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

Thanks for the responses @Whilstwewait and @Proseccoprincess33 : )

I am also a big fan of the NHS and I am not complaining at all. What I meant was, I would just like to talk to my GP about this (my cycles being on the short side, lots of spotting). Not all the scans, and so forth. We've only been TTC for 4-6 months so I am not massively concerned just yet. I just want to understand my cycle better. But I am not sure how to see my GP at the moment! The general form that the website asks me to fill out in order to make an appointment asks questions that are totally unrelated to what I want to talk about, and then I get stuck on a check list that asks about generic issues such as pain, difficulty breathing, etc. None of which applies. I guess I may have to ring them directly in the end?

I will try to take some extra B vitamins this cycle, but I am not sure when to take which one, and how much (whole cycle? second part of cycle?). I have some complex B from Boots, B6 from Boots, and B12 from Holland & Barret laying around. I thought maybe it could have to do with being a vegetarian? But I had bloodwork done for other reasons in the past and that all showed me as completely healthy and 'normal'.

@Proseccoprincess33 yes i told my Gp it had been a year when i went in january.ive taken the plunge and enquired about a private consultation. Ill tell them its nearly 2 years. At 35 im not hanging around. Im feeling positive now we have taken the right steps. Your progesterone does seem really low. Im glad you fought your corner are they happy you are definitely ovulating with that figure? I know TTC is the worse thing. Be so worth it in the end though. How was acupuncture? We did 4 days in a row at ovulation last cycle and still no positive so im thinking fuck it long as i do it once or twice im happy xx

@AnonymousXXIX id ring your gp for a phone consultation as they dont physically check anything anyway so can do it all over the phone. Lots of people on mumsnet have recently been referred for bloods. If they can open pubs they can do routine appointmente imo xx

@AnonymousXXIX its all cycle for the b vitamins. Vitamin b complex and there was another but i can't remember what. Maybe Vitamin b6 sorry. Was ages ago i took them xx

@AnonymousXXIX yes b vits all cycle. Start with 50 mgs b6 as its one that can lengthen luteal phase and you can increase it if nothing happens. There is a max does if 200mg I think.... As it can cause nerve damage in high doses xx

Sorry to get scientific, but I have been doing some reading about B vitamins. People only need 1-2 mg per day, which they are likely to get from food anyway. Therefore, taking a B complex alone should 'correct' any potential deficiencies. The B-6 and B-12 I have are both 10 mg so ten times the recommended amount - but The Internet recommends 50-100 mg a day for luteal phase defect? Since the body flushes out anything that cannot be absorbed, if I understand it correctly, why would you go that much over the necessary dose? (I.e. it is unlikely to 'stick' anyway?) I know you can take a double dose of e.g. paracetamol but I do not believe you can 'up' vitamins the same way; it is a whole different type of biology/chemistry. (But do explain if you know more about vitamin absorption and effects.) In addition, Ransley, Donnelly & Read (2012, via Google Books) show that studies have found no conclusive evidence from previous studies that doses of 50-100 mg (or even 200 mg) help very much.

I think I will stick to the B complex first part of my cycle, and then potentially up with 10 mg of B-6 and B-12 during second part. I feel like that should be correcting anything I am missing - if I am missing anything (which I doubt). My main aim with this is to reduce spotting, and the number of days spotting; that would get me a short, but hopefully not too short, luteal phase (9+ days).

@AnonymousXXIX I did not say it was backed by scientific studies. My luteal phase was 8/9 days and the one month I used 50mgs of b6 it increased by 2 days. Many ladies have a similar story. That's all I was saying xx

@Proseccoprincess33 I got my bloods through from doctor all look fine. My FSH is 9.8 though and it said satisfactory. Up to 8.8 is considered normal apparently. Im sure ive read one though that the test isnt that accurate as it can vary throughout the day so im not too worried. Did your fertility doctor say much about it? Xx

Hello love, no he said ideally it should be under 9 but that he wasn't worried. He was so laid back it was ridic. His advise was to have sex every other day from the day af goes and that's what I'm going to do. We had eased off a bit and were only bd in fertile window a few times.... So going for it this month. I did of my own accord start taking ubiquinol as it can improve egg quality or protect the ones you have left. I think 9. 8 is grand and yes it does change every month xxx

@Proseccoprincess33 aw thanks good to know. I did ruin my excitement and positivity by googling last night which is stupid. Ill be glad to have our appointment now hopefully it won't be too long and then just trust the experts. Yes i aim for every 2 to 3 especially closer to ovulation but its hard sometimes. Ill keep doing OPk i think cos least once ive ovulated i can ease off then. Ive scrapped all my vitamins apart from seven seas and vital DHA. I may get ubiquinol though and concentrate on egg quality now. Ive given up on my luteal phase as I know progesterone will sort that anyway when we have treatment. When you due to ovulate? Xx

@whilstwewait aw I have been down that rabbit hole and it's not a fun place to be 😞 But honestly my consultant was v positive and not overly concerned. Wants us to keep trying, initially he said 6 months but once he realised my mum had early menopause he said okay make it 3. As obviously they have their boundaries for treatment such as fsh not being over 12.5 and amh being over 5 etc.

I am due to ovulate wed/Thurs which is dc 17/18...same.every month. What about you? I am attempting the Smep this month. Want to do as much as we can in the next 3 months.

Even though DH's sperm was good I have still bought him baggy boxers (which he is raging about 😂) Just to increase chances!!!

The ubiquinol is expensive but it's recommended as it's the most easily absorbed form of q10. But I comes highly recommended. I got the nature's best ones.

Prob a good idea re short lp as they'll hopefully give you clomid or progesterone or both maybe 😳 Like in said consultant was happy enough to give me progesterone but he wouldn't have prescribed it without my asking.

And yes dtd every other day is tiring. People have told me to dtd every day but we would not be able to sustain that, esp with my late ov! Maybe when we were 18 but not now lol xx

@Proseccoprincess33 ah that's good to know then. If it was a problem im sure he'd be rushing you for IVF straight away. Hopefully this is your month. I ovulate day 18 as well but im only on day 3 currently so a while to wait. I hate the negatives thoughts. Im sure once ive had AMH and spoken to the consultant ill relax. Funny how our mindsets can suddenly change. I was so positive before. Time to pour myself a prosecco I think worrying wont change anything before my appointment anyway xx

@whilstwewait loving your style. I have a glass in hand. Cheers and enjoy your weekend ❤️ xx

Hi all,

Hope you are well. I've been looking at a few of the short LP threads and this seems the most active!!
I'm only on cycle 2 after coming off the pill so still relatively new to all this. However I last cycle my BBT dropped at 8dpo followed by some spotting later that day and then AF in full force the following day.
I am again on 8dpo today and I feel the same thing may happen as my temp has dropped again.
I didn't want to start taking too many different tablets to allow my body to works it's self out, but I know that 8/9 is quite short and worried this will affect chances of getting pregnant. Have you guys found anything that helps to lengthen the LP?
I have started drinking raspberry tea up to ovulation and that's all.

Hello @blossom428 and welcome. Sorry to hear about your luteal phase 🙄 short luteal phase is the bain of my life lol mine is the same length as yours although last month it was 11 days. That month I took b6 50mgs and was having acupuncture so not sure what made the difference. This cycle i have progesterone which I have been prescribed by a private consultant.

The good news is as you are only coming off pill it is very likely that your cycles just need some time to adjust so I wouldn't panic just yet. If it continues you could try b6 as it has worked for a lot of the ladies. I tried natural prog cream and it did nothing for me sadly but I know it has worked for others. I have been drinking rasp leaf tea this cycle too. Anything to help lol

Are you trying to conceive your 1st?xx

Hi @Proseccoprincess33 thanks for your response. TTC #1
Yes I was thinking this after reading a couple of other posts about only just coming off the pill, so hopefully it will sort itself out.

I've tried to read a lot of the chat to see where everyone's up too, and seen a few of you are at the point where you are speaking with the doctor and having tests. So fingers crossed they can investigate further and support to conceive- just frustrating it's takes so long sometimes!

I feel like I've learnt so much about my body I never knew over the past 2 months.
All those years spent worrying about getting pregnant missing one pill- they never tell us all this at school! Haha

Hi @Blossom428 I am in a similar position I came off the pill in March Trying to conceive my first child and I have had an 8 day luteal phase ever since. I have started taking vitamin B6 this month I’m coming towards the end of my AF so I will see if it makes a difference this cycle Xxx

@Molly3456 yes we are, I came off the pill in April. So I do think my body will take time to regulate properly seen as I was on it since I was like 15 and I am now 29.
Do you take the b6 throughout the whole cycle or just up to ovulation? I get worried about taking things and them affecting implantation or anything.

I got a leaflet from fertility centre and they mention vitamin b6 to help lengthen luteal phase and for any spotting. So id say to give them a go first. I did try it before and didn't make much difference to me but I'm trying it again this cycle x

@Blossom428 maybe so similar to me! I’ve been out it since I was 15 and I’m 24 now. I am just going to see what happens if my ovulation is sooner I always ovulate on day 18 and then my cycles last 26 day so will just play it by ear Xx

@Molly3456 yeah hopefully you will ovulate sooner or the LP will push back.

I think AF has Just arrived (seems a lot more than just spotting anyways)
Which makes it only a 22 day cycle and 9dpo 😩😩 what even is that!!!! Feeling a bit sad about it all- I know still early days but still feels a bit shitty!

@blossom428 you do become so in tune with your body, it's ridicous. You take the b6 your entire cycle and it def gave me and extra 1-2 days.

@whilstwewait that's interesting that the fertility clinic were advising on b6. It definitely worked for me this month. I actually stopped taking it a few days before ov as I wasn't getting my usual ov signs and I think it may have delayed it had I not stopped. So it definitely increases prog. If I did not have my prog prescription I'd have kept going with it as I think it balances out eventually.

@Molly3456 I'm sorry love. It's such a difficult time and I know when my periods first came back with the short lp I was devastated so I know saying they'll settle is little comfort to you 😔 I would give it another month or 2 and see how your cycles are then. Maybe give the b6 a go, 50mgs and see if it improves lp 😊 you take it all cycle. B6 helps to regulate hormones so could help regulate your cycle. Acupuncture is good for regulating cycles too xx

Thank you@Proseccoprincess33 I've just bought some B complex? Should this be the same as it has b6 in it? Or is b6 on itsown better?

@Blossom428 @Molly3456 hi both ☺️ I believe I may be in a similar position to you both! I posted on this thread about a month ago as that cycle I possibly had a 3/4 day luteal phase! I came off the pill in April, and am currently on my third cycle off the pill. First cycle I didn't track, but I got EWCM around CD23-24 and AF came on CD31 giving me a 30 day cycle. My second cycle lasted 37 days, that cycle I was using OPKs and temping, and I actually ended up getting two LH surges before I got a positive on CD33, a few days before the positive I started getting EWCM, but then cycle ended at 37 days so possibly a 3/4 luteal phase. My temps only rose slightly after predicted ovulation day, so at the mo can't work out if my body is trying to ovulate and giving up causing AF to come, or if I am ovulating and experiencing a crazy short luteal phase.

This cycle I'm now on CD24 and started getting EWCM yesterday but no positive OPK yet. Really hoping this one looks better.

I started taking a B vitamin Complex at the start of this cycle along with Vit C, but one or both caused bladder irritation, so I stopped both. May try and reintroduce next cycle one by one if this one is no better.

It's pretty scary coming off the pill and feeling hopeful, and then each cycle seems to be full of issues, but still feeling hopeful that it will sort itself out 🤞🏼 Xx

Hi guys, sorry I’ve been MIA for a while. I feel like I shouldn’t even be on this thread now with my LP! It was always 11 days (shortest was 9) but last month I took evening primrose oil and got to 13 days! As gutted as I was that I wasn’t pregnant, I was very happy with a normal LP! Don’t know if it was just random or the EPO did it but I’m carrying on with that anyway.
I also bit the bullet this week and made a doctors appointment as I’m now on cycle 12. Had a telephone consultation yesterday and I’m booked in for bloods and an ultrasound in 2 weeks (which is super fast so I’m really happy with that)
Hope everyone is well! X

@Nat4392 great that you've managed to lengthen your luteal phase and that you are getting seen so soon. Hope you don't mind me asking quickly - did you take EPO throughout your cycle? Or just up until ovulation? I have some but haven't started taking it, and spoke to someone else that took it up to ovulation and then stopped. Thanks x