# Side effects after stopping birth control



## laura123 (Aug 6, 2003)

Side effects after stopping birth control I took birth control for 4 months and stopped on Sunday. Yesterday I had some vaginal discharge which looked like ovulation and some spotting. Is this from stopping the birth control? I thought you only spotted if you stop in the middle of taking them. I also started taking the herb Dong Quoi to induce ovulation/menstruation, so I'm not sure if the spotting is from that. Any ideas?


----------



## tallgal (May 15, 2003)

Hey there Laura, just to let you know that the bleeding you experience when on the pill is not a 'real' period, therefore it takes a short while for your cycle to get back on track, nothing for you to worry about.


----------



## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Hi Laura!Another thing to remember is that being on birth control doesn't cause your periods to go wacky after you stop - They simply mask your normal period "wackiness" while you're taking them. So, as already mentioned it may take your body a little while to sort things out, but after that you may go back to a natural "wackiness" - as some women have wacky cycles and some have cycles that are like clockwork naturally. Stopping the birth control therefore doesn't "cause" the wackiness, it just stopped controlling the wackiness. Hope this helps and makes sense!


----------



## Sherlock (May 14, 1999)

Regardless of when you stopped taking them, middle or end of a cycle, once you have gone 48 hours or so without taking a pill, your body will have a period. That's most likely the "spotting" you had.


----------

