Short luteal phase?

[JuniperandI]

Hi ladies

I have a short LP, about 9-10 days. Anyone else in the same boat? Have you managed to get pregnant with a short LP? Any advice would be very welcome!

@Rosiestraws congratulations! I hope everything works out for you 🤞🏼 Completely understand the nerves but try not to worry too much (even though I know that’s easier said than done) 💕

I finally ovulated today on CD23, last month was CD21 so it’s even later this month. Was starting to feel like I was going to ovulate at all this month! Feeling a bit disheartened as I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a very short LP (my cycles are usually 29-31 days so even on the longer end of that it would only be 8 days) 😔

Hi @buttercupbee thanks, i've got fingers crossed too but who knows with it being so early..

Interesting you ovulate late too - I'm the same often. This cycle I got peak on day21 so ovulated 22 I think. I've also had a 42 day cycle one month where I was convinced I was pregnant. It's so frustrating when you have to wait sooo long for another cycle to start.

Congratulations @Rosiestraws ! What a great success story! Such an exciting time 😀

@buttercupbee hopefully your cycle will be longer this month even though you o’d a bit later! Fingers crossed.

Im out this month, AF just arrived. Was expecting it but still disappointed. I’m 11 DPO so 10 day LP. 1 day longer than last month! Feeling a bit overwhelmed and like I might have to stop breastfeeding to actually get pregnant again, which I don’t want to do. Ugh. Gonna step away from the forums for a bit while I build up the energy to get back at it, ttc is exhausting! Best of luck everyone!

Hi all, sorry I've been a bit quiet. Feeling pretty rubbish to be honest. Desite being thrilled to ovulate on CD18 this cycle - my earliest yet - looks like I'm out with an LP of 7 days. Woke up this morning and my temperature plummeted, and I've had my usual AF symptoms all day, and even new ones. I swear before I started ttc I didn't notice boob pain in the LP but today they're on fire - I lifted my arm earlier and got shooting pains. Just waiting for AF to show up tonight, and kinda praying it's after midnight as that would at least give me 8 day LP. But it feels imminent now.

@EmmRach How are you? Hope you're well and distracting yourself from waiting till the scan.

@Mugascauld So sorry you went through that hope then disappointment - I think I've heard that about Clear Blues before.

@BCxx So sorry AF arrived. Hope you're ok, and - in the nicest way possible - I am hoping you will have to explain why you're not drinking at the end of Dec because it's your lucky cycle. Glad ovulation moved earlier for you, that's exciting! I have exactly the same thought as you - what if there is a nice fertilised egg waiting to implant but my body kicks off with the let's get the AF party started and out it comes? My body isn't giving itself a chance.

@buttercupbee Oh no, UTIs are so nasty! Hope you're recovering! Hurrah for finally ovulating, at least not an anovulatory cycle. Maybe you'll just have a slightly longer cycle than normal.

@alark thanks for sharing your positive story. I'm just scared that 7-8 days isn't long enough. I'm already on 1000mg Vitamin C and 100mg Vitamin B6, along with 10mg in a B Complex.

@Carlotta27 Sorry you went through that with the doctor. I've seen two who dismissed my short LP. Even when I told them that it's been getting shorter. Last April, my first month of tracking, it was 11 days then next cycle 9, and I've watched it go down, and now am getting 7-8 days each cycle. They don't seem to care, even though there's clearly something wrong. The change in the length of my cycles has been pretty dramatic. Glad you're going private. Might have to look at but I don't know how we'll afford it.

Congrats @Rosiestraws, how exciting! I'm sure you're nervous, but that's fantastic news.

@Rosiestraws It seems like lots of us with short LPs also ovulate later on in our cycles - I'm usually CD20-CD22. This month it was CD18 and was super excited, but as I said above, looks like a 7 day LP :(

@Mugascauld ah I just saw AF arrived, so sorry, but also that is great news you got an extra day on your LP! 10 is borderline I think so if it goes up again then that's just fab. Totally get you need a break. Take care of yourself.

Hi all; thanks for sharing your journeys on here. I’ve been reading them all as I’ve just started TTC but think I may have luteal phase issues as (for past few years) I spot for 3-4 days before AF starts. Have only had one unsuccessful cycle TTC but I’m 34 and don’t want to leave an issue unaddressed. I always thought AF had started at the spotting but I’ve realised now that’s not the case and my years of cycle tracking data has been thrown off!

I’ve read LFD can be either due to late ovulation shortening the phase, OR an inadequate endometrial response causing the lining to either not build up properly or start shedding early. Early spotting seems to point more towards the latter, so potentially low progesterone rather than late ovulation causing a shorter phase? Although I appreciate progesterone is produced by the corpus luteum, which relies on healthy ovulation occurring first.

This will be first month using OPKs to add a bit of data to my picture.

If anyone has read this far - those of you taking Vit C and B complex - are you taking them every day or just at certain points in the cycle? I’m going to try that this month to help progesterone production…

Wishing you all luck and success xxx

Hi everyone, I echo @Sierra26, thank you for sharing your journeys! It's good to know you're not alone and hear tips from others.

I also have a short luteal phase (I have another thread here). I'm taking progesterone after ovulation, metformin (for PCOS), and vitamins/supplements (throughout my cycle). Last month I had a chemical (I wasn't taking progesterone then) and this month my cycle has been crazy. I didn't ovulate until CD39(!) and I'm 10 DPO now and had negative pregnancy tests.

I have an appointment with a consultant on Monday to hopefully get prescribed letrozole to regulate my cycle better. Really hopeful that works as my TTC journey has sucked so far. Have been trying just over a year, and had one missed miscarriage at 12 weeks and 2 chemicals since.

Hope some good luck is just around the corner for us all xx

Ps.@DesertSnow really sorry you're feeling rubbish, I hope you're doing okay today. Did AF arrive? This whole TTC business sucks but you're not alone

Hi @Lily1990 thanks, this little thread is really nice and makes me feel less alone. Welcome! I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage and chemicals, I can't imagine how tough your journey has been. Hope you're doing ok. Hopefully the progesterone or letrozole do the trick for you! Great you're moving forward with a consultant.
Weirdly AF didn't arrive and my temp went right back up this morning. Am still having pre-AF sensations this evening so expecting it to arrive in the night, but I'm happy to have got to a 9 day LP this cycle.

Welcome also @Sierra26. If you've identified a short LP definitely best to try and adderss it as early as you can, I think. Can I ask what DPO you usually start spotting? Data is good! Though I don't always catch my peak on OPK as am resolutely only testing once a day. Re. the supplements, I take them throughout. There are some supplements you shouldn't take after ovuation, but C and B are ok to. Interesting what you say about the two main causes. Looks like I'm on for a 9 day LP this cycle, which is long for me! And this cycle I ovulated earlier than I normally do, CD18. (Usual is CD20-22). So perhaps because I managed to ovulate earlier I am managing a slightly longer LP? Who knows! Every cycle I think I know exactly what's going on, then something new happens and I realise I know nothing.

@DesertSnow that’s exactly how mine went this month with the earlier ovulation giving me a slightly longer LP. Shame it didn’t come to anything though 😂 Fingers crossed AF doesn’t turn up during the night for you. I think it’s because it’s coming up to Christmas but for some reason I seem to have taken AF arriving really rather well this month 🙈 I think the only bad bit was the fact my cycle went on a bit longer so I got to 9dpo all excited, wasting tests for no reason, just for it to arrive anyway. I’ve decided I definitely take the news better when I see blood rather than going through the rollercoaster of seeing negative tests every day 🙄 but I can’t stop myself from taking them!

Trying to keep so busy the next few days then have plans over the weekend and working the start of next week so by the time I stop for a second again itl be time to start trying again! Have stopped pregnacare and ordered folic acid on the off chance it was messing me up at all

@BCxx Really glad you're doing ok with AF turning up. Keeping busy is a fab idea! It's so hard not to approach life in terms of fertile window/LP isn't it, especially when you have a short LP and you're desperate to just have one extra day. So fab you ov'd a bit earlier and had a slightly longer LP! Fingers crossed all going in the right direction and your BFP is around the corner!

Update from me - I got a very faint line on a cheapie this morning. I think I still don't believe it. It didn't occur to me that the drop in temp and AF symptoms I had at 8DPO could be implantation... I did my BBT this morning and it had shot up to 37.13 - yesterday it was 37.86 which was my previous highest temp. So thought I might as well test.

Only 10DPO so nervous about getting too excited, particularly as I think a short LP means miscarriage more likely? But if this all works out... How wonderful to have a genuine honeymoon baby! Feeling so lucky and honestly mostly in disbelief.

Sending lots of baby dust and love to everyone.

*previous highest temp was 36.86, obviously! 😂

@DesertSnow omg amazing news! I read your previous update about temp increasing and thought immediately that it was the implantation dip but didn't want to say anything of course, but I'm so pleased to see this update!

I think if you google it enough everything is a MC risk, and for sure stressing about it wont help because stress directly impacts on progesterone production - so try as much as possible to not stress! I'm really happy for you - what a month you're having!

@DesertSnow ahhh no way, that’s amazing! Have you got anymore tests in? I don’t think miscarriage is really much more likely though if you get to 5 weeks etc, maybe a chemical is more likely but I think once you’re pregnant and as long as there’s no issues with progesterone that you know of then you’ll be fine 😊 you were probably just so relaxed after the wedding!

@DesertSnow ah congratulations! I was also one thinking I wonder if youre pregnant when you said about the shooting pains in breasts actually, as I've heard that a lot with friends who have got pregnant! Amazing! And I totally relate to the worry about miscarriage/faint lines on tests and all of that. The way I'm thinking of it is if you're getting a line then that means it's implanted already and releasing the hormones and so you/we have hopefully got to that stage before the womb is trying to shed, like it would earlier for us with the short luteal phase? Like the embryo implanting enough to release the pregnancy hormones should mean that it's stopping your body release whatever other hormones are there that usually cause period - I think it's progesterone.

Ahhhh congrats @DesertSnow really great news to hear! Fingers crossed you have a sticky bean - so exciting!

@DesertSnow that's so exciting! I think the LP is an issue if your period comes before the embryo implants and HCG rises - if you're already getting a positive test then you should be fine!
Congratulations 💐

ah thank you all for being so nice ladies, what a lovely thread this is 💗That's so funny a couple of you suspected, I genuinely thought the temperature dip as AF coming, and the increased symptoms were just a sign my periods were getting ever more painful (which they have been for the last year or so).

I'm pretty cautious about getting excited. I have a few cheapies but not sure if there's any point doing one tomorrow as I think hcg only rises noticeably every couple of days? I might try and hold out and assume that as long as I don't start bleeding things are ok. Currently things don't feel much different to my normal LP paranoia of checking my knickers for blood every 5 minutes.

I do think that relaxing around the wedding and honeymoon helped me this cycle - around the wedding I had a whole week where I didn't work out, which is very unusual for me. And then on honeymoon I was a bit more relaxed about food. So maybe my body felt less stressed and was able to ovulate early? Otherwise, the only things I changed were upping my B6 dosage from 50 to 100, and I started having some sunflower and sesame seeds after ovulation. No idea if that helped, but thought I'd share as I know whenever I've seen someone with a short LP get a positive (even a faint one like mine), I've been very keen to know what changed. Oh, and also we DTD every day in my fertile window (honeymoon). Previously we'd been loosely trying the SMEP.

@Mugascauld you're so right, google is a dangerous place so will be avoiding googling MC risk. @BCxx @Rosiestraws @JuniperandI yes that makes sense re. LP and miscarriage... Hopefully as it's started building up HCG it's a good sign. I'm going to hold off on contacting the doctor just because of the risk of a chemical, but have everything crossed.

Thank you again ladies, it's been heartenening to read your lovely messages. I really hope that for those of you waiting it's your turn very very soon.

@DesertSnow most likely that all helped 😊 Yes I think I held off last time with my son until I was nearly 6 weeks. I felt like such a fraud phoning up and I hadn’t told a soul so didn’t really want to tell the woman on reception at the doctors in case I knew her 😂 When I did eventually phone it turned out you were just to phone the maternity unit at the hospital instead and they arrange your booking in appointment so I didn’t have to tell her who it was 🤣

How everyone doing today?

2dpo today, but I have no idea when AF is due as I didn’t ovulate this month until CD24 🤦🏼‍♀️ My LP is usually 9/10 days so that would make AF due next Saturday but then my cycle would be 32 days which is longer than usual. Just trying to keep busy and forget about it for the next week!

@DesertSnow congrats! So am I right in thinking you managed it with about a 7 day LP? Great to give hope to us !

@Sierra26 welcome! I understand your frustrations - I’m also into my thirties and although only been tracking a few cycles, already know something is off (although for me the issue is v short LP rather than spotting) . GP was dismissive going private in Jan and really hope I’m taken seriously and given some options (I’ve heard progesterone pessaries are sometime prescribed).

Feeling especially low right now as I’m coming to terms something is off with my body (always had a 19 day cycle and v short LP) and dealing with fears about a tough journey ahead and fears of not becoming a parent like if always imagined would happen now. Glad to have found support in this group and hope I’m not brining down the tone, hoping we can be of support x

@buttercupbee Hello! I'm 6 DPO, and feeling great for someone whose AF is due in 4 days! I've had 7 days of PMS the last 2 cycles, so I'm hoping this is a good sign 🤞🤞
I know, the TWW (well, less for us lot in here!) is so difficult.

@BCxx ha yes I'm going to hold off too! Only 4 weeks today going by my dates so feeling like I'd be jinxing it.

@buttercupbee keeping busy and distracting yourself is definitely the way to go. Any idea why you may have ovulated late? Is it usually regular?

@Carlotta27 Thank you! Usual LP is 7-8 - 8 is more usual. I hope it gives you hope, as before this happened I was thinking this would never happen for me, even when reading other's success stories. So even if you feel like that, it shows there is hope. I'm sorry your GP was dismissive - they do tend to be. Going private they should be able to get down to the root of your short LP, and if it is low progesterone, hopefully that's a simple fix with pessaries or similar. I'm sorry you're feeling so low, I think ttc is such a hard time, and then you throw a short LP into the mix and it can feel hopeless. But this group is so lovely, do continue to share on here. You're not bringing down the tone at all.

@JuniperandI Yay for feeling good! Fingers crossed for you lovely.

I didn't test today, but will likely do a cheapie with FMU tomorrow unless anything changes. Just hoping beyond anything this little one sticks around.

Also, just to say - one tiny silver lining of a short LP - it means I know I'm pregnant, because otherwise AF would be here. Does that make sense? If my LP was 14 days, for example, I would still be waiting for my missed period and thinking it might show, even with a line on a cheapie. So I might be more in a limbo. I know there's really no comfort in a short LP, but just crossed my mind.

Hi all,

I am 6DPO today. Not sure the timing of AF this month as usual my cycle is 28/29 days but last month it was 32 days. I’m holding out for a longer cycle as I ovulated on day 21. No signs or symptoms as such. Just trying to keep busy! BBT is still high.

So glad to hear some positives on here. I didn’t track my cycle before my MC so not sure if I have always ovulated late or if it is since the MC. I guess there is hope as I have conceived before - that time is was just not meant to be.

Glad to have found this place to chat about it! Not sure my hubby quite understands all the ttc lingo! 😂😂😂