Failed the 21 day test, now what??

[emmiegirl]

Hi,

Last month I was told I didn't ovulate and this month I have to discuss the result with the doctor so I guess I failed it again!

Long story, but it takes a while to get a dr's appointment so I was just wondering what the next steps are likely to be and any particular questions I need to ask.

I think I ovulate a week before my period (as does my CBFM) but as that's the same time as the test, it isn't going to show up.

This is 6 months of trying and I'm getting so upset, particularly as a good friend has just a baby girl, and everywhere I look are babies or bumps! Probably a sign that my period is about to arrive in the next day!!

xx

What doc are you seeing; is this the GP?.
I would be asking the doc what the next step is, I would think a referral is in order here.

You have not "failed" anything but what the test has confirmed is that ovulation has not happened this cycle.

What are your periods like?. I ask this because if they are generally irregular in nature you are less likely to be ovulating.
Would not take much notice of the CBFM particularly if the menstrual cycle is irregular as they can also give false positive readings in such cases.

Are you going to ask to be referred to the gynae for further evaluation?

It doesn't necessarily mean that you don't ovulate it could mean that the test is being done at the wrong time. For instance I ovulate after day 22 so a day 21 test would've been pointless. I realised this so made my bloodtest appts a few days later (day 23/24) and then the progestrone level was high enough to confirm an ovulation.

I know here you would not get a referral until you have been actively trying for min 12 months and my doctor wanted 5 consecutive anovulatory bloodtests before talking about clomid.

good luck

To give you some hope, I had "day 21" results indicating anovulatory cycles (was TTC #2, which took us 18 months) for 2 consecutive months. I'm fairly sure they weren't just done at the wrong time, as I charted (which indicated - albeit slightly ambiguously - OV on about day 16) and in any event both times had the test on day 21 then every 3 days until AF arrived. GP referred us to the fertility clinic for further investigation (and you should push for this), but the next month I was pregnant. Still no idea how this really happened (apart form the obvious...!!), all I can think is that I wasn't ovulating every month, but sometimes I did.

My period averages out to be 31 days. This includes a 2 week bleed with the first week being daily spotting that gets heavier, then tailing off towards the end.

I didn't know the name of the test so I called it 21 day, but I actually had it done on day 23 both months. Because of the nature of my bleeds, I take the first day of spotting as day 1 because I can't tell when my "proper period" has arrived, as some of the spotting is really heavy. Would a different day 1 make a difference with the test - bearing in mind I think there is a week between ovulation (if I am) and the start of the spotting??

It is a GP I am seeing. She says there is nothing to worry about with my pattern of bleeding as its usual for me (2 other GPs at the same practice said a similar thing). I had a huge blood clot the month before last and as I've never experienced one before, I went to A&E. The dr and nurse there expressed surprise at the length of the bleed and said it wasn't normal.

Day 1 is the day you see fresh red blood. Any beige/brown/dark brown spotting prior to that counts as part of your previous cycle. I have spotting for up to a week before my actual period.

So what you judge to be day 8 should be, for example, day 1, and therefore you would have had your day 21 blood tested on what was actually day 14 ish - too early.

This correction would also give you a "normal" 2 weeks between ovulation and "proper period".

mmm. Thats interesting. I don't get brown though that first week. Day 1 is usually a small pink stain on my pants then the rest is bright red when I wipe but only when I wipe so I call it spotting as I don't need a tampon then it gets heavy for about 4 days where I need a tampon. Then its 2 or 3 days of old blood. Sorry for too much info!

I was just thinking. If I moved my day 1 and had a 'proper' timeline for my cycle, it can't be very helpful to conceive if there is bleeding during that two week implantation time...

Emmie, I also get spotting which starts exactly a week before my actual period starts. When I had my 21 day test, I counted from the day when I actually needed the tampon as day 1 of my cycle.

hth

Emmie,

Sounds like they did a progesterone test; the day 21 for that is standard. What they ought to be doing as well is a day 2 LH/FSH test to see what those levels are like. They are missing something here I am sure of it.

A two week bleed may be normal for you along with the spotting but any spotting between periods should always be checked out medically. I am not surprised that the A & E people commented on it to the effect that its not normal. Day 1 as well usually is "proper red flow" and not spotting. Also emmie many GPs are generalists, they do not have specialised knowledge of such problems.
The cause of the two week spotting must be properly determined.

It is not correct to assume that there is 2 weeks before ovulation and the start of the next period. It does not work like that at all!. Ovulation is not an exact science and it can occur earlier, later or not at all in any given cycle.

I would actually now request your GP to refer to a gynaecologist at a subfertility unit (hopefully this is now what they are planning on doing); you seem to be going around in circles now and the last confirmed result showed you had not ovulated.