feeling upset & fed up with cycles & phases - can anyone please offer some advice?

[LipstickGirl]

I really had no idea that ttc would be such a minefield but I've been reading lots and been online lots bit I still can't seem to figure out my problem. I'm hoping someone on here can!

I've always had very, very painful periods caused by endemetrios but managed it with the pill. I came off the pill a year ago and been FTC for 2 months - not long I know but my cycles are irregular (22 days, 29 days, 23 days, 31 days for the last four) and having used ov sticks & temping this month I realize that I ov'd on the 14th/15th and have come on 7 days later! Now I don't know if my luteal phase is always so short or if it's affected by my irregular periods and I just don't know what to to next - can anyone help?

Apologies for the long message ANC thanks in advance for taking the time to read / reply.

X

[PicknMix]

I'm sorry as I don't really have any words of wisdom but felt the need to reply to your plea!

You really need to speak to your doctor again re the endo and see if they can refer you to a gynie specialist.

A 7 day luteal phase is short (I think anything under 10 days is considered short) so you need your bloods tested (day3 and day21 tests) to ascertain if and when you ov to make sure as I've read that ov sticks can sometimes be unreliable as you may get more than 1 surge in any 1 cycle.

I know dr's usually state that they wont test if you've been ttc under 1 yr but I'm sure with your history they will make an allowance.

Sorry for not being much help, coming from a fellow ttc'er (2yrs now, 1 mc and a couple of cp's) I know how frustrating it all is. The sooner you get yourself in the system the better (I had an hsg in december and have to wait until June to find out the results ).

I wish you the best of luck and hope somebody more knowledgable posts, try not to google too much, that way doth madness lie!

Take care x

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Would agree with PicknMix's response in its entireity.

Your cycles would also be seen to be irregular because there are also more than 4 days of variation from month to month. A blood test can be done (around day 3) to see what your hormone levels are like. Both LH and FSH should be tested for at that time and compared against each other. If LH is higher than FSH this is one possible indicator of a condition called polcystic ovaries (and that can make periods irregular as well). An internal ultrasound scan could be performed to see what the ovaries look like.

What treatment to date have you had for the endometriosis - was it drugs, surgery?.

Luteal phase problems are controversial - some gynaes will say yes they exist, others not so.

Would refrain from using the OPK's - these kits are beset with problems and assume that a rise in LH is immediately followed by ovulation. Also they are not worht using at all if periods are irregular. Women can have more than one rise in LH every month so such a rise is not immediately followed by ovulation. Ovulation is not an exact science and it can occur earlier, later or not at all in any given cycle.

[LipstickGirl]

Thank you so much for your replies, I do appreciate you taking the time to offer your advice. I'll be phoning my Doctor tomorrow about those tests definitely and I suppose that I'll feel a bit better that at least I'm doing something constructive rather than googling myself to death & filling in fertility predictors...

I did have a laparoscopy and some laser for by endometriosis about 10 years ago but nothing since then. At the time they said it wasn't very bad and that though I was fainting with pain sometimes that pain wasn't an indication of the severity of the disease. Apart from that I was given Mefenamic Acid and put on the pill - which I took from age 16 to 30. As the pain has been very bad again just in the last few months my Doctor has referred me for a scan but didn't mention any blood tests so I'll go back.

I had wondered about PCOS as have some of the symptoms but didn't know how it affected cycles - more googling! My cycles are getting more irregular as time goes in so it seems possible. Oh God, to think I used to use condoms for a week if I missed one pill!

Thanks for your continuing help,

X

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Endometriosis is an enigma of a disease; they were correct in saying that pain severity was not an indicator of how severe the endo is. "Mild" (hah!) endometriosis can cause severe pain, chronic endometriosis can cause not much pain at all.

If the pain has become very bad again it may be that the endometriosis has returned. BTW scans won't pick it up, it may be that ultimately you will need further surgery. Blood tests won't detect endometriosis deposits if they are there but it may determine if PCOS is also an issue (it is quite possible to have both, I was diagnosed with both PCOS and endo).

Two useful websites for you to look at are these:-

www.endo.org.uk

www.verity-pcos.org.uk

HTH, any other questions just ask.

[LipstickGirl]

Thanks Attila (?!) I'll have a look at those websites though I always find them a bit depressing - mainly because I would just like to pretend it doesn't concern me!

I'm sorry to hear you've suffered from both, and you absolutely don't have to answer this personal question but has it adversely affected your fertility? I know that might sound a silly question but I'm forever reading about celebs with either or (Posh, Louise Redknapp, Jools Oliver) who still manage to get pregnant without too much intervention

So is the only way to check fit endo adhesions a laparoscopy? If that's the case a scan might be a waste of time - though may have it anyway as I'm keen to just to get investigations moving. There's a horrible panicky feeling that accompanies trying to get pregnant aged 32 and discovering you probably have fertility issues. This bloody endo has been a fairly debilitating problem since I was 13 and I'm fed up with it!

Thanks again, it really is very kind of you to share your considerable knowledge on here.

X

[gothicmama]

please remember that PCOS is an umbrella term in that not all women will have all of the syptoms good luck

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

What gothicmama says is indeed true. PCOS is a very individualistic disorder and affects each woman with it very differently.

PCOS and endo certainly have played their parts in affecting my fertility to its detriment. There is NO way I would be a parent without fertility treatment (which in my case involved surgery).

If adhesions were present no drug treatment will touch adhesions once they are formed. Surgical removal is the option. The surgeon also needs to take as much care as possible to keep any further adhesion formation to the absolute minimum (any abdominal surgery brings with it the risk of adhesions).

All three of the celebs you mention had treatment of one sort or another - can't remember much about VB (but seem to recall reading about PCO). Louise Redknapp I seem to recall had a lap because of endo (and has been trying to raise awareness), Jools had ovarian diathermy due to PCOS.

Can well relate to you saying about how fed up with it you are having had endo since I was 14!. I realise that now as my periods from the beginning were awful.