Short/light periods - infertility causes?

[willithappen]

So many of you may already know my backstory but I'll do a short one just in case

TTC 6+ years. Just turned 28, partner turning 30 in Sept. We've had our tests (SA, scan, HyCoSy) and all back okay - other than my dp has 1% morphology but I'm told that doesn't matter because the rest of the results are good.
We're put down as unexplained fertility and officially went on waiting list in the middle of May (looking at a ten month wait)

I fell pregnant with another partner in 2010 and 2012 neither went anywhere so doctor thinks there's no issue with me getting pregnant + nothing showing on scans.

Thing is, I feel like I have really light and short periods and I'm wondering if there's an issues there. Maybe it means my lining isn't good and so any embryo wouldn't stick because of this.

They last three days max. I could get away with one pad a day (I change regularly though just for hygiene) but really it's not needed. The third day is barely anything and only really there when I wipe (I also feel like this is similar for the whole of my period)

Has anyone had experience with something similar and it has been the cause? Or am I just really lucky with getting short/pain free periods?

Like everyone else I'm sure, I'd love to fall pregnant without needing to go down the IVF route and I want to try anything. I won't get seen by doctor until we're top of the list. Just want to try things in the meantime to help

I have very similar cycles to you - I have two days of light bleeding (but like you could use 1 pad if I wanted to!) and then spot for 1 or 2 days more. I often have 26 day cycles. 9 times out of 10 I’ll spot for a few days beforehand too. All my tests have come back ‘normal’ so we’re also unexplained!

I do think my issues are a hormonal imbalance / low progesterone - I’ve mentioned this is the past and they’ve redone tests but none of the tests I’ve had have ‘proved’ this so nothing has been done about it. I’ve had one ivf cycle and one FET cycle and both have failed. The first ivf cycle I was on a small amount of progesterone and I bled early, which they said was due to lack of progesterone!!!!! So kinda proved my concerns! So this time they upped my progesterone from 90mg a day last time to 1200mg a day this time and although it’s failed, I’m still waiting for the bleed....so I definitely think the progesterone has helped and the lack of it is part of the problem.

If I was you, look into hormonal imbalance and or low progesterone symptoms and see if it applies to you. If it does, definitely mention it to your gp. I had to see a couple of gps before one gp would take me seriously enough to do more tests. I know I didn’t get anywhere with it in the end but you might have a different experience. Plus, it’s more beneficial and cheaper for them to help you with this, than going down the ivf route.

Best of luck x

I have really short light periods too and like you keep wondering if it's an issue. I had my 2nd fertility appointment with a specialist today and I specifically asked if it is cause for concern and she said it isn't. I only bleed for 1 day (even then like you could get away with 1 pad) and then have a few days of spotting. She said the spotting still counts towards it so it isn't actually 1 day. I've had hormone tests done and they all look fine. It just doesn't seem right does it?? I also spot for 3-5 days before my period. I also think it's a progesterone issue. However since my husbands results are so bad we are going to most likely need IVF anyway and I figure they can give me progesterone then maybe to help.
Have you tried to improve the morphology? I know they told you it doesn't matter but I've seen a lot of people struggle on here with only 1%. Good news is I've seen people improve it with diet and supplements.

Im the same. 2 day light periods. 29 day ish cycles. I am 1dp5dt. 800mg of progesterone. Worried that the lining will also come away. This is my first ICSI cycle.

Thanks for the responses! That helps a lot and I'm not 'glad' others experience it but being able to discuss with people the same is good.

My fertility doctor only asked me if I had regular cycles and I told him that they vary between 27-29 days but he said because they come monthly then it's all fine. He also said my lining was good too when he checked the scan but that wasn't on any specific day so I don't know if it's a good lining when it's meant to be

So even though I'm on IVF waiting list you think it could be worth going back to my GP and getting them to look into hormones? Do you need to be prescribed these tablets or can I buy them somewhere?

My partner and I are both on fertility tablets now, hoping it improves his SA. He's been on them for about four months now I think but we haven't had another test to confirm just because of all of this going on.

I definitely just feel like something isn't right with my periods. I've never had them bad before but I know that this is lighter than normal but I just have never thought too much into it.

I was also told I had low AFC at 5/6 in total. But my pregetrone was deemed to be fine because tests showed I was ovulating. I was really upset about the low AFC count, changed my lifestyle drastically and then on my day 9 stim scan I had increased from 5 to 11+. I can’t help but think I really worked hard to improve that number. But regardless of that, I am concerned my progesterone isn't high enough.

i have always had light periods but in my early and mid 30s i had 1 heavy day and maybe another day of bleeding. At the moment (early 40s) I have 1 light day and then its spotting either side. Everything else seems completely normal with us both and always has been (ttc 8 years on and off).

Maybe look into chinese medicine or acupuncture as they claim to treat a yang deficiency which may manifest as light periods. I will say both times I got pregnant I was having acupuncture.

Personally I have looked into low progesterone though my results were always fine, and tried to treat empirically with cyclogest and also progesterone cream, but GPs are not massively interested in this issue.

Did you have miscarriages or d&c in 2010 and 2012? Ashermans is a possible syndrome that may lead to scant periods if you didn't have them before.

@Chillichutney1
So I feel horrendous saying this but I'm 2010 it was a missed miscarriage and in 2012 it was an abortion. I think about that all the time and how my infertility now is my karma for that. (Long story short I fell in love with a guy from America when I worked at summer camp, fell pregnant when he came to Scotland, found out he was with another girl the whole time back home so that affected a lot of my stupid decision back then)

What is a D&C? I have had a scan from doctor and a HyCoSY would any of they pick up on Ashermans or would they not know?