Short follicular phase/cycle

[bmachine]

Hello

I have been trying (and failing) to conceive our second (I'm 34)

I have been tracking cycles for a long time now and my cycles have got notably shorter (average 24 days) and i reach peak fertility on 10th day of cycle

Doing some research this is probably an issue :(. Please can anyone in their wisdom advise if there are any drugs or supplements that can help lengthen cycle?

I have my (very expensive) consultation in two weeks and want to go armed with as much info as possible to get moneys worth and ask the correct questions/push for correct things.

Thankyou

Hi! I can't tell you anything useful, just wanted to post and share that my cycles are the same as yours. (I do usually ovulate a little later, but often between day 10-13, with a 1 to 2 week max luteal phase).

I have asked three doctors about this now and none of them were concerned about it whatsoever. I do fear though that this is because they're unfamiliar with it, rather than it not being an issue. (Usually women struggle with very long cycles, or irregular cycles; short but regular cycles seems to be a much less common issue.) So very interested to see where your questions get you!

If it helps, they did a load of blood tests for me which all came back fine (no hormonal imbalances), and two ultrasounds have not shown any cysts or fibroids (which was a theory my GP had for a bit).

Taking extra vitamin B (especially B6) does seem to help a little for me, but not sure how much of that is psychological.

P.S. I post on this board because we struggle with Male Factor Infertility. My short cycles are just something for me to obsess over really, probably not so much a factor in not conceiving in our case.

Thank you so much for your response. Like you its something to worry over and I've gone down a google/stats hole with it

I have read some studies that say its linked and others say it's in normal (but low) range.

thank you for advise about b6. Is that a vitamin b complex or just pure b6?

Really appreciate your response

I take b complex first half of my cycle, and then b6 (and sometimes extra b12 as I eat mostly vegetarian) second half of my cycle. And folic acid. Haven't tried all those other ones like agnus castus ( ? ) since we know we need ICSI due to the MFI anyway.

Hi @bmachine. It depends if your periods have always been like this or changed over time. Mine are now 26 days after i stopped taking the pill and used to be longer before. I heard low ovarian reserve can cause this- I do have low ovarian reserve. When you don’t have many follicles it takes shorter for one to be selected and ovulate. However this isn’t the case for everyone, while some may naturally have shorter cycles some with low reserve may have 28 day cycles too. So I guess you need to get the AMH blood test to see. Hope I don’t scare you out!

@jolly86

Hi *@bmachine*. It depends if your periods have always been like this or changed over time. Mine are now 26 days after i stopped taking the pill and used to be longer before. I heard low ovarian reserve can cause this- I do have low ovarian reserve. When you don’t have many follicles it takes shorter for one to be selected and ovulate. However this isn’t the case for everyone, while some may naturally have shorter cycles some with low reserve may have 28 day cycles too. So I guess you need to get the AMH blood test to see. Hope I don’t scare you out!

Thank you..they used to be 26-28 days (when u was tracking for my first child 4 years ago) and now have dropped by a few days :( not unexpected as I'm older

Kicking myself for not trying sooner but we just didnt feel ready..such is life.

I am getting amh test as part of this consultation along with a scan. Thank you for your input!

just wanted to update anyone coming across this thread

It was established that my follecular phase has always been around 10 days but my luteal has got shorter

it was suggested 23 was potentially too short (26 being the number it should be as a minimum) so they will be putting me on progesterone medication to take post ovulation with the hope it can lengthen my cycle

Hope that helps anyone who comes across this thread later on and I can only hope the progesterone might help

Hi there, I have just come across this thread, I tend to have some short cycles (can be 24/25 days some months) and have been TTC since March 2020, can I ask if progesterone medication helped to lengthen your cycle?

Hello. Yes it did lengthen it and prior to that had some significant result taking vitamin b complex and prioritising sleep..that managed the lengthen my cycle to a normal lenth. unfortunately a few months into this positive change still no luck:(. Blood tests and scans show nothing wrong so far..not sure what to try next (have started nhs referral process)

I'm sorry to hear you've not had a BPF yet! I really hope you do soon! I have started investigations as it was a year in March, I've an internal scan and HyCosy next month to check tubes. I did say in my initial call that my cycles could be on the short side and haven't yet had 21day bloods so I think I'll ask about that when I go to my appointment if I can, depending on who I see etc x

@bmachine Thank you got this thread! Quick Q - you said “It was established that my follecular phase has always been around 10 days but my luteal has got shorter.” Was the conclusion from those you spoke to that a 10 day follicular phase was okay? I tend to ov day 10/11 so curious if this might impact fertility or if my overall cycle is 27/28 days that’s considered normal. Thanks! X

You know he didnt go into that...he focused more on the fact that overall the length of the cycle seemed on the short side. Prior to the meeting I'd actually gone back and assessed my cycles when I conceived my dd and I concluded that I've always had a short follecular phase and managed to concieve with that ...but like I said I'm really struggling now. Try the vitamin b complex as someone above suggested. I just got a standard mix from Holland and barratt

@bmachine Thank you - I’ll have a look. It’s probably just age (I’m 42) but who knows.

I know you’re only 34 but I find this over 35s thread very helpful - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/4256930-TTC-35-thread-11?msgid=107751034

Because of my age I’m not doing any referrals (I know it’s possible it’s just a personal choice thing), but lots of the women on there are in similar position to you, so might be helpful. Xxx

Hello everyone. This was a while ago but just wondering if anyone ended up having success with a short follicular phase?