- When women stop using the birth-control pill, their body's hormone levels may recover within a couple of weeks, and their first period usually occurs within four to six weeks as hormone levels return to normal. Pregnancy is possible almost immediately for some women. Others take longer. It is this variance in physical response that can cause varying side effects after stopping.
- There aren't many common side effects to stopping the pill, but many women experience bleeding between periods for a while. Post-pill amenorrhea, lack of a period, may occur after women stop the birth-control pill, but is common and not serious, and is an artifact of the body's delay in restarting normal hormone production. If, after six months, you haven't started your period yet, you should go see your doctor. Also contact a physician if the reason you stopped taking the pill was to become pregnant, you are actively trying to have a child and you've had no success after six months.
- The birth-control pill often helps improve problem acne in some women. Unfortunately, stopping the pill can cause a return of the old acne problem. For a short time after stopping hormone therapy, the acne can become worse for a time and then return to the level it was before taking birth-control pills.
- Women who suffered from depression prior to taking the pill and who experienced a reduction of symptoms, may experience a recurrence of symptoms of depression, anxiety or anger in the wake of stopping the pill. The sudden drop of hormone levels in the bloodstream can aggravate premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) symptoms as well.
- Because of delays in hormone levels returning to normal, you may remain infertile for weeks or even months after stopping the pill. This should lift as excess hormones leach out of the system over time.
