all over the place periods, how on earth will I know when am ovulating?

[emeraldgirl1]

After approx 6 years on Depo Provera, during which periods stopped completely, followed then by around 3.5 years on Micronor progestogen-only-pill, during which periods eventually came back and then were (for a time) pretty regular, they have now gone back to a gap of either 6, 7, or 8 weeks. I stopped taking the Micronor 5 weeks ago.

I never used to stress about this, because I had irregular periods ever since I was 13, but now I'm 32 and starting to think about ttc, I'm stressing out about it! Scan for PCOS was negative, plus I have none of the other signs of it. Am heading to (a new, more sympathetic I hope) GP this week to discuss this further. My assumption is that it's either the mini-pill or stress that does this to me, but if it's stress, what can I even do about that? Very demanding job, difficult family situation - stress isn't going anywhere any time soon!

Anyone else either had experience of crazy irregular periods or of being on Micronor? Thank you so much!!

[sonsmum]

I too had irregular periods from age 13 and then went on the pill in my early 20s....then hit 31 and hubby and I ttc.......once coming off the pill, I had no period for approx 3 months, then a very long irregular menstrual cycle varying from 36 to 55 days
I had to use temperature charting to try to make any kind of sense of my menstrual cycle and also used ovulation sticks to try to pinpoint ovulation. Fortunately I fell pregnant after 6 months of charting and now have a gorgeous son. Interesting once my periods resumed once I finished breastfeeding, my periods returned regular as clockwork. I suspect it just took me a long time to get the pill hormeones out of my system....either that or pregnancy kickstarted all my systems!
Either way, you have hape of ttc. Good luck.

[emeraldgirl1]

thanks lulabelle and sonsmum! Great to hear that you are both already proud possessors of lovely children despite period weirdness! I do think that maybe I should start some kind of routine with ovulation kits, even if just to put my mind at rest... we're not quite at the stage of ttc (though at this rate we'll be putting it off forever - when DOES it feel like the right time??) but I think I'djust like to feel I have more control or at least awareness of how everything's working before we start...

[queenrollo]

i came off the pill after taking it for 12 years. Nothing at all happened for months and then i was very irregular. I took agnus castus tincture and eventually started to notice a change in my system, such as the 'egg white' consistency to my 'fluids' and on the month i conceived i definitely felt a mild ovulation pain.
Like sonsmum i fell into a regular as clockwork pattern after the birth of my ds.
Have you had the blood tests for hormone levels? My GP sent me for these just to see if my body was working as it should be, and they were normal so i was told to give it another six months and if still no pregnancy then to go back for further investigation.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

emeraldgirl1,

My guess is there is an actual underlying cause as this has been going on for many years now. Its not due to stress or the mini pill (if anything the pill can mask symptoms of the underlying problem) as this started during your teens. I've always had irregular periods ever since my teens as well - in my case the cause was PCOS. Infact around one in every five women has PCO - its very common although not many GPs are seemingly up to speed with regards in depth knowledge.

PCOS as well is a very individualistic disorder and affects each woman with it very differently. The commonality between PCOS and polycystic ovaries is the cystic follicles on the ovaries. It is quite possible to have polycystic ovaries (PCO) without the other associated symptoms but as mentioned above it is a very individualistic disorder.

Blood tests can be done to see what your hormone levels are like - a day 3 test can be done to compare the level of LH against that of FSH. If these are awry (normally these are the same) this can be indicative of hormonal imbalances. You should be evaluated further to see if there are any thyroid imbalances or PCOS.

BTW if periods are irregular as well then blood tests can be done according to calendar days.

Usually more than one scan (and it should be an internal ultrasound scan as well) needs to be done. The cystic follicles associated with PCO are very small and it can take a skilled sonographer to spot them. Also such cystic follicles do disappear - just because they were nto seen does not mean to say that PCO is not present. The cystic follicles do return over time.

Even with PCOS though there can be occasional ovulation but it is generally very infrequent or does not happen at all. It is quite possible to have periods without ovulating.

Ovulation predictor kits are therefore not worth using if the menstrual cycle is irregular. They are of ony more use if the cycle is consistently regular (and even then they are not without their problems). I would not be using them in your circumstances.

Seek medical help sooner rather than later and do not take no for an answer. It is all too easy to be fobbed off and you will need to be persistant in order to get answers.

[Neeko]

I don't have much experence of all this but I started charting my temperatue after my MMC about 3 months ago and have found it quite reassuring. I also think it would be quite useful to be able to provide my GP with a few cycles of temps if I don't become pregnant soon. Good luck.