Vitamin B6 - Lengthen luteal phase or increase progesterone

[Rosered52]

Hi, gals,

I went digging for this info in order to try to improve my lp. I've been taking a B-complex supplement (100mg) this month, on top of my prenatal allotment. My period was due yesterday or today, and still a no-show. Still getting BFNs though, as of yesterday morning, so I think I may have succeeded in stretching out my lp. If that's so, I'm glad! It's been as short as 9 days since I've been tracking, and more often 12 days.

 

[lyns148]

Hi girls

Just a wee update...thats me out again for another month. Another short LP of 7 days and no effect at all from increasing the B vits or using the progesterone cream. To be honest I'm at a complete loss for what to do next. I know we'll have our appointment with the clinic but probably not for another 5 months and I don't want to just sit around waiting in the meantime. Anyone have any ideas??

How's everyone else doing? Babydust xx

 

[struth]

Lyns148 - sorry to hear that your LP has not improved. I really don't know what to suggest. Why is your appointment so far away? Will they not see you before then giving your LP?

Rosered52 - thanks for the info. The b vits seem to have helped me too this cycle. I had spotting from 7dpo - which is obviously not good and still needs sorting out -but AF didn't arrive until last night so my LP was 12 days this cycle. I'm very happy with that - just need to work out how to stop the spotting now

TTC SPOTTING - how you are getting on? Any developments?

Buttonnose - any news?

I went to see my dr on Weds and got the results of a scan I had a couple of weeks ago. She thinks that I may have PCOS (although it is not completely clear) and an endometrioma (chocolate cyst) on my right ovary. She has referred me to a gynaecologist and I got my appointment through this morning (5th July). I also got AF last night (never been so pleased to see it!) so my mammoth cycle has finally ended - 88 days long!

I'm feeling okay and hopeful that either this cycle will be better and/or the gynae will be able to help. Hope you are all ok?

 

[Rosered52]

I'm getting a "be careful what you wish for" feeling. I'm now 5 days past the latest my period should have arrived.

 

[Rosered52]

Struth, I'm pleased to read that AF put you out of your misery!! I hope they can get a good idea of what's going on and get you on the right track.

 

[mk8]

Hey girls,

Mind if i join your thread? I have been TTC for 6 months. Now on cycle 7, cycle day 4. I think I may have progesterone problems because my LP seems to vary between 10-12 days. I also spot a day before AF arrives and my perios seem to be a bit thinner since TTC than they were last year.

I went to the docs and had bloods and a scan done (but not for fertility reasons) recently because I was having abdominal pain (they didnt find anything suspect). But they could not tell me anything about progesterone levels for fertility. They tested for it but it wasnt timed at a particular point in my cycle. I was basically sent away to try for another 6 months. Sigh.

 

[mom23]

Hi Girls...it has been a long time since I checked in!! So last month...the first on clomid was unsuccessful for me....I oed on cd 17 but only had a 8 day lp!! I am trying the clomid again this month ...we'll see what happens. I am currently on cd 13...no positive opk yet! I am seeing a nutritinist next monday...I hope he'll have some tips for me to help with the short lp!


Lyns.... how are you doing..I am sorry to see last month wasn't the best for you either!
Struth...glad to see you finally oed...I hope this cycle is better for you!

Welcome to all the new girls...I hope the bvits work for you!

baby dust to all!

 

[Isabel209]

Hello girls,

How are you? It’s been long since i have been writing on this thread.. i was very very busy and barely had the time to rest 

I have been trying ttc no 1 for a year now .i am 29 years old. For these last 3 days i have been experiencing these yumptoms:

- hot flashes
- thirst
- continous headache
- sore gums
- tender boobs


I am cd325 today. Could these be symptoms of pregnancy? When should i test?

 

[mom23]

Hey girls....hope everyone is doing well. Just a quick update...i surprisingly Oed early...cd 15. I can't believe it!! I guess the clomid is working! Now in the 2ww...
How is everyone else doing????
Isabel209...did you test?

baby dust to all.....

 

[Isabel209]

Hey girls....hope everyone is doing well. Just a quick update...i surprisingly Oed early...cd 15. I can't believe it!! I guess the clomid is working! Now in the 2ww...
How is everyone else doing????
Isabel209...did you test?

baby dust to all.....

hi sweet, i had a mistake in my post..i meant cd 23 not 23dpo... i tested this morning with a predictor and a little short faint pink line appeared.. it is strange because it is short not long all the way.. how do you see this?

 

[struth]

Great news Mom23! FX'd for you this cycle!

Isabel209 - how long are your cycles normally? When is AF due? Do you know how many dpo you are? I would test again - if the test looks a bit odd it is always best to double check. Let us know how you get on.

 

[googly]

Hi all, first post on this forum! Have been reading this thread for about 5-6 weeks now - it's mammoth!! - but has been totally awesome in teaching me all kinds of things about luteal phase defect, which I think I have. Thanks to all for the info!!

So my story, we have been ttc for 5 months now; my lp is between 7-9 days, although that has improved over the last 2 cycles since taking B100 and agnus castus (used to be 7, is now 9, so I guess that's good at least).

I am spurred to post today as I just got back from seeing my GP for the first time - I am 37 and feel a bit of time pressure ticking on, so no mucking around! - I explained my situation, the monitoring I've been doing, and what I thought the problem might be (after the tonne of research I have done). She says to me "no, all women's luteal phases are 14 days, it's only the follicular phase that changes. Anyway, if you have an irregular cycle you probably aren't ovulating anyway." ahemmmmmm...

I then showed her my last chart which I think has a fairly good indication of ovulation, having OPK+ for 2 days + ewcm + rapid temp rise for 3 days afterwards. But no, according to her IF I ovulated, it would have been 6 days earlier (because that's 14 days before af.

Whatevs! (how on earth do people get medical licences?!) Anyway sorry to rant on. I just don't know what to do now... I can go back and see one of the other docs at my practice I guess, but my hopes aren't high. She did order the day 3 and day 21 tests so I can see what that says... but I'm not sure what a progesterone test on day 21 is going to show when I generally ov on day 20. I guess very low progesterone?! Maybe that'll be good, even though it's for the wrong reasons!

Well that's my story... looking forward to hanging out here anyway. It might be a while!!

 

[struth]

Hi googly! Welcome to the thread.

Sorry to hear that you think you have LPD. Are you in the UK? Have you recently come off the pill?

I'm with you on the time pressure - I'm just about to turn 35 and so although not quite panicking, there is certainly pressure!

It sounds like your dr is badly educated to say the least. The reason I ask whether you are in the UK is that you could read up on the NICE guidelines and go equipped if need be. They say that you have to be TTC for 2 years before any intervention unless there are indications of something wrong OR you are over 35. As you are over 35 they say that you should be investigated after 6 months. Given the time that you are posting though - I have a feeling that you are probably not in the UK?!?

Having said that I guess the GP is beginning to investigate by doing the bloods and I guess that this is how any GP would start (whether they knew about LPD or not). I wouldn't worry too much about the timing - the idea is that the day 21 bloods are supposed to be 7 days after ovulation but I guess if yours will fall at one day past ovulation you will be likely to have low progesterone levels (I think - I'm not an expert) and so the GP should want to investigate that further anyway (which I guess it what you want!).

I'm currently working my way through the system too - they started with bloods, then a scan, and I'm now waiting on a gynae appointment. I guess what I'm saying is even if that dr is rubbish, they are doing the tests that any GP would start with. If you don't have much confidence in them, however, it might be worth seeing a different one when you go to get your blood test results?

 

[googly]

Hey struth! I'm in New Zealand (although i am a Brit ) I think we do actually have something similar here though... The doc was explaining that there is a points system to get in to see the fertility specialist, based on a number of things incl. age, time ttc, medical workup etc. So the first step there is to get the bloods done. If those show an issue (and I certainly expect it to show low-ish progesterone) then that should bump us up a few points (as does 35+).

Of course, they also need the guy to take a sperm test first as well.... THAT is going to be a hard sell for me... !

But yes at least all that is moving with the bloods. I just couldn't believe her "luteal phase is always 14 days" thing...! I did actually suggest she googled luteal phase dsyfunction/defect and next time tell me if she still thinks its bollocks! But like you say, I think next time I will try and see one of the other docs and see if I can get someone a bit more clued in.

Eesh! As if it wasn't all frustrating enough...

So how long is average wait for a gynae appt there? Do you have to had a certain amount of tests first? What kind of scan did you have??

 

[struth]

Ah - I see. By the sounds of it then, if she does your bloods early then you might get bumped up and then hopefully get to see someone who know what they are talking about!

My OH has to do a SA too! I thought it would be a hard sell but he has been fine about it. He even had to change doctors and then go and see my GP so it wasn't straightforward either. I went with him to his appointment and he has been okay. I have to take the sample in on Weds so I just hope when it actually comes to it he is still cool!

Well....I had my bloods taken and they found a high LH/FSH ratio which is indicative of PCOS. I also have irregular AF and a short LP with lots of spotting so all this together was enough for her to send me for a scan. I had a ultrasound (both external and internal) and they found polycysts and an ovarian cyst also. So....she has referred me to the gynae. That was about 10 days ago. My appointment with the gynae is on the 5th July so I am happy with that.

In all it will have taken me about 2.5 months to get to the gynae appointment (that is from my first drs appointment to the gynae appointment inc. scan, bloods etc). I think that is pretty good given it is the NHS!

I guess the tests that you would have would depend on the results of your bloods though. I'm not sure what they would do for low progesterone (should that be your issue). I didn't have my progesterone tested as I went on cd55 and we didn't know when O or AF would happen and so she just did mid-cycle tests equivalent to cd2 tests.

So when are you due for your tests?

 

[googly]

Well I'm only on CD4 - I went to the docs yesterday because at CD3, I figured I might be able to get a blood test there and then. But appparently, they do that first test on CD2 here! Doh, bummer. So I have to wait for the CD21 and then CD2 next cycle. I'm thinking, though, about how to try and wangle a second blood test at a 'true' 7 dpo (i.e. CD27 for me), because my understanding is, that that is the crucial point - being 7 dpo; CD21 is just based on most women ovulating on CD14. As much as a test on CD21 will show low progesterone for me, and that might be enough to get me in to the specialist, I would still like to know the true results, and I presume the specialist will too, to really find out the cause of any issue.

Soooo... that will be interesting! Will see what fast talk I can do at the testing place and/or GPs ;-)

Your cysts sound a bit alarming! is it relatively straight forward to get them removed? In some ways it must be good to find out a cause so you can fix it eh... good news that you don't have to wait TOO long for your appt!

 

[254]

Just checking in to say hi!

Unfortunately we didn't bring back a little extra traveller form our Canadian trip... my period rudely arrived on the day we landed back in the UK, meaning after my one single 9 day LP cycle (after months and months of 6 days) it's back down again, to 6 or possibly 7 days.

I've been on B vits for months - 50mg and then 100mg - plus agnus castus, and they don't seem to be having any effect whatsoever. So in order to keep myself sane, I'm taking a break from all the supplements and just taking prenatal vits this cycle.

We're onto cycle #10 of trying... all around me people seem to be falling pregnant, yet we're no closer than we were almost a year ago. I know it'll happen one day, but at the moment that day seems so far off, and I'm finding it a bit tough to see so many people with children L's age or younger getting pregnant again. I know I am so lucky to have my wonderful girl when many people are yearning for their first, so I'm trying not to moan... but I hope you guys may understand that 'yearning'. We so want to have a big family and a <2 year age gap between our first two, which now can't happen. Every time I come across people with a close age gap between their children in feels like a punch in the stomach.

I'm really not feeling toooo low... but I know I need to look after myself as with such a prolonged short LP, it's likely to take us a long time yet to conceive, so I need to be mindful of that. I'm focusing on enjoying all my time with my little girl, and thinking of all the positives of a larger age gap... not two in nappies etc etc!

So... one big step back from me. I'll still chart (mainly because I definitely want to know my ovulation date if conception happens, so I don't have to trust a dating scan's estimated gestation) but other than that, we're going 'au naturelle' for a while. And if nothing's happened in 2 more months, when we've been trying for a year, it's off to the docs for a fertility-chat. Eek!

Good luck to all you lovely girls here! I'll check back every so often even though I'm not a B6-er at present.

 

[googly]

So I have a general B-vit question for all here -- especially those who have been taking B-vitamins for some time! -- have people noticed improvements EVERY cycle? Or is it a one-step thing for you... so does it appear to have a cumulative effect, or more of a one-step bump? I took B100s for the first time last cycle, and my LP went from 8 to 9 days... which is ok... just wondering if I should expect/hope for another day this cycle, so 10 days, or whether that day increase is all I'm ever going to get? (bit depressing, but just managing expectations here! and/or wondering how aggressive to be trying other stuff).

Thanks and best to all!

 

[leylak]

First cycle: took for 20 days - cleared 2 days of spotting, LP still 10 days
Second cycle: took until ov. - no spotting (other than implantation) BFP at 11 DPO
Miscarried, then WTT
Third cycle: took for 10ish days - 2 days of spotting, LP 12 days
4th cycle: took for 11 days starting from CD4 - 2 days of spotting, LP 11 days
5th cycle: started on CD1, will take until ov confirmed and will come here to report results

 

[Chiclady]

Hi Everyone -

I finally joined after reading this thread from beginning to end! There's a ton of really useful information in here! Here's a bit of my backstory...I have a beautiful son who will be 3 in September. I conceived him the first cycle off BCP after 10 years and had no complications in my pregnancy. I went back on BCP six months post partum and never got my period back before going back on it. I conceived again in December 2010 after going off the pill again. I m/c at 6 weeks and had to have a methotrexate to dissolve the pregnancy since they could not confirm it was not ectopic. Anyway, it took 6 weeks for my levels to go back to zero. Over the last 5 months, I have been trying to get back in tune with my natural cycle, but it unfortunately seems to have been skewed a bit since the m/c. I have been doing OPK&#8217;s and seem to be ovulating fairly regularly (CD17-19) and then two months ago, I got the CBFM. Last month, I started temping and I ov&#8217;ed at CD15. However, I&#8217;ve noticed that I have a few days of spotting before AF comes. My LP seems to be 11 days long, but there are 2 days of spotting before that. Also, last month I had a crazy temp drop on 9dpo. I suspect that I have either low progesterone or an LPD and I just am not able to sustain a pregnancy at this point. My doc is going to have me come in next cycle for bloodwork on CD3 and 7dpo. In the meantime, I started taking B100 this month. I&#8217;m currently on CD9.