Not Sure If This Quite Belongs...

[Adelle]

So my husband and I decided that we are gonna "try" a little later this year. So I decided to go off the depo shot (we're using condoms till we're ready) so that when we're ready, we'll be able to try right away. Well, long story short, this is the start of my fourth week on my period! Arg! I called my insurance's nurse line (I reeeally don't wanna see the doc yet. I dislike him enough as it is). They said this sort of thing happens when going off the shot. My body will apparently just go haywire for a while and then level itself out. I asked for an ETA of my fertility, she said she didn't know. For some women, it comes back right away, and some it can take a year or more.

I'm just devastated! I can DEAL with a super long period, but when I told ryan how long it could take, he started crying. It broke my heart. We had no idea it would be this hard when I started the shot about a year ago.

Do any of you have ideas on how to "encourage" my body to rid itself of this horrible stuff (the depo)? I had no idea it could be this bad for me! Every book on fertility in the library simply says how bad depo is for your body and how long it takes to get fertility back, nothing about what to do in the meantime!

Oh and any "becoming parents" advice would be more than welcome. We both didn't have very "attached" parents, so I'm sure there's TONS of stuff we don't know and would love to learn!

Thank you so much.

[GFBetsy]

I know my sister went through this, and has sworn NEVER to take the depo shot again. I suggest that you ask around among your friends and find a popular OBGYN. Then make an appointment and ask for his/her advice. There are things they can do . .. none of them are immediate fixes, but it'll start you on the road.

Good luck.

[tiffjake]

I kinda understand what you are going through. I was on the pill for 7 years, and going off has been a pain in the @ss. I would recomend seeing a Reproductive Endocrinologist. I saw one last friday and he really helped me map out a plan for getting pregnant. They are the doc that would do Invitro, if it came down to that, so I decided to go straight to the docs who would know what they were talking about. If you don't need a referal (and I didn't) then I would go straight to them. Just my opinion.

Besides that, I would REALLY recomend the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Wessler. It is AMAZING and full of great tips on getting pregnant (including how to chart your cycles, so you can see when you are fertile). It was a HUGE help for me!!!

Good Luck!!!!!!

[Adelle]

PS thanks for the advice tho.

[Adelle]

I rented "taking charge of your fertility" from the library. It seems like it'd be useful if I could track my cycles! I have no idea how long my cycle is because my period isn't stopping so how can I count the days from one to the next!! This is the 4th week straight for me. I think I'm gonna give it some more time before I worry too much. In a few months, if I'm unable to regulate, I'll seek out another doctor. My friend gave me the name of her obgyn (we have the same insurance!), so maybe I'll call her when I'm ready.

I just wish I had known about these effects when I went on the shot. Since at the time I was not wanting to get pregnant, I guess the doc never thought to tell me that when I would want kids, it'd be THIS much harder. I have never known anyone to "try" to have a baby, every single person I know was a "suprise". If they can all accidentally get pregnant, it seems so unfair that I can't when we want this so much.

[Adelle]

I rented "taking charge of your fertility" from the library. It seems like it'd be useful if I could track my cycles! I have no idea how long my cycle is because my period isn't stopping so how can I count the days from one to the next!! This is the 4th week straight for me. I think I'm gonna give it some more time before I worry too much. In a few months, if I'm unable to regulate, I'll seek out another doctor. My friend gave me the name of her obgyn (we have the same insurance!), so maybe I'll call her when I'm ready.

I just wish I had known about these effects when I went on the shot. Since at the time I was not wanting to get pregnant, I guess the doc never thought to tell me that when I would want kids, it'd be THIS much harder. I have never known anyone to "try" to have a baby, every single person I know was a "suprise". If they can all accidentally get pregnant, it seems so unfair that I can't when we want this so much.

[Guest cassidy]

Taking Charge of your Fertility is a great book. It may be frustrating now but it could be good to read and then you can track things a bit later. I went off bc in January and started tracking in March. I had long cycles of like 45-50 days so that is frustrating because it seemed like forever before I would ovulate. We started trying in August and got pregnant the first time.

So, I would give it some time and try not to worry about it. I don't think there is much that you can do but give your body time. You don't know if it will take a month or a year for your body to heal and stressing about it will only make things worse. I would think that since you are gluten-free it would be easier for your body to get back on track.

My cycles stayed long but since I was tracking I knew when to try. Also, as they say in the book, my doctor gave me a "poor you" look when the first u/s came back and the baby was smaller than he should have been if I had had a normal cycle. I explained that I was tracking and he was right on schedule because I ovulated so much later. He believed me and changed my due date but I would have been freaked out if I hadn't been tracking everything.

I'm not trying to rub it in, but just give you hope that it may not take forever to get regulated and get pregnant. I was on bc for 13 years straight so I was very worried that we wouldn't be able to get pregnant. I am definitely not going back on bc after the baby comes because I don't like the idea of taking all those hormones.

Good luck!