Long cycles and no PCOS

[Ems2111]

Hello,

Iv been a regular visitor to the forums for a while. Basically I came off my mini pill last March and have had quite long cycles (35-49 days!)

The doctor took some bloods and on the second round I received a 2:1 ratio of LH to FH hormone and therefore was referred to get a ultrasound for PCOS. This came back as normal.

I don’t know what my periods were before going on the pill for approx 2 years. However I’m beginning to suspect they were longer than 28 days.

I’m 32 and I’m just wondering what my next steps should be, if anyone else has experienced similar? Would be lovely to conceive naturally but not sure how plausible this will be now!

TIA Emma xxx

Hi Emma,

I have long and irregular cycles, it won't stop you from conceiving naturally at all. Key is getting to know your cycles and symptoms. Are you checking for fertile cervical mucus? This would be the first step. Once you know you've got fertile mucus (I only get it internally so have to stick my finger up there), use OPKs 2-3 times a day and see if you get a peak reading, this means you'll likely ovulate in the next 1-2 days. After ovulation your cm should dry up and go back to normal again. I have successfully regulated my cycles with Angus castus which is a supplement to regulate your hormones naturally. Maybe that's something to look into?
You could also start temping, but this is only to confirm ovulation, so technically it would be less likely to conceive once it's confirmed. Maybe have a look at the book taking charge of your fertility by Toni Weschler, it opened my eyes to so many things.

Hello!

Thank you for your reply. That makes me feel more confident. The doctor mentioned last time I spoke to him that I could get some meds to make me ovulate more regularly if it did turn out to be PCOS but now it’s not I’m not sure where I stand. Or if it means I just keep trying and get on top of timings. It’s just a bit of minefield with longer cycles I think...

Weirdly enough whilst I don’t use the OPKs yet I do want to start doing this, last month I was symptom watching and was convinced I ovulated on day 21 but actually I didn’t end up ovulating until day 32 but I know it must have been ovulation because I had the biggest glob of cm (sorry tmi!) Iv had in memory. That threw me a bit as I already thought I’d ovulated so I just spent the rest of my cycle confused... obviously it made my AF late and my emotions were all over the place. I feel I really want to get on top of my cycle as it’s just so crazy and causing me so many ups and downs in my mood...

Will give it a go with the predictor kits. Do you recommend any in particular?

:) tia

Emma

Hi Emma,

It is a minefield indeed. I think it's very important to keep in mind that your period is not 'late', but ovulation is. The luteal phase (the days from ovulation to period) are usually the same +/- a day here or there. There's a book called taking charge of your fertility by Toni Weschler which is highly recommended and it really helped me understand everything better.

I've used quite a few but have been using easy @ home from Amazon over the last year. I find them very reliable and cheap (Amazon). They also do pregnancy tests which I find very close to FRERs. X