Progesterone levels

[Esb27]

Hi all,

I wondered if anyone out there knew much about progesterone levels? I had mine tested back in August which on day 20 were 31.8nmol/L. I've googled and anything over 30 suggests that you did ovulate with a mature egg but I was wondering if they were on the slightly lower side of normal? Or am I being stupid by saying that? My doctor wasn't worried or anything.

It was only day 20 (7DPO) and deffo was NOT pregnant that cycle so I guess maybe it would have got higher the later my cycle went on or if I got pregnant but just wondering if anyone had any insight or experience? I've had a number of early losses now and have always wondered if my progesterone was maybe on the slightly lower side but never actually had it tested when I was pregnant. I have taken pessaries on both of my IVF cycles (one which ended with a chemical and one which failed) but the other losses were natural.

Thanks

[SCHNOW]

The only thing I know is after transfer the clinics will test your progesterone level. My clinic has a requirement of 100, I saw others say 50. It varies from clinic to clinic. But this need to be tested and try to maintain it high with different types of progesterone supports.

[Esb27 in reply to SCHNOW]

Ah right, I didn’t have a transfer for what I’m talking about, I had a procedure to test NK cells and he just check progesterone too.

Annoyingly my clinic when I do transfer doesn’t test progesterone as it’s just an NHS clinic.

Do you mean 100 nmol/L?

[SCHNOW in reply to Esb27]

yes, 100 nmol/L, just to make sure it will be enough.

[Esb27 in reply to SCHNOW]

Ah right so if I got mine done on day 20 and it was 31.8 nmol/L then that’s not high enough is it…?

[SCHNOW in reply to Esb27]

I think if this is natural pregnancy or natural cycle. It is enough. It really depends. You need to ask your clinic’s requirements and ask them to give some explanations.

[Cinderella5]

Usually progesterone is tested on day 21. However it very much depends on when you ovulate....this day 21 is for people who have 28 day cycles as in theory they ovulate on day 14 and therefore progesterone is highest at day 21.xx

[Esb27 in reply to Cinderella5]

Unfortunately I wasn’t just doing a progesterone test so only did it on day 20 rather than doing it day 21 like usual (I was doing a biopsy on my lining for nk cells and he measured my progesterone at the same time). I ovulated on day 14 for the 31.8nmol/L levels on day 20, so I wonder if that is high enough

[Cinderella5 in reply to Esb27]

Your levels were likely still on the rise and they do say over 30 show ovulation so sounds OK.xx

[Shadow-monkey]

My clinic have never checked my progesterone levels. I've only ever had transvaginal scans to check lining before a transfer. I think it varies from clinic to clinic.

[soccerkt6]

Hi lovely, it sounds like your levels are very borderline and could be a potential cause of the early losses. While 30 nmol/L does indicate ovulation, my clinic always said you need at least 50 nmol (and preferably 60) to sustain a pregnancy.

If I were you I would do a bit more investigation and get a test like the Proov Confirm (proovtest.com/products/proo... ) which is an at-home test for testing your progesterone levels on days 7-10 post-ovulation to see if your levels get and stay high enough to support pregnancy. If it turns out that your levels are low, perhaps you could talk to your gp about prescribing you progesterone to use while you try naturally.

Best of luck xx

[Esb27 in reply to soccerkt6]

yeah see this is what I thought!! I mean it was day 20 that it was taken but still. Hopefully my levels just rose after that but I’ve just order a proov test to check this cycle. If not I’ll push for a progesterone blood test 7 days post ovulation next cycle. I do already have Cyclogest left over from my last ivf round so I think I’ll try taking them when we try naturally next cycle anyways. My main worry is that I’ve still had an early loss even on the Cyclogest (my one and only early loss through IVF) so I do wonder how you tell if you are absorbing the Cyclogest properly (I guess through a blood test or proov test). If it’s still low then I could push for progesterone injections.

Thanks for your reply xx