Fertility worries

[HP07]

Hi,

I'm new here. I wanted to ask some advice/opinions. My husband and I have been TTC since January, I came off the contraceptive pill last December but no luck yet. Anyway since I came off the pill I have had spotting between my periods. It's always the same every cycle, period ends then I'm fine until a day or so before I expect to ovulate (day 12) then I usually have a little bleed then all clear again until about day 16-19 then I spot continually until my period arrives about day 26/27. It is always old/brown blood but sometime interspersed with some pinkish/red blood.

I went to the doctors in May who ran some bloods to check testosterone/FSH/LH levels all of which were normal but incidentally during FBC found I was iron deficient. Doctor assured me this would be the reason for my spotting. Take 3 x iron tablets a day and it will be fine. Repeat bloods after 2-3 months to check levels which I did and they were back within normal range. Funnily enough my spotting had not stopped. I think the reason for the low iron was the spotting and not the other way around.

Went back to another doctor and she did a swab and sent me for an ultrasound. They found a possible cyst and said come back in 6 weeks for another. Now they are querying an endometrioma on my ovary. The scans are being sent to gynaecology for an opinion with the view to me being referred if required.

Meanwhile I am fraught as I don't know if I will be able to get pregnant naturally etc and stress levels are getting higher. They have not given me any information or support about it so I can only go on what I can read online. I am a Veterinary Nurse so I am well trained medically (all being animals but it relates) so I can probably understand more than the average lay person.

I also thought maybe my progesterone levels are low as the spotting is occurring at ovulation and post ovulation so thought perhaps my levels weren't high enough to keep the uterine lining thickened and support implantation. I have decided to try progesterone cream (pro-gest) whilst I am waiting for some more answers and the other day I asked my doctor if I can have a progesterone blood test. I know that the cream may affect the result so I thought I might wait until next cycle in case of a miracle and it works this cycle (I'm on day 13 so have to wait a bit longer to see if any spotting occurs), then I would stop it for a cycle and get tested on day 21. I am also taking vitamin c, vitamin B complex, zinc and folic acid supplements.

I don't know what to do/think. I don't think the doctors are that fussed about my poor fertility. I know it has been just short of a year but clearly I'm not going to get pregnant when I am bleeding so much.

Can anyone give their views or have they been in a similar situation? Sorry the post is so long and thank you for reading/helping.

Hi HP

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I have no answers I am afraid but thought I would drop a line. I have different fertility issues but am very much used to the 'waiting for answers' game and the stress levels as a result of that.

My only suggestion to you is considering whether private treatment is an option for you - if only to settle your gynaecology queries for now. A few hundred pounds could get you far quicker answers to your worries. It's amazing what a little knowledge and peace of mind can do for the stress levels, which in turn will help with your fertility. In my area, the gynaecology waiting list is 6-8 months and I decided that a few hundred pounds to get rid of the stress alone was completely worth it!

Fx for you!

Hp07, I too stopped the pill at the end of last December after being on it for nine years and between 6 and 7 days before AF turns up i am having brown spotting some months are heavier than others, i took Pregnancare in June and that was the only month i did not spot but i was two weeks late and felt rough, so i came off of it, i am now taking seven seas trying for a baby been on them for 4 months, i took vitamin b complex start of November, that increased my luteal phase from 11 days to 12 days but the spotting was really bad this month, next week i am going to see my doctor and ask for some advice, i don't know if the spotting is from low progesterone, i had a smear test and that came back normal i told the nurse about the spotting and she said it sounded like my hormones were the cause of it, i did take evening primrose oil for two months , the first month it never done anything but the second month i had only one day of spotting, my husband asked me to come off of all the tablets i was taking as he thought it could have been messing up my cycle, i am considering taking the evening primrose oil again as the nurse said that it would not do any harm and it can balance hormones but want to see what the doctor says,

all of what i have wrote won't help you but just want to explain that you are not on your own, when i read your post it was like a mirror image of my symptoms

Hi Rainy34, thank you for your reply. It is always good to know you're not alone. Fingers crossed for us all. I'll let you know if I have any luck with the progesterone cream.

I had terrible spotting and cramps starting about 7 days before AF, and each month my cycle seemed to get shorter- 1 st month off the pill 28 days going right down to 24 days. Having spotted through my honeymoon I finally got fed up and went to the dr because I was considering progesterone cream... And in the appt found out I had conceived on honeymoon and now 18 weeks preg. So don't lose too much hope over spotting, in my experience it's a flipping inconvenience but wasn't the source of any major problems

I had this when ttc, it turned out I had endometriosis. How are your periods? I would be pushing for a lap and dye.
I now have a little boy through ivf :)

Hi HP, I also have spotting and cramps at least 4 days before af due. We have been ttc 2 years now and are under the care of the fertility clinic. It was the fertility nurse that suggested I may have endometriosis but the consultant dismissed it and said because my HSG showed my tubes were clear then endo was not the cause of our infertility so would not investigate further.

You def need to push for a progesterone test though, mine came back normal. If you can afford to see a private consultant for some initial tests that would be good though. Our tests on the NHS from start to finish with all the waits and mucking around took 8 or 9 months before we finally got refered to the clinic. Even if you see a private consultant you can still go on the NHS waiting list for any treatment you might need afterwards.

I know how you feel about being medically trained and ttc though! Hahaha! Nightmare!

Hello again,

Hope you have all had a nice Christmas and New Year. I have since had a progesterone test done and it was a tiny bit low but Dr thinks I may just have missed my peak. I have been to see the consultant at the hospital and she said that she thinks I am definitely ovulating as having regular periods. I have been advised to have another progesterone blood this month just to compare. I am now waiting for an appointment from the hospital for a surgery to remove the probable endometrioma from my left ovary. There is a possibility I could lose that ovary if the endometrioma has grown so big it has infiltrated/become one with the ovary. I am scared to say the least. I hope the appointment will come through soon as I think all the waiting makes it worse and also because I don't want the endometrioma to have a chance to grown further. The consultant seemed optimistic that I might be able to conceive in the next 6 months or so. Does anyone have any experience with conceiving post removal of endometrioma or with only 1 ovary? Thanks.

Hi HP,
Sorry I don't have experience of spotting but lots of annoying ttc experience and getting nowhere!
have you thought of acupuncture? It's by no means a cure and a diagnosis and investigation is definitely needed, but if you find a good fertility acupuncturist it could very well help and I find they are just good generally in terms of listening. They meet loads of women and therefore pretty knowledgable.
Good luck.