I've been on various pills since I was 18 (microgynon, dianette, cileste, marvelon) and even a disastrous stint on the horomonal injection. I'm now 25, and my husband and I plan to start trying to conceive in 3 - 4 years.

I want to come off the pill in order to get my cycle back to normal, and flush out any chemical residues long before I start having babies. I'm also slightly concerned about the risk of getting liver damage, DVT and cervical cancer, associated with the pill I'm on. (I'm a slim, non-smoking vegetarian who exercises regularly and doesn't drink more than about half a bottle of wine a week, so I'm not at great risk, but still...)

I'm worried about the side-effects some people get when coming off high-dose pills like dianette (which I'm on at the moment) such as growth of thick body hair, thinning of head hair, greasy skin, weight gain, mood swings, acne... Has anyone here come off their pill, and can you give me any advice?

I've got an appointment with my doctor on Tuesday, but generally speaking doctors have never been very forthcoming with me about my options, or side-effects.

I'm also going to ask about getting a diaphragm (my husband is paranoid that condoms on their own aren't sufficiently "safe", so we've always combined contraception methods), which I've never tried before - any advice on that one? Other than remembering to wear nice pants to the doctor's?