Please tell me I'm being U to worry :(

[Secretlifeofme]

If you recognize my username you may know that i have been struggling to conceive for a while now, had two MCs last year and a chemical pregnancy in January this year. Anyway since my chemical pregnancy my cycle has been really weird. I've had spotting for up to a week before my period for several months now, and this cycle I ovulated very late (cd27!) and am still waiting for my period to start properly - been having scant bleeding for 2 days, more than spotting but less than a period, and it's CD42! :( I am very worried that there's something horribly wrong with me, like that I'm going through the perimenopause even though I'm only 38. I'm seeing the gynae tomorrow but I can't stop worrying and wondered if anyone could help reassure me a bit? Or even just tell me what horrible disease I might have?!

It's normal to worry but worrying doesn't do anyone any good , I hope tomorrow leads to a positive way forward.

Thanks @Haberpop,I know you're right but it's hard!

sounds normal. It's normal to micro analyse everything when you're trying to conceive. Hopefully the gyno will reassure you a bit.

What do CD27 & CD42 mean? I'm lost

Cycle day.

I had 24 day cycles OP and worried a lot about that as it took so lo g to conceive. Good luck tomorrow .

Your body has had a lot of hormonal upheaval in the last year so it may be completely out of sync. Hormonal disruption is far more common that people realise and isn't necessarily the sign of anything other than a condition causing hormonal disruption like PCOS.

The best thing you can do is get this investigated so you and your Dr can decide on the best approach.

I missed two whole periods whilst trying to conceive and the worry around that. I was younger and went on to conceive normally.

Thanks. I do have fibroids bit they're very small, have been investigated for PCOS in the past but nothing was there. My cycle seems to have changed completely in the last few months :(

Stress can also make your cycle abnormal. Good luck tomorrow.

I had cycles that used to run from 14 days to 3 months or more. Probably PCOS, I also have endometriosis and adenomyosis and a small fibroid. I also managed with a bit of medication to have two children and I am otherwise healthy. Seeing a gynae is the right thing to do.

It's really not uncommon to have an anovulatory cycle, but if you're watching every day because you're TTC, it really is torture.

Occasionally, however, it's not an anovulatory cycle. I had 5mc before I fell pregnant with my son during a monitoring cycle where they did bloods and scans throughout the month. It turned out that what had looked like a short luteal phase (I was temp monitoring so had a load of data to show my recurrent MC consultant) was actually a failure of my body to release a perfectly good egg when it was ready. The consultant sonographer saw this apparently lovely egg at CD14 and packed me off to the pharmacy with a prescription for an HCG shot administered on my return, sending me on my way with a cheery "I'm sure you know what your homework is!"

That egg was indeed lovely, because it's now my 12 year old son. When I saw my consultant again with a BFP, she was annoyed that her colleague had intervened instead of monitoring, but was interested in the data point. I've had 2 more MC since, so we stopped at just one, but I've since been diagnosed with coeliac disease, which they apparently now feel may cause recurrent miscarriage. I'm not sure they know the precise mechanism, but since I have a positive party of autoimmune conditions going on in my body, that's presumably at the root of it somewhere.

So. If I had any advice, it's monitor your temperatures because it can help show a pattern to a consultant. Having had 3mc you should qualify for referral to a recurrent MC clinic, so push for that if it hasn't already happened. If you have the temp data and it shows late ovulation or short luteal phase or whatever, see if you can get them to agree to a month of cycle monitoring to see what's going on. It may be as simple as it was in my case, where the egg was just too knackered to sustain pregnancy once released, resulting in early MC. But data is a good thing to have: there is no downside unless you obsess over it, when that's the doctor's job. And it might be just what you need to have your own gorgeous baby to hold

I had the same thing with my cycle from about age 36 (never been pregnant though). Cycle was 28/29 days and suddenly changed to anything between 21 and 36 days, could be between 2 days and very light or 8 days and flooding. I also had other issues like more cramping and exhaustion a few days before my period started though.

Blood tests all came back clear and a ultrasound showed an ovarian cyst.

Had a laparoscopy just after my 38th birthday, I had a 8sm cyst and they discovered endo. Was reassured by gyno that I was still fertile etc.

Thanks everyone. I'm not particularly stressed, tbh I've been a lot more stressed in the past when my cycles were regular as clockwork! The only other thing that's changed recently is that I've started going to the gym and I've lost about a stone and a half - could it be that?

Interesting that some people think it might be PCOS. Is it possible to suddenly develop PCOS? I had everything checked last year after my second MC and it all came back clear.