Day 21 - please help!

[Cloclo15]

So last month I used opks for the first time and came out with a short luteal phase of 10 days. I had a really stressful month (to the point of considering resigning my job) but thought I'd better go check it out with doc. Initially she said a luteal phase couldn't be shorter than 14 days, but I mentioned reading about luteal phase defect and she decided to send me for day 21 tests this cycle.

I had read that day 21 tests should actually be 7 days after ov, so when I thought I'd ovulated on day 17 I went to see my doc to check whether I should have the blood test on day 24 instead. She said no, they were just checking I'd ovulated and it would be fine. So I had the test done day 21.

Then yesterday I had a letter through the post telling me to make an appt with my doc about the results. My doc isn't in till Friday so I asked the receptionist if I could have the results over the phone. She said no, it just said they were abnormal and I needed to come in.

Now I'm freaking out because I'm abnormal! What could this mean? Does that mean I haven't ovulated? I'm really upset - it's day 27 and no af yet but it's obviously coming and I feel crushed :(

Please tell me what this could be :(

Anybody know anything about these? I'm not really sure what they are supposed to show so don't know what abnormal could mean :(

I don't know anything about this, sorry, but didn't want you to be ignored. Could you phone your GP again and ask if there is another doc who can see you today? Or just really really try to stay calm and wait til tomorrow. Abnormal probably isn't nearly as bad as it sounds once it's been explained. Might be that you were right and they tested you before you ovulated. Good luck :)

The results are probably abnormal because they didn't listen to you.

I am just about to start investigations and am using acupuncture at the same time. I had my first appointment with the acupuncturist yesterday and talked over my cycle. She said the doctor would order Day 21 tests (as I expected) but that really means 5-7 days after ovulation so I should make sure to get them done then rather than on Day 21. Looking back over the cycles I have been tracking ovulation Day 21 would have been anything from 3 days to 8 days after ovulation. So I am going to follow her advice.

Also, "normal" women can have the odd annovulatory cycle. Try not to worry too much (I know that is easier said than done).

Thanks - I hope it is this, but the doc seemed to think it would be ok that day anyway. Hope it is something fixable. I've only been trying 5 cycles so far so I know I'm lucky to have been taken seriously at all at this stage.

cloclo sorry, I think your doctor's talking rubbish. There's no way that you can say day 21 is the right test day for everyone - some cycles I didn't ov until day 23!!!

So I suspect that may be the issue - please try not to fret. Also I should say that my luteal phase ranged from 7-11 days each month, but it didn't stop me getting pg. So there is hope!

The other thing is that even if the test, done on the correct day, shows low progesterone, that's usually easily treatable, so an abnormal result isn't the end of the world.

Hope you get an appointment quick and some sensible answers to set your mind at rest x

The day 21 test checking if you have ovulated should only be done on 6,7,8 or 9 days post ovulation or it means nothing!

By having the blood test on day 21 and so in your case only 4 days post ov, the progesterone level will be low and the interpretation will be that you did not ovulate! However if the blood test had been done at the correct time (ideally 7 days post-ov) then that would give you the answer regarding ovulation.

One thing is that using opk's to check for ov, can be unreliable as you may get an LH surge but not actually ovulate.

Also as Issy said, the luteal phase is not 14 days for everyone, some people can have a luteal phase of 11 days and it is still considered normal, less than 9 days and it is not good. The Luteal phase should be fairly consistent with most women +/-2days. The time before ov can vary quite dramatically for some women though. As you say stress can be a factor.

If you did not ovulate until day 17 as you said this month, then assuming you have a fairly usual 14 day LP, then you would not expect af for another 3 days!!

Does sound like your doc does not really know much about the day 21 test though! I hope that you get to see another doc!

Next I would like to reassure you that trying for 5 cycles is early days yet. The usual is 6 to 12 months. So try to forget about the doc worrying you and know that in all probrability all is fine!

Thankyou, you are all being very reassuring and I've calmed down a bit now. I feel a little annoyed that I even made an appt to see the doc on day 17 to ask about changing the day of the test and she said no!

I take it that progesterone levels rise every day after ovulation then?

The other thing to say is guidelines recommend these bloods tests are checked three times because it's so unpredictable. Expected results should be +30 to confirm ovulation but under 16 indicate anovulatory cycle. My results were taken at dodgy times - I wasn't charting initially so I had mine done on day 20 for a 27 day cycle - results of 15 (eek!), 20 (on day 21 - day 20 was Sunday) and then my (nice female GP) said best to check these resutls 7 days over ovulation (she actually asked if I was aware of my cycle) and my progesterone was 25 :). I am now charting and this month I think I ovulated on day 10 therefore i should have these tests done on day 17 this month.
the issue comes with labelling them "day 21" and idiot doctors assuming every woman has a 28 day cycle!! They should call it the "progesterone post ovulation test".
They do rise post ovulation up to a point and if you get pregnant they stay high, the level drops in preparation of AF - that's why my first was so low, it turned out day 21 was only 4 days before AF arrived!

Just been to get my results and feeling a bit upset and confused. My test results came back as 13.6 (this was 4dpo I think) and the foc says this is too low for the egg to be any good. She is referring me to the gynae and I will hopefully get an appt in 6-8 weeks.

I suppose I should be happy this is getting picked up after only 5 months trying but feeling quite down and a bit defective and don't really understand the results.

Can anyone give me advice about what they might do to sort this out?

I believe there are patches to improve your progesterone levels. Like you say at least you've been picked up and referred. I've had my bloods which are ok but still waiting for Dh's sample appt. Got referred in Jan, had to cancel March appt, now waiting til june! That'll be 18 months since I came off pill!
Could be worse my friend's level was 0.5!

Cloclo, I think whilst you are waiting for your gynae appt, you should go back to your GP to get them to run the test again but at 7dpo (4dpo was too early). I would also combine using your OPKs with charting your temps next cycle. This will give you more info aboutt when/if you're ovulating, length of LP etc etc. Just relying on OPKs can be inaccurate.

If it was 13.6 on day 4 it is unlikely it would have reached 30 at all isn't it? I might phone the doctor and ask for another day 21 test and maybe start charting my temps this month.

I now feel like I'm facing a horrible battle to conceive rather than the enjoyable process I had envisaged :(

Actually I think it rises over the week post ovulation so they check it at day 7 to get the highest possible result. My friend with the 0.5 I should say is now Mummy to two gorgeous kids with the help of clomid.

I'm now working myself up into a fit that the gynae might just send us away because we haven't tried for a year. Do you think they would do this?

What is likely to happen when we go, will we just go through months of more tests? The next 6 months are starting to look like a very frustrating time :(

How old are you?

I'm 29, we've been trying 5 months now (though I told the doc 6). I am terrified I now know something is wrong and they might send me away for another 6 months of trying :(

As said above, it would be well worth getting your bloods repeated a but later. How old is Dh/p? Tbh most couples conceive within.first year (think it's 80%) and 90% within 1 year. Put it like this, I'm 29 and Dh is 26. We've been ttc for 15 months. Went to GP at one year, got my.bloods, still awaiting dh sperm analysis, still hopeful it might happen.
With reference to your bloods, one isn't conclusive- most women have a couple if anovulatory cycles per year so you should be pushing to get those checked again.next cycle. If you chart in alongside you'll know for sure when 7dpo is. Try not to panic It's still early days and ot could easily still happen naturally in next 6 months.

I am sorry to say but it does seem like you are getting very stressed considering you have been trying for such a short period of time! Most fertility docs say that it is unusual to concieve in the first 6 months, it is not the norm. 6 to nine months is what it takes most couples with up to 12 months still being considered normal.

By stressing yourself out so soon in your ttc journey is not going to help you.

13 on 4 dpo could very easily reached over 30 by 7dpo, you said " I am terrified I now know something is wrong and they might send me away for another 6 months of trying " There is absolute NO evidence that there is anything wrong with you. Even if the results had shown you had not ovulated, then this again can happen perfectly normally to all women at times.

To start the invasion of tests so early is not good for you.

Remember currently you have absolutely NO evidence that you are anything but normal. Normal is not just 5 months of ttc. Perhaps if you were older then going to the doctor at 6 months of trying is ok. but at your age you have time on your side. Your GP is clearly stressing you out more rather than helping.

If you are getting stressed at the result of one blood test, then think about how much more stressful it gets with the other tests. (Having been through it I know there is no miracles out there, please try to trust your body for a bit longer before subjecting yourself to the stress of medical tests)

I understand what you are saying and I am aware that it is very early days. However, I suppose I am being guided by my GP - I initially went along for some reassurance after starting to bleed so early last cycle and went with her guidance. I was really surprised when she said she was referring me and have assumed this means there is something seriously wrong.

Do you think my GP may have done the wrong thing by referring me? I know it has made me very worried and anxious which isn't ideal I'm sure :(

Galwaygal, thankyou for talking sense to me. I've been feeling down all day and your message has just really hit home for me when I sat down and thought about it. My low reading this month could be for any number of reasons, most likely my stressful work situation at the moment. Going to keep trying and hopefully we will be lucky in the next few months. Whole situation probably not helped by pmt - it always seems ten times worse! And GPs don't know everything, my GP might be wrong about there being a problem.

Thanks again :)

Your welcome, I really hope that you get your lovely surprise soon. Do come back and say when it does happen!

Also I hope the work situation resolves itself for you, not nice having work in a stressful situation.

Wishing you all the best.

Glad you're feeling a bit better about things, if your pmt is really bad I'd recommend magnesium supplement (has taken me from crazy psycho to snappy - DH quiet relieved!)

For a start, the receptionist should not have said anything about your results. They are not medically trained and therefore not qualified to talk about what results mean. Terms such as "abnormal" have huge connotations attached to them and frighten people. Quite often the terms used refer to measurements that are outside of the normal range and this can, quite often, mean that they fall just outside the normal range. It might mean that you need some kind of supplement, it could also mean, as another poster here states, that they did not listen to you and the results are skewed.

Phone again on Monday and ask to speak to another Dr - any doctor in the surgery will be able to interpret your results - and you can always speak to your usual dr on Friday anyway.

Good luck.

Thanks all, feeling SO much better today, haven't shed one tear over it. I'm absolutely certain that I do ovulate, my cycles are just too regular usually, between 28 and 31 days normally with the odd shorter one like last month. I'm still only spotting today which is 13dpo so I don't think I have a short luteal phase in general - maybe last month was a one off. If my prog results were low last time it's either due to being taken too early or a crappy egg I reckon. It's 9 days since I had that blood test and still AF not here so it all sounds a bit too dubious to be getting too upset about - I think my results, though perhaps not over 30, would have been much nearer to it if taken on the correct day.

I can't thank you all enough for your words of wisdom - I'm certainly not giving up for next month yet!