HELP with hormone levels....

[meggs11]

Hi,
I have PCOS and am having issues conceiving our next child...

Question....

My Gyn ordered bloods to see if I am ovulating....

Day 22 of my cycle to have them done which I did..

My cycle currently seems to be between 6ish to 7ish weeks....

So, I did them on day 22 like she said and they came back as

Progesterone < 1.0
Oestradiol 128

So, I gather I haven't ovulated......

But, my question is, in a normal cyle of say 28 days you would ovulate around 14 days???

So if I am having a cycle of between 42 - 49 days - really roughly......

When would I be ovulating??? Speculating that I am???? Don't think so, but here's hoping...

I am just over a 17 day period which started on the13th of October - very light spotting/staining about a week before but not what I consider a period.... still having some light staining or spotting randomly - the brown 'old blood' sorry TMI!!!!:(

I haven't had any real EWM which I do get.......

Would I be better to ask my GP to rerun the tests when I think I have ovulated????????? How soon after O should I have the test?

How long does the Progesterone stay up? and what should the Oest be????

Am I ovulating when I have EWM or is it a couple of days away????????????

I am so confused right now.......:confused:

I think if I have roughly those cycles I could ovulate in the next couple of weeks???

Oh this just feels hopeless......

HELP girls... I am not sure what to do......

Surely it wouldn't be accurate results if I am not even half way through a long cycle????

What do you think??

Meagan

[Craftymum]

firstly hugs :hugs: it can be tough in this limbo land of ttc hey...

I cant help you with regards to when your ovulating in a longish cycle, but I would assume that maybe you are not ovulating till later in your cycle.... so a CD21BT would not of helped you confirm you have ovulated...

If I were you, I would probably suggest to buy your self a bulk lot of OPK's off ebay and test away every day through your cycle to try and pinpoint your day of ovulation. Go and get a BT say 2-3 days after your most positive OPK to see if you have ovulated...

Progesterone levels are generally:
Follicular phase.................0.1 - 4.3
Luteal phase.....................5.8 - 96.0
Midiuteal phase.................9.2 - 117.0
Post menopausal...............0.0 - 2.7
5-16 week gestation........37.0 - 205.0

My progesterone levels were around the 30 something mark after ovulation which is considered fairly normal.

Your Progesterone levels should stay high right through your 2ww after ovulation until AF arrives, when you should see them drop dramatically.

You can have your progesterone monitored in your 2ww every 3-4 days via a BT to check your levels are staying nice and high too right through till AF, because if they are dropping too quickly its not good as its hard for implantation to occur.

Hope that helps, goodluck!

[KiahsMum]

Hi Meggs, sorry to hear you are having such a tough journey *hugs*

My cycle was non-existent so no ovulating etc then they put me on clomid, now with clomid I would have a 32/33 day cycle and whilst it would change my luteal phase (time from ovulation to period) was always 14 days and so that helped pinpoint it, not sure if this is something that can help you or not but thought I would mention it. Given what you are going through would suggest as above and get cheap ovulation prediction tests, mine came from lullabyconceptions.com.au much cheaper than the chemist, and use these to work it out. You could still O and if you are worried would ask your doctor to give you another blood test in a week or so and see what the result is. I tested day 21 every month and levels would show even though I had ovulated only 3/4 days before. I wish you all the best!

PS Maybe the test wasn't just to see if you are ovulating but also to see the extent of your PCOS and see whether they need to consider other options such as metformin or clomid?

[trixiebelle17]

Hi Meagan, Long cycles are a nightmare aren't they!!!!

Firstly, they do say u are less likely to O on cycles that long, but it looks like i just o'd on cd146 so it possible...lol

Because ur cycles are so long, a BT on cd 21 wouldn't show if u have o'd as ur luteal phase (the length of time between O and AF arriving) would be about 14 days, so u would be o'ing somewhere probably between 18 to ten days before Af arrives, it varies woman to woman but will generally remain the same each cycle

As for the EWCM, i have had heaps in the past and sorry for the TMI but if we are comparing it to egg white i could quite confidently say i would have the whole egg each day, but this cycle i only had a tiny little bit when i wiped... and i had heard u get EWCM leading up to O but for me it looked like i had the most of mine the couple of days afterwards (my temps shifted so im guessing this is correct)

If u have the patience and commitment to do it, charting is a good option that will show u if u r ovulating... alot of us use www.fertilityfriend.com (http://www.fertilityfriend.com) my chart is in my sign if u want to have a look at the program... it also has some really good info on fertility signs etc

BTW are u on any drugs for PCOS? i started metformin in mid october and was told it could help almost all women regulate their cycles about 80% of women start o'ing within six months... im guessing thats why i managed to o even tho it was so late in my cycle... i've had a choatic past few months with PCOS so if u have any questions please feel free to PM, or try the PCOS thread :hugs:

[buddhabubba]

Hi there!

I have very irregular cycles, Dr. suspects PCOS but is still not officially diagnosing as could also be caused by hypothyroidism. Am off to Endocrinologist this Thurs for further testing.

Anyhoo... My cycles are anywhere from 30 days (this was a one off, I was soooo proud!) to 41, to 3mths+ :hair:

The only way I can ever tell when (and if) I've ovulated is by taking my temperature every morning and recording it on the Fertility Friend site as trixiebelle17 mentioned.

I have a very long follicular phase (from AF to O) and a short luteal phase (from O to AF). Most women have a luteal phase of 14 days (give or take a day or 2 either side), with any variation in cycle length occuring between AF and O. I have a random follicular phase, and a luteal phase of only 10 days (trying to remedy this by taking B6).

So, if I have a 40 day cycle, I 'O' on day 30.

I can't rely on OPKs (Ovulation Predictor Kits) to give me definite indication of impending ovulation as I have several really really dark positives spread over my cycle as my body keeps having hormone surges and then delaying ovulation (again - :hair: :hissy: ! ).

Which means, the only way I can tell when I've ovulated for sure is to take my temp with a basal body thermometer at the same time every morning. When we ovulate the increase in progesterone causes a rise in body temperature.

I had a pelvic U/S and some blood tests done a couple of months back, and my levels were -

LH - 31
FSH - 19
Oestradiol - 920
Progesterone <5

These were suggestive of "imminent ovulation" (immediate to 7 days), however I didn't actually O until 12 days later. (As shown by a sustained rise in temp on my chart).

So maybe find out how long your luteal phase is first by taking your temp each morning (def consider the FF site, it helps no end), then you'll know when you O'd retrospectively by counting back that many days... and hopefully you'll see a temp rise to confirm. That'll give you a hand working out when best to have blood tests done if your cycles are long but semi regular. :)