Short Luteal Phase post-pill help

[Nazz10]

Hi ladies!
Feeling very deflated.
So I'm pretty sure I ovulated on cd16. On cd 23 and 24 got some pink spotting. Then today (cd25/cd1) AF came quite randomly and slightly heavy.
Anyway, this means I had a 7/8 day luteal phase. After a bit of research (probably not enough yet) but this obviously means I've probably got low progesterone after ovulation right?

Almost forgot to mention that is now my 3rd cycle off the pill and just a little worried that I'm going to have problems. Feeling very deflated and want to speak with my GP but almost feel silly because it's still early in the TTC department.

Did/does anyone else have a similar issue or any tips on how I can help my cycle to regulate better?

@Nazz10 I think we've spoken before on anotrrh thread you started about the pill. I can't offer a lot of advice, but I think I had the same issue last cycle, which was cycle 2 off the pill for me, expect even worse as my luteal phase appeared to be only 3/4 days long! It's really scary, but I posted on here about it and someone else replied and said they had the same and that by their fourth cycle it had lengthened by 4 days and then by their 5th cycle they had conceived.

I've also read two books about TTC and both books say that a short luteal phase in the first few cycles after the pill is common. Can you recal if you used to get spotting leading up to AF before the pill? I didn't get any spotting but then AF came so much earlier for me, I know I didn't get spotting before the pill, although that was 13 years ago now!

My last cycle wasn't great and I was hoping this one would be better (third cycle off the pill) but I'm now CD20 and still no positiv OPK or any EWCM.

Are you taking any supplements to help with TTC/get you back on track after the pill? I've done lots of research so can share my findings with you if you like xx

With my first, I had 30-32 day cycles and didn't ovulate till day 22, so it's very possible to conceive with a short literal phase - although I worried like you!

You could try tracking your BBT as it's linked to progesterone so will help give you a sense of your hormone levels.

@RMarieClaire I don't suppose you would mind casting your eye over my chart from my last cycle would you? This was my second cycle off the pill, now on my third cycle and my temps seem to have settled down a bit and are lower than my last cycle, but no LH surge or EWCM yet and I'm on CD21.

Last cycle I seemed to have three LH surges until I finally got a positive on CD33. Can't workout whether I ovulated and had an extremely low luteal phase and low progesterone due to temps not rising much at all, or if perhaps I didn't and my body just gave up and trigger AF. What are your thoughts? X

Hi @MintGreenLife yes I remember we were both in similar timings coming off the pill.
That gives me hope that someone else managed to conceive in their 5th cycle.

I don't remember anything pre-pill. I have been on it since I was 16 (now 27) so no idea if I had spotting beforehand or not.

I'm not taking any supplements at the moment. I was taking the pregnacare conception vitamin but my urine turned neon yellow (sorry TMI) so to me that was a sign that I'm getting too much of a b vitamin so stopped taking it and went to folic acid alone.

I can feel a big difference in myself this cycle. And not a good one either. I feel so irritated and feel like I'm acting like a bitch. OH is getting the wrath for everything even though I know it's wrong but I can't stop myself and then instantly feel bad when I say something. I'm also feeling very down and negative about everything that's happening in my life and just feel like I want to give up at the slightest inconvenience. Last cycle I was just very emotional. Crying at the slightest thing I saw on social media (something silly like a dog being so happy to see his owner or something) but this cycle I almost feel at the brink of a breakdown. And I think it's all down to hormone imbalance.

2 days ago, when I had the spotting, I also felt extreme fatigue. Slept through the night on Saturday, woke up at 7.30 on Sunday morning (which is not like me.. usually an early riser) and by 11 o'clock my eyes were visibly red and felt like I'd just done a night shift. Also, I set my alarm for work yesterday (as always, set it for 5.15). Usually I wake up to my first alarm. But I woke up at 5.40! In the 5 years I've done my job, I have never woke up late or slept through my alarms. I'm getting 8 hours of sleep so it's not that I'm not getting enough. I can usually be ok off 6-7 hours.

I just know there's something not right here.

I would love to hear what you've managed to find out about short luteal phases as I think it may help me find some answers as to why this is happening

@RMarieClaire that's reassuring. Thank you!
I ordered a thermometer last night from amazon that's arriving today. Do I have to do it at the same time every day? Or just when I wake up, regardless of what time it is?

@Nazz10 oh no :( sounds like you're having a bit of a rubbish time! I must say I don't feel massively different since coming off the pill, which to me makes me think my hormones haven't reset. What I have experienced is hair loss, and throughout this cycle I keep getting the odd batch of spots on my chin and my forehead goes a bit bumpy and then will go away again, that's new to this cycle, didn't happen the last time. I am quite light headed though, particularly when I stand up after being sat down for some time. All signs off hormonal imbalance post pill I think!

I'll gather together a few links of articles/sites that I've found helpful for you.

What I've learnt is that the pill depletes vitamins that are essential to balancing hormones, so I started on Pregnacare and various other supplements. One of the main vitamins that's depleted by the pill and linked to a short luteal phase are the B vitamins, specifically B6! FYI with Pregnacare or any other multi vitamin, the bright yellow wee is just your body getting rid of extra vitamins, so not necessarily linked to the B vitamins. I get the exact same and my partner gets the same from his multi vitamin, it's a pretty normal side effect x

@Nazz10 Oh something else I struggled with while on the pill was low sex drive, just for the last couple of years, and it's not come back yet despite being off it for 3 months, so I think that's another sign things haven't gone back to normal for me yet x

@MintGreenLife yeah it's not the greatest of feelings. Especially when I know why it's happening but can't instantly do anything about it. So frustrating.
About the vitamins, I actually spoke with a doctor at work about this (after I stopped taking it) and he said that it was quite a normal side effect. So along with the thermometer I ordered last night, I also ordered seven seas trying for a baby vitamins (just because it's a little cheaper than pregnacare and quite a few people recommended them over pregnacare). So going to give that a go this cycle and see if my luteal/menstruation phase is any better with those.

Yeah low sex drive is an issue for me too. I had a couple of days in the middle of this cycle where it had come back but didn't stay for very long at all

Looking forward to reading these articles. Google just gives me the same answers over and over again. Probably not searching the right things though.
What books have you read that you found useful?

@Nazz10 temping is tricky as you need to do it first thing when you wake up (before even sitting up or going for a wee - anything at all!) but that should also be at the same time every day. Otherwise the fluctuations could be quite large and making your chart unreliable. If you have the occasional temp taken later/earlier, there are BBT temp adjuster you can use to tweak it with but it's not advised to use that regularly.

@Juno231 thank you. Yes I thought so. Going to do some reading up on it today before starting it tomorrow. I get up for work at 5.15 3 days a week so I guess I should be waking up at that time every day to temp and then on my days off I can just go back to sleep (this may get interesting. I'll probably show up at work on a Saturday or something thinking it's my alarm to get up for work 😂)

@Nazz10 Hi Nazz, just been reading through this thread and wanted to share my experience as we are all here to help. I came off the pill in towards the end of april (22nd) and had my withdrawal bleed a few days later. Since then i have been on a clockwork 25 day cycle ovulating around CD12. However this month which is month 3 i didn't ovulate until CD16 which puts me at only a 9 day luteal phase this month. I thought my body was going back to normal but this has made me think not. Also last week i was so down and depressed literally couldn't make myself get up off the sofa at all i was a mess. I know how badly we want this but i think we need to let our bodies have some time. One of my friends just got her BFP after 3 months off the pill and i was happy but also upset for me too. But we are all different but it will happen for us all. Sending you lots of hugs and baby dust😃

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you @Nazz10 it's been a busy day!

I've read a few books but what I found to be most helpful was 'Takinf Charge of your Fertility' - it's really indepth and also goes over some hormonal imbalances etc. I'm currently reading 'It Starts with the Egg' which I'm finding really interesting so far. Has made me realise just how crucial my own health/diet/lifestyle is to TTC, and while I already follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly I've been making a few changes based on this book and a few other articles I've read.

This might really help you: avivaromm.com/post-pill-reset/

I've been following almost all of the advice in this article for around a month now.

Also have a look at DR. Brighten - she talks a lot about post birth control syndrome. Check out Inge Fleur too - her videos are good, and she explains that the while the synthetic hormones from the pill are out your system in a few days, the pill leaves an 'imprint' on your pituitary gland making it hard for your body to start regulating your hormones again. I'm even considering buying her homeopathic pill detox programme if it looks like I may not be ovulating.

Hope that helps a little x

@Nazz10 , it sounds like your cycle worries/ experience are exactly the same as mine. No proven advice but offering moral support.

I had my implant removed on 13 May, and have had a 7/8 day luteal phase for my two cycles since.

My DH keeps reminding me that I should relax and let my body get used to the new hormone balance (I didn't get a period while on the implant and was also on hormonal contraception for over 10 years). That's easier said than done though.

I am on pregnacare conception and after reading Mumsnet threads I have just ordered vitamin B complex and vitamin C.

I am on cycle day 7 at the moment, don't have a clue when I will ovulate: it has been CD 17 and then CD 21 for the previous two cycles. I will let you know how I get on this time round with the new vitamins- fingers crossed and hope yours improves too!

Hey everyone. I'm ttc #1 and two cycles off the pill. My first luteal phase was 9 days and I've got all AF symptoms again this cycle and I'm 9dpo again. So that's pretty short right... Reading your comments makes me feel like maybe they'll increase the longer I'm off the pill... Fingers crossed

Hi ladies,
Really sorry for the delayed response. Had a few shitty shifts at work with some poorly patients. But they're all ok now thank god!

@Gizzy23 that is exactly like me except my first cycle off the pill I didn't ovulate at all. I've done a lot of research over the past few days and feel a little bit better about dealing with it and trying to help resolve the issue. I'm going to give vitamin b6 a go. I'm on cd6 now and still very light AF although it's still red which is unusual for me. Let's hope that our bodies will regulate sooner rather than later.

@MintGreenLife thank you for those references. I will take a look at them after my morning coffee 😴 and get back into the mindset of this rather than work. Where are you up to in your cycle now?

@Bertyb7 almost the exact same as me!! I stopped taking the pill on the 13th May. But had a break from the pill to go onto the implant for 18 months. Went back on the pill in January. I too didn't have a period on the implant. Just occasional spotting. I'm wondering if swapping to and from the pill has completely messed my hormones up. I'm taking seven seas at the moment but starting to wonder if the vitamins in those are going to be enough. They seem to be very small amounts in comparison to pregnacare conception. I'm going to purchase some b6 today at some point and start taking them. I didn't ovulate my first cycle (at least I don't think I did.. no positive OPKs and I wasn't temping) and then second cycle I ovulated cd 16.

How is everyone getting on? Any new findings?

@SVC11 it's soul destroying isn't it. But it's also reassuring that it's probably more common than we may think and we will eventually find a solution

@Nazz10 no worries ☺️ I'm CD25 now with no positive OPK 🙄 However I had EWCM yesterday and the day before and my cervix is high, so really hoping I get a positive OPK today or tomorrow 🤞🏼 And hoping I get a temp spike and then a decent luteal phase...so much hoping 😂 Where are you at at the moment?

@MintGreenLife ahh fingers crossed for you! I'm currently cd6. AF is still around although quite light but not really usual for me. Hoping it goes away completely by tomorrow.
I started temping from cd 3 I think. I'm trying to research into BBT a bit more but the information online seems to be all based on ovulation and luteal phase which is good. But is there any significance in your temp during your period? Mine was quite low to begin with (36.18 being the lowest yesterday) and today was 36.35. The research never ends!

@Nazz10 just did another OPK and still negative 🙄 Lines aren't even getting a little bit darker. No idea what's going on.

Between AF and ovulation I think the normal temp range is between 36.0-36.4. This cycle my lowest temp was 36.04 and highest 36.4. It's normal for it to fluctuate day-to-day x

@MintGreenLife ugh that's annoying. Which OPKs do you use?

Ok so that's good to know. I suspect I will get quite a quick drop in temperature after ovulation. That would confirm my theory that I I think I have low progesterone

@Nazz10 I use the easy@home ones - I found them to be good last cycle, but this cycle the ones I got from Amazon are a different shape to the last ones (wider strips) so am questioning if they could be faulty, but probably not.

After ovulation you're looking for a temp rise not a drop, although if you do have low progesterone you probably won't see a huge spike x

Well still no af tonight.... Still a bit crampy but if its not til tomorrow that will be an increased luteal phase to 10 days, which is still short, but better than 9 like last time.. So a win?! Lol. Anyone know if you get af type cramps and still be bfp? Here's hoping x

@MintGreenLife I had One Step and they weren't giving me anything other than a very faint line so I ordered Wondflo and used them both at the same time last cycle and the wondflo were giving me positives while the one step were still very faint lines. Hopefully yours aren't faulty though if you used the same ones last time.

Yeah sorry that's what I meant. I didn't word that in the best way. I meant in the luteal phase, not straight after ovulation. Wouldn't I see a drop in temperature quite early if my progesterone is low and that's the reason for my short luteal phase? Sorry I'm completely new to temping and it's so confusing to me

@Nazz10 ah I see! Well your temp would drop when AF is going to arrive, usually the same day, so if you have low progesterone that may happen earlier than the 12-14 days, which is a short luteal phase as you've said. Also with low progesterone you may not see your temp rise all that much in the first place after ovulation.

Still no positive OPK for me 🙄 Might stop using them as I'm starting to feel pretty down about it urgh

@MintGreenLife ohhh i see. Ok. Hopefully temping will help me understand what's going and not confuse me even more 🙈

Oh that's annoying. When did you get your positives last cycle? I think I remember you saying you got 3 surges is that right?