Very low progesterone

[suze12]

Hi, I'm 36 and new to this board. I have been having irregular periods for about a year ish now. I have had several blood tests and finally had a hospital appointment last week where they told me my progesterone levels are very low, they are at 3 when they would expect them to be at 11. Which means I don't ovulate. The consultant has asked my dr to refer to the fertility clinic (which was a shock as I have a 3 year old) and I have to have a scan to check the bleeding isn't coming from anywhere else. Has anyone any exp of this?
Thanks x

 

[Vonn]

Sorry that you are having trouble! Do you know if you don't ovulate every month? (Temping would help figure that out if you don't know.) Low progesterone also often causes short luteal phase, so it would be good to know if that's an issue for you. In addition to progesterone, there are lots of hormones that can be off & wreak havoc on cycles--estrogen, thyroid, prolactin. Of course, there can be other issues, too, like polyps, fibroids, endometriosis, etc. Irregular cycles are certainly a sign that something is wrong, which makes getting pg extra hard.

I think going to an RE would be helpful as they will run some additional tests. If I were you, I'd temp to better understand my cycle & also get some additional help from an RE. (Just an FYI, while most serious TTC ladies, acupuncturists, naturopaths see huge benefits to temping & analyzing that info, REs are often dismissive of it. I think REs are wrong, IMO.) Good luck!

 

[suze12]

Hi thanks for your reply. I have to have a scan to check it's not polyps. So Also waiting on that. What's an re? And how do you go about temping? I didn't do all this with my first.
Thanks xx

 

[Vonn]

An RE is a reproductive endocrinologist, which is what fertility specialists are called, at least in the U.S. They have more specialized knowledge about reproductive issues compared to a regular Ob-Gyn.

There is lots of stuff out there about tracking basal body temperatures, google it and you can learn all you want and more! Your basal temp is your resting temp, so it must be taken before you get out of bed & ideally at the same time every day for consistency. After you ov, your body produces higher amounts of progesterone, which makes your basal temp increase. You can see this if you chart your temps. There are lots of cool things you can learn about your cycle if you temp. Many ladies on here use Fertility Friend to track their temps, or even just their cycles. It's free, so that's great. I have my chart in my siggy, though I am not actually temping right now so the chart shows my cycle days just without any temps. Hope this helps!

 

[suze12]

Thanks, I think I'm going to have a try with ovulation sticks too. I've been very hot at night this week which I think represents ovulation, I also have the 'egg white' so hoping it is ovulation, weirdly though I'm on day 21 of my cycle so my period should be due any day! X