I am currently 39 and yes I am TTC two more back to back. I have a DD 16 yr. old and a DS 6 yr. old. The age difference is still a trial. They love each other but they are just not really close and bonded as I thought they would be. With both of my babies I was on Depo for a full year with each. When I decided to have them I backed tracked and started the pill with both within in a month I was pregnant. So when I thought I was ready and wanted another one which again I was on the Depo for a year but this time has been a real challenge. Not that I did not just want one, we want two so they can grow together. My current FH has four 26 25 23 and 21 and all are very close; where one goes the others follow.
So with that said here is my story:
I was due to have another shot in Dec but with the Holidays and New Year I got my last shot Jan 2, 13 which was my last day to receive it without having a pregnant test, plus I was tired of having a long period so I got it anyway even though we was talking and thinking about having another one. I did not realize or thought it would be such heartache in the coming months. My period before the Depo was like clockwork every 28 days but with the Depo I got a period when the shot was due every 3 months and when I got the shot it would stop.
Stupid I thought I could start the pill when I regretted getting it cause I finally realized I was not getting any younger. I started the pill at the end of Jan and early Feb. For the months of Feb, March and April I had bled for three weeks out of the months. My last AF , I started to spot on the 4th by the 10th she was flowing which ended April 17th. During this time I was going out of my mind and wondering what I can do to stop this from happening. For one thing I was getting very weak and I know I was anemic. I started looking into natural hormonal balance treatment. I found FertilitAid and Tea for women a month back while I was researching so I ordered it on Friday the 12th, lord and behold I got it on the 15th so I started them both that day, within two days AF stopped. During all this, I was having server stomach issues which I found out March 26th I had Gallbladder stones. (Which Depo is also known to cause Gallbladder Disease) I ended up having surgery April 22nd which was also the day that I was schedule to ovulate if I even did by going off my charts and tempting but after that I went on a ride of my life, up and down like a rollercoaster.
The month of May was mind blowing. May 1st and May 2nd I had very light spotting. I would not have even noticed if I was not checking my CM. By mid-May I swore I was pregnant. I was having every symptom in the book. I even got my and FH hopes up. I had numerous HPT and two blood test; All BFN. Even had an ultrasound, everything looked great, ovaries looked normal all blood test came back normal but they never did a progesterone test since I wasnt pregnant. I bet if they did do a progesterone test they would have found out that they were elevated a bit just without ovulation. I tempted all this time and could see that they were up a bit. With all this going on I only came to find out I was having terrible Depo withdrawals.
So what was the problem, Depo was the problem. The shot is known to thin out the urine lining and cause your progesterone just to be high enough to think you are already pregnant but without the hCG you are not. When you do bleed, which they call it breakthrough bleeding, in my case I was bleeding every three month til the shot was due and then afterward I bled three weeks out of the month for three months so my lining was very thin so I was on a mission. Still no period, by mid-June and the doctors wouldn't do anything or see me until I was at least 90 days or more late. So I started to do a lot of research. I came across a web site in How to Get Your Period Back after Depo. Wish I remember where I got it from...when I do I will update Blog with it.
Since Depo can stay in the body for 6 to 8 months on average after the expired day of the next schedule shot before you could even get AF and then it could take another 6 to 9 months on average to ovulate depending on your body and the way it was before Depo. Every women is different so it will vary. So I was looking at Oct for any hope of even seeing Aunt Flo. So a total of 18 months or so to even have any hope of TTC, but I knew one thing I had to get this crap out of me. I know no thing I was going to wait around and see, so I had a plan and I was going to stick to it.
STEP 1: DETOX
For one week, I did a juice detox for one day, then an all organic veggie and fruit detox, never felt better in my life. I also exercised more and did some sauna sections to sweat it out along with my detox teas. Which I still do my teas, its always good to do them anyway.
STEP 2: HELPING AID
-Vitex (helps balance hormones)
-Vit B-6 (helps the thicken of the urine lining and luteal phase)
-Primrose Evening Oil (helps with Cervix Mucus Gland function)
-Natural Progesterone Cream {helps your body think it has a higher amount of progesterone when you stop it triggers your menstrual cycle (8mg for 10 days and then 20mg for 14 days. I wasnt counting the 4 days that my body would have had a period, which normally you would use 4mg but since I didnt have one I skipped that)}
This was not cheap I made sure I had all organic and natural ingredients. It cost well over 100 dollars. I was ready so I started on a day that would be easy for me June 20th. Everything went as planned. I noticed a drop in my temp like it would in the first half of your cycle. Once I started the higher dose of the progesterone cream my body thought it had ovulated and my temps went up. Makes sense right.
I then had my normal OBGYN appointment, while I was doing this but still no period but I had only been doing this for 10 days . I told him what I was doing which he was okay and liked the idea but he thought I needed a little more help so he gave me 10mg of Provera for 5 days which I started that evening on July 10th. On July 16th I started to drink Parley tea which has been known for centuries to help with menstrual flow plus I was curious and wasn't going to take a chance of the Provera and treatment not working. By the 18th, I had what was light spotting for 2 days. I was not really for sure to even count this as a period. Well 14 days later I ovulated confirmed with EWCM and temp rising but lower temp rising. Then the wait began, I was due to have AF the 14th and with all the timing 13 days later I have had what appears to be a normal period. Eleven days later, I started to spot on Sunday by Tuesday afternoon she was here in full force. I was happy but then I was sad and upset, I had a slight glimmer of hope that I was pregnant. I had a MRI (not sure if it the reason I did not get pregnant) Thursday before AF was due but I have come to terms that it was not my time and that my body was not ready. I have read too many reviews and reports that ladies were getting pregnant shortly after Depo without a AF first only to MC, which I feel it had something to do with the lining of the urine walls. So I am a bit relieved that I didn't. All in all, I had a total of 97 days/more without a period. My AF lasted for 6 days and I'm am currently ovulating at this time. :)
I will continue using my Primrose Evening Oil, B-6, Prenatal, Fish Oil and Vitex, but I will discontinue use of Vitex after a confirmed BFP, SO with all that said, I was 4 months Post Depo before my real AF showed up. I'm not going to say I won or I beat Depo, that will come in the coming months when I find out that I'm normal again. We just have to understand what is going on and take steps in getting this pioson out of our bodies. We can't let Doctor talk or bully us in giving us synthetic hormones that shouldn't be in our bodies....if its not the real stuff its not natural for our bodies to take in. There is a reason for mother natural and how it all plays out and there are and will be consequences when we play with nature and our bodies. We are putting poison and not knowing what its really does and/or doing to us. I will never encourage anyone to take this crap. I have sympathy for anyone going through this and GL and God Bless to everyone TTC after Depo. By all means, I am not a doctor this is just what worked for me. I'm a research freak when it comes to my body, I wouldn't put anything into if I knew I was doing harm.