anyone have luteal phase defect?

What Atilla, Late night and Artoo say makes alot of sense. I used to regualary vary from 26 - 28 day periods but then started on vitamin B complex and it stabilised to 28 days. At the time I wasnt ttc it was more for being able to plan when on earth I would have AF. I travel with work and had been caught out once too often with AF which wasnt great - sorry of TMI.

incidentally my AF is a lot like yours stopping and starting. I tend to get a day then it stops froo a day. starts for 2/3 days then stops for a day then starts for a final day. I always count day one as the sign of the first bleed and ov at about day 12/13.

You may find this interesting as well:-

The three main causes of luteal phase defect include poor follicle production, premature demise of the corpus luteum, and failure of the uterine lining to respond to normal levels of progesterone. These problems occur at different times during the cycle but can also be found in conjunction with each other.

1. Poor follicle production occurs in the first half of the cycle. In this case, the woman may not produce a normal level of FSH, or her ovaries do not respond strongly to the FSH, leading to inadequate follicle development. Because the follicle ultimately becomes the corpus luteum, poor follicle formation leads to poor corpus luteum quality. In turn, a poor corpus luteum will produce inadequate progesterone, causing the uterine lining to be adequately prepared for the implantation of a fertilized embryo. Ultimately progesterone levels may drop early and menses will arrive sooner than expected resulting in luteal phase defect.

2. Premature failure of the corpus luteum can occur even when the initial quality of the follicle/corpus luteum is adequate. In some women the corpus luteum sometimes does not persist as long as it should. Here, initial progesterone levels at five to seven days past ovulation may be low; even if they are adequate, the levels drop precipitously soon thereafter, again leading to early onset of menses and hence a luteal phase defect.

3. Failure of the uterine lining to respond can occur even in the presence of adequate follicle development and a corpus luteum that persists for the appropriate length of time. In this condition, the uterine lining does not respond to normal levels of progesterone. Therefore, if an embryo arrives and tries to implant in the uterus, the uterine lining will not be adequately prepared, and the implantation will most likely fail.

If you are having bleeds that stop and start I would get this medically looked at. It is often not serious but you need to find out what the underlying cause is.

Who has suggested the use of progesterone?. Progesterone pessaries and their use is much debated; some people think they are helpful, others not.

I was also provided with progesterone suppositories to use but only after I conceived (used these up to 12 weeks).

Do you have a diagnosis of the underlying problem?.

You can temp chart but if your bleeds are like this I would not use such a method. Would instead rely on blood tests to give a more accurate picture of what your hormones (not just progesterone) levels are like.

I agree with Artoo, I too self diagnosed a luteal defect when I started to chart. My consultant kept saying that I ov'd 14 days prior to my AF but this was wrong - I ov'd on day 10 - 13 depending on the month and then luteal phase was anything from 10 - 13 days depending on the month. So by charting and then supplements (B6) I am now a steady 12 - 13 days luteal phase and trying to increase this to 14 days to give max chance of implantation. hope this helps!

Your luteal phase is the time between ovulation and your period starting. It is considered short if it is less than 10 days, and most doctors like to see it being 12 days or more.

Are you monitoring your ovulation? In which case, how many days is it between your ovulation and first AF?

If you're not monitoring your ovulation, you may not have luteal phase defect.

You say your cycle starts, stops and starts again. Does that mean you have two seperate bleeds? That sounds unusual to me, and you may want to get medical advice (some of the more experienced ladies here may be able to advise better though).

I had luteal phase defect (7 days from O to AF), and the progesterone creams made no difference to me at all. I got better results from just taking 50mg of vitamin B6 daily. I got some progesterone suppositories from my consultant and they work wonders though!

If you suspect luteal phase defect you should speak to your doctor as soon as possible.

Hugs,
Artoo.