Luteal phase help!

@Nevergiveup31 I know - progesterone is supposed to be safe even if you don’t have a deficiency so I dont know why they won’t just prescribe it!

My testosterone was high and when I asked if that meant pcos (the only thing I can find on high testosterone) the GP said I didn’t have pcos because my other bloods were fine. In fact I think they’re slightly out of kilter because of their ratio. Her view was that overall everything was close to ok so nothing she could do to help. This is the same GP who refuses to believe you can have a short luteal phase so it’s all an uphill battle!

In the end I’ve managed to get an ultrasound booked for the end of the month and husband has his SA booked in.

After that they’ve said they will refer us. I can’t wait to speak to a specialist!!

@Nevergiveup31 I totally understand the impatience!! especially when your cycles are fine and the problem is just the luteal phase! It’s so annoying when it comes so soon after ovulation!

I also ovulate on day 18. I have read that later ovulation can be your body struggling to push the egg out - but day 18 isn’t considered that late overall so I just don’t know!

I’m on cycle 8 now. Came off the pill 7 months ago and my luteal phase has slowly lengthened although I still get spotting before AF. Overall my GP says my bloods are fine but some of them (I.e. testosterone) were right at the upper end of the range so I think I have a hormonal imbalance still!

@Nevergiveup31 you are only on month 4 so it could just be taking you a bit of time to get into the swing of things! I think the vitamins will help though because sometimes it is just hormonal imbalance due to previous contraception and vitamins help get the hormones back in check!

I think the acupuncture would probably be good for that also so it’s something to consider although it’s also an added expense!

How long is your cycle overall or has it varied? It may just be taking a bit of time to lengthen x

@Nevergiveup31 I think the seven seas with the vitamin B6 complex (50mg) are fine to take together. The B vitamins are all (I believe) water soluble, so your body just gets rid of any excess and doesn’t store them. So I think all in all they’re pretty safe to take.

I also take vitamin C for the same reason (and always have done, even before ttc).

I don’t know about the evening promise oil and I will be interested to know how you get on as I don’t think I have a lot of cm either. I’m not very good at checking I have to say and need to pay more attention! We have tried pre-seed the last couple of cycles but not sure that’s a good enough substitute really.

I forgot to say I started acupuncture about 6 weeks ago. I do weekly sessions and they put the needles in different places depending on where in your cycle you are. The best time to go is prior to ovulation and ovulation day as it helps blood flow apparently.

I wait and see if I get any good results! Hoping it will lengthen my luteal phase/stop spotting.

My acupuncturist says that it’s all about rebalancing your energy rather than specifically related to hormones - but that the effect of balancing your energy is that your hormones also all balance out if that makes sense??

My friend had this and swears by acupuncture x

@Nevergiveup31 I also spot during my luteal phase and I think it could be a sign of low progesterone. My progesterone levels were ok 7dpo (42) but I think they must drop very quickly afterward so I don’t know if that’s a problem.

If your bloods come back low don’t worry as it was only 5dpo - and also if they give you some sort of progesterone supplement it can only help! I’ve read that progesterone supplements in the luteal phase can’t hurt at all so I would be keen to try!

I take 50mg b6 complex from Holland and Barratt. Some people take 100mg b6 but I started (and have stayed) with the 50mg.

I take that in addition to the pregnacare pre conception vitamins. They have some vitamin b6 in them too!

When I compared the ingredients list I saw that the pregnacare vitamins have higher dosage than the seven seas so could maybe try them too?

@Nevergiveup31 I feel your frustration with your GP! I tried explaining to my GP that I have a short luteal phase (I know this from bbt and from doing opks). She told me that everyone’s luteal phase is ‘always’ 14 days and that I must be calculating wrong...

Anyway, I eventually managed to persuade her to let me do my ‘day 21’ progesterone test on day 25 (which was 7 days after I ovulated) and it was fine. If I had done it on day 21 no doubt it would have been low!!

So a progesterone test is a good place to start. I tried vitamin B6 complex to increase my luteal phase. I’m not certain if it worked - my luteal phase has increased from 9/10 days to 13 days but that could just be my body readjusting naturally from taking the contraceptive pill. You’re supposed to take vitamin B6 as a complex and not on its own (so that it can be properly absorbed)

Are you fresh off the contraceptive pill?

I’ve heard that vitex (Agnus castus) can help but haven’t been brave enough to try that myself!