I used Ortho Tri Cyclen for about a year and a half. I stopped using it around August 20th (I was on my 3rd week of the pill pak). I missed 4 pills and the doctor told me to stop and then take it again when I get my next period. Today is October 3rd & I still haven't gotten it. How long does it usually take to be regulated again?

Have you taken a pg test?

First of all, I just wanted to let you know that there's nothing wrong with you. And I don't believe you are pregnant.

Secondly, I think the best way to explain this is to let you know that the bleed you were having every month while you were on the pill wasn't a real period. The pill tricks your body into thinking it's pregnant, and the bleed you have each month is nothing more than a drop in hormone levels during your placebo week.

The pill completely supresses your natural ovulation and menstruation patterns, and the longer you are on the pill, the longer you've been supressing your true menstrual period.

However, it doesn't seem to matter how long you've been on the pill, it appears that majority of women, after coming of the pill, regardless of how long they've been on it, have a seriously hard time getting their period back to normal. I've found hundreds of women online who are currently having a majorly hard time with it and freaking out because they think they are pregnant, when in reality they are not. It's just the fact that they came off the pill and it's still continuing to supress normal menstruation.

As to how long it will take for you to get back to normal, that's anyone's guess. But some women who only took the pill for a month and then quit have to wait several months to get a real period back. But other women (such as myself) have taken the pill for a really long time (14 years for me) and then quit, only to start having a period again right away normally. It just depends on the woman.

So the bottom line is that there's probably nothing wrong with you. But you should do a web search for other message boards where women are talking about their period not coming back after they quit the pill, because I'm telling you it's so common that you'd be really surprised. I'm like the only person I know that got her period back right away. I have yet to meet anyone else who has. I guess my ovaries are just functioning very well and it's great for me to know that being on the pill for almost half my life hasn't impacted them too much. Except for the cysts but that's another story.