Vitamin B6 - Lengthen luteal phase or increase progesterone

[GillAwaiting]

Thank you minky, do I take it for my whole cycle or just after ov?

You take it all the way through the cycle. However, if you're taking it for a few months, it's recommended that you take a few days break every cycle. Good luck and

Thank you for that info. I didnt know that at all!! When in the month do you think is a good time to give it a break?

 

[GillAwaiting]

Hello again! Can I just ask a quicky? For the ladies on here who didn't see a + OPK on their first cycle taking B complex, did you still see a temp rise and did AF still arrive at the end of the cycle?

I have seen a temp rise and FF thinks (dotted lines) I have Ovd and am 5DPO but I have not really had the other signs and my (.)(.) are always sore after Ov but are not this time at all

Yes, the first full cycle I couldnt find a positive opk at all and I was testing around the clock. Temps went up and a 7 dpo test confirmed ovulation had happened. It's been fine since then. Positive opks turning up a bit randomly but defo there. Hope that helps!

 

[MRSRICHRS2K]

I have spotting from 7dpo and LP is waivering between 9-11 days currently so I'm hoping this works!

thats the same as me i started mine on Monday so time will tell fx

 

[jules1]

Hey ladies,

I'm hoping for a little bit of advice if possible. I've been charting my cycles for 4 months on FF and it tells me I have an average luteal phase of 13 days. Which sounds pretty reasonable to me. But every month I start spotting brown discharge (and sometimes quite a lot of it) at about 9dpo and then get a full period at 14 dpo. This month I had a light bleed at 7dpo and then spotted the brown stuff all the way through to 13 dpo when AF got me. I had an early mc in my 2nd cycle of charting - but still had all the same spotting right up until I got the positive HPT and then it continued until it became an MC.

I had an ultra sound after the mc and they said everything was completely normal, which suggests there isn't anything in there which is causing the spotting (when I researched online one of the possible causes was cysts or polyps but I'm assuming they would have picked this up?)

So I've been wondering whether I should try out some supplements or progesterone cream. Can the buy over the counter stuff be harmful? And also, when do I take/use these? Do you just use the progesterone cream in the luteal phase or all the way through the cycle? And what about the B6?

I have an excellent GP who I think would probably take this seriously - but I'm wondering if I should try out some supplements first.

I looked at some of the potential causes of low progesterone and one of them was high estrogen caused by a lot of sugar in diets. Now I'm definitely guilty of that!!! But with Christmas coming up I'm not sure how easy that would be to correct?? lol.

Would be really grateful for any advice xxx

 

[magicvw]

Hi hun - I'm just starting out with the B6 so will leave that for someone else to answer. With progesterone you need to use if only after ov until af shows up. There are no side effects except those normally associated with natural progesterone eg possibly sensitive breasts & headaches. I also probably have low progesterone/high estrogen. Done lots of reading on the matter - some dietary things you can do (apart from controlling sugar!) are to take vitamins C, E and A, eat oats, raw carrots, spinach and walnuts. B6 is supposed to suppress estrogen too. Good luck! (And make sure you get enough sleep!)

 

[worrying]

I take Berroca which is a vitamin drink containing B6, I start taking it every day beginning after my first CBFM peak.. Dunno if it will do any good or not, but it seems a safe way of doing things...

 

[lisaf]

Hey ladies,

I'm hoping for a little bit of advice if possible. I've been charting my cycles for 4 months on FF and it tells me I have an average luteal phase of 13 days. Which sounds pretty reasonable to me. But every month I start spotting brown discharge (and sometimes quite a lot of it) at about 9dpo and then get a full period at 14 dpo. This month I had a light bleed at 7dpo and then spotted the brown stuff all the way through to 13 dpo when AF got me. I had an early mc in my 2nd cycle of charting - but still had all the same spotting right up until I got the positive HPT and then it continued until it became an MC.

I had an ultra sound after the mc and they said everything was completely normal, which suggests there isn't anything in there which is causing the spotting (when I researched online one of the possible causes was cysts or polyps but I'm assuming they would have picked this up?)

So I've been wondering whether I should try out some supplements or progesterone cream. Can the buy over the counter stuff be harmful? And also, when do I take/use these? Do you just use the progesterone cream in the luteal phase or all the way through the cycle? And what about the B6?

I have an excellent GP who I think would probably take this seriously - but I'm wondering if I should try out some supplements first.

I looked at some of the potential causes of low progesterone and one of them was high estrogen caused by a lot of sugar in diets. Now I'm definitely guilty of that!!! But with Christmas coming up I'm not sure how easy that would be to correct?? lol.

Would be really grateful for any advice xxx

First of all, you're right that spotting can be caused by many things. Ultrasounds will only show really large issues. I don't think they usually catch fibroids, endo, or polyps on regular ultrasounds. An HSG or lap & dye are better at catching those other things.
BUT, I would try to rule out progesterone before bothering with a more complex procedure. See if your GP will order a blood test to check progesterone at 7dpo.

Thats how I confirmed that my spotting was related to low progesterone.
If you do the blood test, I'd hold off on the OTC creams, but the vitamins can take a while to kick in so you can usually start those now.

I hadn't read about the sugar thing, lol... but I did read that lack of exercise can cause low progesterone... even though its the holidays maybe thats something you can work on?

 

[jules1]

Thanks everyone - I'm going to definitely try to healthy things up a bit this end (not sure about Christmas day though!!) I thought maybe I'd give it one more cycle so that I can go to my GP with evidence of irregular spotting and it not just being a one off. I think I will try to the vitamins but hold off on the cream, I'm worried that if I start doing something like that I won't know what to do if I do get pregnant etc. And I'm not a huge fan of taking serious medication in to my own hands in case I'm doing myself more harm than good.

So I will see how the healthy eating and vitamins go this month and then keep a detailed diary to regale my doctor with in the new year. I'm sure he'll love that

MagicVW thanks - I'll be eating my porridge oats every morning now and will try out a few of those tips! xxx

 

[lisaf]

jules - I felt the same way... even though I knew I had low progesterone, and my doc wouldn't let me take prescription stuff until after a BFP, I still couldn't bring myself to use the OTC stuff
when I switched over to a specialist, he told me that usually when the progesterone is low, the best method is to try to get it higher on the front end (by giving you healthier/larger follicles) rather than try to save it on the back-end. So he upped my dose of clomid, which got my progesterone levels to a nice normal level for the first time (previous 4 cycles had blood tests with low progesterone). And I DID get my BFP then! he put me on the prescription stuff anyway just to be safe, but it was nice to know that I wasn't hovering on the edge of shedding my lining!
Oh... and no spotting on the cycle with my BFP... had 2 suspected chemicals before, but was spotting by the time I got a line on a test.

 

[MRSRICHRS2K]

Can i ask if any one has had children before then had a borderline lp?
i have 2 children conceived first cycle... but now ttc #3 i seem to have a borderline lp?

thanks

 

[jules1]

jules - I felt the same way... even though I knew I had low progesterone, and my doc wouldn't let me take prescription stuff until after a BFP, I still couldn't bring myself to use the OTC stuff
when I switched over to a specialist, he told me that usually when the progesterone is low, the best method is to try to get it higher on the front end (by giving you healthier/larger follicles) rather than try to save it on the back-end. So he upped my dose of clomid, which got my progesterone levels to a nice normal level for the first time (previous 4 cycles had blood tests with low progesterone). And I DID get my BFP then! he put me on the prescription stuff anyway just to be safe, but it was nice to know that I wasn't hovering on the edge of shedding my lining!
Oh... and no spotting on the cycle with my BFP... had 2 suspected chemicals before, but was spotting by the time I got a line on a test.

Thanks for that hun - sounds very sensible of your specialist. I was spotting before I got my BFP the cycle I miscarried. This cycle my period is really heavy (to be honest, the last two since the MC have seemed heavier than normal), I don't know if that's any reflection on my progesterone levels - but I guess it means there was a good deal of lining?! The spotting has been bad this month though so I should probably get it checked out.

I don't know whether to call him this week or whether to give it another cycle and see how it goes?

Do you chart your temps too? Did that give you any clues as to your progesterone levels? xx

 

[lisaf]

I charted my temp, but honestly it didn't accurately tell me there was a problem. I thought it did since my temps were low often (if you click on the purple bar in my siggy you can see all my charts - when you see the P under medication thats when I took progesterone and you can see what my temps did).
I thought when my temp dropped early and stayed down it meant low progesterone etc...
but then on my BFP cycle, my temp was down, then stayed down until I went on progesterone... BUT according to my blood test, it was even higher at 9dpo than it was at 7dpo!

 

[Allie84]

Hey girls,

Is it possible the B Vit complex is making me LP worse? Maybe it's something else, but my LP is usually 13 or 14 days, usually with one day of light spotting before heavy flow. Well, I'm 12 dpo right now and have been spotting brown since yesterday, 11 dpo!! 2 days earlier than normal.

I've been taking a B-50 complex for about 2 months (I'm fiinishing a bottle of 50 right now). I've had two progesterone tests done and both were slightly lower than they should be (9.6 at 7dpo, next cycle 4.6 6dpo), but I've always had a normal LP.

I'm really annoyed my LP is getting WORSE! This cycle I tried OTC progesterone cream, and I'm wondering if maybe that's causing the spotting. I got the good, bio identical, pricey yam based cream and have been applying it twice a day.

I'm just really confused.

Lisa, I'm curious why you couldn't bring yourself to use the OTC stuff?

My dr is a long way from prescribing clomid or even metformin. Last visit all was 'normal' and he said to keep trying, but obviously something is wrong...

Thanks!

 

[lisaf]

Lisa, I'm curious why you couldn't bring yourself to use the OTC stuff?

It was just that my doc didn't want me to use the prescription stuff until a BFP, so I felt like taking the OTC stuff would somehow be going against medical advice... don't know if that makes sense
I also didn't want to take the cream, have my blood test come back with a normal progesterone level, then get refused for further help because they wouldn't believe I truly had a problem.

I just had trouble taking more than the B vitamins without my acupuncturist's ok...
I always worry about the effect of things and how they may interact.

 

[CRC]

Does anyone know what we do about taking all these vitamins when we finally get pregnant? I'm not pregnant - but I do know that you have to be careful what you take vitamin-wise once you get pregnant and I'm taking so much (50MG B6, extra Zinc and Vitex/Red Raspberry on top of my pre-natal multi vit). I read somewhere that if you have a short luteal phase and you are correcting it with B6, you should continue taking it during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy otherwise there is a strong chance you could miscarry. Does anyone know if this is true and if so is it safe for the baby to take that much B6 and what about the herbs too? Thanks girls x

 

[lisaf]

CRC - B vitamins are often given to pregnant women to help counteract morning sickness. Most everything I've read says they are safe to take during pregnancy so I stayed on mine!

Vitex should not be taken once you are pregnant. Many women stop taking it after ovulation or within 7 days after ovulation just to be safe.
Red Raspberry is only used late in pregnancy and should be avoided during early pregnancy from what I've read/heard. It is used late in pregnancy to strengthen the uterus, but since it does that by causing some minor contractions, they usually say to avoid it until in the final month or so.

I don't know much about the zinc...
Hope that helps a little!

 

[Allie84]

Thanks Lisa. Do you have any idea if B Vit complex can make the LP shorter?

Because mine has shortened by 2 days this cycle! I started spotting on 11 dpo, normally it's not until 13dpo.

I'm taking a B-50 complex, soy, otc progesterone cream, and a prenatal.

I'm so mad about my LP shortening!

 

[lisaf]

I do remember reading earlier on that some women found the B vit made their LP worse I think (its been a long time since I read it all back). Some found that lowering the dosage fixed that issue.
Is there any hope its implantation bleeding? I know the short LP makes it torture when you have spotting.
The only other thing is that your LP isn't over until AF comes in fully... you may spot for more days... NOT much comfort, but your LP isn't until AF comes for sure.

 

[Allie84]

Well, I'm 13dpo so as of now I still have a 13 day LP but with spotting from 11 dpo instead of the usual spotting at 14 dpo like last cycle.

I'm wondering if I should switch from a B Complex to just a B6. I just don't know.

 

[lisaf]

its a tough call Allie... there is also the thought that it can take 3 months to take effect, so if you stop taking it and things are worse, you'll be even more confused about what to do.
Every time you change something about your supplements/vits, it can have an effect... you're doing the progesterone cream, right? What about going back to just the B vits for another cycle and see if it goes back to the way it was last time?