Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

21 day progesterone test question - help!

35 replies

Chocolatemolehill · 11/01/2011 21:22

Hi ladies,

I was referred today for a few blood tests, including the one for progesteron. The GP told me to get it done on the CD 21. But I'm wondering whether this is right... Doesn't the day depend on the cycle length? (Mine is 31days, not 28). Shouldn't the date of the test be counted backwards, from the day my period is due? I read somewhere that it needs to be 7 days before the period is due... Is this right? Any ideas?

OP posts:

joycep · 04/04/2011 10:32

Sorry to drag this thread up again. i've asked this on a separate thread but I'm now getting really confused as KnackeredCow's GP husband says progesterone test should be done 7 days before next period but then it says ideally 7 days after ovulation. I ovulated yesterday. I know that from today my period will come in the next 10/11 days without fail (obviously not textbook 14 day LP). So should I get tested in 7 days (7DPO)....or 3 days (7 days before next AF?)?

Spirita · 06/05/2011 13:22

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

eurochick · 06/05/2011 13:36

My GP and acupuncturist both said 7dpo is what is really meant by "Day 21" so if you know when you ovulate, that is when you should go. This has been confirmed by my own research around the interwebby. If you don't know when you ovulate but have regular periods of whatever length, 7 days before your period would be the best guess (as if you have the supposed "average" 14 day luteal phase, this would be the same as 7dpo. If you don't have a cycle at all or a very iregular one, I think they just use Day 21 as a starting point and go from there.

The aim of the test is to catch your progesterone peak and it usually peaks around 7dpo.

Joycep · 06/05/2011 15:20

Quite unbelievable some of the advice we are given Spirita by our GPs - no wonder yours showed no ovulation on day 21 if you only just ovulated! I ended up going at 7dpo...against my GP's directions as she told me to go at 3dpo...although i told her that.
My levels at 7dpo were 30. So ovulated but have been told they should be above 40. gOOD Luck.

mumofoneTTC · 28/06/2011 19:38

Hello All,

I have been reading your questions and comments and I thought you all sounded very knowledgeable. I was wondering if you could give me any advice.

My situation - I have a 21 month old. Since having her my cycles have ranged from 22 to 29 days. Before having her they were every 27 days like clockwork. We managed to get pregnant on the first month of trying last time.

I 'sort of' got pregnant in January this year. Had faint +ve's for a week and then a heavy bleed. We've been trying ever since and no luck.

I have been charting my BBT and I do see a spike each month - so I think I am ovulating. I am a sonographer so I have been doing a bit of research myself and I am definitely producing a dominant follicle that ruptures. My ovaries do not look polycystic (although I haven't had any bloods done to look at this).

My luteal phase is showing as 11 days (according to Fertility Friend) and I am concerned that it is too short.

I have spoken to my GP and he has referred me for a day 21 progesterone test and prolactin. I understand that this whole 'day 21' thing is very confusing. I have no idea from one month to the next how long my cycle is going to be. It was 23 days last month, 28 the month before and 24 the month before that. Am I right in saying that the test is supposed to be 7 days before my period?

I'd greatly appreciate any thought that you might have...

watercolor · 26/10/2011 16:49

Just starting out here so apologies in advance for not having gotten my head around the abbreviations and for jumping onto this post. I've been reading all the advice given to women with irregular cycles who are TTC with great interest. We have been trying for a while, but I see now that there is a lot of information out here that I wasn't aware of (so thank all you mumsnetters for that!).

My GP advised a series of tests, including FSH/LH, Oestrogen and 21 Day Progesterone, a couple of months ago - but because of the irregularity (longest cycle 46 days, shortest 30 days, all totally erratic) I have been totally confused and still haven't gone. One rule seems to be that I get my period when I least expect it (this month it was exactly on the same day as last month, which has never happened before and was obviously weeks before I thought it was coming). Don't know if it's relevant but they don't last very long either, around day 2 I'm almost done.I picked up an OPK, but have since learned (on mumsnet) that these are pretty much useless for irregular cycles :(

Is there any law of averages sort of calculation for when I should just get these tests done? I'm keen to get this process started as I'm approaching my mid-30s and it's making me a wee bit nervous. Please advise.

stripeywoollenhat · 26/10/2011 17:10

mumofone - i have an eleven day luteal phase, as i recall i did a day 21 test on day 18 of a (normally) 26 day cycle. even if your cycle is a bit variable, if you know your lp you can work out when to do the test from when you ovulate. my progesterone levels were fine, they just fall faster than other people's, obviously. an eleven day lp is okay, it's only when it's below ten that it's considered defective (though most gps do swear that all women throughout history have 14 day lps....)

stripeywoollenhat · 26/10/2011 17:14

oh, okay, responding to a very old query.... watercolor - i think you should chart your temperature fro a couple of months to see if you are ovulating (fertilityfriend.com is one site which you can use to do this, there may be others) since your cycle sounds like it's too erratic to tell when to do day 21 bloods just from cycle length. good luck.

galwaygal · 26/10/2011 22:42

All of the different fertility doctors that I have been too, all agree that 7 days post ovulation (dpo) is the ideal day to get tested for your progesterone levels, if you know when you are ovulating. However 6, 7, 8 and 9 dpo are all considered ok for the test too, in the doctors opinion. The difficulty is in knowing when (if) you have ovulated, without scans to confirm it.

OPK's and charting have limited use in some women, but are a starting point for some. I find OPK's useless, but charting works for me, and allows me to go for blood testing at the right time following ovulation. However charting can be confusing for women who are annovulatory (like attila).

With such irratic cycles, it will be difficult to pinpoint when to test, to know for certain that you will get an accurate result. You can try opk's and charting but don't rely on them necessarily to be accurate, but if you are ovulating regularly they might just help.

Raindrop25 · 10/08/2021 23:45

Can someone please help?

I have been taking clomid since March with no luck, I get my progesterone level checked on day 21 of my cycle each month to see if I ovulated. The past 2 months it has been a level of 45, however this month is 85! It's the highest it's ever been.

Is this a good result? Could it possibly be a sign of pregnancy? Any information would help please!!

Thanks

Flip

1 2