TTC advice please?

[lbeany]

I'm 30. Started my periods at 12 - mostly regular,
then ranged from 3- 6 weeks apart, usually about 6 weeks, also became quite painful. Went on the pill at 18, been on it till 29. Had 2 ultrasound scans in the 10 years - both normal.

Since coming off the pill: periods have varied from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. Been TTC for almost a year (casually with no pressure) but really hard to plan/predict when periods are so irregular. Went to the GP recently for something else but they didn't seem concerned probably because of my age / hadnt been that long of trying.
Of course, everyone around me is successfully getting pregnant and giving birth which didn't bother me to begin with but is somewhat upsetting now (I wish it didn't but I can only see this getting worse).
Is there anything I could be doing to optimise my chances?

Thank you for reading.

Track your ovulation with strip tests and temping.

@DaisyChain16 temping? Is this the basal body temperature method? How reliable/accurate is this and is there any particular thermometer people on MN recommend?

@lbeany hey, yeah the basal body temperature method, or bbt for short. You should get yourself a bbt specific thermometer, which goes down to a 1/100th of a degree. I begun last cycle and find fascinating how much your body temperature can tell you about your body. Also you will only know if youve definitely ovulated by taking your temperature. or buyiing pdg strips which are expensive. I recommend it.
However, has PCOS been ruled out? bbt won't work in that case unfortunately

Tracking your ovulation is a good start, perhaps you can look into it?

Hi @lbeany

I'm also experiencing irregular cycles and have a few bits of advice.

Just to give you my background I came off the pill end of March and have had a 45 day, 40 day and currently on day 60 of this cycle, (7DPO)

I 100% would contact your Gp. I contacted mine a week or so ago, they advised that 3-6 months is how long it should take to regulate my cycles, they agreed to do bloods to check if I had ovulated and also for any thyroid issue that could be affecting my cycles. I'm waiting on those results.

The reason I rang the GP is because I was using OPK strips to detect LH to track ovulation and tracking my BBT. If you can I would try to do both, with irregular cycles you just have no way of knowing what is going on otherwise.
I rang the GP as I had clear peak readings with OPK but my temp didn't rise after it, it seemed that I was trying to ovulate but I wasn't... 10 days later after already phoning the GP I got another peak and afterwards my temp did rise and I definitely had ovulation pain, so I now know I have ovulated and that my cycle will be coming to an end soon.

My GP also said they wouldn't refer me for any fertility clinics as I asked to check for PCOS until we had been trying for 1 year, however if you are around 12 months they may also do more for you in terms of tests and medication to try and regulate your cycle

Get bloods on cd3 and CD21 from GP. Likely this will show not ovulating on time. The fear with lengthy cycles is you may not be ovulating at all. At 1 year, get a fertility clinic referral for assessments

@IWillBeWaxingAnOwl if that is the case, do you know if there’s anything that can be done to make ovulation happen?

@Havanalily1806 thank you really helpful. You mentioned medications at the end, I wonder if you know if there is medication out there to regulate cycles (I don’t mean the contraceptive pills) but something that will regulate periods to make TTC easier?

@lbeany you can take Myo inositol which improves ovulation and cycle regularity. If you are overweight, lose weight gradually

Your GP will refer you to fertility clinic, who should offer assessment then prescribe medication . Letrozole is the first line medication for late or no ovulation, so likely that. Your GP cannot offer this, only fetility clinics.