Progesterone Levels??

[JayhawkLvr]

Just wondering if anyone has some insight on my post-Clomid progesterone levels?? My doc does everything through the nurse, and it's all over the phone so I haven't gotten a lot of feedback and/or questions answered.

So a little background, been TTC since Jan 2013, had been on B/C for 10 yrs before that (yikes). I had "normal" (30-40 day) cycles Feb - May, then no AF for 3 months. Went to the dr in Sept, got Provera/Clomid (50 mg), and my progesterone test came back 0.4

Did the Provera/Clomid thing again, but 100 mg this time, and found out last week my progesterone was 8.3!! Which sounded AWESOME to me, but then I googled it and it sounded like it should've been closer to 15 since I was on medication. My dr said I did O, and I also had cramps/bloating (which I NEVER have) around cd 17. AF came yesterday, so I'm doing 100 mg Clomid again starting tomorrow.

So I guess my question is, is 8.3 actually a good enough number to get a quality, sticky bean?? I'm wondering if 150 mg wouldn't give better numbers, but I'm no dr

 

[Milty]

To be honest 8.3 is on the low side for having Clomid. However, it was enough to have you O which is a big improvement from the month before. I've seen lower with positive pregnancies.

Also what day past O did you have it checked? One ore two days can make a difference. Are you tracking ovulation?

 

[MollyNorwood]

I would say they should be increasing your Clomid dose to 150gms. my progesterone was 49.9 on my last blood sample on 100mgs of Clomid. Everyone is different with how their bodies process it- did the doctor suggest upping to 150?

 

[JayhawkLvr]

He did my blood draw on cd 23, so I'm wondering if that was a factor too?? My cycles had been long, so I think that's why he changed it to that instead of cd 21. I haven't been tracking ovulation, I was for a while but I was disappointed from my first round of Clomid, so I didn't last time. I did buy an OPK for this round though...and I have a BBT thermometer I just haven't made myself track that yet lol.

According to the nurse, he wants me to do two more rounds at 100 mg and if I'm not preggo by then, do some more "studies". Honestly the communication factor has been a little offputting so far, I've only seen and talked to the actual doctor once (at the initial consultation/exam). We've been discussing going to someone different, maybe that specializes in fertility since this doc seems more focused on actual pregnancies and surgical procedures. I don't know, this is all new to me so any advice or personal experience is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Dini]

My cd 21 level was a 9 with 50mg of clomid, so I'm in the same boat, and my RE increased me to 100mg, which did nothing for my follicles, then I did 150mg immediately (not waiting for AF) and still nothing really, now I'm taking 200mg..so if I O this time I sure hope the progesterone stays up!

I did some reading on this forum and found several ladies who had lower than 15 progesterone levels and did get pregnant so there is hope. I mean, 8.3 is way better than 0.4!

 

[JayhawkLvr]

Yeah the jump from 0.4 to 8.3 really excited me, I'm feeling hopeful for this round but who knows! I've seen some ladies that had very different results from different rounds on the same dose of Clomid (some way higher, some way lower)

I'm wondering if I should try and get a referral to an RE, I'm just seeing an OB/GYN right now. Dini, sounds like they've been progressing you a lot faster than me!! Thats encouraging though, that it doesn't HAVE to be over 10 to get a sticky bean

 

[Milty]

See timing of your test could be the problem. They call it the 21 day test but it really should be 7 days after O. So if you O'd on CD 20 they did the test 2 days early and your level could have went up to 12 and you wouldn't know.

1 day off doesn't seem to make much difference for most people but once you start getting past 2 days the number is more skewed.

Since you are already doing the 100 I'd keep going as planned and track your O then get another blood test. Then decided from there. You can always start looking for a new doc in the mean time. FYI most docs refer people to other docs with similar views so you might want to do some research on your own.

 

[JayhawkLvr]

Yeah after looking back at the timing of my symptoms, I would guess I O'd on cd19, so maybe it did actually go higher

That's good to know about the 7 days!! Maybe I can reschedule my testing day if I have a pretty good idea when I ovulate?? Thanks so much for the info, it makes me feel a LOT better to have a plan and understand it, rather than just blindly following what the doc says!

 

[Milty]

Good luck this month!!

 

[ProfWife]

As was said above, the 7 days post ovulation threshold is really important for that test. Make sure you keep track (either through cm or bbt) to be as accurate as possible.

I'd give any treatment a couple of months or rounds to see how your body works. If it's out of sync, the first month may help get closer and the second month could end up showing more progress.

As said above though, too, make sure you do your research on RE or fertility specialists before referring to make sure you get someone you can work with who will listen to you and spend time with you.