Short luteal phase after Nexplanon?

[somanystars]

Hi everyone 😊

So, I had the Nexplanon implant for two years, from April 2018 to March 2020, and then I was taking Millinette 30/75 for two months. I stopped Millinette in May mostly due to side effects (always crying or raging angry!) and near the end of July we decided to TTC.

Obviously this means that we've only just started (CD2 of cycle 2) but I'm starting to get worried as it seems my luteal phase is only 10 days.

The bit of reading I've done has helpfully indicated to me that this can either be a problem or it can not be a problem. I know there's still time for my cycles to even out, but I was just wondering - has anyone else had this and then had their LP get longer? Or better yet, conceived with a 10-day LP?

Hello! I could've written this myself a few months back.

I started TTC last October after having a couple of Nexplanon implants in for 6 years in total (and the pill before that). On both the implant and pill my periods always stopped, not sure whether that was a factor or not.

My cycles were all over the place after having the implant out, from 27-50 days. I'd also ovulate late (anything from day 18 to day 36 or 45!!) and in the 4 cycles (5 calendar months though) I had before getting pregnant my luteal phases were: 4 days, 7 days, 5 days and then 8 days.

I was taking every bloody supplement under the sun (B6, agnus castus, Vit C, iron etc) but didn't notice a difference.

I'd just gone to the GP in Feb to ask what was going on, pelvic scans came back clear but my hormone levels were a bit wonky (androgens) so they suspected PCOS and that me being on contraception so long had just hidden any irregularity.

But then I got pregnant in March 🤷🏼‍♀️ so even with irregular cycles and short LPs it's definitely still possible.

At 10 days your LP is still within a healthy range, anything single digits would be more of a worry.

I'd say try to relax, give it a few months, keep tracking your cycles and also start tracking your BBT (basal body temp) to confirm ovulation. Don't just rely on ovulation sticks or app tracking. From first hand experience I know coming off Nexplanon can make everything a bit wonky for a while but tracking everything just adds more logic and sense to the weird and emotional journey you're on.

And good luck 😊

@CooperLooper Thanks so much for your response!

Oh my goodness, 50 day cycles! How on earth did you cope?? Mine so far have been 24, 27 and 27 (with ov around CD17 going by OPKs) so hoping they don't go too crazy from now on!

I'm a little wary of temping as I quite often get up in the night so not sure if that would invalidate it, but will look into it a bit as it'd be nice to confirm ov for sure.

That's so helpful and so encouraging to know though, thank you. And congratulations on your pregnancy! 😊

It was definitely frustrating!! 😂 if it's any help, your BBT is usually accurate after a 4 hour period of sleep. Sometimes I had the odd night where I woke up before then but you can always flag it on your BBT tracker as an anomaly, but for the most part it's always helpful.

Thank you 😊

Watching this one with interest, I had my Nexplanon removed at the start of July and my first LP was only 8 days.

@CooperLooper Just bought a thermometer online now! Been meaning to get one for ages anyway since the whole covid thing just in case one of us starts feeling iffy. I know you need one that goes to two decimal places so I just picked the Femometer one! But the cheaper one - not sure why one is £9.99 and one is nearly £30??

Plus I got some Seven Seas Trying For A Baby as well as I've seen they can help regulate your cycles and there's B6 in them too. I know it's early to be so full on with tracking and supplements etc but we really want this lol so might as well go all out from the start!

@queenatom According to Ovia my first LP was actually 11 days, but I wasn't tracking ov or anything at that point so it's a total estimate. Will keep you updated!

Could have written this myself as well! I had my implant removed in May and have just celebrated my longest luteal phase which was 10 days! My cycles have been between 24 and 26 days with luteal phase between 7 and 10 days. I also didn't have periods while on the implant. My period is also a LOT lighter now that it was before I went on the implant.
Very enthused to hear that a PP got pregnant anyway! This will be cycle 4 of trying for us. I just wish I had done some prep before trying and come off the implant earlier.

I am on agnus castus (started last cycle and seems to have increased LP by a day but could be a fluke), B complex (just started this cycle), and folic acid. I heard that vitamin c is good too and will probably start that next month if no BfP after this cycle. Also started drinking a few cups of raspberry tea this cycle but will stop at OV day. Not sure if it will do anything but meant to help with lining.

Good luck all, and I will let you know if my LP increases at all this month with the vitamin B complex (and more time for hormones to regulate).

@Bertyb7 Isn't it funny how they never tell you this stuff? They just say that your fertility will be back to normal "immediately" after you get it out, and I understand that they have to say that in case you're one of the people who falls pregnant immediately when that's not the outcome you want, but I feel they should definitely warn you before you get it put in that it can change up your cycles somewhat!

I had erratic periods when I was on it - sometimes I had them, sometimes I didn't. They're definitely shorter now than they used to be as well, which I'm assuming will get back to normal at some point.

I've got a BBT thermometer arriving today so going to start tracking from tomorrow so I can be sure when I ov (after me saying only a few days ago that we'd be more casual about it this month 🤣), and some Seven Seas Trying For A Baby that I'll be starting today as well. I know it's still relatively soon after coming off BC as I was on it for two years before (and before that I only had a six month break from being on it for a good few more years) but I'm just impatient for things to settle down!

@CooperLooper Hi, hope you're well! Do you mind if I just ask a quick BBT question? I've read that it says you're not supposed to move before you take your temp - but what if I wake up facing away from my bedside table where the thermometer will be?? 🤣 Like can I even roll over? Sounds so silly but just want to make sure I'm doing it right! 😅

BBT update for anyone interested... Woke up this morning, took my temp right away as you're meant to.... then realised it was like 6.40am and now I'm going to have to keep doing it around that time when normally I would NOT be awake then 🤦🏻‍♀️

What I don't really understand is - surely if I'd waited and gone back to sleep (even though I didn't move or get up) then when I woke up again it wouldn't be an accurate temp as I'd probably only have been asleep about an hour or so? How does anyone who's even a little inconsistent in their sleep manage this?? 🤣 I'm probably just going to start taking it from the more reasonable time of 7.45 or so from tomorrow, but still.

@somanystars my first month of temping was so stressful it actually impacted my sleep!! I am a little more relaxed now but do often take my temp too early by mistake as I can't easily reach for my watch to look at the time. The beeping drives my husband mad! My general rule of thumb is if I wake up get up to go to the toilet, it needs to be more then two hours before my waking up time or else I won't take my temp that morning. If I just wake up and quickly go back to sleep it doesn't have much impact. I primarily use it for detecting ovulation and even though my sleep is not consistent, I can 100% detect my luteal vs follicular phase with the temperatures.

Hi, just wanted to add in some perspective here too in case it is helpful :)

I came off the combined pill last October, periods returned to normal (i.e. every 27/28 days-ish) so assumed everything was working fine. I decided to start BBT charting earlier this year and realised I wasn’t ovulating until day 17 - so my luteal phase was considered ‘short’ and therefore an issue according to the book TCOYF. One month I recall my cycle was shorter and it was only 8 days.

In our first month TTC I had a 10 day LP and didn’t fall pregnant - also had the most painful period I’ve ever had which I think might have been due to all the B6 I was taking.

Anyway, I started to panic and did a lot of research - I cut back on the B6 and instead took a B50 complex (apparently the B6 works better when combined with similar quantities of other B vits) the Seven Seas vitamins, along with Fish Oil (not cod liver), magnesium, extra Vit D and Vit C. I ate sensibly and didn’t over exercise (I had been running a lot in the previous month) and fell pregnant. It may or may not have been anything to do with the vitamins but just wanted to share that it is possible with a short LP.

Also be careful with the Agnus Castus - I read that you should only take under direction of a qualified herbalist so I was apprehensive to use it.

Good luck! :)

@Bertyb7 Ah I'm quite lucky in that my husband is always awake before me, he usually wakes up at like 6.30 just naturally so me waking him up with the beeping is unlikely to be an issue! Good to know it's still useful though even if you don't do it "perfectly" 😊

@LaurenWilkinson Ah yeah I seem to be ovulating on CD17 as well so that's reassuring, so thank you (and congrats!). At the moment I'm taking the Seven Seas vitamins, along with omega-3 fish oil (also not the liver one as I read you're not meant to), CoQ10 (prob don't really need this one but got swept up in the supplement taking frenzy a little bit after reading about it 🤣) and vit D. I'm not taking Agnus Castus and wasn't really planning to as I feel I'm probably taking enough, for now at least!

Thanks so much! 😊

@somanystars sorry I missed your reply! Don't worry about turning over to take your BBT, the main thing is that you're not sitting up or talking. I had a few nights in the early stages of temp tracking where I'd wake up at 3am, think it was time to temp, and then realise and be like aaah shit! 😂 you'll get used to it though. I found a good trick that worked for me, if you wear a Fitbit you can set a 'silent' alarm on it which just gently vibrates on your wrist. I'd set mine for 6am 7 days a week and used to take my temp then, but I always used to fall back asleep after with no issues.

I got the Femometer temp as well, I think the £30 ones are the ones which auto sync your temp to your phone whereas ours are just the manual ones which record the last temp taken.

I think if I'd been TTC much longer I would've invested into one of those Ava fertility bracelets which constantly monitor your temp throughout the night - might be worth looking into 😊

@Bertyb7 re: your comment about your periods being lighter mine were too. In fact every period I had after the implant but before getting pregnant was only a day, maybe a day and a half maximum. Nowhere near like what my periods used to be.

For anybody starting all the supplements and tablets too, I think the reviews on them are so mixed. I got so into my head TTC that I actually started being unable to swallow all my tablets after a while because I was just associating them with feeling miserable! I also stopped taking them all in Feb to give myself a (mental) break from it all, and then conceived end of March/early April.

@CooperLooper Oh yeah that's a good idea! I don't have a Fitbit but I have a little smart watch that does the same thing, if I set it for around 7, do my temp and then go back to sleep for a bit that might work and then this morning's temp won't be invalid from being too early 🤣

Ohh that makes sense! £20 is kind of a lot for the sake of typing something into your phone, but then I guess if you're wanting to go straight back to sleep after then it means you don't have to wake yourself up looking at screens etc!

Oh yeah I did see that advertised when I was looking for thermometers, seems like it was pretty expensive though. Maybe if it takes me a while!

Also my periods have been shorter as well, consistently like 3.5/4 days since having the implant out where before they were like 6/7. Not as painful or as heavy either - but expecting that to return eventually 🤣

I know what you mean, it's overwhelming to have to take so many pills, especially when some (like the fish oil) can be so big! I'm also finding that the folic acid (I assume it's that from some other comments I've seen) is really affecting my appetite and I'm not really feeling hungry throughout the day. Annoying as that's the one I can't really compromise on!

Hi, I'm in the same boat. I had my implant removed 15/07/2020, I ovulated a week later and had a period a week after that. The following month I ovulated on day 14, period started 10 dpo. This month I ovulated on day 12 and period started 9 days later. Fingers crossed it levels out. I feel like TTC is consuming my life already. I think I'm particularly irritated because I had to wait 6 months for my implant to be removed.

@Gefrald Hi there! I'm now 5DPO, been taking Seven Seas Trying For A Baby vits this cycle as I've heard they can regulate hormones a bit so hoping that if it's not a BFP this month at least it might lengthen my LP a bit. Will report back!

How is everyone doing? I'm back on cd1 after another 9 day luteal phase. I'm ovulating on day 14 each month but my luteal phase won't lengthen. I'm really hoping it's the implant but given how regular I have been, I'm wondering if its just the way my body is. I didn't know opk's existed until recently so never checked any of this prior to going on the implant.

@Gefrald Hi, I'm sorry to hear your period arrived. If it helps, after me making this post worrying about my short LP (9/10 days), we conceived the same month and I'm now 6+3 weeks pregnant :)

Congratulations!! That's awesome news 😍

@Gefrald Thank you! 😊 I hope you get good news soon too!

Last time I had nexplanon removed after 15+ years back to back with only spotting, no periods. I ovulated and got pregnant 45 days after removal with only a withdrawal bleed on removal day. This time had my nexplanon removed on 1 September and still haven’t had any bleeding or any ovulation (have been tracking with OPKs just in case). I am still breastfeeding though so that could be a complicating factor. Anyway clearly you can conceive even if nexplanon totally screws up your cycles, so don’t get too disheartened!