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

@Slk3558 Amazing! That's so good to get a 10 week scan. Ah, that makes sense about the placenta!

Actually it's weird, it all felt like it was going so slowly and then after about 7 weeks it seemed to suddenly jump to 9 weeks in no time at all! And now my 12+5 scan will be later this month, it all seems really quick! My boobs are still tender but not really sore like they were at the start.

Your nausea sounds awful 😖 sorry you're going through such a rough time! Hopefully it will ease soon 🤞🏻

Hi @Slk3558 and @GlassLily

I've been taking supplements and high strength Vit C and I just got a faint positive OPK its CD 11 I usually oculate on CD19 - could this be my cycle regulating better? Either way I haven't got hold of any progesterone yet so I'm not prepped ! I have got some baby asprin and the cream so will try that this month. I wonder if my Luteal Phase will be longer than before though as I'm ovulating earlier? We will see I'm now v confused!! Congrats on your scans!

@ViL89 all sounding positive. Did you end up o-ing earlier?

@GlassLilly sorry I missed your last message. The morning sickness has been pretty awful but hoping it’s all good signs that my baby is growing. How are you doing ? My next scan is tues 27th July when I’ll be 11 weeks!!! I’m 8+3 today. Don’t know if I’ll last for another 2.5 weeks without a scan!!

@slk3558 That's so exciting! I'm going to book in for 28th July which is 12+5. So I'll be counting down the days with you! I think it seems really soon. The longer I stay pregnant, the more real it seems.... but also I'm so so terrified of losing it now, my app shows it looks like a real baby but just 4cm long. I don't know how I could possibly cope if it came out 😞 it's all so real.

My morning sickness has calmed down a lot but is still here. I'm also being really paranoid about what I'm eating and constantly checking the NHS website. Got my NIPT (Harmony) coming up this week which I'm having done privately, only because the dr said the private one is a bit more accurate, but don't know if I'm doing the right thing. I'm really nervous for that, but it will be amazing to find out the sex! Are you having any NIPT?

@Slk3558 this chart though from spacefem.com gives me so much hope! The odds are in our favour ❤️

So confused just come on my period after getting LH positives and my last period started 2 weeks ago !!!! This has never happened to me before guess I have to just hope its a random month

Best of luck with your pregnancies

Hi all, I saw this thread by chance but having given it a good read I think this is what’s happening to me.

I’m 39 later this year and we have only just TTC for the first time. However, over the past year or two I’ve noticed my cycle is becoming shorter (average 26 days). Also, for years now I have always spotted before my period. Last month I spotted for a full week, although usually it’s 3-4 days.

Even though we have only been TTC for one month, given my age and the fact the spotting/short period length, I am inclined to book an appointment with my GP this week and ask for a day 21 blood test. Is there anything else I should be asking for?

@ViL89 any update on this? Was it a full period or just spotting?

@OnTheRoadNow two things to bear in mind: one, the day 21 blood test is meant to be 7 days after ovulation, not 7 days before your period. So for me, my day 21 blood test becomes a day 24/25 blood test, even though AF starts on day 27 or 28.
So I would recommend trying to book the test for whatever day is roughly 7 days after you ovulate rather than day 21 - there's a good chance the GP will not be aware of this or understand it, mine didn't, and made me do day 21 - but my fertility specialist confirmed this and ran another one for day 24 which came back perfect.

Secondly, your "day 21" progesterone level indicates whether you ovulated or not, but you can have totally normal day 21 progesterone, and still have a short LP problem - mine for example, is fine at day 24 and right where it should be, but appears to drops off too early for AF so doesn't allow much time for blastocysts to implant. So my fertility specialist gave me progesterone which just gives an extra couple of days of LP to get that baby stuck in there.

@Slk3558 how are you? I've had a very bad week of sickness and was really ill yesterday, couldn't keep anything down. Today I haven't vomited at all (yet). It's really up and down, I felt great on Saturday.

I got another scan and the baby is doing well! Next one is 13 weeks

Hi @GlassLily

Thank you for asking no it was just bad cramping and spotting in the end that was CD11

I've had spotting on and off since then and then some dark brown discharge sorry TMI on CD24 never seen anything like that before.

It's now CD 26 I really don't know what's going on I never got a true positive OPK but I've added the cream and baby aspirin for the last week or so.

I'm due on this weekend so we will see trying to just relax

So pleased to head your pregnancy going well apart from the sickness

I actually also managed go to a GP and got a ultrasound scan and day 21 bloods done will also do day 1-4 if I come on to fully diagnose what's going on

Xx

@GlassLily so glad to hear your scan went well. That’s Fantastic. My scan is next Tuesday 11 weeks. It feels like I’ve been waiting forever. 4 weeks since last one absolutely been nervous wreck but just tried to reassure myself that vomiting hopefully means the baby is growing !

My sickness has been awful too, I had to go to hospital last week as I was so dehydrated, they didn’t give me IV as they said I only had 2 plus ketones so it was moderate dehydration, It was getting out of hand couldn’t keep anything down like you, but they’ve given me some ondansetron which keeps the vomiting at bay. I still vomit in the evenings. I really cannot wait to be feeling better from this.

We’ve had a heat wave here in the UK I’ve been lying in front of the fan permanently as the heats been making me worse

@ViL89 that's strange, will be interesting to see if AF arrives this weekend!

@Slk3558 good luck for Tuesday! I'm sure it will all be great. I got an 11 week scan and it was so lovely. The baby was moving around loads. My scan is Wednesday! This is the biggie.....if all goes well we will tell people! So weird. I'm not feeling so nervous at the moment because it's only a week since I've seen baby, but I am already feeling the anxiety building so think I'll be quite on edge by Wednesday.

Do you have a bump yet?

Sadly I've got my AF and also tested positive for covid.

Not my best weekend

Will resent and try again next month

Xx

@ViL89 sorry to hear it’s not your month ☹️we’ve all been there hun. Your time will come. Hope you feel better soon from nasty Covid. X

@GlassLily Thanks! Literally counting down the days I’ve had such bad morning sickness that’s actually been my focus last few weeks just getting through each day .. I think I will feel better after scan if all goes well it will give me a boost. Good luck for your next scan I’m sure will go great! You’re so close to the 2nd trimester. 😀

Hey @Slk3558, hope you don’t mind me reaching out. I’ve just been reading through and was wondering what progesterone cream you have used and where from? I’m convinced I have low levels after a MC at 8 wks then CP at 5 wks. Since these my LP has been 8 days!! I’m in touch with an NHS infertility consultant and I’m due to start Clomid due to irregular cycles and when I mentioned the low progesterone worry I have she basically fobbed me off and just said the bloods will show if it’s an issue but they can’t treat it as such :/ which seems really odd! I just need someone to help me and its driving me bonkers that no one seems to listen. I have started the higher supplements last month that you mention , it didn’t make a different last cycle but maybe it will this cycle. we’ve been TTC for over 2 years now and i just want a family for us so bad, I never knew it was going to be this hard! Thankyou xx

@Blondiebrownie6 Hey! I am currently under the recurrent miscarriage clinic NHS and consequently have been prescribed pessaries following BFP.

I am convinced that low progesterone cause mc, because the baby needs progesterone to grow and develop..the clue is in the name pro-gestation. Anyway my consultant agreed with me that although trials haven’t been conclusive the testimonies tell other stories! She also said she thinks it should be given routinely as it causes no harm. Anyway sorry for rambling! I bought ‘now progesterone’ cream from a US website called Luckyvitamin. It’s cheaper but you pay about £6 for dhl shipping but can track it the whole way and takes about 7 days to arrive. The important thing is it should have 20mg of USP progesterone, which means bioidentical. Starting a day after ovulation I put one full pump on twice a day (sometimes a bit more) because 20mg is low really so no risk. Also important to rotate areas apparently to stop saturation so like thin skinned areas like neck and wrists and then fatty areas like boobs and thighs and stomach.

If you are able to get pessaries that would be even better but if not I’ve heard testimonies of sustaining the pregnancy with the cream alone as well.

I also took 150mg of low dose around aspirin everyday because I’d read that previous miscarriages leave little blood clots so aspirin clears them out so to speak. Also many women have had BFPs with low dose aspirin, I actually got a decent BFP line at at 8 dpo lol, so worth a try.

I hope that’s helped you a bit and I really hope you are successful and get your BFP soon.

@GlassLily had my scan this morning baby is well put me at 11+2 ! Absolutely overwhelmed with joy and relief xx

@ViL89 sorry to hear that, what a rubbish month! How are you finding Covid? Are you vaxxed? Hopefully next month will be a bfp 🤞🏻

@Slk3558 Wonderful news! So glad all is well. And now your baby is a foetus, not even an embryo! Not long to go til second trimester for you now! I'm just 2 days shy of 13 weeks now. When I hit 12 weeks it felt like such a milestone to have made it to that point without any bleeding. My 12 week scan is in just a few hours... I am quite nervous but also so, so hopeful.

Hi @GlassLily

Yeah not the best month I'm vaxxed yes my partner also has it now he's vaxxed too.

Its really bad so frustrating that the vaccine hasn't worked for us all my friends who got it over that weekend are also vaccinated too

Hopeful for next month

X

@GlassLily how did your scan go?

@Slk3558 thanks for taking the time to reply to me. I’m going to look into the cream for my next cycle. I’ll discuss pessaries with the nurse but I don’t think I’ll have much luck sadly. I feel I’ll need to go through another loss before something is done further but we’ll see. Best of luck with your pregnancy xx

@Slk3558 perfect! Everything was right where it's supposed to be 🙂 I can hardly believe we've made it to this stage. I've been telling people this week! Won't get another scan for 8 weeks now! How long left til your next scan?

@GlassLily congratulations that’s great to hear! ❤️ It must be so nice to finally be able to tell people. I’ve also told a few close friends and my manager. I have my dating scan on 11th aug I’ll be 13 weeks! How’s your sickness these days? My vomiting has finally stopped and I can eat more stuff now. Evenings I’m still like a zombie though and feeling absolutely exhausted! can’t wait to get the energetic feeling that supposed to come with the 2nd trimester!!

@Slk3558 that's great! So exciting. Glad your sickness has gone. I haven't vomited in nearly a week now, but the nausea is hanging around. I am also totally exhausted! I'm kind of glad you said that because I was really confused, everyone says you're meant to be getting more energy around now, but I'm more knackered than ever. Can barely keep my eyes open in the afternoon, even when I've slept well, it's awful! My bump is getting quite noticeable so I'll tell my boss soon I think.