Low progesterone

[Sanammm]

Hi
My progesterone level is low and I am not ovulating. GP said because you have a child you are not entitled for nhs fertility treatments. I can't afford private. Is anybody have an idea how I can convince my gp for treatment ? Or do you know any other way to increase progesterone level? Like any herbal remedies?
By the way my other hormones are leveled and period has been always regular.
Thanks
Sanam

What cd was the test done? How long was that cycle? I ask because 'day 21' isn't cd 21 for everyone...

Check your ccg guidelines on treatment on the fertility fairness website. Some ccgs do a lot more than others. It's a post code lottery.

What's you bmi? I've heard it said that 'soy isoflavins' are nature's clomid. Some people swear by Angus castus. But both can mess up your regular cycles and should be taken after loads of research/ with extreme caution and never together.

I think you are eligible for clomid/letrozole if prove not ovulating, just not IVF

Thanks for your reply. My bmi is 26. After the blood test I used the home ovulation kit to find out if I am ovulating other months/days. I test myself almost every days for 3 months but no ovulation.

Go told me that I am not eligible even for another blood test.

I googled the side effects of low progesterone level and it seems I have some of them. I'm thinking regardless of fertility, I should be eligible to receive treatment to improve these symptoms. But don't know how to convince my go for that. These are the side effects that I suffer:

•	weight gain.
•	mood swings, and depression.
•	breast tenderness,

The same thing is happening to me. I've been struggling to conceive for 4 years (secondary infertility) and I'm finally getting some help now after moving away from the UK.

I've had the 21 day blood test taken a few times now (7 days before expected period) and it always comes up with low progesterone = no ovulation.

I still have regular cycles and everything. So now I've been put on Metformin for the past two months and the next step is Letrozole to get me ovulating again.

I can ask my mum to buy metformin and post it to me as nothing is by prescription only in my country. Some friends take it to loose weight. But I prefer first to convince my gp rather than take it unsupervised.

I'd agree @Sanammm. It's illegal to have a prescription drug without a prescription, so getting it posted is illegal.

Again, what cd did you have the test taken and how long was that cycle? Some women who do ovulate never get positive opks (but do get pregnant so they must have ovulated).

Check your ccg guidance on secondary infertility from the fertility fairness website. Take that to the gp.

I did it on day 21. But the point is I used ovulation kit at home other days of my cycle for 3 months and all of them back negative. So definitely not ovulating 🥺

How low is low?
You won’t be able to convince your GP to give you fertility treatment - most ccgs do not cover treatment for women with living children. You might be able to get a prescription for progesterone though....

It was 17

17 is higher than it ought to be if you haven't ovulated, but suggests that you might have ovulated, but tested on the 'wrong' day. The only source of progesterone (unless taking it from artificial sources like pessaries, injections, etc..) is from the corpus luteum cyst which is only formed by an egg being released from a follicle (ovulation).

Your level of progesterone during the luteal and follicular phase would be fairly static and very low indeed (close to 0).

Many people don't get on with opks for a huge number of reasons. If you have been having negatives with them, it does not necessarily mean you aren't ovulating, there are many other explanations...

I agree that 17 is high (well not high but suggests you are ovulating). Mine was 15.3 at 5 weeks pregnant....
Can you use opks every day, twice a day to find the peak?

Many thanks for the replys.
Last month I used ovulation test strips at home almost every day but negative.

The way they work is by detecting a surge in lutenising hormone that happens 12-72 hours before ovulation (though you can get surges and then not ovulate, but that doesn't seem so relevant here). Some people have a surge that only lasts a couple hours, so if they don't test multiple times a day, they can easily miss it (like when they're asleep). It's false logic to assume no ovulation because you never had a positive but weren't testing every 6-12 hours in the 20-10 days before expected af (assuming a regular cycle).

The bloods suggest you did probably ovulate, but not 7 days before the test was taken.

It is complicated, but it looks to me like you're looking at the picture from a strange angle instead of head on, if that makes sense...

Very good point. I didn't know that. Thanks.
I will test it every 6 hours next cycle. Thanks again.

My point is that you could still miss the surge (though it would be terribly unlucky if you did), but that doesn't mean you didn't ovulate.

It's not foolproof, but bbt and tracking your resting heart rate can also indicate you've ovulated from a few days after the fact.