Should I go back on the pill?

[Mrs P]

My medical herbalist has expressed concern at the length of time I have gone without AF (since June 06).
Should I go back on the pill for a few months, to have artificial AF and shed the endometrial lining? I'm concerned about the effects of it building up...

Yes I could talk to a GP but I'm a bit over them at the moment - last GP I saw was an idiot who just told me to "chill out" and AF would return. Yeah, because it's THAT easy. Grr.

I still have a few months supply of the pill somewhere...

[paradise lost]

It depends....

If you have not had AF since coming off the pill it suggests your ovaries are asleep in which case it might be counterproductive to take the pill again.

I notice you are losing weight. I can't see your ticker, just a link. Do you have a healthy BMI? AF can stay away if you have a low BMI or even if you have a normal BMI but are restricting calories/exercising too much. Lack of protein and healthy fats can be especially bad for this, so it might be worth looking at your diet.

If you aren't having AF then you aren't ovulating and in that case it is unlikely you are having any endometrium building up as it usually builds up as the early part of the ovulatory/menstrual cycle.

I know you're over them but it has been a LONG time now, you should definitely go back and see a GP about all this. "Chilling" has not worked for what, nearly 2 years... That's plenty long enough to give your body a chance.

[bettyboop]

i think a trip to see the doc and talk about it sounds good,not to scare you i have ashermans and that causes no AF would be good to know what is happening , have you had a scan?

[Shanti]

Have you seen an Acupuncturist?? I would recommend going to one as soon as you can. I just started seeing one and even within a week, she has helped me!

My right fallopian tube was partially blocked ( i never even knew ) and she helped to unclear it so i can hopefully conceive soon....

Also, I would NOT take the pill if I were you.... those things are bad bad news for a woman's body....

Hope your AF comes really soon and i think with seeing an AP that will help you! They regulate hormones naturally.

[Jas]

Hi, I also would recommend going to see your doctor once you go over a year of ttc they will give you some tests etc. If they don't help then I would go see someone else maybe even go straight to a gyno, that's probably the best.

With the pill it is only a withdrawal bleeding not an actual period which is why if you skip the sugar pills you don't have the bleeding and as someone else said you won't get the lining with the pill because you don't ovulate!

I would definitely suggest yiu keep going until someone helps you. This was happening to a friend of mine and when they went to the dr she found out she had a thyroid problem so she had no af and once she was on meds for that she got pg before she even had another af!

goodluck!

[Mrs P]

Wow thanks for all the great replies

Ok answers to some questions:

I am trying to lose weight, but not very hard! I'm 1.82m tall and about 75kg, so I'm in the healthy weight range, though I'd like to lose about 5kgs. Not over-exercising though!

I've been having weekly acupuncture for 10 months!!! It's to help me de-stress but mainly to try and sort my cycles. I'm one of those non-textbook cases though... my AP guy is awesome, has a very good reputation... it just hasn't worked yet! I'm also now seeing a medical herbalist too who also specialises in this area.

I've pretty much had all the blood tests done, as well as ultrasounds etc and the only abnormal thing is my hormone levels are all really low. No thyroid problems.

I saw an FS about a year ago and he was more focussed on the 'we can get you pg with FSH injections' idea rather than 'here's how to fix your cycles' - which is fair enough I guess, after all that's his job. And at that stage I was sure AF would return soon enough (this was before i started all the eastern therapy).

Good advice though - I think I'll give it another 3 months with the new herbal mix, and by then I'll be much closer to finishing my thesis (and much closer to getting rid of my main cause of stress). Until then I don't think it would be a good idea to get even more stressed out with more doctors and tests and poking and prodding! Plus as much as all this waiting is killing me, we did decide that we didn't want a bub until maybe early 09 - but that does mean we'll need to fall pg in the second half of this year!! So I guess if we wait til around the end of June then see a GP/gyno/FS again...

I think the whole issue is the not-knowing! It really gets to you after a while. Not to say that a diagnosis is really much easier, but it would just be nice to know what the problem is!!

[satya]

I wouldn't take the pill again. I don't think it will help your situation.

I know what you mean about wanting a diagnosis, but sometimes you just don't get one. I never got one in all the time I've been TTCing (over 10 years) but finally seem to have become fertile just when I should be heading towards menopause.