Rant & luteal phase defect help!

[Penguinmumma]

Hi ladies

Apologies but I need a rant. In my googling I finally found an examination to something my consultant said 9 years ago when I was pregnant with my DD.

By the time I fell with her I’d had 6 mc. 1 of which was DD twin. My consultant said that mc 5 & twin had paved the way for my DD to hang on. I never knew what she meant and despite that and the tests I had after mc 5, no-one ever explained anything to me. That is, until I came on here then did a bit of Googling.

Luteal phase defect is basically the reason. I’m CD14 of a 26-27 day cycle and my Lh hasn’t risen yet. Looks like it is starting to slightly. Meaning that my luteal phase is going to be short. Something that can be helped with a few vitamins as a starting point. The fact I carried straight after a mc is down to the progesterone levels being higher as I’d conceived two cycles running.

I’m reassured that I think I’ve figured this out BUT I’m so angry that they didn’t explain this to me! I’ve had two losses in recent months (1 last month) that could possibly have been prevented with some vitamins! I’ve lost years where I was scared to ttc again because of all the losses so I’ve ended up waiting until my fertility woukd also naturally be declining as I’m approaching 40.
I’m so sad for all the babies I’ve lost and the babies that could have possibly been. For the sibling closer in age my DD could have had. For the heartbreak and fear I’ve been through and all the time wondering if it’s my fault and something I’ve done wrong.

Anyway, CD14, my first OPK that was slightly higher than any done so far since CD7 so let’s see if this is the surge I’ve been waiting for and see what happens.

Hi @Penguinmumma sorry you’ve been through this. I have short cycles including a short LP and have spent a lot of time consulting Dr Google. I found the evidence to be fairly patchy and I don’t think there’s much consensus about how it affects fertility or how/whether to treat it.

I discovered pregnacare is full of B vits including the max recommended dose of B6, which I’ve been taking for 4 months. In that time it’s made bugger all difference to my LP which is usually 9/10 days, or overall cycle length (22-23 days). But I am now pregnant on cycle 6 so maybe something has been working! Best of luck.

@Aozora13 I’m mad that they never bothered to tell me. After all these wasted years I find out on my own thanks to info on here. I went through all those tests for them to think it was just something that wasn’t fixable or was my fault. Makes me sad and angry.

Hi OP, sorry to hear about the number of miscarriages you have been though, must be totally heartbreaking.

I have a short luteal phase and at first thought my body just needed a bit of time after the contraceptive implant to get back to normal (not that I know what my normal is since I didn't track my cycles before) but onto cycle 11 and nothing has improved. It has been a short as 7 days but is usually 8-9 days.

I have booked an appointment with a private consultant who is a bit of a short luteal phase specialist so it will be interesting to see what can be done to overcome it. It is on 6 Feb and I am happy to pop back on here and tell you what he says afterwards.