Long cycle / short luteal phase

[Bows85]

Hi all,
I was just wondering whether anyone might be in the same boat as me and can offer some advice/success stories?!

My DH and I have been ttc for several months now without any success.
Unfortunately my cycles have been really irregular (ranging from 31 days to 51 days) since coming off bcp last summer.

I have tracked ovulation and I do appear to be ovulating on my own but to add a big spanner into the works, it looks as though my LP is only 9/10 days.

I can find a lot of info about short cycles with a short LP, but not so much on long cycles with short LP. Anyone able to help?

My OPK was def negative today so the weekend must've been a fluke @boatrace30

I think clomid could be the way forward for me too... I hope you have a positive experience today. Please let us know how it goes!

Hi everyone! I'm pleased to report that today went as well as it possibly could have!
I saw the top consultant which I wasn't expecting (have a friend who went through everything right up to ivf at the same hospital and never saw him!)
He was absolutely lovely and we had a really long chat. The end result was Clomid! I have three months at 50mg, a further three at 100mg (to get from GP if needed) and then he will book me an appointment for seven months from now so I have an appt in the pipeline if Clomid doesn't work.

So pleased that something is happening and there is a clear plan.
I think a massive difference was my previous diagnosis of pcos. So he wasn't too interested in other tests at this stage . He also wasn't interested in the short luteal phase, I think that's basically a symptom of not ovulating properly.

He also told me to stop temping, stop opks and drink more wine!!

Is this where you have your fertile period quite soon after your period? If so, that's what I had/have. I always had 34-35 days and would have my ovulation on the 10th day after my first day of my period, whereas I think it's more common to have your ovulation around 14 days before your first day of your period? It took me a while to figure out. I had two miscarriages and then it took almost a year of trying but then we mainly tried on those days that are supposed to be the ovulating days. I then tried to calculate back in time those two previous pregnancies and figured that I must have fallen pregnant quite early on in my cycles. This is when I started using those ovulation sticks and yes it was the case. I then got pregnant quite soon, successfully carried through and with baby no 2 it only took one try and that was a good pregnancy too. I remember I couldn't find much information at the time which was a bit disheartening as I was trying to find sources of information that would offer hope and reassurance. This was almost 6 years ago though so hopefully there is more written about this now?

Bernies its actually the opposite when you aren't fertile for ages (im day 20-30) but then you get your period too soon after af.

So glad all worked out for you in the end though!

Wow @boatrace30 !!! I'm so chuffed for you. That's a fantastic outcome. I have a really good feeling about this for you 

I hope my appointment (when it comes through) will be as positive.

Do you need any close monitoring when you're taking your clomid? I know I've seen some women need scans etc...

Hi @Bernies81 sorry we can't be more helpful, but @boatrace30 is right. Short luteal phase is when our period arrives quicker than the norm after ovulation. Hope you find out answers if you need them.

Well my consultant said he was against monitoring. He said the main reason for it is to check that too many follicles aren't growing and then you can be advised not to try that month to avoid multiples. But he said in thirty years of prescribing without monitoring he had seen one set of triplets.
There is a 1/11 chance of twins but I am more than willing to take that risk, in fact it would be a lovely surprise!
From reading I think there is also some good in terms of checking it's working but equally he said if it works it will work!
So who knows, he very much advocated a "relax" approach which wouldn't be there if you were being monitored. Also I figure it's a lot cheaper not to monitor and to be honest I'd rather get it on the NHS without being monitored than pay £500 a cycle!! Effectively the piece of paper he wrote yesterday (which will cost me £8) is saving us £3000!!!

Oh, I'm so excited for you @boatrace30 I'm so pleased you had a good experience. It gives me hope for our appointment! Did you mention Clomid or was it the consultant who brought it up? (Sorry for all the questions!)

I kind of see where he is coming from with the monitoring. Triplets sound highly unlikely and twins would be quite nice! Also, sort of killing two birds with one stone getting two at once

And the £££ saved on the prescription is more than worth taking the risk of a multiple birth!

Lol - though I guess in the long term twins would cost us more than £3000! A nice problem to have though.

He bought it up - he talked about having five options:
1 - Keep trying and chill out
2 - Clomid
3 - Ovarian drillinh
4 - FSH hormone
5 - IVF

I panicked when he said this and thought he was going to say "do option 1 for a bit longer" but then he said "I'd recommend going for option 2 and we'll review in 7 months".

I think he will suggest ovarian drilling if clomid fails.

It couldn't have gone any better @boatrace30 Bet you can't wait to get your next cycle on the go so you can get started on the clomid!

It sounds like you're much more positive about things which can only help matters!

I hope my experience is as successful

@boatrace30 I'm so pleased to be reading your updates :) really great that you had such a proactive and positive appointment.

How are you feeling about relaxing and not temping or counting days to ovulation? It's a bit of a mental shift to give it all up!

So even though you are ovulating on your own, the idea of the clomid is to help you ovulate closer to day 14? Is that the thinking?

Really, I am so happy for you :)

Yes - I can't wait! DH is convinced I'll get pregnant this cycle and not need it! - That would be even better

I think the thinking is that I am not ovulating properly (egg probably isn't mature) hence the short LP and very light AF, but yes, I think theoretically I should still ovulate closer to day 14 and get a normal LP

I'm a teacher so soon to break up for the summer so my resolution is to drop all tracking at least for the summer break and if nothing has happened after two cycles, then I might be tempted back to it. But I feel I will get an idea from the heaviness of my period and the length of cycle.

@Boatrace- that is such good news!!!! YAY!!!! Sorry I am a little late to the party, had a long weekend away. Like everyone has said, it sounds like the appointment couldn’t have gone any better :D, and twins- definitely worth the risk in my opinion! Bet it feels like such a relief!

Ladies, can you remember how long after seeing your GP that you got your referral through from the fertility clinic? I’m waiting……impatiently! xx

Hey @CatMum87 Hope you had a nice break away.

When I was originally referred, the appointment came through after about 2 or 3 weeks and worked out that the appointment was about 12 weeks after the referral was sent. Sounds ages but it actually went quite quickly.

I have now got my new appointment through (thankfully!) and although I've waited longer to get it, it's worked out about the same time between referral and appointment.

Hope you hear soon!

Thanks @Bows85 ...had a lovely break in Croatia for a friend's wedding....topping up the tan!

And thanks for the info, so it looks about a 4 month wait, that gives me something to work towards 😊. Glad your appointment is through.....with how fast the months are flying by it'll be here before you know it.

I got my blood test back from last cycle...at 7dpo my progesterone was 29 which indicated that I had ovulated. Which is a relief! But I've read online that they like to see at least 30-35 , so clearly room for improvement x

Hhmmm upon further reading it would seem 29 is on the low side :( but i guess i already suspected that! Just happy to be ovulating!!!

Your progesterone levels are better than mine were when I had them done a few months ago. Mine were 19.2 Doc said they had to be over 20 to confirm ovulation so said mine pretty much confirmed it... so your 29 ain't too bad!

I'm hoping that my levels were caught on the way up/down and that they're actually higher than that normally! I'll be asking about it at my appointment though.

I only had mine done once and it was 15! So you are both doing better.
Thanks catmum, I just want this cycle over and done with now, I've had 8 straight days of ewcm and still no actual ovulation! Grrr.
Have you ovulated yet bows. My appointment was different as we have an electronic system and so you get to book your appointment within days of referral but then have to wait for it to be confirmed. I initially had a September one but a cancellation brought it forward.
Bows, pleased you got yours at last.
And catmum - Croatia sounds fab, what a great few months you've had!!

Nope, no ovulation yet @boatrace30 Hoping it will be happening in the next few days, but I think that's wishful thinking to be honest! If it happens when I'm in the CD20s, I'll be pleased as I'm normally in the CD30s. Fingers crossed you get your +ve OPK soon!

Now I know my appt is coming up, I'm hoping I'm going to be more relaxed this cycle, like I was when my original appointment was due. But there's lots going on so I'm not feeling too chilled It's been a very stressful few months.

Hi all, thanks so much for pointing the thread out bows.

Currently on day 30 with no positive opk. I can't be sure that I'm on a 42 day cycle as they haven't been regular for a couple of years (no contraceptives that could be responsible for this). Only that the last three have been between 40 and 49 days.

Sod's law it's only when you're trying you realise you ought to have these things investigated.

We have an appointment with a consultant gynaecologist tomorrow, last time he ran bloods and wrote to me to say it was highly likely that I ovulated (two cycles ago) so hoping he can run the same test to see if we have a chance this month.

Will settle down with breakfast and read your posts. Good luck all!

Interesting bows that you got your bfp when you were feeling more relaxed. DH is convinced that my stress about it is causing the issues. Interestingly when I got bfp with DD it was a really busy time at work so I didn't have time to be stressed about TTC! Even though I was stressed I'm a different way!

And welcome sunday!

Oh and I have failed and not tracking. Tempted the last two days. Temp is at my normal cover line today so hoping it's the start of a shift up. Would be great if I ovulated yesterday.
Thankfully a negative opk today as DH not back until Friday so ovulate on tomorrow would have been bad!

I'm kind of eager to know when to expect to take they Clomid. Looks likely I'll take it on out holiday which is annoying as I think it can really mess with your mood! But there is no way I am going to miss he first opportunity to take it!

Hi @Sundaylunchhappy you're right - only when TTC do the issues crop up. I now know that 15 years of taking the bcp was probably masking my nutty cycles. I normally have around 42 day cycles, but I had a 51 day thrown in just to keep me on my toes! Good luck for your appointment tomorrow.

My OPK today was negative but definitely getting stronger so maybe, just maybe I'll get a positive test tomorrow and ovulate on Friday (which will be CD25). If I do, it'll be 9 days sooner than last cycle meaning a shorter cycle this time. Trying not to get my hopes up though (easier said than done!). Saying that, does my last cycle count as a normal cycle as AF was actually my miscarriage? I don't know. Watch this space, I guess!

@boatrace30 I think stress does play a part. Being relaxed about things does no harm. I just wish my head would follow that idea!

Stronger OPK again this evening so a bit more hopeful that ovulation is imminent. Will temp in the morning to see what I get.

Did you get your +ve OPK @boatrace30 or are you just going off your temperature? Funny that we had similar ovulation days last cycle and this cycle. Maybe we're spending too much time together and we're syncing cycles 😂😂😂😂

😂😂

I don't know as I vowed after my appointment to give up the opks but I caved today. So I could easily have missed it. But I know my temps so well that I'll have a pretty good idea just from that if I have. Last time we dtd was Monday am before DH went away (6:30am on a Monday is dedication to the cause) so hoping if I ovulated yesterday or today we may have caught it.