Day 21 test: no ovulation, doctor was crap - confused and worried.

[InThisTogether]

Hi all, I am 31, DH is 35 and we have been ttc #1 for just over a year now.

I went for a day 21 test and got the results back today. Everything was normal except for my progesterone was 0.8 which I gather means I didn't ovulate at all.

The Dr was vague and pretty crap about what it meant, in essence he has referred me to the gynacological dept at the local hospital for an appointment, but I don't know what for, or how long it will take to get the appointment or even what they can do.

He gave me a fertility kit for DH to do in the meantime. I pushed for a second day 21 test for this month which he said would be a good idea but only after I suggested it. (just to be clear, he wasn't negligent or anything, just unsympathetic, unclear and vague).

I just feel shell-shocked, crap and confused. I have no idea what it means to have progesterone of 0.8, he didn't explain anything to me really, I was in and out of the appointment within 5 minutes and I was so bewildered I didn't really ask anything.

Does this mean I am infertile? Was I right to ask for a second Day 21? I don't want to google loads of information about it and scare myself but I trust you lot to give me good advice. I am so frightened we'll never be able to have a baby. I have 4 friends who are pregnant at the moment and I can't tell anyone yet for fear of being the spectre at the feast.

Thanks for reading everyone, just needed to get it out.

I would be looking now to seeing someone else within this practice after you get your blood tests done. Its no point at all in seeing this GP again whom you described as unsympathetic, unclear and vague.

Have you ever had a day 2 test done; this is a useful test to have as it measures LH and FSH which kickstart the ovulation process. My guess is that if your progesterone was that low then LH and FSH are awry too (LH and FSH are usually only tested around day 2/3 as well).

Am glad that the GP has referred you; you are better off now under the care of a gynae at a subfertility unit.

Are your periods normally regular or are they irregular in nature?. If they are generally irregular I would be having a day 2 test done to see what your hormone levels are like at that time along with possibly having a further day 21 test done.

Your man should also be tested as well.

You need a diagnosis first and foremost.

Many people are subfertile rather than infertile. Its not your fault.
There is a good chance you will have a baby but you as a couple may well need some specialist help from the hospital in order to conceive.

Thanks Atilla, that was clear and precise and has made me feel much better. Have never had a Day 2 test, is it as in Day 2 of my period? I will ask for one of those. My periods are very irregular, anything from 18 days to 50 (though average around 28 days)

This month for example (the cycle that the Day 21 was done) I am already 5 days late, which I guess means I wasn't ovulating then anyway?

Thanks again for your advice, I will focus on 'subfertile' for now, and keep my fingers crossed. Feel a bit better in the cold light of day- things are not so terrible really and there is hope. Had a good read of other pages after I posted this too.

Day 2 can be the second day of your period but such a test can be done according to calendar days if your cycle is irregular. Day 2 should check your LH level against that of your FSH level; an imbalance, particularly if LH is higher than FSH, can be indicative of polycystic ovaries.

It may be an idea for you as well to have an internal ultrasound scan done to see what your uterine cavity and ovaries look like.

Thought your cycle was irregular in nature; what you describe is very common and such are caused often by hormonal imbalances. In this respect a condition called polycystic ovaries is a common culprit.

You do need a diagnosis first and foremost.

Wish you the very best of luck, any other questions just ask.

Bless you Atilla, thanks for taking the time out to help me. Feeling a little better about it all, had a nice big glass of wine and put things in perspective a little. I know I was being over-sensitive with the Dr, sometimes very hard to separate emotions and practicalities!

Attila's advice is good. If nothing else, it sounds like the test was mistimed. It should be timed to be in the middle of the lu teal phase, so day 21 in a textbook 28 day cycle. You might have ovulated late. Or you might not be ovulating.

Ovulatory problems (if that is what is) are usually quite easy to fix.

thanks Euro, that's great to hear. It's easy to get it all out of proportion.

I hope this is easy to fix, just had my 5th friend tell me they are expecting their first baby since we've been ttc and I am uncharitably running out of fixed-grin glue!

I had a day 21 test after recurrent miscarriage to see if low progesterone was the cause, I was using opk's and that showed I'd ovulated but the blood test came back as 1, at my next consultant appointment she said it showed I hadn't ovulated so I told her I'd had a positive opk she did some more bloods to see what was going on but I never got the results as I found out I was pregnant shortly afterwards but I was prescribed progesterone for the first 12 weeks, I now have a 9 month old dd. I think another test is a good idea to get a better picture of what is going on, hopefully it was just a mis timed test good luck.

Well I've been cheeky and phoned up the surgery and booked myself in for a Day 2 test tomorrow just to set my mind at ease a little. I am convincing myself that Mumsnet will know better than the Doctor and if he knew what we knew then he would have ordered one too. I'm sure the gynacologist will need a Day 2 and as my cycle is so irregular this might be the only opprtunity for the test in well over a month! Or at least that's what I'm telling myself... ;)

If you've got an irregular cycle, then a 'day 21' test is pretty much meaningless. But that certainly doesn't mean you're infertile! Mine could be several months (I've got PCOS) and I needed a bit of clomid but I've got a 16yo DD to show for it.

Def. good idea to have a referral and further investigation by someone who is a bit more clued up (some GPs are, many aren't). Meanwhile, you could try OTC ovulation prediction kits - they'd only just come out when I was ttc but we found them useful.

Good luck!

I had two 21 day tests just before Christmas and was told that my progesterone levels were low on both so I probably wasn't ovulating. I was referred for further fertility tests. Pleased to say I didn't get that far as I found out in January that I am pregnant! So I had stressed for two months thankfully for nothing in the end. I think the stress made my cycles longer which probably made the test results inaccurate. Hope you have some similar good news soon!

inthistogether I know exactly where you are coming from. My mum went through v. early menopause (29, same age I am now) and so I always had suspicions I would have problems conceiving. This led me to getting my AMH tested which was very low. This was 3 yrs ago and I was told to go away and get trying and that I was otherwise healthy so not to worry. I had 3 lots of day 2 and day 21 (but taken on day 19 as I generally have a 15 day cycle). All were fine until I got referred to gynae in Nov and then had the same tests done in Jan. All of a sudden I didn't ovulate that month, and my FSH is so high that the Dr casually dropped in that another result that high would mean that I could only be referred for private treatment, nothing on the NHS. I also had an ultrasound which has shown a cyst on my left ovary and that tube is also blocked and going in for a lap on 6th May. I am so nervous that this is the right thing that the nurse at my pre-op kindly arranged an appointment with the surgeon beforehand so waiting on that to discuss it in more detail.

If I was you I would do as all the ladies above have said, push for a repeat of the day 21 test, glad you got your day 2 test and hopefully you'll go to gynae soon. They'll prob repeat these tests but no harm in having them done in the meantime.

Good luck! x