Any success stories with 70+ day cycles?

[Leodot]

Hi everybody,

I’ve had long irregular cycles all my life, that are typically around 40-57 days. Didn’t really think much of it until I was married and wanted to start trying for a family. I’ve been tracking my cycles for over three years and have never had the same length cycle twice! I’m getting a little worried now though as my cycles seem to be getting longer and more irregular. Over the last year, I’ve had a 72, 66 and am now on day 76 of this cycle. My husband and I have finally been referred to the infertility clinic and will see them next month.

Just wondered if anyone has/had similar length cycles and has/had managed to conceive? With the irregularity of my cycles it feels like an impossible task. Am just feeling a bit sad today and would love to hear any success stories or advice from you lovely ladies ❤️.

I have PCOS and extremely irregular cycles. My husband and I fell pregnant in 2016 after TTC for 5 months. Sadly this pregnancy ended in miscarriage and we tried again for another 10 months before falling pregnant with our daughter (now 20 months old!). In the 10 months I had 2 periods and fell pregnant on day 150 of my cycle! Don't give up hope, you may be ovulating just at irregular times. We used a sensor called OVUSENSE which gave me an accurate window for ovulation. Other than that just dtd as much as possible and try to stay positive (easier said than done I know!). I was quite depressed for the 10 months following our miscarriage and felt we might never have a child but now we're thinking of trying again I feel more relaxed as I know it might just take time! If you need medical intervention then you might also feel more positive as something is being done to help. My doctor was extremely positive that I could fall pregnant given the right treatment- he said it was just a matter of finding the right treatment! Wishing you all the best and sending some unmumsnetty hugs!

@teamBoo

Thank you so much for your kind words and hugs ❤️. So sorry to hear about your first loss but so pleased that you managed to have a beautiful daughter 😊. OVUSENSE sounds great, I will definitely look into that. Hugs to you too and good luck if you decide to try again! ❤️

Yes, I had cycles of 28-90 days and I was anovulatory for some of those (I was temping).

I fell pregnant by accident at 29 after being adamant I’d never fall, with DP who I had only been with for 9 months. Then took metformin for the second. Then fell pregnant again by accident for the third! I think my previous partner must also have had an underlying issue.

Don’t give up hope!

@Leodot you are so welcome! I remember only too well being in your position and being so desperate to hear from someone who had conceived with long cycles! I found OVUSENSE to be very good and I think they have a money back policy whereby you can have a refund if they cannot detect ovulation within a certain time period. Best of luck and don't give up hope! ❤️

@IamPickleRick @teamBoo

Wow that’s amazing!! I’m so glad you’ve got a lovely family! 😊❤️.

Thank you both for sharing your stories. I’ve woken up feeling much more hopeful and in a better frame of mind 😊❤️

My best friend had between 31-55 day cycles and got pregnant on cycle 10.

I had perfect 28 day cycles but took two rounds of ivf to get my little boy! So cycle length really isn’t everything - the cycle she was successful was first she used ovulation sticks

Yep - my cycles were properly bonkers too.....only now I’ve hit 40 is my cycle in any way regular (and by that I mean 30-40+ days🙄). When trying to conceive it was 2-3 months at least between periods - I looked for the physical signs of ovulation (egg white style discharge etc) and then wouldn’t let the oh have a break till it changed😆. Ended up with 3 kids in 6 years. Don’t lose hope and keep trying.

Leodot

My cycles were irregular like yours and in my case the diagnosis was PCOS. You absolutely need a diagnosis first and foremost and I am glad to read that you will be seeing the fertility specialists next month.

Persistently long cycles like you describe can be caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome (and I note you have had this issue for many years) or problems with the thyroid gland to name but two possibilities. PCOS is a very common problem and it can be treated though not cured (the cystic follicles associated with this always return).

I would actually refrain from using ovusense or any such ovulation predictor kit because they are really not helpful or even all that useful for such long cycles. For example OPK's read LH levels; if the level of LH is elevated (as often is the case with PCOS) the kit reads that and gives you a false result. Signs predicting ovulation as well like discharge can also be misleading; blood tests would be a far better indicator of what is really going on with regards to hormone levels.

@hoping2018

Congratulations on your little boy and congratulations to your friend😊. I know cycle length isn’t everything but I’ve read that they are more likely to be annovulatory if they are longer. I’ve used ovulation sticks in the past but never got a positive so stopped as they were so expensive. Hopefully I will get lucky soon 😊.

@Blinkingblimey That’s pretty much what I do- track the egg white discharge and don’t let my husband out of my sight until it’s gone 😂😂😂 I don’t get it every cycle though which is what’s making me think some of them might be annovualtory. Congratulations for your lovely big family as well and thank you for your kind words ❤️

I have pcos and had a similar cycle. We got pregnant with twins on our second cycle of clomid. Don’t lose faith!!

My friend was in a similar situation and was told the most effective method was sex every other day, that way you can't miss ovulation as there will always be live sperm around when you do ovulate. It worked for her.

@AttilaTheMeerkat

Hi and thank you so much for your detailed message. As my periods have always been irregular, Ive been having tests and stuff since I was 18. They have mentioned the PCOS diagnosis a few times but they have never confirmed it because my blood tests for LH/ FSH/ thyroid etc have always been normal. I’ve had those blood tests 6 times in the last ten years and they have never shown anything abnormal. I’ve also had four scans over the last ten years which showed cysts on both ovaries but they always told me not to worry about it as I wasn’t trying to conceive at the time. I’ve not had a scan since I’ve been ttc though as my blood test last April came back normal and they said they didn’t see the point of another scan.

I did also ask for a laparoscopy to have a look for endometriosis, as I went through a stage for about two years of spotting/bleeding nearly every day and finding sex agony. (thankfully this stopped about 2 years ago so god knows what was causing that!) They told me it was too invasive and they didn’t see the point, as again, I wasn’t trying to conceive at that time. (Despite me telling them it was ruining my sex life - my poor husband has put up with a lot!)

Interestingly though I did try using OPK’s every day throughout one cycle and never even got close to a positive result 😞. I figured it was probably a waste of money for me so I eventually switched to BBT. Again, it hasn’t shown me anything yet but Ive only been doing it for one cycle.

When I did decide to start trying for a baby last year, I asked if they could refer me to infertility after 6 months (if I wasn’t successful) due to the length of my cycles and the cysts that they had seen on the scans and just my general gynae history but they said I had to wait a year because I was under 35 😞.

Fast forward to today and I’ve had no luck for 14 months so I begged to see the fertility specialist and they gave me an appointment. I am so excited to finally get some proper help but I will probably scream if they say I need a blood test... 😳😂.

Sorry for the essay as well!!

@comfysocks8516

Thank you and congratulations on your pregnancy! Twins as well! How exciting ❤️ I’ve heard good things about Clomid and am hoping it might be an option for me.

@Allthebubbles

Glad to hear your friend was successful 😊

Sadly I don’t think every other day is possible for us due to work shift patterns, when my husband works nights we aren’t in the house at the same time 😞 but we’ve been managing 3/4 times a week so Hopefully we’ll get lucky soon!