Progesterone level worry

[Sarah345]

Hi

I am after some advice. I had miscarriage 5 months ago and have been ttc ince.

I had my progesterone level checked at day 21 and it is 23nmol. The form my results cam back on said 20-120nmol is normal and my GP said this was fine. But ive done some research and everything I have read says it has to be over 30nmol to enable implantation and sustain a pregnancy.

I don't know what to do next. Should I go and see a specialist? I am very concerned and impatient.

Thank you so much.

Sarah

 

[bubbles82]

I'm no expert on things like this, but just wondered what your cycles are like? Mine are usually a bit longer than average and can be irregular sometimes, so if I was sent for a day 21 progesterone check it would usually show low results for me as I know from charting that I sometimes don't even ovulate until around day 21/22, so I'd need to have the test done later. Just a thought x

 

[Sarah345]

Thanks you for taking the time to reply. I had thought about that but I'm pretty sure I was cd21 if not cd22.

Feel gutted as I was hoping this would be the month as ive been getting a few twinges.

 

[bubbles82]

The actual cycle day is irrelevant though if you have cycles like mine and later ovulation, as they're based on someone with a 28 day cycle who ovulates on CD14, so the test is done a week after assumed ovulation to check progesterone levels. If I had it done on CD21, it would be like someone with a 'normal' cycle going in around CD12 and the results would show very low progesterone as ovulation hadn't occurred yet.

 

[Mrsmac02]

Try not to worry too much hon, it's all dependent on where in your cycle you are.

A 21 day progesterone check is based on the assumption that you ovulate on cd14 mid way through your luteal phase (so it's checking levels 7 days after ovulation)

So if you ovulate later than day 14 (like me) it can give lower results.

This is how they interpret the results:

- less than 3 - you've not ovulated for 14 days or more

- between 3-30 - you've ovulated less than 5 days ago (late) or more than 10 days ago (early). Or, if you did ovulate between 5-10 days ago, your progesterone levels are probably not enough to sustain endometrial growth for implantation

- Higher than 30 - you've ovulated and corpus luteum cyst is producing enough progesterone to support implantation

- more than 120 - two or more eggs released

So basically, if you have a level of 20, it could just mean you ovulated later than cd14. If you have longer cycles, that's likely what's happened!

Do you use OPKs or temp? If so and you know when you ovulate, phone and get an appointment for 7 days after, that way you can get a better grasp on post ovulated progesterone levels xx

 

[Sarah345]

Oh sorry- should have said. I ovulated day 14 or 15 as I did Opk and Bbt. So my cd 21 test was pretty accurate. Unfortunately!

 

[Mrsmac02]

I was tested 6mo ago and my level was 2 but it's increased and I was able to get pregnant (but sadly miscarried)

There's a lot you can do to improve progesterone levels though - I used agnus castus/vitex and cut certain foods from my diet, worked a treat.

Good luck! X

 

[Sarah345]

Thanks MrsMac

Sorry for your m/c.

I use vitex. What foods would you say to avoid? Do you know if there's anything else I can do?

 

[danser55]

I am on medicated cycles of femara. They expect on a medicated cycle the 7 DPO progesterone level to be at least 15, on a non medicated cycle they said anything over 12 is fine.

 

[Mrsmac02]

Based on the fact that I have estrogen dominance/progesterone deficiency, I cut out all vegetable oils and processed foods, and started using coconut oil that mad the biggest difference and fairly quickly.

Also cut out soy entirely from my diet (which was hard because it's in so much!) as it's a phytoestrogen.

Grated carrot is brill for flushing excess estrogen from your system so I grate it onto salads, into soups and sauces.

There's a great herbalist I've used, I'll find her website and post the link x

 

[Sarah345]

Was the 15 nmol/l or 15 ng/ml? There's different units of progesterone. If you measure.

12 Ng/ml is 38nmol.

 

[Sarah345]

Wow. Thank you. I will struggle if I have to give up bread! I will do some research. My oestrogen level looked high I thought. It was 770pmol during the follicular phase but the oestrogen range at this part of the cycle should be 70-530.

Are you seeing a specialist or just self managing?

 

[Mrsmac02]

Sound like you have estrogen dominance. I'm seeing a herbalist, she's great but pretty expensive.

If you're in the uk, I can give you her details x

 

[Sarah345]

I'd love the details of your herbalist. Thank you!

 

[Sarah345]

The coconut oil- might be a solly question but how do you use it? As an alternative to olive/veg oil?

Thanks

 

[Mrsmac02]

Mostly yes but it has a fairly subtle coconut flavour so not good for some cooking like, as I found, making eggs!

I use it lots of different ways particularly roasting root veg (it's gorgeous!), cooking into sauces (great in Thai food), have it on oat cakes with jam and have it in my coffee (you need to use a mild foamer, £2 in asda, or it ends up an oily layer on top).

I use either coconut oil, organic grass fed butter (kerrydale) or high quality extra virgin olive oil to cook.

The herbalist is called Sophie makhouli, you can email her at [email protected]

She charges £55 for initial consultation, £30 for each follow up (about 5 weekly) plus about £15-20 per herbal tonic (you may need a few). Within 3 months I was pregnant but sadly I had a mc. She advised to wait 6 months to get my hormones balanced but I was beyond impatient. Should've listened to her and perhaps it would've been a different story!

Good luck x

 

[Mrsmac02]

Ps I was at the doctor today and asked about bloods I had done in Dec 2012 (the cycle I fell pregnant wth DS) and she said it was 24 so you can definitely get pregnant and sustain a pregnancy with your levels.

My most recent bloods in May showed my levels were less than 1.

Got a BFP tester af 12dpo, not feeling great about it as feels very like my mc, so have phoned herbalist to send me progesterone drops. Will let you know how I get on x