low progesterone???

[booisgreat]

Hi all. Was feeling confident this cycle and have had the wind taken out of my sails today. I ahd 21 day bloods done last week and my progesterone came back at 17. Doctor said I needed it to be 30. Thing is I have a 32 day cycle and if I ovulated I did it on cd 19 or 20 this cycle. Would 17 then still be low? When doctor was taking the bloods I mentioned I had a 32 day cycle but he said it didn't matter.

Any one have any experience of this?

Hhmm, that's a tricky one! Did you think that you had ovulated?

I think that 2 days can definitely make a big difference to your progesterone level, but not sure about one day - in theory, probably yes, if you think how much the basal body temp can drop after ovulation (progesterone causes the rise).
Have you tried temping or/and using OPKs? They can sometimes give a really good indication as to when you ovulated, especially temping.

Sorry not be of more help! It's so infuriating when these tests throw everything in the wind.

A level of 17 would indicate that ovulation did not occur.

I would also look into having a day 2 test done to see what both your LH and FSH levels are actually like, if they are awry then ovulation can be affected.

How long have you been ttc for, if it is coming up to 12 months I would be asking for a referral and having further blood tests done by the hospital. Both of you should be tested as well.

Don't panic! If you ovulated on day 19/20 and had your bloods done on day 21 I would suggest that your test results are inconclusive. progesterone peaks around 7 days post ovulation. To be accurate you would need a reading at around day 25/6 and it is that reading that should over 30 to confirm ovulation.

I would ask to get the tests repeated next cycle 7 days after you think you have ovulated along with your FSH and LH tested at day 2/3. Do you take your temperature at all? I found it very illuminating about my cycle and finding out when I ovulated.

Good luck (and BTW my experience is that most GPs especially male ones, have little understanding of fertility issues about the basics....be prepared to educate yourself and in turn educate them!)

thanks for the replies. I will get them repeated day25 next cycle. I had a mmc in September which I thought was as a result of low progesterone. I have conceived very easily before but am now 42 and this is probably not helping.

I think you probably tested too late and caught it on the rise. It's a good idea to have the test redone later in your cycle.

The exact same thing happened to me, TTC for a year so was referred and the consultant (male) requested progesterne bloods on D21, I normally had a 30 day cycle, it came back 16! I spoke to the fertility nurse and she said why did you have it don on that day if you have longer cycles!; I got it done again the following month 7 days after I got the smiley face on the OPK, around day 24 and it came back at 32, a few days can make a huge difference!

I actually found out I was preggers that month and am now 7 weeks, we'd had a MC in summer which I was sure was down to low progesterone, the month it's finally worked out (so far), I'd been taking Agnus Cactus daily, Im sure it's helped, I'm not sure what the progesterone level would have been had I not been taking this herb!

But the consultants can be wrong, they often assume everyone is standard 28 days so challenge them and definitely push to be referred! I'm 36 and conceived first month of tryin with my son (I was 31 then) but the GP's said for months, oh you did it before so there's no problem, but I knew there was something amiss. I've been seeing a specialist fertility accupuncturist for the last 3 months too whose been treating me for stress and blood deficiency that I didn't even realise I had, I didn't think my previous cesarean, a toddler, working and general busy life were affecting my chances of conceiving this time! I wanted a 3 year gap between babies and assumed it would be as easy as last time so waited and it hasnt been!

Good luck!