Low progesterone levels - anyone been treated for this?

[Tads]

I've had the day 21 blood test which confirms that 6 months after my miscarriage, I'm still not ovulating. Apparently my progesterone level is very low. My doctor is reluctant to treat me with anything and suggests I try to remain patient for a further 6 months and come back if I'm still not ovulating. I'm now climbing the walls!

Does anyone have any advice as to anything I can do naturally? Frankly, I'm ready to try anything. I know 6 months is nothing to the doctors, but it will be a year from the date of my miscarriage and 2 years from the time we started ttc if I wait that long.

I'm taking vitamin B6 and oil of evening primrose as I've heard this can help to kickstart stuff, but I've been warned against progesterone cream and agnus castus. Any further insight would really help.

[Tads]

anyone???

[rainbowdays]

Hi, I took progesterone suppositories for my last pregnancy (which ended in miscarriage like the previous 6)

Are you taking evening primrose oil for the whole cycle, as it is not advised for after ovulation.

The day 21 test is not accurate unless you know when you ovulate. It is possible to ovulate late in your cycle, and therefore day 21 would be inaccurate. The day 21 test needs to be done 6,7,8 or 9 days after ovulation to determine if you have low progesterone too.

Progesterone cream if used should only be taken after ovulation.

However all of this depends on if you are ovulating. Have you previously monitored CM or done temping or had other blood tests? Do you have long or short cycles.... Have you ever been tested for PCOS? Were your cycles prior to the m/c different?

Sorry can't really say if anything would help without knowing a bit more background. But did not want your post to go unanswered.

[Tads]

Thanks so much for your response. Sometimes it just helps to rant! I'm so sorry to hear of your losses. You sound to have really been through it.

I know for a fact I'm not ovulating and told the doctor as much when I went for the blood tests. I guess you know your own body if you've charted for a while. Everything seems okay apart from my progesterone levels which are apparently so low there is no chance I'm ovulating. I bled for nearly 11 weeks straight after the miscarriage and had to resort to going back on the pill for a month to make it stop, as all scans showed that I had no retained products and both the internal and u/s showed everything else appeared to be normal. Unfortunately taking the pill may have set me back even further according to my doctor, but I think it was just a particularly grim miscarriage.

I've been charting and using OPKs and, although I know things can alter after each pregnancy, OPKs have always worked for me in the past. I've been obsessive enough to use 2 each day for the whole of my past 3 cycles and it would seem that zip is going on.

Thanks for the info on progesterone cream and evening primrose oil. I didn't know when you should use either, but I suppose I need to be ovulating for it to be a concern.

It's hard to say what my cycles were like prior to the mc because I'd been on the pill for so long, although I did conceive DS a month after coming off it after 13 years of taking it. Oddly enough, my cycles do seem reasonably regular now, just anovulatory and very heavy and painful. I'm hoping against hope that things will return to normal with each month that goes by, but I feel as though I've hit a bit of a wall.

[sue10]

Hi, when i found out i wasn't ovulating my consultant started me on clomid which did kick start the process and i got pregnant the next month however i have gone on to have many mc's but unlinked to the clomid.
XXX.

[Tads]

Thanks sue10. My doctor has told me he's very reluctant to use clomid - his reasoning being that I have managed to get pregnant twice in 2 years so am obviously not infertile. I take his point but just because I've done it before doesn't mean I can now!

I don't even really feel I can get a second opinion because he's a family friend. I guess I'll just have to try not to go insane for the next 6 months! I thought miscarriage was tough enough without all the crap you have to contend with afterwards! x

[sh77]

Hi

Has your GP suggested any tests to see why you are not ovulating/low progest? I suffered from high prolactin, the effects of which were mid-cycle bleeding, lactation. headaches. Basically, prolactin suppresses the hormones required for ovulation. High prolactin is v easy to treat with tablets. Maybe you want to get this ruled out before taking tablets to kick start ovulation. Another option is accupuncture - I swear by it and there are many threads in the conception section about it.

[meatntattypie]

me.
progesterone was allegedly 13 on day 21.
Suggested clomid.
But only to shut me up i suspect becuase like you i can get pregnant...had 3 mcs in last 2 years.

Miscariage IS hard enough, but for many the shed loads of crap that go with them are also part and parcel.
shite shite shite.

[Tads]

Hi sh77. My GP has already tested my prolactin level and that is apparently fine. The only thing which appeared to be off kilter was the progesterone and he couldn't give me any reason. Just said it was extremely low. I suspect the miscarriage has just messed me up, but I have no idea how to remedy it. Waiting doesn't seem to be doing a great deal of good. Having said that, I don't think I could take it if I took something and then had another miscarriage. I would always wonder if medication had caused it.

Interestingly enough, I am suffering from evil headaches, the likes of which I've never had before and I'm popping pills to deal with them. I'm also incredibly tired - much like in early pregnancy - very cruel! I did assume these symptoms were connected to the lack of ovulation, but - not meaning to do him a disservice - I suspect my GP might not be as clued up about all this I'd like. One bit of good news is that the blood tests showed my liver function was good, so at least I can have the occasional drink to get through it!

meatntattypie, I'm really sorry to hear that. I wouldn't wish this feeling on my worst enemy, but I am selfishly grateful I'm not on my own. Hope we all get the good news we deserve soon and thanks very much for your responses. xx

[Tads]

Oh, and thanks for the suggestion of acupuncture. Will look into that. x

[sh77]

Hi tads
Sounds like you need to see a specialist endocrinologist will do more tests for you. You probably already know that low progesterone doesn't aid implantation, so it is possible you had low progesterone before the MC.

EPO regulates cycles and hormones. I think progesterone cream is only a short term fix. I find it insensitive that your doc is telling you to sit it out for 6 months. You have evry right to ask for a specialist referral as he/she clearly can't advise you on this.

[Littlefish]

Tads - I had very low progesterone and was not ovulating. The GP didn't suggest anything to me either. I started having acupuncture, and when I was tested again three months later, my hormone levels were all normal. I think it's definitely worth investigating acupuncture further.

[Tads]

Thanks all of you. It's a great help to have some female input! I'm tired of male doctors telling me that a healthy sex life will bump start me like a car and level out my hormones! Yeah, right. I'd love to know what they class as a healthy sex life when the aim of the game is clearly that we're trying to conceive and it hasn't worked yet. I do know how to make babies. I just need a little help. sh77 I have started to wonder if the progesterone issue was there before my miscarriage, but of course now I'll never know. The fact that the miscarriage wasn't discovered until 12 weeks would suggest that implantation was okay intially, although it was a blighted ovum so I'm not sure what bearing that has on stuff - if the body is confused since it doesn't realise you are no longer pregnant.

As much as anything else, I've discovered that a hormonal imbalance can make you feel just as crap physically as it can mentally, so I'll probably just end up telling my GP that the need for medical assistance is just as important to alleviate emotional stress, headaches, weight gain etc. as it is to try and get pregnant. The thing I hate most about this is the lack of control. It does seem that medical professionals are not remotely concerned about you if you've managed to conceive in the past.

Littlefish, I will definitely consider acupuncture. Seems slightly less worrying than random pill popping and dodgy creams. Lunatic, I will no doubt be along to your thread for a rant at some stage! Thanks again. I really appreciate your advice ladies. xx

[Siennarosesmumma]

Hi is there any updates on those with low progesterone? I'm stuck in thr same boat x