Trying to conceive with irregular periods

[HannahKayy]

Hi, was wondering if anyone has any advice from experience or even any happy endings.
i have irregular periods ranging from 40-100 days, trying to conceive but doesnt seem to be working out
wondering if anyone could relate

Hiya OP, I had this so really feel your pain. I conceived after taking proceive and myointisol, together they made my cycle much more regular (from 50-over a year to 32-36 days). Could be worth reading up on myointisol!

Have you been referred? It might be worth seeing a specialist and see what they can do to help! I was given provera to force my periods and then clomid to help with ovulation which did the job :) x

Thank you, will be searching up on it and give it a try x

Yes, I’ve had every test done like PCOS and even scans everything came back normal I’ve just been told that they can’t find anything so just wait and see if it gets regular

I had this and nobody could find anything wrong with me. I spent a fortune on pregnancy tests as without a period I always wondered if I was pregnant! In the end I had acupuncture and my cycles became regular then within a year I was pregnant.

I used to have very irregular cycles and I conceived my children with no issues. So you definitely don't need a text book cycle to conceive so don't panic, it might just be a case of being patient.

However, there are things you can do to get more regular. I fixed my cycles and down they are every 28 days whereas before kids, they were too between 40 and 100.
How's your weight? How's your diet and nutrition? Do you exercise?

Personally I would look into supplements that you could take to regulate your cycles and balance your hormones. Perhaps you want to look into Vitex Agnis-castus (chaste tree).

I have a similar issue and it took a long time to get pregnant but going v low carb and taking myo-inositol seemed to work in the end!

thank you for getting back to me
thats reassuring news @crostini
my weights normal, I don’t really exercise and my diet is very poor which probably contributes abit towards the irregularity but I am trying to fix my diet
Do you have any tips on how to regulate it through diet it it worked for you x

Thank you @ShillyShallySherbet
how long after acupuncture did you feel like your periods got back to normal

@HannahKayy
For me it was eating a lot less carbs! And cooking proper food. No trash basically.

Have you been tested for coeliac disease? This can really effect menstrual cycle and fertility when not managed by gluten free diet. Definitely worth checking with GP.

I used ovulation tests to help me pin things down. And lots of sex - every 2-3 days as per the advice, and more when I tested positive with the ovulation tests.

Did work, but I got very fed up of peeing on sticks. And I do have PCOS.

Thank you @crostini I am quite a carbs person so will try to eat less carbs and fingers crossed should do the trick.
i don’t think I’ve been checked for coeliac disease but will look into it

I think it took about three months, it was a long time ago now but it wasn’t long. I had to change my diet too, I didn’t have a bad diet before but I remember having to drink carrot juice every day!

Thank you @Mistralli
Ive tried ovulation strips but I got tired of trying as I rarely use to get a strong line. I do try to have sex every 2-3 days but some nights I’m just exhausted but will try give that a go once I get my period as I haven’t had it for over 3 months now

I think with ovulation tests you don't tend to get a strong line - over time I started to suss out the changes, if that makes sense? And any sort of line I treated as "fertile window".

To reduce the grind of the daily test, I did use phone app tracking when I did get a period, and then didn't test for the week or two that my phone app considered unlikely to be a fertile window. It's hard when you skip periods altogether though, which I was.

@Mistralli How long did it take you to get pregnant while tracking ovulation by strips

First time, around 4 or 5 months- sadly that pregnancy didn't stick. I then had 3 or 4 months before my periods came back, which was kinda lousy. Took 6 or 8 months before I conceived my (now) toddler. I guess we were trying nearly 2 years in the end.

It's different for everyone though. Is your GP supporting you? How long have you been going?
I renember how tough the pits and troughs of hope and disappointment can get - its hard going.

@Mistralli I have a toddler who’s 2, I got pregnant with him first month of trying but ever since having him my periods have been irregular and we’ve been trying for over a year because we wanted them close in ages. Very disappointing when seeing the negative pregnancy test

I also recommend trying myoinositol along with a prenatal vitamin to see if it makes any difference. Diet can be a huge factor as others have said, as well as exercise. I'm not sure what your lifestyle is like currently, but it's worth looking at sugar and carb intake etc to see if you can bring your cycles down to more normal levels.

My first pregnancy I fell pregnant the second cycle with no struggle whatsoever.
After DD was born, we never went back on contraception and just said 'what will be will be'.....it took 4 years!!

In that time, my previously clockwork cycles became very long and irregular with no real explanation so I did kind of resign myself to thinking it just wasn't going to happen.

I'm now 14 weeks with our little miracle

Sorry to hear you've not had any reason for your irregularity. I have PCOS and went months without ovulating/having a period when I started TTC almost 2 years ago. I've had very irregular periods my whole life.

I read this book which honestly was amazing, and I would say is incredibly helpful whether you have PCOS or not. It taught me PROPERLY how to track my cycle. I was going crazy with wasting money on ovulation sticks as it's very disheartening to go 60 days without seeing anything on them. I made several changes and gradually I started ovulating. I never managed to achieve regular periods before getting pregnant, but because I understood my cycle so well, we were able to make it work and this baby was conceived on day 37 of a 54-ish day cycle. There is hope!!

I took this MyoInositol supplement but they've since changed the ingredients and you might want to look into one with D-chiro inositol in it too. I spent loads of money on other supplements and teas and everything suggested in the book but I would start with:

Understanding your cycle

• Get a basal thermometer and be religious about it for at least 2 cycles. Use Premom or a similar app to track your temperature (some thermometers have bluetooth that connects with your phone and tracks it for you). I followed the instructions on the thermometer and got really frustrated so after a while I followed the instructions in the book and they were way more accurate. Put the thermometer in your mouth for 10 minutes FIRST THING after you wake up. Keep your mouth closed and stay lying down for 10 minutes, THEN turn on the thermometer and take your temperature. It will vary a little bit each day but when you have three in a row that were higher than the previous six days, it's a good indication that you have ovulated. You cannot use this to predict ovulation, but it will help to pinpoint that you have indeed ovulated and on which day, which will help you understand your cycle better. After your temperature spikes, your temperature should say high until the end of your cycle. If an egg was fertilised, it will stay high, but otherwise it will drop a day or two before your period as your progesterone has dropped. Your period should come 11-17 days after ovulation.
• Stick with it with the ovulation sticks!! If you know your cycle is 40+ days, don't start straight away after your period, but maybe start around day 18 and just keep going. You can take photos and upload them in an app. You will see LH start to rise just before ovulation - this is the time to have sex! You will see your LH peak, ovulation happens in the next 24-48 hours and then drops.
• TMI - get to understand your body. Your cervical mucus (CM) will increase in the days before ovulation. Somewhere in a crazy long cycle you are going to notice more white discharge for a few days. This will start light and become kind of stringy like raw egg-whites. If you notice this - your body is getting ready to ovulate very soon! You will probably notice this first, and then on your LH tests you will see the little line getting darker. You could also wait until you have some CM before starting your ovulation sticks as the LH might only start to rise a day or two after your CM becomes obvious.
• There is little point in TTC much after you have ovulated as the egg only survives for around 24 hours. Sperm survives around 3-5 days so you want to make sure you're having sex every 2-3 days in the week/days leading up to ovulation and maybe on the day itself, which is why you need to be able to predict it with CM and ovulation sticks and not just see that it has happened (temperature).

Lifestyle

• Make sure you're getting enough sleep
• Don't overdo caffeine or alcohol
• Try and manage your stress
• Incoporate strength training - it's great for your metabolism and hormones! Whether it's PCOS or not, it's really great for overall health and might help to balance whatever it is which is currently out of balance.
• Diet: No need to go v. low carb. Start by adding more protein and fibre to your diet. Have a really high protein breakfast and keep your protein high at every meal possible, and have loads of veggies. Try to keep sugars to a minimum, but there's no reason you can't have potatoes, wholemeal bread/wraps/rice/pasta etc. in moderation. Eating in this way is general guidelines for everyone, not just PCOS or for fertility, and it is also something you will want to be mindful of when you are pregnant, so worth starting now🙂

If you have stuck with all of that, there really should be someone able to help you with some solution to get your body ovulating and bring your cycles closer together. It's so frustrating only getting a few chances per year but it is possible!! xx

I have very irregular cycles and am currently 35 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I used premom to track both ovulation sticks and temperature - it was only with both together that I could see where I definitely ovulated, because the ovulation sticks would get darker and darker but not quite dark enough several times in a long cycle. My longest cycle was something like 7 months long. I was actually referred to sub fertility to look at something to help my cycles along and was in the middle of the tests and things for this when I found out I was pregnant without their intervention. It is possible, it's just hard to predict when ovulation will actually come when you're irregular. Good luck with everything x

@readyforroundthree to be honest I eat a lot of sugar like dessert and chocolate is always my number 1 but I have tried to cut down sugar and carb so I am hoping to see a different
thank you thought

@sel2223 it can be very disappointing and aww congratulations xx