Spotting, luteal cramps, low progesterone - help

[Bloop123]

Hello, 31, been TTC over a year now. Have been consistently spotting on and off from around 7dpo to AF. I’ve also had mild cramping on and off throughout luteal phase, pretty much every month.

I’ve been to the doctors so much over the last year with my symptoms but every time they say “don’t worry, spotting is normal, won’t affect your chances”

Now it’s been over a year, I’ve just had day 21 bloods back and my progesterone levels are 16.1 (got a private one done a few months ago with was 18). I tend to have a 28 day cycle, track my ovulation and am confident of when I ovulate.

The NHS app has just shown me an entry from my GP saying these progesterone level are “normal, no further action”.

im literally sat here in tears because I know it needs to be over 30 to have a chance at conceiving. I feel as though no one has taken any notice of my symptoms, which now seems to me so likely connected to this low progesterone result. How can they say this is normal :( :(

i don’t even know what I’m asking here tbh, just feeling so low and looking for a bit of support. Anyone else been in the same boat? What did you do? Next steps?

(I’ve attached a screenshot of the “no further action” message I got)

thanks in advance xx

I've actually seen on here that people did get pregnant with levels around yours. You could ask your GP for a fertility referral or do a private scan/appointment after expected ovulation to definitively see whether you're ovulating/ get a progesterone prescription if they advise it.

GPs mark results as normal if they're within a standard range, even if they're not optimal for what you're specifically trying to check. This essentially means they don't need to proactively follow up with you because you don't have an illness.

@sirensong oh really? Thank you - I assumed that it meant it was a no go. Every month I stop spotting a few days before AF arrives and try to hold onto a bit of hope that it won’t come.

Yes I think I’ll go back to the GP next week and ask to be referred. I wouldn’t be so worried about the low result if I wasn’t getting so much cramping and spotting alongside it. x

Good luck! It would be amazing if you could report back on here with any diagnosis/ outcome down the line, as loads of people search for threads like this but don't get the the whole story to help them understand their own situation.

So under NICE guidelines this result would mean your day 21 results should be redone next month and then you can be referred if they're the same again. You can find this guidance on the NICE website or let your GP know that you're aware this is the guidance if there's any challenges.

My result was 20 - and my GP app said the same as yours but when I spoke to them they said it was the lab that tags it like that

But also just to echo the previous poster - mine was 20 in the month I conceived and was 19 when I conceived my daughter - I had no issues at all in that pregnancy, (this one is too early to say but fingers crossed I'm at 5 weeks now and all looks okay).

I totally get where you're coming from tho as I was convinced both times it was too low!

@Harriet1989 thanks so much, really useful to know, they can’t argue with NICE guidance can they.

it’s also really reassuring to hear these success stories. Did you have any other symptoms - spotting etc. - if you don’t mind me asking?

congratulations on your recent bfp ❤️ wishing you all the best! x

The first time I had no symptoms at all, it was over a year so each month I was totally symptom spotting but classically that was the month I was away when I was expecting to ovulate so I'd ruled it out so either I just wasn't paying attention or I had almost nothing before I had a late period. I then really quickly got morning sickness which was awful but kept telling myself it meant my levels were good (it was a girl - I've heard hCG levels are sometimes higher with girls so maybe that contributed). My pregnancy was totally normal, no spotting (awful delivery but hey ho!).

This time we've been trying for 6 months and a few times I've thought I've had all the classic symptoms but this month I had a bit of pink - like tiny when my period was due but then nothing since and have had cramping / nausea for about a week - before my period was due nothing at all symptoms wise, no normal PMS but also nothing else - and that progesterone result meant I'd ruled us out this month, the GP had agreed to refer us for sub fertility

I'm still trying not to get too excited, early days and my partner is keen we don't get ahead of ourselves 😅

Wishing you lots of baby dust x

@Harriet1989 thank you❤️ Ah it all sounds very positive for you, good luck 🙏🙏 I’m very new to mumsnet but it does make you feel so much better hearing all the positive stories when you’re going through it! X