how long does it take for fertility to return after getting off birth control?

[briannas auntie]

I have been on birth control pills for over a year, due to hormonal problems.  My periods went on for months and I had ovarian cysts rupture often, so the gyno put me on the pill.

Well, now that I am off of it as of this month, I was wondering how long does it take after you are off of the pill for fertility to return to normal?  I am not interested in having a baby (I want to wait until I graduate college), but I want to chart when I ovulate for reproductive health. 

Jessie

[lovebeingamomma]

it can come back immediately even if your chart looks a little screwy for a few cycles you can still be ovulating

[renavoo]

Hi Briannas Auntie!

My experience is that it screwed up my cycle for at least 6 months. In fact, I feel like it took about 9 months to really normalize. I got off bc pills December 2009 and didn't have a period for 3 months. Then, I had really irregular periods for another 6 months (i would go anywhere from 40-55 days without a period). I don't know whether this helped but I didn't get more regular cycles until I tried supplementing with vitamin D and B6. i hear that bc pills may make us more deficient in these vitamins and these deficiencies may lead to infertility. I'm now being "helped" with clomid and IUIs because it's been more than a year since i've been trying; I know it's irrational but I sometimes blame the pills. I feel like before I took the pills (for 8 years), i had a really regular cycle. But generally, the data suggests that some people are able to get pregnant right off the bat and others take a while to stabilize. they also suggest that BC pills do not reduce fertility.

Good luck!!

[Northstar78]

I was on bcp to regulate my period since 1996. Even when I was a teenager, I NEVER was regular. I took my first non-active pill on 1/24/11 and I ovulated 17 days later then got my period 15 days later. So my body reset that first month off but I don't know if my cycles will be regular off bcp.

[justKate]

It depends!  Exactly what you wanted to hear, right? 

I was on Depo for five years.  Got my last depo shot in December, skipped my depo shot in March, had 2 periods and was pg with DD at the end of May without trying.  IMO that's pretty quick--basically two months.

[briannas auntie]

Thanks for the help!  I noticed this time around, I had an almost 28 day cycle.  One strange thing about is that out of curiousity, I decided to use an ovulation predictor test the day before the Full Moon.  It tested positive, and a couple days later, I started my period (on the next moon cycle). 

Man, I had no idea that the moon had so much to do with women's cycles.  This shocked me a lot, but it was also interesting to discover. 

Jessie