Could my missed period be as a result of coming off the pill?

hi , i was on the pill for 2 years and last month i missed some pills , i never got a period on the 7 day break ,so i stopped taking the pill just in case i am pregnant, its now 3 weeks since my period should have started , the hpt was neg ?

Hi, Anon. Thanks for your question!

You are absolutely right -- a missed period can be the result of coming off the pill. The pill regulates all our reproductive hormones when we're taking it, and when we come off it, there's often a short transition time between when it runs the show and when our own bodies take over the hormones again.

Different hormones dictate whether your cervical mucus is friendly to sperm (the egg-white consistency time), whether your uterus is ready to host a fertilized egg, and whether your body releases an egg. Some of those may have kicked in already; others may be tardier. Meaning, your body may have been ready for ovulation but not have released an egg.

Or, yes, it's possible you got pregnant right away, and when you took the test it was too soon after conception and there wasn't enough HCG in your urine (that is the pregnancy hormone that pregnancy tests measure).

By my calculations, you're now 20 days past the time when you believe you may have ovulated, right? The choice is really yours. If you have a missed period just due to coming off the pill, any pregnancy test will be an unneeded expense. If you have another pregnancy test in a week and it's negative, you will still wonder. I think you'll probably still wonder about it until you get either a period or a positive test, am I right? So I'm not sure another test at this point is in your best interest. If I were you I might just eat healthfully and avoid things like alcohol just in case, and wait another week or 10 days before testing again. I'm not sure I actually COULD wait that long, but I might try since there's a good chance it's the pill that has made your hormones a little off.

I know how hard it is to wait and hope and wonder. Been there and done it, and it's very difficult. Hang in there, and I have my fingers crossed for you!

P.S. Another writer on another thread suggested the Dollar Store -- if you have one near you, they have pregnancy tests that are much less expensive. That might be an option as well.