Please help, so defeated

[JScarlett]

Hi, Sorry for the long post, but I am just feeling so defeated and I really hope someone can help me as I feel like I don't understand enough despite countless googling and looking through this forum. TTC baby #1. OH and I have been trying but with no success. My cycles are really long, last month was 48CD, the previous was 39CD. I rarely get a positive OPK but have put this down to me not catching the positive result. Last month I got a positive OPK on CD31. This month I've had dark LH lines (no positibe OPK) up until last few days where now the LH lines are very faint. Which makes me think, has my ovulation already happened? I've attached my BBT chart, and although I haven't been absolutely perfect in temping (this is my first month) I'm seeing that my temp isn't rising which would mean ovulation hasn't happened? I'm just so confused and stressed by all this. Just when I think I'm starting to understand it something throws me off and its so difficult not to get upset by it all. I am getting CD35 pegesterone bloods taken this month, but thinking whats the point if my BBT isn't even rising? Please could someone advise if I am just missing something here? Or is anyone (or has anyone) having a similar experience to me? Thank you in advance.

My cycles are similar - between 47 days and 141 days. It's clear that I have an ovulation disorder of some kind and am pursuing private testing at present

Could your bbt be incorrect , I used an ovusense and mine suddenly had a clear pattern before they were like mountains on the chart.

@TheDaydreamBelievers Sorry to hear you also suffer longer cycles too. Have you been to your GP to discuss? I am soon to undergo testing too but via the NHS opposed to private.

@Funtimedreamer Things changed for me after I posted this. I went on to have a positive OPK and I continued to chart BBT, and I have now seen a rise in temperature. Can I ask would you recommend the ovusense? I have seen a few people mention them but was unsure if worth the cost?

@JScarlett I've had two sets of bloods through NHS GP but despite these showing that I'm not ovulating, they will not offer any other testing or intervention at present. Testing I need to wait until 1 year trying. Because we had a MMC, we need to wait a year after the loss. Intervention isnt offered until 2 years trying

@TheDaydreamBelievers I'm so sorry that's so frustrating! I'm so sorry for your loss too.

Hi @JScarlett. Do you have PCOS? Your long cycles suggest you could have and if you aren’t sure it might be worth mentioning to your doctor and asking for some tests. Temping and OPKs don’t always work for people with PCOS and I’ve learned that the hard way, it’s been almost two years.

@JScarlett did your chart show the temp shift? If you just have long cycles and can spot the temp shift then probably stick with what you’re doing. I found that temping in the morning used to be make me a bit anxious and I’d either wake up too many times or move too much and my temps were all over the place . They were very stable with ovusense so I recommend it in that way - I got a clear graph and temp shift each cycle rather than crazy high and low temps due to inaccuracies the other way

Do you have PCOS?

@thislittlebird & @AliceAbsolum Hi! I had some scans a couple of years back that showed some cysts on one of my ovaries. Before I went almost 2 years without AF, so I'm not surprised I had cysts! But I had multiple tests at the time the cysts were identified and was told I have polycystic ovaries but not the PCOS. My hormones are all OK and I have no other symptoms apart from the cysts and from the longer period length. Had some more bloods recently and again my hormones were all OK. Waiting for a referral for another scan.

@Funtimedreamer Hi! Here is my chart as of this morning.. As you can see there is a lot of variation and I think this will be down to inconsistencies with timing etc. I'm so tempted with the Ovusense but its seems quite pricey.

Hello! I wanted to reply as your chart looks similar to ones I've had in the past, I'd say you have PCO not PCOS, if you haven't had an internal scan I'd try and push for it with the doctor as they will see if you have lots of follicles on your ovaries. I have PCO but no other symptoms and my cycles are erratic(sometimes 28 days sometimes 45 days). If you are having your bloods taken then they should be doing progesterone on day 21, even if you ovulate later on it's not normal to have such long cycles. They should send you for a scan following the bloods and there are medications you can try to get back to a regular cycle. My worry is that if the bloods come back good on day 35 they will just say everything's ok and to keep trying. Try and push for that scan!

Sorry I'd totally missed your last message about waiting for a scan! That's great news, I'd say you are doing the best you can. Sending lots of luck your way, I know how stressful it is with very long cycles!

I'm waiting for a scan too @JScarlett @Ashleighz88 and bet I have PCO. frusatinf!

@TheDaydreamBelievers I think I also have PCO. Doctors I've seen are rather undecided about PCOS because no hormone issues or classic signs, just lots of follicles, but temping certainly wasn't particularly helpful for me and I likely don't ovulate optimally.

Same @thislittlebird - hormone tests were okay (apart from showing hadnt ovulated) but massive long cycles, temping just nonsense.

Anyone fancy a suspected/confirmed PCO(S) thread?

How often are you BDing? If you do it every 2-3 days in a way it doesn't matter when you ovulate.

Another option would be to pay for a fertility MOT. Wish I'd done that as I wasn't ovulating despite 2 years of tests and being told that I was.

@TheDaydreamBelievers could be useful? I would join.

JScarlett

There is a fine line between PCO and PCOS. The commonality is the cystic follicles on the ovaries; these can and do disappear only to be replaced by further cystic follicles.

What hormone tests have been done to date?. You at the very least need a day 2 test to measure and compare your LH and FSH levels. With PCO/S there is a clear imbalance of LH to FSH. A day 21 is usually done to measure progesterone levels; a level of 30 or more should be seen re ovulation. DO not waste money on the ovusense.

Your temp chart appears characteristic of someone with PCO; its a chart that looks like the Rocky Mountains and therefore nigh on impossible to determine with any real accuracy.

My counsel would be to stop the temp charting altogether; they are pretty much useless when it comes to irregular cycles and many gynaes do not take much if any real note of them because they are so unreliable. You will also need to be persistent with these people in order to get answers.

Blood tests can be done according to calendar days if the cycle is irregular.

You can get a rise in temp in the second half of the cycle when an egg has not been shed so charting for that reason too is not infallible.

OPKs are also uneasy bedfellows when it comes to PCO/S as well so I would urge you to stop using them too. These kits read levels of LH: if the levels of LH are high to begin with, the kit can read that thus giving a false positive result.

Blood tests done on the "wrong" days can and do give meaningless results.