Not ovulating

[missdamaris]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I hope I'm posting in the right place. Feeling very confused and upset at the moment and hoping for some seasoned advice

I've had a routine day 2 and day 21 test and have been told I'm not ovulating. Am shocked as really wasn't expecting the problem to be me as I've been pregnant before. I was told over the phone by the doctor's receptionist on Thursday (lovely experience in an open plan office) and had a week's wait to speak to the doctor (tomorrow). I've been thinking of nothing else since.

I want to make sure I ask the right questions. I started doing OPK last cycle (same cycle as blood tests) and didn't get a positive until day 18, which lasted until day 19. Is it possible that the blood test was done too early, or am I clutching at straws? What reasons are there for not ovulating given that I fell pregnant very easily 5 years ago? Is it because of my age (35)? Also I sometimes get spotting before my period, is this something I should be worried about? What other questions should I be asking?

Finally, if I really am not ovulating, what does this mean? Is there any hope?

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I cover everything I need to when I speak to the doctor tomorrow. Any advice very gratefully received.

Thanks everyone

 

[broody2013]

I'm not sure about this I am waiting for fertility tests next year. What I think is that the 'day 21' bloods really mean '7 days after you should have ovulated' so if like me you ovulate around CD18, you ideally need your bloods doing day 25 to get an accurate result. Talk to your doctor about it tomorrow. It is normal for ladies to have maybe one cycle where they don't ovulate each year but more than that is abnormal I think, your doctor will tell you more. Try not to google or obsess as you can't do anything until you know what is happening, I know it's hard.

 

[phonixgirl]

Broody is right - CD21 tests should be done 7 days after ovulation. It definitely sounds like yours were too early if they were done on cd21.

If you're not ovulating, there's lots that can be done but generally the answer is clomid.

Spotting before your period is sometimes indicative of a problem and sometimes not. It's generally a sign of low progesterone coming from an issue in the first phase of your cycle. I used to get a lot of spotting but mine came from pcos - don't worry though, it's very common in non-pcos ladies. My sister has spotting, doesn't have pcos and got pregnant after 18 mths.

I could go into lots of detail about spotting, helping ovulation etc but I think you'll be ok xx

 

[missdamaris]

Thanks for your reassurances guys.

Just had my doctor's appointment and it's left me feeling even more confused. Day 2 test was all normal, day 21 test showed a reading of 9.3, which he said means I definitely didn't ovulate. I explained that I'd done OPK that cycle and the surge was very distinctive on days 18-19 - but he wasn't interested. He said OPKs are not backed up by science and also didn't seem prepared to contemplate the idea that someone can ovulate late in their cycle. He just kept quoting 14 days after period for a 28-day cycle (my periods are pretty regular give or take a couple of days - this one was 29 days). He's referred me for 'swabs' and is refusing my request for another blood test saying I definitely didn't ovulate. HOWEVER he also said it's normal not to ovulate 15-20% of the time.

So now I am so so so confused. If the test was done too early, would a reading of 9.3 be understandable? Or is that just too low no matter when it was taken? I don't know what to think.

Also does anyone know what the 'swabs' are?

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.

 

[Lucyboo]

Hi, I don't ovulate regularly. Did you have your FSH levels checked? Is that what the 9.3 is? OPK's don't work for me because I get the surge for so long. My current cycle is getting close to 6 months and just had my blood levels all retaken today to see what is going on.
I'm not sure what the swabs are for but it might be worth asking if anyone in your surgery is a specialist in Gynae or fertility so you can speak to the right person.
It's definitely worth getting bloods redone the following month.

 

[missdamaris]

Thanks Lucyboo. My FSH and everything else from my day 2 blood test was normal. The 9.3 was my progesterone. I have regular periods, and my OPK showed a definitive 2-day peak of LH. Just don't know what to think.

 

[louise2610]

My GP was amazing. She had my progesterone tested for 3 months on the trot. I didn't ovulate either. Went away in January, didn't bother with ovulation tests or anything & conceived there. I truly believe not stressing about ovulating, eating & drinking & pill popping weekly recommended fads won't help. Get active as you can in the bedroom & enjoy it. If it happened to me it can happen to you. Best of luck 🍀

 

[phonixgirl]

Hmm, it does seem strange. I'm not sure what the swabs would be for (I can only think infection) and I've had lots of tests!

Not everyone's luteal phase is 14 days, although this is ideal. It is possible you could ovulate on cd18 and have a 29 day cycle (meaning your luteal phase is 11 days). I don't think your GP should have dismissed that straight away - we aren't all textbook cases. My cycle was 24 days when I had the progesterone test but the GP told me to do it on cd17 (7 days after I thought I ovulate). I've never done it on cd21.

Do you temp? I really recommend it. It will show when you have ovulated and gives you a great insight into your body. It's really easy to do. Xx

 

[missdamaris]

Thanks so much everyone. Having done a bit more research I can see very clearly that if my test was done too early it would definitely show a low reading for progesterone, and that luteal phases vary from woman to woman. It angers me that a doctor would treat me so flippantly and dump seemingly devastating news on me when really what he should have said was 'you know what, actually I'm not 100% sure so let me spend some time looking into this and get back to you'.

I've stopped freaking out now as it seems this result may simply be wrong. My onward research was spurred on by what you all said so THANK YOU. Now however it looks like I'm going to have to try and answer this question myself. I've started temping and have bought a digital OPK, I'm also going to monitor my CM. I want to know everything that's going on!!

I have one question - if I don't ovulate, will I fail to see a temperature increase? Does the increase signify that I've (almost) definitely ovulated?

Thanks again xxx

 

[phonixgirl]

I use a free app called Fertility Friend to record my temps on and that automatically detects ovulation which makes life a whole lot easier Basically your temperature should increase after ovulation (so, they'll be around say 36.3 until you ovulate and then jump to 36.8 - obviously I've just used these as examples so don't worry too much about the numbers themselves).

How frustrating! Lots of doctors repeat the test anyway if there is no ovulation as it's normal not to ovulate once in a while xx

 

[missdamaris]

Oh wow, I've just downloaded the app and it's brilliant! This is something I can show to my doc after a couple of months too. Thanks for the tip!

I'm going for my mysterious 'swabs' today so will see what that's all about. I'm quite scared about having them done but feeling much better generally. OH has his semen analysis on Monday too. Hopefully that and two or three months of charting will give me a clearer picture than this GP.

 

[missdamaris]

Hi everyone, I thought I should come back and update on my situation as I know from experience how frustrating it can be to look through a thread on someone's experience and not find out how things turned out.

I followed all your advice and started monitoring my cycle properly. I charted every day and used 2 different types of OPK concurrently. The results were very clear: I ovulated on day 22 - yes 22! - of my cycle. So my GP who insisted every woman ovulates 14 days into her cycle couldn't have been more wrong. He insisted he was right, there's no way I was ovulating based on my results - news which for me was as bad as being told I have a terminal illness. But the test was almost certainly done at the time I was ovulating or possibly even before. This is what I suspected and he insisted I was wrong. He needs to do some basic learning on cycles!!!

So it turns out that all this time we were just doing the BD at the wrong time.

Anyway, we timed our BD around the OPKs, and followed my temps as you advised. And two days ago I got a BFP.

If I hadn't come here and asked you guys about this, and had instead followed the advice of the GP who was referring me for fertility treatment, I would right now be both very miserable and not pregnant. After months and months and months ago I am finally there. I cannot thank you enough. Thank you thank you thank you.

Wishing baby dust on every last one of you xx

 

[tinselcat]

Oh wow - very happy to hear about your BFP!!

That's fantastic news Congrats!!

I don't know why doctors are so dismissive of OPKs, I've found them extremely accurate for charting stuff, but anyhoo it's water under the bridge now and I'm so pleased for you

 

[phonixgirl]

OMG, that's amazing! I'm so so happy for you!!! Congratulations Wishing you a happy and healthy 9 months. I am so so happy xx

 

[BettyHoop]

Congratulations and thank you for updating. What a great informative thread with a happy ending xx

 

[ClaireDoll]

Amazing new missdamaris, congrats and thanks for the update, it's made me more hopeful after similar experience Xx

 

[Robyner]

That is absolutely fantastic news!!