When can you be seen for LPD?

[midwest07]

Hi all, I have lurked her for a few months and appreciate that you are all so nice about giving advice to those new to TTC.  As background, we are TTC #1, I am 31, my H is 35.

We are on our 5th cycle, and I am pretty sure that I have a short luteal phase.  I didn't do any charting our first cycle, just assumed that Day 14ish was when I would ovulate.  For cycles 2, 3 and 4, I used OPKs.  I got a definite surge for all 3 cycles (plus other fertility signs), around Day 17/18 of each cycle.  For this cycle, I am also taking temps and have yet to see a definite change of temp (I am on CD17 today).  The point of all of this is that my cycle is also on the short side, it's been around 24-26 days, which means the longest luteal phase has been around 9 days.  I did start taking 50 mg of B6 last cycle, which didn't help extend the LP, and upped it to 100 mg this cycle, which I have yet to know if it will help.

If you have had a similar experience, or know from others, when would a doctor see me about this issue?  Do I need another month or two of charting my temps?  Or was it enough to have used OPKs for 3 cycles prior to charting temps?  My thought was I would wait 6 cycles, just to see if my body would regulate itself (does that even happen?!), and then call.  But that's almost another 2 months.

Also, any information on what the process would be to go to a doctor for this issue would be helpful.  Ie, would she want to test for other things, or just try to fix this?  Are there multiple things she would try, starting with least side effects?

[awick14]

Hi and welcome.

I would temp at least 2-3 cycles before I went to the doctor with this.

As for this cycle if you normally get a + OPK on day 17/18 and you are on day 17 then you probably haven't O'd yet. You don't actually O until 1-3 days after a + OPK.

If you are not O'ing until a few days after the + then you may have shorter LP then you actually think.

If you just changed the dose of the B6 for this cycle I would definitely wait until you have at least one more cycle, where you temp, under your belt before seeing a doc about it.

I have never temped a full cycle but I do plan on starting this cycle coming up so this advise may not be so good.

I have also never went to see a doc for any problems with TTC so I can't give you any advise there but good luck and stick around!

[ilikedonuts]

Jan 21, 2013 14:35:50 GMT -5 awick14 said:

Hi and welcome.

I would temp at least 2-3 cycles before I went to the doctor with this.

As for this cycle if you normally get a + OPK on day 17/18 and you are on day 17 then you probably haven't O'd yet. You don't actually O until 1-3 days after a + OPK.

If you are not O'ing until a few days after the + then you may have shorter LP then you actually think.

If you just changed the dose of the B6 for this cycle I would definitely wait until you have at least one more cycle, where you temp, under your belt before seeing a doc about it.

I have never temped a full cycle but I do plan on starting this cycle coming up so this advise may not be so good.

I have also never went to see a doc for any problems with TTC so I can't give you any advise there but good luck and stick around!

I've Oed plenty of times on the day I got a + opk not 1-3 days afterwards. Actually I probably O almost every time the day I get a + opk. (All confirmed by a definite temp shift). You CAN O that far afterwards, it doesn't mean for sure do.


OP, I would temp for another 2-3 cycles. I have a short LP and I've found a B vitamin complex works better than just B6 (B6 does nothing for my LP). My LP is shorter this time than before DD (except for randomly last cycle) so I'm calling my doctor rather than taking something like Vitex. I figure I'll see what my doctor has to say first.

[midwest07]

Jan 21, 2013 14:35:50 GMT -5 awick14 said:

Hi and welcome.

I would temp at least 2-3 cycles before I went to the doctor with this.

As for this cycle if you normally get a + OPK on day 17/18 and you are on day 17 then you probably haven't O'd yet. You don't actually O until 1-3 days after a + OPK.

If you are not O'ing until a few days after the + then you may have shorter LP then you actually think.

If you just changed the dose of the B6 for this cycle I would definitely wait until you have at least one more cycle, where you temp, under your belt before seeing a doc about it.

I have never temped a full cycle but I do plan on starting this cycle coming up so this advise may not be so good.

I have also never went to see a doc for any problems with TTC so I can't give you any advise there but good luck and stick around!

This is a good point.  My assumption is that I am ovulating soon after the surge based on other signs, but I don't know for sure.  Tracking my temps should help with that.  It would probably be more helpful info for the doctor to have a few months of temps rather than just OPKs, so thanks for the thoughts on how much longer to wait.  I wish I had starting tracking temps earlier!  I just wanted to be more casual about it and hope it all worked out without having to be too detailed about tracking things.

[KaraOrNot]

I would chart for at least 3 cycles and if you are still noticing a short LP, I would talk to the doctor. When I spoke to my doctor about my concerns, they started w/ bloodwork and talked about ways to lengthen the LP (they mentioned meds like Clomid, not vitamins). However, we never got that far, as we found out some other issues.

[belovedbride07]

I just saw my doctor last week about my short LPs.  I'm 8 cycles in, but have been charting for almost 4 years, and my LPs have been around 10 days the whole time (but often shorter in the last 7 months).  I tried B6 as a last-ditch effort, but it didn't do anything for me so I stopped after three months.

She ordered blood testing (Cycle Day 3 to test ovarian reserves) and suggested DH get an SA done just in case.  If that all comes back normal, I'm going to ask about 7 DPO testing for progesterone levels, because this problem along with my spotting makes me think that might be the issue.  From there, we're going to see what my insurance says about a referral to a specialist; if everything comes back okay I may just be waiting a few months until I hit the one year mark.

ETA: Sorry, I didn't answer your question.  I would temp a few cycles and then call the doctor.

[sonrisa]

I'm going to be the lone voice of dissent. Yes, it's early to start any sort of intervention. However, whether to call depends on what the waiting time to see an RE would be. I would continue with all the observations and trying but also contact my ob, explain the situation and find out what her threshold is for a referral. Once you get the referral it still might be 4 or more months before you see anyone if your RE is in high demand. Plenty of time to get more data or even get pregnant.

[awick14]

Jan 21, 2013 14:45:32 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Jan 21, 2013 14:35:50 GMT -5 awick14 said:

Hi and welcome.

I would temp at least 2-3 cycles before I went to the doctor with this.

As for this cycle if you normally get a + OPK on day 17/18 and you are on day 17 then you probably haven't O'd yet. You don't actually O until 1-3 days after a + OPK.

If you are not O'ing until a few days after the + then you may have shorter LP then you actually think.

If you just changed the dose of the B6 for this cycle I would definitely wait until you have at least one more cycle, where you temp, under your belt before seeing a doc about it.

I have never temped a full cycle but I do plan on starting this cycle coming up so this advise may not be so good.

I have also never went to see a doc for any problems with TTC so I can't give you any advise there but good luck and stick around!

I've Oed plenty of times on the day I got a + opk not 1-3 days afterwards. Actually I probably O almost every time the day I get a + opk. (All confirmed by a definite temp shift). You CAN O that far afterwards, it doesn't mean for sure do.


OP, I would temp for another 2-3 cycles. I have a short LP and I've found a B vitamin complex works better than just B6 (B6 does nothing for my LP). My LP is shorter this time than before DD (except for randomly last cycle) so I'm calling my doctor rather than taking something like Vitex. I figure I'll see what my doctor has to say first.

Oops sorry, I didn't know that you could O the same day as a +!

[Cheesecake]

Jan 21, 2013 16:02:18 GMT -5 AutumnRose25 said:

Please don't add gteen tea after O though. Green tea helps with CM, but it also causes bladder contractiins which can negatively impact implantation (which would just be an added problem on top of the LP).
Most docs won't see you until you've either just randomly tried for a year, or have real solid info (temps and such) for half a year.

Sent from my phone, please disregard typos!