Super short luteal phase!! HELP

[mol2mum]

Hi everyone, I've just had my 3rd month of ttc... this morning I woke up and there was my period :( but what makes it even worse is the fact that I only had a 6 day luteal phase!! This month was my first one taking seven seas "trying for a baby" and I've heard a lot of bad things about how they can mess up your cycle so I definitely won't be carrying on taking them!

However last month my luteal phase was only 9 days and that was when I was only taking folic acid and vitamin C. So although it was longer than this months - it's still not great

Can anyone please recommend what I can do to lengthen my luteal phase because surely I'm never going to get pregnant at this rate! Would you go to the doctors about it?

Hi OP. I have had a consistent 8 day LP since coming off the pill (TTC for 9 months). I’m at the end of my tether with it after trying loads of supplements. I’ve just started acupuncture - speaking to the therapist about it and she said that a short LP is really common and while she makes no promises it’s something that’s relatively easy to fix with acupuncture. I’ve only had 2 sessions so too early to tell for me but I’ve researched quite a bit into it and it seems to work!

How is your period cycle? Regular?
My fertility doctor put me on progesterone to stop my uterus from shedding lining too early. Maybe something to ask your doctor about?

Hi both. I had a short LP too, but I took a HIGH strength B Complex vitamin (busy B Complex from Holland and Barrett) from ovulation on wards (or you can take throughout month if preferred) and now my LP is 13 days on average.

@Kay00

Hi both. I had a short LP too, but I took a HIGH strength B Complex vitamin (busy B Complex from Holland and Barrett) from ovulation on wards (or you can take throughout month if preferred) and now my LP is 13 days on average.

Hi Kay, ahh a 13 day LP is a dream for me!! I'll definitely give some of those a go this time then thanks x

@VixFromThe6ix

How is your period cycle? Regular? My fertility doctor put me on progesterone to stop my uterus from shedding lining too early. Maybe something to ask your doctor about?

Hi Vix, yeah I've had regular periods since coming off the pill about a year ago. My standard cycle is 29 days. I've been thinking about going to the doctors but I'm also worried that they're going to tell me something I don't want to hear think I'll just have to bite the bullet and do it tho if I have another short LP this month x

@Asthenia

Hi OP. I have had a consistent 8 day LP since coming off the pill (TTC for 9 months). I’m at the end of my tether with it after trying loads of supplements. I’ve just started acupuncture - speaking to the therapist about it and she said that a short LP is really common and while she makes no promises it’s something that’s relatively easy to fix with acupuncture. I’ve only had 2 sessions so too early to tell for me but I’ve researched quite a bit into it and it seems to work!

Hiya, it's so annoying isn't it! That's interesting though - haven't seen anything about acupuncture lengthening the LP before. Something I'll definitely be up for trying tho if I have no luck soon. Fingers crossed it works for you x

OP I had a 28/29 day cycle and would ovulate around day 17/18 so my LP wasn’t particularly long.
I did take vitamin B and I also had acupuncture-
I’m not sure it helped but it didn’t do any harm.

How are you measuring your ovulation? OPKs and temping?

What I will say is the assisted fertility team were not overly concerned about it being less than 10 days some cycles. It really didn’t factor in many of our conversations so although it can be a worry, I would try not to focus on it too much.

My cycles actually got shorter before I fell pregnant naturally as well, so it clearly made no impact.

@Ohpulltheotherone

OP I had a 28/29 day cycle and would ovulate around day 17/18 so my LP wasn’t particularly long. I did take vitamin B and I also had acupuncture- I’m not sure it helped but it didn’t do any harm.

How are you measuring your ovulation? OPKs and temping?

What I will say is the assisted fertility team were not overly concerned about it being less than 10 days some cycles. It really didn’t factor in many of our conversations so although it can be a worry, I would try not to focus on it too much.

My cycles actually got shorter before I fell pregnant naturally as well, so it clearly made no impact.

Hey, that's quite relieving to hear actually!

I haven't been temping, only using opks but I think I'll start trying to temp this month and see how I get on. I've started on the B6 today too so hopefully that's going to help.

Thanks for the reassurance haha - it's good to hear that someone with short LPs successfully got pregnant x

www.asrm.org/globalassets/asrm/asrm-content/news-and-publications/practice-guidelines/for-non-members/clinical-relevance-of-luteal-phase-deficiency.pdf

Short luteal phase alone isn't a proven cause of infertility and earlier implanting embryos are more likely to lead to a live birth. That paper might offer you some reassurance.

I totally get the panic though as my LP is 7/8 days naturally. I've been taking vitamins B6 and C for six months and they've had no impact. I went to my GP and had NHS investigations and they dismissed me. Once they confirmed I was ovulating they didn't care my LP was short. Definitely speak to your doctor about it as they can run some tests and see if anything is causing it (e.g. thyroid issues) but be prepared to be a bit pushy and don't back down until you're satisfied with what they're telling you. I'm now under the care of a private doctor. Sucks to pay for it but it's nice to be listened to and taken seriously.

I had a short luteal phase of 9 to 10 days (sometimes shorter) and conceived after 6 months. I used reflexology and fertility meditations. Also used the menstrual cup method along with sticking my legs in the air lol.