taking a break from the pill?

Hi all.

I am thinking about starting on the pill again after I give birth (in August). I've used the pill a few times before, I don't particularly love it but its effective and i do prefer it over the IUD (which i had for a year and absolutely hated).

The only thing I'm wondering about is, my husband travels for work and stays away for 2 (sometimes even 3 or 4) months at a time. So would I be able to stop taking the pill in the months that he is away, without causing my body too much stress? Would it actually be better to be having a sort of break from the pill every few months? When I've taken the pill before, I usually feel fine for the first few cycles, then I slowly start to feel depressed, nauseous, headaches, weight gain etc. So would taking a break every so often maybe help with that? has anyone else done something similar?

I tried googling and couldn't find much information. (I will talk with my GP/midwife about it, was just hoping there was some ladies who have experience with a similar situation.)



thanks

The combined pill isn't great if you're breastfeeding, so you'll need to look at the mini pill. Coming off and on shouldn't be a problem, but from memory the first week of taking the mini pill isn't as effective so be careful when you're restarting.

Gosh I completely forgot about the pill and breastfeeding. Is it because it dries up the milk or is it dangerous for bub? I took the mini pill before when breastfeeding and felt completely horrid for a few months so stopped. Not going to try it again.

If you feel that they are not helping you then don't take them and consult it with your doctor for other alternative of these pills.

Have you considered copper iud? Not hormonal so no depressive side effects or weight gain etc etc

I did have that previously for about a year and it was actually horrible for me. It's not supposed to have any of those side effects but I'm one of those special people who is sensitive to copper/or even has copper toxicity (which I want to be tested for).

I felt terrible for ages and even after I had it taken out it took me over a year to feel 'normal' again. Worst couple of years of my life to be honest. Never again for me. But in saying that, my best friend had one too and she had no issues at all. So it's just me 😏