Messed up periods after ivf

[Jessy1280]

Anyone else having this issue?

After doing three cycles of ivf in the last year including mmc in cycle 2 at Xmas my cycles are all the place. I'm not sure if it's always been this way or if ivf has triggered this. It's only since tracking I've realised there's a potential problem.

Ive been having day 21 progesterone tests. 18 months ago it was 32 and I was told there wasn't a problem and thought nothing more of it. My GP told me it needed to be over 30 to confirm ovulation. 32 still the low end of normal.

After my mmc my next periods were REALLY heavy. I've since learned this means low progesterone. I had day 21 progesterone test in feb and it was just 20. I freaked out. Had it repeated in April it was 34 and breathed a sigh of relief. Had it repeated again in May and its just 23 again. My clinic told me it's hormonal but I have literally no idea why my body keeps doing this. Ovulating one month and not the next. Got me thinking is this why I've never been pregnant in the past (now aged 39). This month barely 2 days flow.

I'm tracking opk but it seems they're not foolproof. Also tracking bbt and I can now tell the months I'm not ovulating from this. What on earth is wrong with my body??? I don't know why I'm not ovulating and why my progesterone is an issue. Nobody seems to have any answers. My GP and my clinic just fob me off. Tmi I never really get any ewcm either which I understand is also a sign of anovulation. My cycles are never the same two months running. They're 29-32 days and flow varies month to month. Before ivf I believed I was regular as clockwork with normal flow 5 days. Now they're 2-5 days and very stop and start. I'm really worrying my lining/progesterone will be an issue for my forthcoming fet. Despite my high amh they tell me I dont have pcos however I do have some symptoms of pcos being thinning hair and a very deep voice for a girl. Anyone have irregular ovulation /periods? By all accounts they say the frequency of my periods fall within normal parameters. However this month I'm already getting positive/high opks at cd7 but no bbt spike but most months this happens cd16-17. I don't know what on earth is going on.

Anyone else experience similar or can shed any light? X

[Cinderella5]

Hey jessy, I'm not that clued on PCO/PCOS however I know a little about ovulation and day 21 tests. If your cycles are a bit longer than usual....longer than a 28 day cycle then your progesterone wont be at an optimum level on day 21. Generally you will ovulate 14 days before your period so if your cycle is 32 days then you wont ovulate till around day 18 and yournprigesterone high would be 7 days later on 25 which may explain your progesterone levels only being 30ish (probably on it's way up) on day 21.....if that makes sense?! I cant really explain your flow issues unfortunately but the meds do clock things up a bit and so can a miscarriage unfortunately. The good news is because you are medicated for cycles then progesterone and your lining shouldn't be an issue for IVF but if you can have your progesterone levels before transfer it would rest your mind.xxx

[Hidden]

Hi Jessy, I think what you are describing is actually quite normal - I have had similar and when I asked my consultant about it he just said that the IVF cycles and being pregnant cause all sorts of ups and downs and send our bodies completely out of kilter. After every round of IVF and every MC I have had my cycles have changed.. like COMPLETELY changed and sometimes they took about 6 months to settle into a new 'normal'.. my last IVF round was a BFN second week of March and since then I have had a 28 day cycle, a 25 day cycle when I dont think I ovulated and this last cycle (I am cd2 today) was 36 days and I am pretty sure I didnt ovulate this month either because I never got a peak opk.

When we are pregnant our body doesnt produce eggs, so I guess each round of IVF the body is stopping producing them (after EC) and so it takes a while to start again.

I just always think my body hasn't a clue if its coming or going with so much happening to it over the last 4 years (4 x fresh IVF, 3 x MMC, 3 x surgery for MC, 3 x hysterocopies, at least 1 CP) so its bound to be all out of alignment. I guess what I am saying is give yourself a few more months for things to settle before you immediately assume something is wrong

Hugs though, I know how frustrating it is, and I think the fact we are completely out of control really doesn't help xx

[Sandyels]

Hi

That sounds very stressful and you have some variations. I experienced the same thing for a couple of months after having a miscarriage.

Another thing that might be good to know that in studies done in ladies with normal length cycles that vary little and they are generally healthy they have found around one third of the cycles are anovulatory (Ovulation doesn’t occur). This was a population based study in Norway, where they have checked general population (they did exclude people with varying cycle length, as that is generally seen as a sign of more frequent anovulation so the percentage might be even higher).

This means that it’s quite common (and normal) that we don’t ovulate every month. Environmental factors like stress also affect the hormonal balance in our body. If you then add the stress your body has been through over the past year, it will take some time for it to readjust.

But if it continues I would probably ask your consultant about it, but give your body time.

[Jessy1280]

Thanks for your replies. Even before ivf my progesterone seemed on the lower side of normal at day 21. I really believe this has been part of the problem all along. Feeling very low and like I'm defective. My clinic aren't very supportive, fob me off and not really prepared to investigate really. My GP much the same especially since covid. I'm not really sure where to turn anymore x

[Afrohair]

Do you have any auto immune conditions sometimes they can trigger things like this also it’s ok to miss ovulation sometimes it can happen through stress and things x

[Jessy1280 in reply to Afrohair]

Not that I'm aware of. All my bloods came back normal the cycle i did ovulate x

[Afrohair in reply to Jessy1280]

I’m so sorry you haven’t had much support perhaps you could speak to a practice nurse or other professional sometimes another persons listening ear is helpful they may read into something that’s not been picked up on.how old are you?i gather your fsh has been tested? Are you generally healthy and not under eating ?have you had your thyroid checked,celiac disease ?maybe you could ask to be referred to a gynaecologist for more investigation in particular especially as you have had your change in periods you have a right to be referred for more investigation this is a gynaecology issue