pretty good.

[Anonymous]

I tried this exact thing when I first got married. Tried natural family planning so my body could regulate off of BCP. Got pregnant almost right away. He's now seven! Ironically, now trying for a third and it id not nearly as easy!
So, use condoms!!

[Anonymous]

Read the book Taking control of your fertility. It will help you figure out if your body is ovulating and when you can and cannot have sex. It's called the fertility awareness method. It's an awesome book for understanding your cycles and how it all works. If you do try to get pregnant it will also help you time it appropriately. Or conversely it will help you figure out why you may not be getting pregnant. I read this and realized that my body was not properly ovulating the first three months after I got off the pill. I got pregnant in the fourth month by noticing the fertility signs and realizing that I was finally ovulating.

[Anonymous]

My DD takes BCP to have a regular 28 day cycle. Before she took the pill her cycles weee highly irregular. The OBGYN told her that she would be most able to conceive in the very first month off BCP because her body would still be operating on the 28 day cycle that was artificially generated by the pills. The further out from taking the pills, the more likely her cycle would revert back to its underlying irregularity and make her fertile days hard to predict.

She has PCOS, but I would think this would apply to anyone coming off BCP who knows that they once had irregular cycles.

Just FYI.

[Anonymous]

Another recommendation for Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Great book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read the book Taking control of your fertility. It will help you figure out if your body is ovulating and when you can and cannot have sex. It's called the fertility awareness method. It's an awesome book for understanding your cycles and how it all works. If you do try to get pregnant it will also help you time it appropriately. Or conversely it will help you figure out why you may not be getting pregnant. I read this and realized that my body was not properly ovulating the first three months after I got off the pill. I got pregnant in the fourth month by noticing the fertility signs and realizing that I was finally ovulating.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Just FYI the book is Taking Charge of your Fertility. An absolute must read for your situation.