Post by chitownbelle on Jul 24, 2013 2:34:41 GMT -5
Posting this here instead of Getting Pregnant, for runners advice!
Long story short: went off BC in September, past 6 months my cycles have gone like this: 35 days, 36, 40, 41, 34, 43 days.
Oct-May I was finishing grad school, working night shifts at the hospital and having clinical rotations during the day. We moved into our new condo, my cat died, my dog was sick and then died, and I was under severe stress. My Dr. said that explained my irregularity. June was more relaxed and a 34 day cycle, so I figured I would start becoming more regular, and then this month happened, 43 days. I am in the midst of marathon training, and my Dad (an ob/gyn) and mom, and some friends, have commented that maybe my running is making me irregular.
It's not like I am some 90lb 15yo cross country star who has amennorhea. I am a healthy weight, dont run religiously, and have gained weight since my marathon last fall due to my stress.
Has anyone else experienced this? I was on BC for 10 yrs, so this is the first I am experiencing with being so irregular, and I turn 30 in 2 weeks and want a baby yesterday, so this is really hard on me. I don't have an ob/gyn appointment until September, but if I remain in the 40+ day routine by then, I might seriosuly consider Clomid. I am so irregular, I dont know when, or even IF, I am ovulating. Ugh. Thanks for understanding!
Can you give us a little more info on your training schedule, weight and measurements?
It wouldn't surprise me if your training is causing you not to ovulate. Or a combination of the training and the stress you've been under lately. Have you tried using opks or temping?
Post by Wines Not Whines on Jul 24, 2013 4:15:43 GMT -5
I think this will be different for different people, but I got pregnant literally about 2 weeks after running a marathon, so I don't think it affected me at all. But I used a beginner plan with lower mileage, so it was probably less intense than what you're doing.
40-ish days is long, but not absurdly so. My cycles were also a little out of whack after coming off BCP. I ended up getting some cheap OPKs to help me figure things out. Have you tried that?
Post by chitownbelle on Jul 24, 2013 4:32:55 GMT -5
Thanks ladies. Yeah, I've tried them but haven't gotten a result. I just ordered 20 online, so they are cheaper than in the drug store. My problem is I work night shift....I have no circadium rhythm...I am constantly up and down, sleeping during the day when I am working, at night when I have some days off...there is no consistency, which causes stress on my body. So I can't temp. I can't pee on an OPK the same time every day with the same fluid intake/bathroom schedule (i.e. first pee every morning after not drinking or peeing >4hr).
I am training for my 4th marathon, have done only one each fall since 2010. In the off season I train for and run 1-2 half marathons. I am 5'8", 135-140lb, plenty of body fat, so that has nothing to do with it. I am doing Hal Higdon Intermediate 2. Mileage has been 30+ per week, but creeps up to 35-50 miles/week in the coming weeks.
I feel I have to be ovulating, b/c I have terrible cramps, bloating and breast tenderness every month. I am just so irregular. I am going to start OPK testing every day for 2-3 weeks straight to try to catch my potential ovulation week, since I have no idea when my period would actually start next month. That way I will have something to go by when I see the Dr. in Sept.
I had labs drawn earlier this year which were normal. Just hoping this is all stress and going off the BCP..it will be one year next month. Rather it be that than PCOS, endometriosis, etc etc.
My guess (yes...guess...I'm no doctor!) is that your irregular cycles are due to your stress and erratic schedule. Marathon training could be part of it. After my second Ironman in 2008, DH and I started TTC with no success, so I have a small amount of experience. I wasn't training for the long stuff anymore, but still training, yet I still wasn't getting pregnant. There could be a lot of reasons. If your body fat percentage is normal, I wouldn't assume that marathon training is the culprit. You say it's been six months. Have you talked to a doctor?
Post by spunkypenguin on Jul 24, 2013 4:59:31 GMT -5
I have not been to the GYN yet, but I have not had a period at all since mid-January when I ramped up training for my first half. I've basically kept up my mileage and continuously ran halfs since then (avg 20-25 mi/week) and still have not had a cycle. I get all the symptoms like I'm going to get it (bloating, irritability, etc), but it just never comes. I've eased off for a week or so at a time, increased/decreased food intake to see if any of that would bring it back and so far nothing. I'm your height, but about 170lbs.
I don't really have much to offer other than I definitely think the stress of increasing mileage (along with everything else you've been through), can throw off your cycle. It's probably worth seeing a dr. to get everything checked out.
My mom is concerned about this for me. My cycles are still regular, but I'm not conceiving like before. My dr assured me that was not likely it as long as my body fat was normal. Your wacky schedules and coming off BCP are more likely. If you lurk around GP type boards, you'll see it's a common problem coming off BCP.
Post by marclovesme on Jul 24, 2013 6:06:57 GMT -5
Also not a doctor, but I think your erratic schedule is playing a larger part than your training. Not that it's any consolation, but you ARE getting your period, just not predictably, so you are ovulating. Some people just have longer cycles, and coming off BCP often causes cycle oddity for some time.
Another member of team erratic schedule having a larger impact that running. How much sleep do you get? I worked overnights for about a month and I was pretty much a hot mess and sleep deprived the entire month.
Go to a doctor and get tested to see if you are ovulating. You may want to see a fertility specialist. Ive always had irregular cycles (and too work weird hours). I had difficulty conceiving and was told it was due to running and lack of ovulation. I was told to hold off and put on Clomid for awhile without any luck. I went to a fertility specialist who ran more tests, turns out my hormones were fine and I had a huge issue with my Fallopian tubes. I read somewhere that you can only do a certain number of cycles with Clomid. I'd hate for someone else to go through what I did (and 6 months of wasting time) to find out it was something else.
During marathon training, my hormones were definitely out-of-whack. I just made it to the doctor for blood work to make sure things aren't still out-of-whack.
I'll chime in as a fellow irregular cycle lady. First of all, your cycles are actually not that crazy. 40+ days is on the long side, but that's only two of your recent cycles. Everything else is pretty much well within the realm of normal. So don't panic and definitely don't take Clomid before figuring out some stuff first (your doctor will likely require many steps before he/she prescribes Clomid, anyway).
What you really want to figure out is if/when you are ovulating. Read Taking Charge of Your Fertility or poke around the Fertility Friend website to get a handle on how to start tracking your body's signs. If you have cramps midway through your cycle, that's a good sign that the plumbing is working. Stress definitely can delay ovulation. So can travel. Running may do it, too, but Kara Goucher got pregnant... so...
Even in a 40-day cycle, if everything else is working, you can get pregnant as long as you time things right. My doctor told me she had a patient who got her period twice a year and she still got pregnant because the stars aligned right for her. I hear you on OPKs being a pain in the ass. Maybe a fertility monitor would help? You don't have to be as stringent with timing for it (or so I've heard).
Have you had any recent bloodwork done at your OBGYN? My doctor ran a preliminary pre-conception test for me back in November to check progesterone, thyroid levels and prolactin. I am currently on a 58 day cycle and if/when I get my period, I am going in for cycle day 3 bloodwork, which checks for FSH, ovarian reserve and estradiol. Following that, I'll get an HSG, which checks for blockages and other things. I'm hoping I don't have to get to that step, but I just want answers at this point.
I just wrote a novel but feel free to PM me. Or, come over to the GP board. There are many women with irregular cycles over there. Good luck. I am totally with you on the frustrations of not having a 28 day cycle and the desire to have a baby yesterday.
Go to a doctor and get tested to see if you are ovulating. You may want to see a fertility specialist. Ive always had irregular cycles (and too work weird hours). I had difficulty conceiving and was told it was due to running and lack of ovulation. I was told to hold off and put on Clomid for awhile without any luck. I went to a fertility specialist who ran more tests, turns out my hormones were fine and I had a huge issue with my Fallopian tubes. I read somewhere that you can only do a certain number of cycles with Clomid. I'd hate for someone else to go through what I did (and 6 months of wasting time) to find out it was something else.
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but how are you doing now? I feel like I'm heading down a similar path to you. I hope things are coming back to normal for you.
I'm leaning towards coming off of birth control after 10 years, and a crazy schedule being the problem, more than your training. Your cycles seem to have been off long before training would have started, and even now with training, your volume is not very high.
I know there are some people (posters on this board, even) who have had problems like this with running being the culprit, but I feel like they are not the norm. Sure, some people get pregnant right after coming off of bcps, but I know plenty of people who had crazy cycles for awhile. Ditto previous suggestions for a trip to the Dr for a physical & some blood work. I usually do that once a year anyway. It wouldn't be a bad place to start.
Post by runblondie26 on Jul 24, 2013 8:12:05 GMT -5
It impacts me. I stop getting my period whenever I'm consistently running over 20 miles a week, even though I'm in what's considered a healthy weight range for my height. I've had tests with multiple doctors and specialists (had to work with an Reproductive Endocrinologist to get pregnant with my first), and their only answer is that I'm really sensitive to the stress of high impact/intensity exercise.
I'm also team coming off BCP and stress/crazy schedule. I didn't ovulate regularly for a year after I went off BCP and I was also on them for 10 years. During that time I was also very stressed. As soon as the stress was out of my life and about a year after I went off BCP I started ovulating regularly and have been for 2 years since.
Go to a doctor and get tested to see if you are ovulating. You may want to see a fertility specialist. Ive always had irregular cycles (and too work weird hours). I had difficulty conceiving and was told it was due to running and lack of ovulation. I was told to hold off and put on Clomid for awhile without any luck. I went to a fertility specialist who ran more tests, turns out my hormones were fine and I had a huge issue with my Fallopian tubes. I read somewhere that you can only do a certain number of cycles with Clomid. I'd hate for someone else to go through what I did (and 6 months of wasting time) to find out it was something else.
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but how are you doing now? I feel like I'm heading down a similar path to you. I hope things are coming back to normal for you.
[br
Had my Fallopian tubes removed, went through a couple cycles of IVF, and now am pregnant and due in October! My only regret is not seeing a specialist sooner and putting faith in my OB/GYN when I felt something larger was causing my infertility. She is no longer my current OB
Stress can definitely impact ovulation. The only way to tell if you're Oing is to temp or do bloodwork-even OPKs can be wrong (your body can gear up to O, thus giving you a + opk, and then not go through with it). A RE won't see you until you've been TTC a year (or 6 months if you're over 35, unless you already know you have a problem). Don't do clomid without monitoring (meaning a RE, not an OB-gyn).
If you can't chart because of your schedule, you could try checking CM. It's even less accurate than OPKs, but it's better than just assuming you're Oing. There's also MFI to consider. Ditto to PP's suggestion of reading Taking Charge Of Your Fertility.
Post by chitownbelle on Jul 24, 2013 9:06:08 GMT -5
Thank you so much for all of your kind and detailed responses! I'm in bed on my phone, work tonight, so will try to respond in the middle of the night if I get time. My NICU is busy lately and I have no down time. I will look into all of your suggestions. Really helpful advice, thanks!
Long story short: went off BC in September, past 6 months my cycles have gone like this: 35 days, 36, 40, 41, 34, 43 days.
Those sound pretty similar to what I had when I went off BC for a year, maybe 2 or 3 years ago. (I am back on now; we decided to delay TTC.) A few more of mine were closer to the 35 day side, but never really shorter than that. Definitely a full week longer than the 28 day crowd. Since all your cycles are within an 8 day range, I don't even think whoa, so irregular! Just not quite like clockwork, and a little long.
Despite my similar cycles I think I do ovulate, but we haven't TTC'ed, so I have no real evidence. I just know that I get sharp, discernable ovulation pain one day a month, only when I am not on BCPs, at the right time of the month for that to be it. That makes me think I do ovulate. But getting a period doesn't mean you do, and breast tenderness/PMS/bloating/etc. aren't dispositive either.
Have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility? I hate to be a broken record about it, because it gets rec'ed so much. But it is super informative and helpful for understanding the subtleties of what is going on.
I think "running is making you irregular" is kind of a crock. Running can lead to low body fat and amenorrhea, but it doesn't sound like that's where you are. (I'm not either.) In the absence of other symptoms, and as long as you have a normal (not underweight) BMI, I think running is a convenient scapegoat. I would definitely talk to your gyn at your next appointment, and I wouldn't let her dismiss your concerns with an "oh just stop running." I'm guessing, like a few others, that your schedule and night shifts are a bigger player.
I don't have advice much different other than what has already been offered, I just wanted to say that since going off BCP my cycle has been all over the place too.
Post by alexithymia on Jul 24, 2013 9:34:02 GMT -5
Thank you for posting this thread. It's very helpful. I went off BCP almost a year ago as well after almost 10 years on it. So far, my cycle has been closer to a 2 month time period rather than one month. I have been chalking it up to having been on the pill for so long combined with starting grad school and starting to run again after not doing it to years. I'm not currently TTC, so I wasn't overly concerned about it. Maybe if it doesn't start to straighten out soon, should I see someone about it?
I just want to chime in and say, as I'm sure you know, everybody and body is different. I think stress, sleep cycles, intense training, etc impact people differently, so don't assume or rule out anything. It certainly seems possible that marathon training along with a demanding job & erratic schedule makes it a harder time to get PG. I hope your OB appointment goes well & they can help get things sorted out.
Also, this post makes me think of a blog I follow. She really had to scale back her exercise while TTC even though she was a healthy weight at the time. (Though she does blog about a past ED.) 26.2runforfun.com/
She was really open about her TTC journey so I thought it was a good blog to share. Best to you!
It took my body a year to settle in to "normal" cycles coming off of BCP, and even then my "normal" cycles are around 35 days, occasionally a little longer. Running never seemed to affect it either way and I had no problem getting pregnant when we started actively TTC (staying pregnant was another story).
Anyway...I'm repeating what others have said at this point but I would definitely start monitoring your ovulation somehow, if you can't temp/chart then definitely OPKs. Order them in bulk from Amazon, they're pretty cheap. And check and chart your cervical fluid. A longer-than-average cycle is not necessarily a problem for TTC as long as you're ovulating, and I agree that ~35 days is definitely within the realm of normal.
It took my body a year to settle in to "normal" cycles coming off of BCP, and even then my "normal" cycles are around 35 days, occasionally a little longer. Running never seemed to affect it either way and I had no problem getting pregnant when we started actively TTC (staying pregnant was another story).
Anyway...I'm repeating what others have said at this point but I would definitely start monitoring your ovulation somehow, if you can't temp/chart then definitely OPKs. Order them in bulk from Amazon, they're pretty cheap. And check and chart your cervical fluid. A longer-than-average cycle is not necessarily a problem for TTC as long as you're ovulating, and I agree that ~35 days is definitely within the realm of normal.
Thank you for weighing in. This gives me hope. I wish I had gotten off the pill waaaay before I did, even though it was still months before I hoped to start trying. Congrats, btw!
I came off BC in September '12, I was on it for over 14 years. My first 2 cycles off it were 57 and 66 days (anovulatory) then I had 3 that were in the 30 day range and then recently they are back up in the 40s and 50's. mostly still anovulatory.
Around that time (September-November) I had a lot of races and some really hard 10 milers. I was running a lot. Even when I took a break in December and January, my cycles were still messed up. It wasn't running. I had PCOS.
really the best way to know if you are ovulating is temping. I 2nd reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility and getting a Fertility Friend account. I get horrible sleep, but what I will do is temp as soon as I wake up even if it's before my alarm clock goes off, then go back to bed (I keep my bbt next to my bed). I have seen that for the most part even if the times that I temp are different, you can still see the temp shift over your cycle to indicate whether or not you ovulated even if you aren't always temping at the same time.
with OPK's...based on my cycles, I start them around day 16 or 17 and I do twice a day starting day 20.
I have been told by my RE because of my PCOS and our IF problems, I have to tone down the running and any exercise that raises my core body temp too much. I was told to take up swimming instead.
It wouldn't hurt to temp and do opk's for a few months and if you aren't seeing a shift or never getting + opks, then visit a doc.
Post by mollyrunner on Jul 25, 2013 10:16:14 GMT -5
I also think the schedule/stress are contributing. For what its worth, I tried to get pregnant for 19 long months, and also had a ~40ish day cycle. I saw fertility specialists after a year who ran all kinds of tests to find that my husband and I were both "normal" and were diagnosed with unexplained fertility. I ended up quitting crossfit (partially because I already had one gym membership and if we were going to undergo treatment I figured we should save the money). But I kept up my running, spinning and strength training. I would recommend talking to a fertility specialist if it gets to that point. If I had cut out running I would have been even more down in the dumps than I already was. It was such a sanity saver for me and 19 months would have been a hell of a long time.
I'm one of the unlucky few who is (likely) very sensitive to running. A few years ago H and I tried to conceive with no luck. I don't ovulate and don't even get a period but was at a healthy weight. My RE suspected my lack of ovulation was due to the running. I've never been convinced that she was wrong or right in that assertion as I was literally only running 10-12 miles a week at the time. I think it can be different for everyone so hopefully your doctor will be able to give advice specific to you.