Short Luteal Phase Gang!

[Beau20]

I started a thread a while ago asking for success stories but now I would love to get all the girls together who are struggling to conceive with their short Luteal Phase!

Here's a little bit about me -

TTC #1
Cycle 7
28 years old
Luteal phase average 9-10 days longest being 11 days.
Ovulation CD17-18 cycles 26-28 days long

I have had 2 pregnancies before (both termination please no flaming) both conceived without even trying, one with my current partner of 6 years. I also had a chemical in January. My last contraception was Nexplanon for 1 year and before that I was on the pill for 10 years or so (which was when I conceived previous). I have been taking 50mg sertraline for 6 months then 100mg sertraline for 6 months after that and have just stopped completely today. This is the only thing I have been doing differently since I conceived last time so part of me thinks this may affect fertility.

I'd love to hear about everyone else's journey! x

Hi @Proseccoprincess33 all fine this am. Not sure when the results will be in, they thought pretty quickly and our consultant will call us. The AFC was good though at 12 so at least there is signs of life! I’m hoping the AMH tallies.
Yes had progesterone. Weirdly there was some confusion - the docs told me 27 but the fertility clinic has been sent the paperwork and it was 41. So hopefully the latter. Good luck today - let me know how it goes.
I know it’s a painful wait - you have my sympathy. I guess just think that it may be a simple fix.
@Nat4392 with DC1 (2.5 years ago) it was 10/11 days. Fell pregnant after 6 cycles so it was very possible for us. This time round it’s been all over from 10 to 6. It was at its best with acupuncture but Covid has put pay to that for now.

@kittie321 that's great news. I'm waiting outside for my appt now. Panic wouldn't be in it. If they tell me my afc isn't good I'll boke 😭 my acupuncture and relaxation from this morning is obv worn off lmao xx

Finished appt there. Got bloods taken and scan done. Scan was fine. A lot less invasive than I thought it would be. Doctor wasn't able to do afc as I am just at ovulation and said I would need to have been earlier in cycle to see that clearly. He has said everything looks normal so hopefully that's true. Not talking to consultant until next Thurs though 🙄 xx

@proseccoprincess33 sounds promising so far. Keep us updated. 13 is low for progesterone if u did ovulate so hopefully they can prescribe some. Mine was 32. The lady who does acupuncture near me isnt starting back till july. Hopefully ill be pregnant by then and won't need it

@Nat4392 sorry about AF. Glad you're feeling ok about it. Ive had months i felt ok but last month i was the worse ever but it always gets better. Id get rolling with your tests as timing them right can take a month or two. Just tell docs its a year as it pretty much is

@kittie321 welcome. I had FSH test it came back satisfactory. My other tests all came back normal so wondered if satisfactory meant something else but never questionned it. Im not sure what my level was. I didnt realise it had anything to do with egg quality or quantity thought that was just Amh. Xxx

@whilstwewait yeah 13 is very low. My temperatures get really high and then just plummet so I think I have corpus luteum failure issue and need prog to rectify. But I know even consultants are reluctant to prescribe it 🙄

My fsh was elevated in my recent blood work. It was 10.5. Should be under 9. Raised fsh can signal your body is working harder to release eggs as there is a lower reserve. This is another reason I pushed through privately also. My gp told me it was 'satisfactory' and I asked what it was and when I realised it was raised I proceeded to tell her that was high. She was going by Nice guidelines which say anything under 20 is fine. Which it is not!!! I asked her to refer me right away and she did but she kept saying 'no your result is right in the middle it's fine' and I knew she was rolling her eyes at me. So do check your result. I'm sure it is fine but GPs are useless. They should at least know thresholds for referral to fertility 🙄

Got scan done. Have said all looks okay ie uterus, ovaries and that there are no lumps or bumps that should not be there. Said they cannot tell if tubes are blocked as you need hsg thing for that, however that usually they would see fluid gathering to indicate that which he didn't see. So whilst he can't say for definite he does not think tubes are blocked.

He could see an 18.5mm egg ready to escape so I promptly came home and dtd 😂 my opk was positive this am so at least they are accurate. So glad I changed DH's appt now. He said he could not do afc as it usually needs to be done days 2-5 and as I was about to ovulate he would not be able to see this clearly. That's what he said anyway.... 😳 Xx

@Proseccoprincess33 great that your scan well went. I thought it would be worse so a pleasant surprise! Fingers crossed for ovulation!! Consultants just don’t seem to buy the whole progesterone thing or seen particularly concerned about luteal phases at all. I think they see it as a symptom and not the cause.
@Whilstwewait defo check FSH level. Though I’m sure it’s fine. My GP told me it was ‘normal’ even though it’s higher than it should be. All this led to me going private, you get to the point where you’re constantly on google panicking! I just needed an expert to tell me what was going on!

Hi all,

Hope you don't mind me hopping on here. I was hoping someone might be able to give me some advice/let me know if anyone has experienced similar...

I came off the pill in April as was due to get married September this year, but wedding has been postponed due to the pandemic. We decided to start TTC instead, and this has been our first cycle, but second cycle off the pill.

I wasn't tracking my first cycle, but this cycle have been charting BBT and using OPKs. I'm current on CD36, and didn't get a positive OPK until CD33. My temp spiked today, so looks like yesterday was ovulation day. During this cycle, I have had three LH surges in total, with the last seeming to finally trigger ovulation. The first surge was on CD20, second 5 days later, and next not until CD33. Between CD20 until now I felt pretty awful with mild nausea, fatigue, an upset tummy, cramps and lower back ache, with the cramps and lower back ache becoming worse over the last week, and are now relieved since ovulation. Prior to ovulation I had 3 days of EWCM, so took this to be a good sign.

The reason why I'm writing on this thread is because today (1DPO) my boobs are agony. I was worried this might happen again, as the same thing happened last month. While I wasn't using OPKs etc the last cycle, I did notice EWCM around CD23-24, following this I got sore nipples, which lasted until AF arrived, making this cycle 30 days, and so what would appear to be a 5-6 day luteal phase. Now I have sore breasts again, I'm concerned AF will arrive way earlier than the typical 10-14 days.

What I wanted to ask is if anyone has any advice. Should I consider starting a B6 supplement for my next cycle, or is it best to wait and see what happens with my next few cycles? Something else I have suffered from for a few years now (while I was on the pill) is a low sex drive, and I was hoping this would improve upon coming off the pill, and while I think it has a little, it's not particularly noticeably better. From what I've researched online, sore breasts after ovulation, a low sex drive and a sort LP could all point to low progesterone.

Thanks so much in advance, I realise this is a mini essay x

Hello @MintGreenLife my honest advice is to give it time. TTC can be all consuming and the longer you can stay even slightly relaxed about it the better! (Speaking as someone who has spent the last 6 months completely obsessed).
I’m no expert but I think it’s too early to be worrying. Get yourself on a decent pre conception multi vitamin and see how the next few months go. If after that you’re still struggling things like Agnus Castus can help regulate your hormones.
Good luck - I’m sure it’s just your body regulating!!

@Kitte321 thanks so much for your reply :) I totally get where you are coming from in saying it's too early to worry - I'm sure you're right that my body just needs some time to regulate.

I actually found this article which is really useful in understanding what happens when you come off the pill, and how to help your body regulate: avivaromm.com/post-pill-reset/

Funnily enough the first step is to start taking a multivitamin, is there a specific one you would recommend? I have the Seven Seas Trying for a Baby, but when comparing the vitamins it misses out a couple that this article advises. I've looked at Pregnacare, which contains everything, but have heard it can really mess up your cycles - although am on CD36 right now having just ovulated, so mine are already messed up. I looked at the Wellwoman multivitamin (made by the same company as Pregnacare) and that seems to contain much the same as Pregnacare, but is slight cheaper, and has the addition of evening primrose oil which I know is meant to be good for cervical mucus, so I may try that. Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to do something wrong and make my cycle worse!

Thanks x

Not a problem @MintGreenLife. I think either of those would be absolutely fine. Yes for some it can delay ovulation for a couple of days but given you haven’t yet settled into regular cycles it’s probably not an issue.
Good luck - I’m sure it will be fine in a couple of months!!

Thanks so much :) really appreciate your advice x

@Kitte321x

Hello @MintGreenLife you're v welcome. I would also tend to agree that as you have just come off bc you cannot really tell if it is a short lp yet and hopefully for you it is not 😊

Def get yourself on a good preconception multi vitamin. I am due to meet virtually with a consultant on Thurs about all this ttc craic and my low prog and short lp so anything I find to be of help i will post ❤️

Hope you're all well xxx

Thanks so much for your reply :) I'm sure you're both right and I'm fussing prematurely. I've ordered Pregnacare and will start taking from tomorrow. Spotted it contains all of the B vitamins, which I believe can help if progesterone is out of whack from coming off the pill, also going to take vit c as appears that can help too.

Fantastic, really hope that meeting goes well for you xxx

@Proseccoprincess33 message above x

Just jumping on to say I have a short luteal phase. When I was first ttc I put it down to coming off the pill. The longest luteal phase I had was 10 days, it was usually around 7/8 days. I tried pregnancy vitamins, vitamin b and agnus castus with no effect. I conceived ds1 after 5 months. When I went to conceive ds2 my luteal phase was 7 days the first month and the next month I conceived him so just to reassure people that having a short luteal phase isn’t the end of the world

Oh and just to add I haven’t been on the pill for a while now and still have short luteal phases so I think it is just me and not the pill that did that. Now ttc dc3 so will see how it goes this time

Thanks @MintGreenLife appointment tomorrow so I'm nervous now 😢 hope you're doing ok ❤️

@Minai thank you so much for this. That's such a wonderful success story. Congrats on your 2 beautiful children and good luck with ttc number 3 ❤️

@kittie321 did you get your amh results back? Mine are tomorrow 😱😱😱

Hey @Proseccoprincess33 unfortunately I did and it wasn’t good news. They were low (6.1) so it indicates a DOR. Trying to figure out where to go from here which seems to inevitably be IVF. Pretty gutted though having conceived quickly and naturally 2.5 years ago.
So considering next steps - I’m focusing the supplements on egg quality and will probs give it a whirl for a few more months. Then it’s IVF (or accepting life as a family of 3 which I’m incredibly grateful for). But even that is a minefield! The clinic I’m with have the best success rates but it’s very focused on the highest dose of meds etc. I’m just looking into a milder approach but in reality if the chance of success is low doing that it defeats the object! Really hope you have better news! I’ll have everything crossed for you.

@kittie321 I am sorry to hear that 😔 although I have read about many ladies with an amh much lower than that and they conceived either naturally or with ivf so don't lose hope. Did you speak with a Consultant yet about options?

I am expecting a low amh today and really trying to prepare myself for it. Hoping for above 5 as NHS cut off is 5 I think and fsh cut of is 12.5. Although I have money set aside for private ivf if it's needed.

I have also considered egg donar if things are like worst case scenario. Big hugs to you. I hope you are not too down. Life is just really shite sometimes xxx

@sausageface been thinking of you. Hope you are doing okay xxx

I’m sure yours will be higher than 5. From everything I’ve read it tallies with FSH so if mines 12 and yours is 10 it should be higher.
I’ve spoken to the consultant and he has said I have a good chance via IVF - he gave odds of 35% in one cycle so if I did 3 it should tip the balance in my favour. But these things seem quite random tbh!
Husbands SA was very good so thats one thing (so makes me feel like it’s completely my fault - it is I guess!!).
I was gutted when I found out, now I’ve had some time to process and rationalise I feel better. It’s not that I can’t conceive naturally but being realistic it will be a hard rd. I would be self funding, totally fair enough given I’ve been blessed with one DC already.
Let me know how you get on - I’ll be rooting for you!

@Proseccoprincess33 message above!

Just popping on again as AF arrived yesterday for me, which means I had a 3 day luteal phase!! Just wondering if anyone else had this when fresh off the pill? As I mentioned above this was my second cycle off the pill and I knew my luteal phase was probably going to be short as last cycle I had sore nipples/boobs for 4 days and then AF showed, same again this cycle, the day after ovulation straight away I had sore nipples and then low and behold AF three days later. Just curious if anyone else was effected this way coming off the pill and if their luteal phase extended? Thanks x

@kittie321 mine was not much better tbh at 6.8. But consultant was not concerned at all. Says doesn't want to rush down ivf route. But did say as my mum has early menopause that if no baby in 3 Months we will do ivf.. He had originally said 6. He said as I had a chemical pregnancy before he felt it would happen naturally and not to worry 😊

I also cornered him into giving me progesterone pessaries and he agreed lol he did not think short lp was an issue... There's a shocker lol

@MintGreenLife do you take your bbt temperatures? I would do that and you can see the actual day you ovulate and when af comes. Then if after a few months you see no change you could get bloods done. Loads of people have v v wonky cycles after coming off pill so pls try not to worry. Easier said than done I know 😔 xxx