19 DPO Irregular Periods BFN - What to think??

[artylady14]

Hi,

I have irregular periods (my last came on CD50 which is late even for me) and just started to TTC in the last month. I am now on CD 47, 19 DPO, no signs of AF and just got another BFN this morning.

I was using a Clearblue digital fertility monitor up to the point it stopped asking for tests (CD 25; I now know it doesn't work on longer cycles) and then the ovulation strips you can buy on the days thereafter. The strip detected ovulation on CD 28 only which made me very happy as I was getting very worried about not ovulating at all. So that's how I know I'm 19 DPO.

I was wondering if anyone else is similar to me? I'm 38 years old, met my partner later in life I suppose so anxious about it all. I was wondering if anyone had experience of Boots own brand HPT? After using some internet cheapies I bought the Boots one and, sods law, this morning I went to do the test and did not have enough urine to hold the strip there for 5 seconds, it was more like 2/3 seconds. Would this affect the result?

Thank you!

If you're 19dpo with no sign of AF and BFN then I'd say it's very likely that you didn't ovulate when you thought you did. Are you sure the opk you used was positive?

I found with the Amazon cheapie ones sometimes they would look almost positive, and I'd only realise a few days later when I got an actual positive that they weren't. For me, they had to have a test line much darker than the control line to be positive, don't know if that's the same with the Boots ones.

Also you can get a +opk and then not ovulate as it only detects the LH surge prior to ovulation, not actual ov. Hope that helps a bit!

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. I am new to Mumsnet and very grateful for the support! The opk I used were cheapies from Amazon but seem to be very well rate, ad. The day I got the +opk the line was very dark and clear, just like the control like. I got 'high fertility' marks on the Clearblue Fertility Monitor from CD12 until it stopped asking for tests on CD25. I thought that that was the surge that had been picked up.

I guess I will just have to wait for AF to appear and see the Dr soon then. So upsetting to have been on tenterhooks for more than two weeks for nothing and now worried I have something wrong with me:(

artylady, I hope you won't have to use it again because you got your bfp this cycle. But in case it's any use for another time. If you know you don't usually ovulate until quite late in your cycle, someone told me to just set day 1 of cbfm on day 15 or whenever you choose, so it asks you for sticks much later in your cycle instead of earlier when you don't need to test anyway. It worked for me for a longer cycle.

Try not to worry OP, just because you have irregular cycles doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong. If it's any consolation, I just got a BFP on CD82 after ovulating on CD67! My longest cycle prior to this had been 43 days...

Thank you both for your replies! Barmybunting I didn't know that was what I should do for CBFM. I thought that when my next cycle starts it might register that I had a long cycle before and would automatically ask me for test sticks later. Don't know why I thought that. I will definitely look at doing that.

Metalhead - how did you know you were ovulating on CD67? Do you do temping? I have only just started to doing this now the past two days as I had faith in the sticks. I feel much better to know that you ovulated that late and are now pregnant. Congratulations and thanks for the advice!

I'd started using opks again about two weeks prior to my positive as I'd had multiple BFNs and no AF, so clearly I hadn't ov'd around the normal time arty. (I'd even been to the doc's for a blood test as was getting so worried about my missing AF!)

OPKs are not worth using at all if irregular periods are a factor. These are often caused by hormonal imbalances; a condition called polycystic ovaries is a common culprit. Another possible reason is the thyroid gland being out of sync. Both can be detected via blood tests.

A "normal" cycle length is between 21 and 35 days and you are well outside of that. I would think that with such irregularity you are not ovulating regularly if at all currently. I would seek medical advice asap and have blood tests done to see what your hormone levels are like. You need a day 2 test done first to check and compare your LH level against that of your FSH level.

Have your periods always been this irregular?.

Hi Attila,

I have never had 'textbook regular' periods. They are seldom 28 days but not normally as late as my last one, usually a week or two later than 28 days. I track my periods and had 10 in 2012 but then 2013 seems to have seen them become more irregular.

I had no idea that opks were so useless if I have irregular periods, I just assumed that I ovulated later. Thanks for all this information. I am new to trying to conceive, unfortunately at a late age. I hope we manage it! Thanks again.

I'll have to disagree with you there Attila - if I hadn't used opks I wouldn't have got pregnant this cycle. And just because you have one very long cycle does not mean you have PCOS, it might just be a blip.

Still, no harm in talking to your GP if you're concerned OP, but be prepared to be fobbed off and told to come back in a year's time...

Metalhead, do you have long cycles normally too then? I am pleased to hear the opk strips worked for you. I have just done a test today now because of what you told me. I had just stopped after I got my last apparent +opk on day 28 and was waiting for my next cycle again. All this info is so helpful, thanks.

Yes, I had very irregular cycles since I started tracking them about 18 months ago - anything from 30-43 days, though most of the time it was between 32-36 days.