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

@MintGreenLife yes, I kinda wish I came off the pill a lot earlier- but I guess you never know the effect and what your body does untill coming off it.
I started taking EPO last cycle, it's meant to help with CM. And stop taking this at ovulation yes.

I've started taking the vitamin b complex now so see how I get on with that.
At least it means this weekend I can have a few drinks and drown my sorrows. Haha. On to the next!!

@Blossom428 I even made an appointment to discus being on the pill and TTC earlier in the year at the GP and was told I could conceive right away and so it wasn't necessary to come off early 🤦🏻‍♀️ I get that that does happen for some people, but I don't get why the other outcome isn't even mentioned. Hopefully things straighten up for us all soon!

Awesome thanks. I might try adding it in next cycle then. I'm now on CD24 I think and had EWCM today and yesterday, so keeping my fingers crossed that I get a positive OPK in the next day or two and get a decent temp rise!

There is that small silver lining, enjoy a few well deserved drinks this weekend ☺️ X

@MintGreenLife I took it up until I got my peak OPK, gonna do the same this month too and hope it helps again x

@Nat4392 brill thanks. May even start today as CD25 and no ovulation so far, so may as well 🤷🏻‍♀️

@MintGreenLife it’s crazy how much our cycles can vary, mine is 24 days in total!

@Nat4392 I think mine are all over the place because I'm just three months off the pill, never expected to have issues though, honestly thought I would go back to normal pretty quickly 🙄 Can't recal having irregular cycles before the pill, although that was 13 years ago now. From what I recal I had a fairly normal 28-30 day cycle x

Hey all, sorry to jump in. I haven't ready back through many messages but thought I'd share my journey. I had DD 2 years ago and 6 months before I started trying I started tracking my cycles and I discovered I had a 28 day cycle and ovulated on day 19ish. Obvs therefore a 9 day luteal phase. After a few months of tracking with the same result, I started b6 and instantly that month increased my cycle to 30 days so increased my LP to 11 days. I then fell pregnant straight away when we started trying. I know there are so many factors involved but I'd be so sure that it was the b6 that helped. I'm just about to start trying for baby number 2 and tracked this month to find my LP is 9 days again (I stopped taking the b6 once I was pregnant) so about to start taking it again. Hopefully it works a 2nd time!

This is really positive to be to hear @ARIO . Maybe I should just her B6 instead of the Vitamin B complex- I'll do that next cycle. Can't keep spending so much money on so many different things haha! TTC adds up doesn't it. All these POAS!! Guys have it so easy haha

@ARIO thank you so much for your story. It's very positive and reassuring to hear 😊 hope it works as well this time around for you 😊 can't see why it wouldn't 🤞

@Whilstwewait really sorry for the delayed reply, I completely missed this. I have been going to Dr. Gudi at fertility plus in London. I actually found him online as he has videos on YouTube specifically on short luteal phase, so after seeing those videos I googled him to see how ligit he was and found his clinic which had great reviews. Me and hubby both really like him , he started me on clomid but I was getting a luteal phase as short as 6 days. Although my test results were good and there is maybe a chance I could get pregnant naturally he started me on treatment because the goal is to have a baby and so they want that to work out for you sooner rather than later. I took clomid from.days 2-5 then went in for a scan on day 13 which showed good follicles so he gave me a HCG trigger shot which meant that I would def ovulate around 36 hours later. It just gives you more certainty and allows you to exactly time ovulation. I think on NHS the trigger would be reserved for IUIs. Because I already did ovulate naturally just had a short luteal phase I thought the clomid would increase my chances above normal by possibly releasing two eggs but he said it's still only a 15% chance this cycle which is normal for someone in their early 30s. Anyway I definitely don't think that he would rush us unnecessarily into IVF, there are lots of other routes first depending on your situation and he has been nothing but positive with me. He has said he will be very surprised if I don't have a baby in 2021. He is also totally cool about the fact that hubby and I are about to relocate abroad so we won't be staying with him and has said he will give me to meds and the trigger shot for the next few months to try myself.
Overall going private is costly but both my and Dh are pleased we have done it. I'm 33 and have always wanted a big family and was sure there was something not quite right with me so glad we went after about 6month ttc to give us more time.
@Proseccoprincess33 sorry your doc isn't so on board with the short LP issue. Mine has said that if I start spotting again this cycle and if day 21 bloods show progesterone is low that he will treat me with a double trigger shot and progesterone next cycle along with the clomid. He said if progesterone is not low and I spot then it could be a different issue with the lining. I just had my day 21 bloods on Mon and progesterone was only 10.3 which is weird because it was over 30 last month and he sent me back again yesterday for another blood test to see if it was going up.or down. I'm not hopeful for this cycle though as I suspected my progesterone was low.

Wishing you all luck this cycle!

An update: I ovulated day 14 this cycle so a day or even two later than usual. Not sure what that means, and not sure if taking B complex has anything to do with that.

I did also manage to see my GP about my cycles getting shorter. She recommended a blood test, which I did this week. This one came back normal, apparently, whatever that may mean.

She did an examination and says she think my lining (?) is still thin from being on the pill (have been off it for 6 months now), which she says explains my pre-period spotting. She now wants me to do another blood test within the first five days of my next period, because she suspects cysts (PCO) followed by possibly a scan, if the results are abnormal.

Any thoughts? I thought PCO means your cycles are longer and you do not ovulate, but I have almost definitely been ovulating, and fairly regularly at that.

@AnonymousXXIX that's good that you've managed to see a GP about your shorter cycles. I'm only 3 months in from stopping the pill and my cycles have been getting shorter.
I have started taking vitamin B complex to see if this will do anything. Fertile week next week, so I'm hoping it doesn't adjust my ovulation date as this is also CD13 like you.
My LP has been 9days though for the past few cycles.

Did they give any ideas about how to thicken the lining?
PCO I think can be either very long or very short and also irregular in terms of changing by not just a couple of days, but by a week. And with you saying you get fairly regular it is strange they have suggested that.
Please keep us informed about any further information you get as I would be intrigued to know 😊 I hope you can get more answers after bloods xx

The lining is the uterus lining which appaz the pill can thin I have read.
Sometimes things like uterus massage I have heard can help.
And also maybe raspberry leaf tea

Hi all,

Little update from me, it looks like treating my luteal phase issue with clomid worked! I got my first even bfp on Thursday last week, a darker one on Friday and confirmed by a blood test in Friday evening. Still in shock and obviously it's still early days but I've never gotten pregnant before so it is amazing to know the clomid helped with my luteal phase and I can get pregnant.

This was the first month I was completely sure I wasnt pregnant! I had a 21 day bloods taken on Monday last week at it was 10.3 so was sure I was out, then the repeat test on wed had gone up to 30 so the drs told me I had just ovulated 7 days before which really threw me especially since I had a hcg trigger shot on July 4th. We I got the positive on Thursday morning I didn't react at all because I thought it must be the trigger in my system even though I had tried to test it out on the Mon and Tues and got negative then, but I didn't want to hope. By Friday morning I had a darker line and my Dr had come back to say the progesterone rise indicated I ovulated 7 days before, so I kicked up a fuss as nothing made any sense and he called me , we talked it through and he agreed confirmed likely a pregnancy as the trigger would have been out of my system. So went for a blood test later that day and progesterone and HCG look good!
He admitted he was confused by my results but now suspects that I actually ovulated naturally on July 4th a few hours after he gave me the trigger shot rather than 36 hours later and that would explain the late progesterone rise ( I totally don't get it but he's the expert).
One thing that really struck me was he said it is almost impossible to tell when you actually ovulated, and given that I didn't get a peak opk on the morning of the Saturday he suspects I ovulated, I will never trust the clear blue digital for myself again. For all I know every month I was missing it.

Few other things I was doing, I had been taking but b6 like others on here for a few months and this month I used the conceive plus fertility lube with internal applicors, I also really think they might have helped as there are lots of people on Amazon with positive reviews after first use who had bee trying for ages.

Good luck everyone!!

Amazing news @KateMCL !!! That is so post I've to hear. Thank you for the update and letting us know some tips and tricks 😊😊
Good look on your journey ahead!! xx

I forgot to come back and post after my original post in June
I’m currently going through my second chemical and I’m convinced it’s either because of my blood clotting disorder or because of my 10 day LP

Yesterday I started baby aspririn, vit b6 and vit c, do you take all of them the whole way through your cycle? And when do you stop them if you fall pregnant? And then if you don’t fall pregnant do you just carry them on?

Omg @KateMCL that is amazing news. Huge congrats. I too got my bfp today 😱😱😱 1 month on progesterone which consultant said would make no difference.....! I am being cautious but the line seems good and strong for 12 dpo 🙏🤞

@Boc86 I am so sorry to hear you are having another chemical. I had one in feb/march and its heartbreaking. I have no idea about the baby aspirin but the b6 and vit c are the entire cycle. I hope you're doing ok xxx

@Proseccoprincess33 ahh I can't believe it that's amazing! I think we might be on the same ttc cycle too. So happy for you too and wishing you all the best!

@Boc86 I'm so so sorry for you. I took vit b6 and bit c regularly along with my prenatal vitamins but probably wasn't very consistent with taking it daily. I would be cautious about any form of aspirin unless specifically recommended by your GP though.

Amazing news @Proseccoprincess33 and @KateMCL

I have a blood clotting disorder and GP said over the phone today that’s something they would use anyway x

Thank you @Boc86 Was gp able to advise when you should take it. I've heard lots of great things about baby aspirin helping people get bfps and hold onto them but no direct experience myself.

@KateMCL I know I cannot believe it either. Wishing you a happy and healthy 9 months ❤️

For others with short lp I also used preseed this month and smep. And I had started taking ubiquinol for egg quality xxx

No I didn’t ask either I just said I’d bought it the day before and he said worth a try as that’s something we’d suggest anyway and we didn’t talk anymore about it
I need to google more!

What’s preseed? And where can you get hold of it x

Hey, just wondering if anyone has had any positive results at lengthening luteal phase with vitamin B6. If so did you ovulate sooner or did your cycle last longer than normal? :)

@Boc86 preseed is a sperm friendly lube that can be bought on amazon. Use it sparingly though. A little goes a long way. I used the ones with the syringes, it's all very romantic lol

@Molly3456 I used b6 one cycle and it did lengthen my lp by a few days. The cycle after ovulation wasn't happening and I stopped it and I ovulated 2 days later. So it does increase lp but I can delay ovulation in my experience xx

@Proseccoprincess33 and @kateMCL (not sure why it won't tag!) CONGRATULATIONS!! so pleased for you both!! Wishing you both safe and easy pregnancies! Xx

Awww @sausageface thank you so much. Been thinking about you. How are you getting on? Xx