Day 21 Blood Results & Progesterone Cream Advice

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Hi everyone,

Ive been on mumsnet for close to a year now and been ttc number 1 (with no joy) for a year. My cycles have become fairly regular now but my luteal phase has averaged out at 8/9 days max. After having initial fertility tests done, my day 21 bloods came back today at a progesterone level of 26. The gp thought this was 'OK' though some quick research on Google has indicated this is still on the low side. Various gps have been quick to dismiss my luteal phase defect concerns, which angers and frustrates me (as I believe this is where the problem lies).

I'm now on the hunt for some natural ways to prolong my luteal phase and was wondering if anyone has any experience/success stories of using progesterone cream? I'd looked up the 'Serenity Natural Progesterone Cream' and thinking of buying.
Apologies for the novel!!

Vit B might help...?

I've been taking b6 for a while and have had b12 injections for years but this hasn't helped as yet

I've been struggling with a crappy luteal phase too and also b6 doesn't work for me this time round. I've actually pushed for the doctor to refer me to a fertility specialist (despite this only being my 5th month trying and I already have a 20 month old). I just said I was having irregular cycles. I ended up paying private to speed up the initial referral process and the specialist said clomid could help with my LP. I'm waiting for my second appointment and then hopefully should be starting soon after that. Is that an option for you?

Thanks Malbec! My gp has also referred me to a fertility clinic but anxious about the length of wait between now and my first appointment. Clomid could be an option! I'm just hoping the doctors at the clinic are more sympathetic to my luteal concerns.

I've gone ahead and ordered the serenity progesterone cream after reading quite a lot of good reviews on mumsnet about it prolonging the luteal phase by a few days. Would still be interested to hear if there are any other success stories or experiences anyone has had with this?

Yeah it would have been a week for my GP to refer and then the appointment came through as 4 weeks later (which is lucky because it can be up to 6 weeks) then the follow up would have been another 4-6 and then another wait for a doctors appointment. It so frustrating. I skipped the initial stages by paying so I'm on the follow up appointment at the end of the month.

I looked in to that cream but b6 messed with me so much I didn't want to risk trying anything else that wasn't prescribed. Worth a shot though, especially if you're going through the processes of being referred. It's a so frustrating isn't it. I feel like I wait all month to ovulate (usually around cd22), then time sex perfectly, only to find that my luteal phase is way too short to get pregnant. Just seems like the first half of the month is totally pointless. On the plus side, I usually don't have to wait too long to know I'm not pregnant!

That sounds exactly just like my cycle Malbec! Ov'd on cd23 this month and then AF arrived cd32, right on queue. I also feel like the first half of cycle is a complete waste as nothing at all is happening. My ov has been brought forward slightly (as used to not ov until cd26/27), but sadly this has still not affected luteal phase. I think the longest I've reached is 10 days!

Great news about the private referrel. Hopeful things will move a lot quicker for you then. This is something I might need to look into.

Yeah 10 days is best case scenario for me too. What happens if you take b6? I conceived my son taking conception vitamins. I spotted from 9dpo one month and AF arrived at 14dpo and the month after it didn't arrive and I was pregnant. But this time I've tried to take conception vitamins and b6 on its own an dive had all sorts of horrible stuff!

I'm worried about taking conception vitamins as I'm already on quite a high dose of folic acid, iron and b12 prescribed by the doctor for pernicious anemia. I've been taking 50mg of b6 but just bought a dose of 100mg. Have had no side effects but also no success either! Has it been making you feel ill?

Ah I see. Yeah you don't want to overdose anything. No not ill but it makes me ovulate even later in my cycle and one month I bled for about 10 days mid cycle. I tried high dose vitamin c too because some study found success with it and I also took 25mg of b6 after ovulation the same month and I starting spotting at 4dpo and ended up with an 8 day LP. So terrible really! This month I'm just on folic acid and vitamin d and I'll see what happens.

Do you use the progesterone cream all cycle?

I think I just use it after ovulation. Willing to try anything now!!

Hi All, after doctors ignoring me for the past 12months when I explained I was pretty sure my progesterone was too low which was why we had been TTC for 2years without success, my day 21 progesterone level was 19 which they they felt was 'borderline but ok' and being pushed down the IVF route, it was our last month to try naturally before we were starting IVF so I gave progesterone cream and Guna progesterone drops a go and guess what? 3x tests just told me I'm pregnant! Good luck to all you lovely ladies xxx

Hello, just wondering if the cream helped lengthen your LP?