Norethisterone - wait or start

[bellaby]

Hi

I'm really hoping for a bit of advice. My cycles are all over the place but generally very long (usually 40 days plus).

I went for 21 day bloods a week ago and the level came back very low (0.7nmol/L) so the doctor said that as this suggested I haven't ovulated this cycle I should start taking the Norethisterone he prescribed me take for 10 days before starting on a cycle of Clomid.

However this morning I had a smiley face on my Clear Blue Ovulation test stick (and cross checked with a cheapie which showed the same).

So my question is - should I start taking the Norethisterone or wait and see if my period comes naturally in 2 weeks time in case I am ovulating or about to ovulate? .

Would really appreciate some words of wisdom

Thanks

id wait 2 weeks, then take the norethisterone, if it was me personally that is.

although, saying that. norethisterone wouldnt stop you concieving if you did take it now and wouldnt affect bean if you got pregnant. so af would arrive or not either way.

ive just finished taking 10 days of the dreaded little buggars, awful side effects!

Thanks bessie . Thats useful to know. we are going on holiday in 2 weeks time so that's the other thing on my mind as I've read that the side effects can be quite strong so wasn't keen to be taking it on holiday.

I couldn't find anything anywhere that said what would happen if you were to conceive whilst on Norethisterone so that is really useful to know.

If your cycle is generally very long in nature this is often caused by hormonal imbalances. In this respect a condition called polycystic ovaries or its related syndrome called PCOS are common culprits. Another possible cause is problems with the thyroid gland.

I would stop using the OPKs as they are not recommended to use when there are irregular cycles. These kits measure LH; if you are one of many women who is producing an excess of this hormone (a common problem with PCO for instance) the kit just reads that and thus gives you a false positive result.

Have you ever had a day 2 test done; this would check your LH level against that of your FSH level. As your periods are irregular anyway these tests can in any case be done according to calendar days.

You need a diagnosis first and foremost rather than just giving you pills to bring on a bleed.

I would be asking them now for a referral to a gynae; you cannot afford to be messed around. A GP has not got the time to monitor you properly whilst on clomid so you will have no way of knowing whether its working or not. Clomid's main job is to make the ovaries work harder and its actually quite powerful stuff.

Atilla, are you fertility / medically trained? i think she sould seek advice from professionals really. altho 40 days is longer than average, its not excessive. you come accross abrubt and a tad extreme. (not just on this post, but many)

i have pcos and have used opks that have worked great. proven with bloods and scans.

good luck with Norethisterone OP. Ive taken Norethisterone many times and once when i was pregnant with my daughter (now 5) i didnt know i was pregnant at the time.... only found out when AF didnt arrive after stopping the tablets. Norethisterone is progesterone, no medical evidence of harming my consultant said. (my daughter is a bit crazy but id put that down to my genes hehe) x

Thanks for your advice both

I already have 2 DC. First took 8 months to conceive without needing OPKs. Used OPKs second time which worked almost straight away.

This time have been TTC since December and been using OPKs as otherwise have no idea when I am ovulating. I fell pregnant in July (using OPKs) but then had a MMC in Sept so am back on the TTC case once again. I know that OPKs in my instance aren't always accurate and can have a couple of positive results in one cycle but it's the best indication I have as don't get any other obvious ovulation symptoms. Also with 2 kids already it unfortunately needs to be more planned than spontaneous

It was actually me that asked for the pills following my MMC so that I can increase my chances of conceiving by having shorter cycles rather than waiting to possibly ovulate once every couple of months!