Progesterone to induce AF

[AbFab86]

I've been put on progesterone to try and induce AF as I'm currently on day 120 of my so-called 'cycle'. Just wondering if anyone has used it before and, if so, any weird side effects and how long did it take to actually work?

I was put on this because I hadn't had AF for 6 months. The Month after finishing the drugs AF came back

How long were you on it for? I've been put on a 10 day course.

I was on it for 10 days as well. It didn't work that month but the next month AF returned, and I hadn't had a period for 5 years (although was on BC). It was after coming off BC that I hadn't had anything for 6 months, and got AF a month after finishing the 10 day course.

Only thing is you have to be 100% sure you aren't pregnant when taking them

Damn I was hoping it would be quite a quick reaction Oh well! Will keep waiting.

Your situation sounds pretty much identical to mine with regard to BC and then nothing for 6 months. Definitely not pregnant. Did another test this morning just to be 110% sure and it was white as snow.

If you don't mind me asking, have your cycles returned to normal now?

Hi Ab I think we've spoken before :)

I was put on this in January after coming of BC in November and not having AF. I had a 10 day course of pills and had a withdrawal bleed a few days after. I'm still waiting for a natural AF. :(

I have an ultrasound tomorrow morning to check my ovaries for PCOS and my womb lining etc.

I think I'm going to have another course of progesterone pretty soon, as the clinic also want to do a HSG and this has to be done between days 7 and 10 or something of a cycle, plus they want to do the Day 21 and 28 tests as well. This would be impossible without AF, obviously, so they are going to give me another course.

Hi eskimo! Sorry to hear the progesterone didn't work for you I was lead to believe if you haven't had a normal cycle for a long time they can just do the day 21 tests any day, but I'm not quite sure how that works.

Hmmm, me neither Ab. I have to have them anyway because of the HSG. There's no way they'd do that without a bleed first. My GP just called and he's put the prescription through for me, so it's ready to pick up. Feeling really gutted that I'm taking these pills for the second time :( Wish my stupid body would just do something! Having a down day today... can you tell? TTC is firmly on hold until all of these investigations are over, so we're playing the waiting game at the moment. Problem is, patience is not one of my virtues!

I can empathise completely with the lack of patience! Don't worry about having a down day. It's bound to happen. It's just so infuriating that something that is supposed to be so natural is just not happening! What the hell, evolution?!?

Even more infuriating is when I see girls that I teach wandering around with hot water bottles on their stomachs at school. Firstly, get a grip nobody ever used to do that. Secondly, stop flaunting your fertility in my classroom! Haha ridiculous really

Wow- we have a lot in common! Some of the girls in my Year 10 class were complaining about period pains last week. I had to bite my tongue! When did you come off the pill? I stopped taking it in November. Have been taking Agnus Castus for 2 weeks too and nothing so far. Stopped checking my knickers weeks ago...

Hi girls, think we are on several chats together on here. Also in the same boat off the pill no period for 6 months... Plenty of period pains but no bleed. I go through phases of being patient, angry, hysterical, depressed and I know you girls know exactly how I feel. I haven't been offered anything to induce a bleed! Did you have to push for this?

Hiya Ginfizz Have been keeping up to date with you on the PCOS thread, although haven't posted as I don't really 'belong' there! I didn't have to push at all; in fact, I went to the GP in January as I thought I may have a UTI and mentioned it to him then and he was very keen to prescribe.

This time round, as I had been referred to Gynae, all I had to do yesterday was explain that Gynae wanted to do a HSG and he wrote the prescription whilst we were on the phone. He's also giving me 60 tablets so I have a 'supply' (!) Obviously, I'd much rather leave my body to 'sort itself out' but it does feel like my system has gone to sleep. I need to have a bleed for the HSG anyway, so I'll give the Norethisterone another whirl and see if it does anything at all, though I'm losing faith a little bit.

Not sure what to do with 6 lots of progesterone though!

Have my ultrasound tomorrow... Ginfizz, knowing what you do now after yours last week, what questions would you advise me asking?

I just want to get on with TTC... I'm 33 soon and getting increasingly frustrated. Do you mind me asking how old you both are? x x

Also, (and I think I put this on the other thread too), I would definitely push for it because it's simply not healthy to not have a bleed for more than 6 months. I wasn't aware of this until my Gynae appointment, but apparently the womb lining can thicken to the point of showing pre-cancerous changes if it isn't shed for a long period. You should definitely mention this to any GP and push for something to induce a withdrawal bleed

I thought the same about needing to have a bleed and I even said to my gp and she just went "no it's fine" just live with it. She did say I could be referred but my partners sperm will be tested before hand. I felt really unsure and mixed emotions, did I really need to get my partners sperm tested? We haven't even really had a chance to try yet without a period. She was just so quick to get me off the phone. Luckily I have another appointment with a different Dr next week so I'm making a list of questions and induce bleed is definately on there! Defo going to be asked to see a gynae that specialises in this area.

With regards to your scan, I wish you the best of luck, mine really was ok it was internal but really couldnt feel much. I didn't even have to ask what she saw as she turned the screen and showed me, she just said my ovaries looked bulky and I had a few black circles on them which were cysts. Afterward all she said was that my Dr will probably do a blood test, to which I said they already had. And then that was literally it. I didn't feel like I had a chance to ask anything she just said speak to your doctor now.

I wish I had asked.... Can you tell I have/or will be about to ovulate! Don't know why I didn't to be honest.
How long did your referral take? I am 25! :)

Thanks for the info. Referral was really quick. Had appointment with my GP at the beginning of March and the referral letter came through the same week. My Gynae appointment was on 19th March and US is tomorrow.We have the same thing with my partner's sperm- he has his little pot and just has to do the deed and take it in. Seems a bit whirlwind, as, like you, we haven't really had a proper month of TTC, but from what I can gather, they like to test everything at the same time, so that it saves time in the long run. There's no point in us going through all of these tests and getting the all clear, only to find out in a year's time that it wasn't us that had the issue in the first place. Still seems a bit unfair, when there really hasn't been an issue with the men folk, but then I like to think that I'm going through some pretty intrusive tests; the least he can do is wank in a cup

Hahaha Eskimo I love that. Really made me laugh- wank in a cup. Very true!! I'm pretty sure he would rather that than have an internal ultrasound make sure you keep us posted tomorrow. And just keep an open mind for what they tell you, your not alone here! Xxx

Haha I said exactly the same to my DH eskimo. If I can put up with foof-cam then he can make some sacrifices too (he hasn't been asked to provide a 'sample' yet - his complaint was the Wellman vitamins were too big to swallow!!).

I'm pretty much in exactly the same situation as you, spooky! I too came off the pill in November, have taken Agnus Castus for 2 weeks, have annoying teenage girls for company every day I'm 29 next month. I'm currently on Duphaston for the progesterone. The doc said if that didn't work (tablets for 10 days then wait 2 weeks) then she'd try a different type. If you're not sure what to do with 60 tablets I recommend you somehow slip them into the food of people you don't like. Bad skin and achey boobs all round!

I didn't have to push for the progesterone either. My case is slightly different because I'm in private healthcare (everyone is here, you have to be) so some doctors prescribe whatever to make more money. My doctors aren't like that really, but she did just say 'do you want me to prescribe you something to induce a period?' as she was leaving the ultrasound room.

I had a bit of a flap last night about the unfairness of it all, ranting about how there are plenty of women who don't want babies - why don't they get the useless cycles?! Wholly inefficient allocation! Lovely DH told me just to think about what my diabetes doctor had said - he expects to see me pregnant in 3-4 months. I can't help but think he's being a bit overly optimistic but I do need to keep that in mind. Remember that people can still ovulate without periods, just keep at it ladies!

Hi abfab sorry i didn't reply yesterday. My cycles are now fairly normal. My first AF was 28 days, then 26 days. then 17 days, but since then each month they have gotten longer and now I'm sitting around 26/27 days, fairly predictable, fairly light. My LP was ridiculously short but this month I made it to 11 days so I'm really happy that it's in the realms of normal (i'm sure the BC was affecting my LP too).

It seems like a long time to wait but after waiting so long I was so happy when AF came back. For me, I had just gotten back from a short holiday in Spain, got home, my DP proposed to me and that night she turned up hahaha!

Damn I'm already married so I can't use proposal to induce AF! That's great though that your cycles have returned to 'normal'. Definitely gives me hope. I'm looking at taking the progesterone as almost like a hard reset on my system, like you'd do with a frozen phone or computer