Wonky Cycle after Chemical Pregnancy/ Early Miscarriage?

[Isme]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. I'm not sure if a very early miscarriage counts as a loss, but I figured that I might get ladies with more experience if I posted in here rather than in the regular TTC forum.

We've been TTC since April. Last month I used OPKs for the first time and got a positive OPK on CD18. On CD 32 (about 14DPO?) I got a very faint positive home pregnancy test. I normally have cycles about 30-32 days long, so even if I wasn't TTC I would have tested anyway when my period didn't show. (Just throwing that out there, since I know that it is commonly advised to simply "not test so early" in order to avoid the bummer that is discovering a chemical pregnancy.) I was excited but nervous. I know most women get BPFs well before their missed period, and I'd been testing for days with nothing.

In any case, I kept testing but the tests never got darker. I was getting very light positives for the next couple of days, then I started my period 4 days late. On Father's Day. It was unpleasant.

I've never had a "loss" before. I'm not even sure if this counts, but at the time it sure felt like it. My hormones caused me to be unable to deal with it very well. I was very weepy.

My issue now is that I don't know what to expect from this cycle. I wasn't pregnant very long, obviously. I'd tried to research a ton on chemical pregnancies and most of the information pointed toward it not being a big deal. I expected that my cycle would pick right back up and I would ovulate as usual (or even a little earlier, as I'd read some women experience after an early loss). Just in case, I started taking OPKs pretty much as soon as the bleeding stopped. I have taken anywhere from 2-5 OPKs per day since around CD7.

I am now CD29 and I have not gotten a positive OPK yet. I'm super frustrated! Last month I had a fade-in pattern with my OPKs. They started darkening up a bit around CD16 and CD17, then the turned positive on CD18 and faded out slowly for the next few days. This month they started darkening up about the same time... but they never went positive. The tests are still the exact same color they were at CD17-- almost 2 weeks later. The test line color is about 50-65% of the darkness of the control line. Each day it gets slightly darker on the afternoon test (which I've read is the best time of day to take an OPK) but the line never turns positive.

What could be going on? Would my chemical pregnancy have messed things up that bad? Has anyone else experienced something like this? Could I have ovulated and not picked up a surge on the OPKs? If I don't ovulate, will I still get my period around the regular time?

Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just feeling like I'm going crazy over here. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

 

[mssk]

Hi Isme I didn't want to read and run. I don't have any experience using opk's. But, I wanted to let you know that a chemical pregnancy is still a loss. You were pregnant even if only for a very short time. All losses hurt no matter how far along you are. Seeing that positive and having it quickly taken away is devastating. I am so sorry you are going through this. After my first early loss my cycle got back to normal pretty quickly but everyone is different. Some women don't ovulate their first cycle after a miscarriage. I did not ovulate after my most recent loss. I hope things get back to normal for you very soon. I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[Dollybird]

I'm so sorry for your loss. As the previous poster said, any loss is a loss, whether it was early or later

As for the wonky cycle.. I can relate..after my MMC it took 8 weeks for my af to come! And no ovulation I don't think as I didn't get a surge in my opks till a week before the witch arrived so I think it was a case of failed ovulation. I didn't get a pos opk till cd29 this cycle so another long haul for me, although I will say that I have pcos so my cycles aren't predictable anyways. I think it can be normal for things to be a bit of wonky after a mc though. Don't stress to much things will return to normal soon. And in the meantime just keep bd'ing xxx

 

[Trying4first1]

Hey. So sorry for your loss. A loss is a loss no matter how early. The disappointment is the same. My first loss was at 5+1 so very early but still felt gutted. Like you the test were v faint and never got stronger.
Your cycle should be ok next time. I didn't ovulate after my chemical for the first month, but was back to normal the month after 😊 I'm sure AF will arrive soon then everything will return to normal xx

 

[Isme]

Hi Isme I didn't want to read and run. I don't have any experience using opk's. But, I wanted to let you know that a chemical pregnancy is still a loss. You were pregnant even if only for a very short time. All losses hurt no matter how far along you are. Seeing that positive and having it quickly taken away is devastating. I am so sorry you are going through this. After my first early loss my cycle got back to normal pretty quickly but everyone is different. Some women don't ovulate their first cycle after a miscarriage. I did not ovulate after my most recent loss. I hope things get back to normal for you very soon. I am very sorry for your loss.

Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your experience. It does help to hear that maybe I'm not crazy for feeling hurt by this. I'm sorry you've dealt with this more than once. This was my first and I am just now realizing how large this crappy "club" is.

I'm so sorry for your loss. As the previous poster said, any loss is a loss, whether it was early or later

As for the wonky cycle.. I can relate..after my MMC it took 8 weeks for my af to come! And no ovulation I don't think as I didn't get a surge in my opks till a week before the witch arrived so I think it was a case of failed ovulation. I didn't get a pos opk till cd29 this cycle so another long haul for me, although I will say that I have pcos so my cycles aren't predictable anyways. I think it can be normal for things to be a bit of wonky after a mc though. Don't stress to much things will return to normal soon. And in the meantime just keep bd'ing xxx

Thank you.

Thanks also for sharing your experience. It sucks that you have gone through something similar, but it's so helpful to hear from people that have. I also have suspected PCOS. (They haven't done an ultrasound to spot actual cysts yet, but I have many of the markers so they are calling it that.) I do normally get a period every month, but it tends to vary from 28-33 days, so not super regular.

I'm curious about the "failed ovulation" that you mentioned... I think I just finally got a positive OPK yesterday at CD37. (So a little over 5 weeks since I started to miscarry the chemical pregnancy.) I was excited that things were finally kicking into gear, but there's a possibility that it could be a failed ovulation? Is it just because everything has been sitting around in there for so long? Ugh. This is all so confusing. I wouldn't be stressing so much if we could just BD every few days to cover our bases... But my DH works 6-7 days a week at a very physical job and he is often too tired to DTD. That makes things trickier for us. I really need the timing to be just so.

Hey. So sorry for your loss. A loss is a loss no matter how early. The disappointment is the same. My first loss was at 5+1 so very early but still felt gutted. Like you the test were v faint and never got stronger.
Your cycle should be ok next time. I didn't ovulate after my chemical for the first month, but was back to normal the month after 😊 I'm sure AF will arrive soon then everything will return to normal xx

Thank you.

It really helps to hear that it's okay to grieve this as a loss. It certainly felt like one, but then I thought I was just being silly. I mean losing a baby at 4.5 weeks is obviously not as bad as losing one at 4.5 months, or 4.5 years, or, well you get the picture... So I've been feeling like I don't have the right to be sad. I kept blaming it on everything else. We put our beloved cat down the day I got my first positive, it was only a few weeks out from losing my father, my hormones are just off kilter, and so on... Like it was nothing without those additional qualifiers. But it hasn't been working because it FELT like something, all on it's own. Yanno?

I'm sure it doesn't help that my DH was trying to convince me that I probably wasn't pregnant at all. When it first happened he kept saying that all the test lines were so faint that they couldn't mean I was actually pregnant. I struggled to make him understand that there is no way I would have gotten a "faint-barely there-positive" on multiple brands of tests (over the course of several days) if there wasn't a pregnancy. I think he felt like if he could convince me that it wasn't real, then I wouldn't be sad. Clearly that didn't work. I'm almost glad that my cycle was thrown out of wack afterward, because it makes the whole thing more real. There was a pregnancy and my body was definitely impacted by it.

 

[Isme]

So to clarify for anyone who might come across this thread with a similar question:

I believe I have finally ovulated after my chemical pregnancy at CD37. My OPKs showed elevated LH levels for a couple of weeks, but they just recently dipped a bit and then darkened up into what I think is a positive. This happened 5 weeks and 2 days after I first started bleeding with my chemical pregnancy (early miscarriage). I will update again in about 2 weeks.

 

[PinkLuv24]

Just to chime in yes a loss is still a loss! I had a very early m/c in June and it was my first pregnancy and also a surprise so it has been devastating for me! These forums have been a lifesaver from people telling me to "just get over it" so I feel your pain but you are in the right place no matter what you are going through! And to answer your question my period didn't start after and my dr gave me provera to induce bleeding and then I ovulated the next month. But it's not uncommon for your cycle and hormones to be out of whack after. Some get back to "normal" on their own, some with provera and even then everyone is unique and it can still take time for your body to get back into its rhythm...so here's hoping for a BFP for you soon! Everyone grieves in their own way and their own time. My best advice is don't let others tell you how you should feel. Acknowledge your pain and heal at your own pace🌞

 

[PinkLuv24]

And yes keep us posted!

 

[Isme]

Thanks PinkLuv24! I'm sorry about your loss. What heartbreaking entry into motherhood.

I may just be deluding myself into thinking I ovulated. I mean, I haven't had a real period yet, and it's been a little over six weeks since my early miscarriage. Maybe I should have went to the doctor before trying to catch my body ovulating. Ugh.

I feel like I'm in the TWW, but I don't want to waste even more time if my body is just messing with me. I did experince some very light spotting at what I thought was 3DPO. I'vr never had that happen before, so it may be yet another sign that my reproductive system hasn't gotten back on track yet. I dunno.

Best of luck to you. I hope your BFP arrives really soon.