Do people with long cycles have less chances of getting pregnant?

[paperchase1]

came off the pill a year ago.

For the first 9 months my periods were regular - evey 32 days

Now, in the last couple of months, they have gone back to what they were pre-pill (irregular) and long.
Cycle10: 45
Cycle 11: 35
Cycle 12: 47

Is this something I should be worried about?
Will I have less chance of getting pregnant?
Do I need to see doc?

If you've been ttc for a year or so it might be worth you and your partner going to the dr anyway to check everything out. It is likely everything is fine but the checks can take time in themselves.

I don't know about links between long cycles and difficulty conceiving but mention cycle length to the dr. FWIW, I have long cycles (35-37 days) and have 2 children. Acupuncture by a specialist fertility person helped regulate my cycles a lot.

Thanks Tummytime.

I hadnt thought of acupunture.
Did it relax you as well?

I have long cycles too, ranging from 30 to 37 days over the last year, with one 50 day cycle that had me convinced I was PG despite BFNs, only to dash my hopes in the end I went to see my GP about this as I was concerned about it, like you, and she tested me for PCOS (which I didn't think I had as I have none of the symptoms of PCOS other than irregular cycles) and this test (Day 21 or 25, in my case) came back clear, showing ovulation.

My GP said that - in general - long cycles are not an indicator of any underlying problem IF you've always had longer cycles than normal, which is the case for me. I've never been a 'normal' 28-day type. It's the irregularity which can be an indicator of underlying issues e.g. endemetriosis or hypothyroidism rather than a long cycle, AFAIK. I've heard that a short luteal phase can be problematic for conception but that's not necessarily linked to having a long cycle. Hope this helps...

Do you think it takes longer to conveieve with longer cycles?

My long cycle, I think, it what they used to be like pre-pill. If that's the case my pill has taken around 9 months to get out of my system after being on it for 13 years.

I agree, if you have been ttc for a year to go and see your gp. Dh and I were ttc for 7 years ( we had fertility treatment to regulate my cycles, unfortunately had 2 mc). We had dd1 in 2006 (I was 37), after which my periods became very regular, every 30 days, and we had dd2 in 2007. Since dd2 my cycles have become longer and longer, and last year (when I was 40) I was undergoing tests to see whether I was starting an early menopause, when I found out I was pregnant with dc3 - my cycles had been on average 55 days for months and months!

paperchase

Actually the pill leaves your system very quickly after taking it. What the pill can do is mask symptoms of any underlying hormonal problem.

If your cycles were long prior to taking the pill they are more likely to revert back to this when you stop taking the pill.

Cycles too of over 35 days if consistent are more likely than not to be anovulatory ones. Your cycle would certainly be seen as irregular.

I would get this checked out medically by your GP in the first instance and if that person is clueless ask for a referral to a gynae at a subfertility unit.

If cycles become increasingly irregular (and I note that your cycles are reverting to how they were pre pill taking) then it is certainly in your interests to get this investigated sooner rather than later. If you've always had long cycles this can be very indicative of hormonal problems. In this regard PCOS can be a culprit, another possible one is thyroid imbalance. Both can be treated.

You will need to be persistant in order to get answers.

how will they test? What will they test for?

Years ago I had a cyst on my ovary that burst (I had to be operated on). As they looked at my ovaries I know I havnt got polycycstic ovaries so Im pretty sure it's not that.

Nervous in going to docs.

Hi paperchase. The basic tests are blood tests for you on a couple of different days of your cycle (usually day 3 and day 21 counted from the first day of proper bleeding) and a sperm test for your DP. If that is all clear you may also have an ultrasound to check your womb is generally healthy and checks on your fallopian tubes. Nothing too invasive although the whole thing can cause worry.

I found acupuncture a huge help because it relaxed me and made me feel I was doing everything possible to get pg. Useful book by Zita West on fertility and conception as well - may be available from Amazon.

Do not forget also that blood tests can be also done according to calendar days (i.e the 3rd and 21st of each month). This is useful to know if periods are irregular in nature.

paperchase - a gynae would also want to know about any operations you have had particularly the gynae related one for the cyst. You need up to date test results and an internal ultrasound can be done to assess the state of your uterine cavity and ovaries.

Regarding the tests, the initial ones are just simple blood tests. For PCOS, they check bloods at Days 3 and 21 (of a normal 28 day cycle. If you have e.g. a 35 day cycle, it'll be Day 10 and Day 28 etc). For hypothyroidism, it's again a blood test to check levels of thyroid hormones. For something like endometriosis, the only definite diagnosis, AFAIK, is a laparoscopy, which is keyhole surgery in the abdominal cavity.

I'm not sure at what point you would be referred for a scan, possibly only if the bloods came back as abnormal? I'm chewing over this myself at the moment as my cycles have been long and irregular. So far I don't think I have any of the typical symptoms of conditions like PCOS, hypothyroidism or endometriosis that cause irregular periods / subfertility but if I haven't conceived after another 2 cycles of targeted BD then I'm going back for more tests.

I'm not sure whether it would take longer for us to get pregnant on long cycles - so far I haven't been lucky enough to get pregnant! I imagine it would in that we only have 10 or fewer cycles a year instead of 12 so the typical guidelines that it may take even healthy couples a year to conceive might be too optimistic for us. It would be more accurate to say that it could take 12 cycles, which could be over 14 or more months, depending.

seems nuts with all these tests doesnt it?
I often thought that stress had a lot to do with it but it's been a year since I came off the pill. There have been a lot of personal changes in that time so i am wondering if I am over-reacting going to the docs or whether I should target just chilling out first?

Stress does not cause such changes to arise, that's a red herring.

You have good reason to go to the docs now.

I really don't believe that stress has much of an impact on conceiving, I could not have been more stressed when we conceived dd1(or dd2 for that matter!)

I agree with going to the gp after a year. Will cycles like that there is a chance you are not ovulating and may not fall pg without a bit of help. Investigations can take a while and its best to get the ball rolling now.

FWIW I have 32-40 day cycles and have fallen pg twice very easily. Therefore, long cycles don't necessarily cause problems as long as you are ovulating (if you're not thats a whole different situation). They do however, of course give you fewer chances a year to get pg. Someone with a 28 day cycle has 13 chances a year to get pg, whereas someone with a 40 day cycle would only have 9 chances.

I have 35 day cycles, and had some longer ones (up to about 80 days) when I was very stressed at work. It took my 16 months to ttc but I did get there in the end, hope this gives you hope it is worth continuing to keep a record and going to see the doctor, you might as well start investigations. Using OPKs helped me, and I quit my extremely stressful job and after a few months my periods went back to regular 35 days (however, this was extreme stress, I did continue to be worried about ttc even after leaving my job;, not much you can do about worrying about that type of stress and I doubt it affects anything so please don't feel guilty about it. )

It is worth bearing in mind that it may take longer to conceive purely because even if you are ovulating every cycle you are still haveing less cycles per year than somebody with a 28 day cycle.

I have a 42-56 day cycle and it took me a year to get pregant with DS2. It felt forever, buy after the event I realised that I'd actually onyl had 6 periods in that year.

I thought that stress/diet/drugs etc. COULD delay ovulation - and later ovulation equals longer cycles (at least that's the impression I got from Toni Weschler's book).

Now if anyone had any ideas what causes very short anovulatory cycles, then I'd love to hear them...

Also, Atilla and LondonLottie, I thought that the 21-day progesterone test was only named as such due to the media obsession with 28-day cycles, and if you know when you ovulate, surely a test 7DPO would be sufficient? As going by calendar dates alone, day 21 of my previous cycle was actually only 1DPO for me, so would that not have given spurious results (I ovulated on Day 20, and so arranged my progesterone test for Day 28). Does that make sense? Or am I talking rubbish ?

just marking my place. I have 40-42 day cycles and have done since came off the pill last June. Pre-pill, 10 years ago, I was in the low 30s each cycle, though never precisely regular.