Almost 31, cycle getting shorter. Is this my fertility declining?

[NotAnIdiotHonest]

It used to be 28 days, now it's usually 26. Wondering if this is my body saying I should be ttc sooner rather than later. Or is 2 days shorter not significant?

Marking place as I'm 32 and mine has done the same.

Are you ttc awaywego?

I read somewhere that cycles get shorter as fertility declines, but have no idea if this is just a normal fluctuation for me that I wouldn't have noticed when younger. It's been 25-26 days for nearly a year now.

Yes, mine got shorter as I got older. I don't know if that is officially a sign of declining fertility, but it is certainly my experience.

When did it start getting shorter mintyy?

No-would love to be but have some health problems at the moment (not related to cycle) mine has been around 25-26 for a year too before that it was about 28. I have an app which I use to track.

I'm quite paranoid about declining fertility I be honest but am not really in a position to do anything about it.

Hmm. Not sure. Perhaps around age 36/37? that is certainly the time we started ttc and I seem to remember that my cycle was 26 or 27 days when we were ttc, whereas it had been 28 regular as clockwork for years and years before that. I remember having conversations with my best friend (same age and also ttc) about our slightly shorter cycles.

Mine certainly got shorter as I got older - for years I was 29 days, regular as clockwork, but by the time I was 40 I was down to 25/26 days.

Difficult to pinpoint when it started to change, as I had three DCs during my 30s. I don't know if it's a sign of decreasing fertility, though.

Now I'm 45, they are all over the place.

Hmm, thanks mintyy. I'm wondering if i'm wrong to be thinking that 30 is relatively young fertility-wise.

I'm sorry to hear that awaywego, I hope you're in a better position soon. It's only this cycle shortening thats got me thinking about it, not sure if I should be looking for other signs.

Mine was a clockwork 28/29 day cycle for the whole of my life. But after a miscarriage over 2 years ago at the age of 30, it has ranged from 21-27 days. I have spoken to quite a few doctors about this and I have been told , this sort of thing does happen. Hormones can readjust your cycles etc and it's not necessarily a sign of declining fertility. What is also apparent is that hidden asymptomatic bacterial infections can cause periods to change but this is a controversial area . So I have been told I have hidden chlymadia dna which was tested through a menstrual tissue test. I don't have the usual chlamidia that you get tested for in the UK. Anyway, i am just starting antibiotics now so it will be very interesting to see if I my cycles go back to what they use to be. (This is all in the hope of trying to conceive).

This isn't suppose to scare, and i hope it doesn't but just to offer you other reasons as to why your cycle might have changed.

Interesting. Mine have gone shorter, but IT just thought that was me.

That's interesting Joycep, thanks, and not scary so don't worry. I hope you are sorted soon.

This happened to me too. I had a 28 day cycle bang on until i was around 27-28 years old. It then started to shorten a day at a time.

Went to the docs when I was 31, cycle now 25-26 days. GP said it could be a sign & did some tests as early menopause runs in my family. Came back with a high FSH & low LH, they told me I was peri menopausal. I was stressing out about it but single so it was kind of irrelevant.

My cycle kept shortening & was 21-22 days by the time i was 34. I then got diagnosed with coeliac disease & went gluten free. My cycle returned to 28 with two months & then I fell pregnant

In my twenties mine were up to 40 days, in my early 30s dropped down to 30-32 per cycle, mid 30s down to 28. I've hit 40 and more like 25 days...

Mine were always 27 days. Had a ruptured ectopic at 33 and when AF returned, was suddenly down to 25 days. Didn't seem to have any effect on fertility in my case as I conceived quite easily afterwards and went on to have 3 more babies (already had 3) and a mc. Almost 43 now and still 25 days regular as clockwork

Hmm, ok might ask doc about it next time I'm there, just in case she thinks it's worth doing some tests. No early menopause in my family though.

I'm 40, had whopping second son three years ago and hormones still in recovery I think. My cycle now seems to be every three weeks. Maybe on my way to perimenopause?

After 40, my periods came earlier, but erratic. Was always 28 days, but became 26-23. Still was having them though at 50

Hi! I share your concern and I am 31 as well. Mine used to be 30-31 days and suddenly dropped to 25.
I had two stressful months with a lot of bleeding (during and outside period as well) after which it just dropped 5-6 days. For the first 4 months of shortened cycle I had unusually high flow, after which it declined gradually and in the past month it was unusually low, barely any bleeding. While the bleeding was heavy I had some blood tests done privately that showed the estradiol levels 50% higher than the maximum limit. I don't have any medical condition apart from being severely allergic to dairy and my immune system having a mind of its own.
I have been feeling a bit unusual which led me to take a pregnancy test which turned out negative, but nothing that bothers me very much. I don't have any children and I am starting to worry maybe I might be running out of time? I would like to talk to a doctor but doctors in the UK seem to never take anything seriously so I am weary of making an appointment for this reason. The blood tests that I mentioned earlier were done privately outside the UK because I was feeling like knocking on death's door and they would still not take me seriously (that's when I learned I had a maximum allergy score). I have been dairy free for a few months now and I suppose if the hormonal changes were due to feeling generally very ill, things should have gone to normal by now? Who should I talk to?