Progesterone shut-down cycle FAIL!

Well, this was an interesting cycle to be sure.

I was attempting to suppress ovulation, take lots of progesterone to correct the ration of estrogen to progesterone in my body and give myself a wee break from the ttc madness.  The plan was to do 3 cycles.  I took 96mg of USP progesterone cream on day 7-26.  I took my temp regularly though didn't always chart them right away.  I noticed cm and other symptoms but kept shoving them back in my brain telling myself I was "on break".  I did not record in my journal, have not eaten well, have rarely exercised.  I was really taking a break... or so I thought.

I just this afternoon went to enter the last 5 days of bbt temps in my TCOYF chart and realized, huh, those have all been higher.  Entered the data and lo and behold the chart gave me an ovulation date of cd 25 - about a week ago.  If I think back, yep, did have a bit more cm around then - yep, I do remember feeling tender/sore and yep, I did also have abdominal twinges around then.  It wasn't as severe as recent cycles but the signs were there.

So, guess we're in the 2 week wait - about a week through it actually, which is nice.  I don't expect much, but will be watching with interest.

Will be considering future cycles, will probably continue as planned, I don't know?

Appt yesterday and another Monday

My NaPro doctor moved from NC to MO and he has been helping me via e-mailed charts and prescriptions, etc... This last cycle just was not looking as good BBT wise as the previous one and I was asking him what else we could do. We discussed upping my meds dose and he recommended getting an ultrasound of my ovaries prior to that so that we could make sure there were no large cysts or a lot of unruptured large follicles. I found a family doctor locally who would see self-pay patients (harder than I imagined)! I met with him yesterday. We talked for a while about my history, current treatment, what I needed and he palpated my belly and pretty quickly found my right ovary seemed enlarged and likely cystic. I guess with PCOS, that isn't a big surprise, but I was still disappointed. We have the ultrasound scheduled for Monday afternoon to get a good look and see what is going on there, how many cysts, how large, what kind and how the follicles are looking. It's a relief to finally be getting a "look-see" but intimidating nonetheless. I am also considering and discussing with both doctors trying to get an hsg done to check on blockages and see what my tubes and uterus are looking like... costly, but seems worth it? We are also going to check into getting a semen analysis done, it hasn't been pushed by doctors since Tom is "proven" :-) but a lot can change in 10 years and he is around a lot of chemicals and nasties in his work, so probably worth another check. We figure that throwing over $200 at meds a month, we should be good and certain nothing else is blocking the way. So, that's the update here. It's funny, now that the Dr. pressed on my ovary and I felt what it felt like (tender), I can find it now and feel the cysts. Eeek! I am nervous about the news of what all we find in there.

I've been feeling a little more "off" for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Ever since 10dpo last cycle, not sleeping real well, night sweats, temps erratic. Grrrr.....

May & June cycles

We gave in and have tried some new meds the last 2 cycles. I have taken Femara (letrazole) days 3-7 and hcg injections days 3,5,7 and 9 dpo. These are to stimulate a stronger ovulation and to jump start the corpus luteum into producing progesterone. The cycles have definitely improved, but I am not yet pregnant. They have both been 35 days long and ovulation occurred around day 20 which makes my lp go from 12 days to 15 days - very nice! I am encouraged by these things and thankful that my follicular (estrogen dominant) phase and luteal (progesterone dominant) phase are waaaay more balanced - this is so much healthier for me over all. My bbt chart the 1st cycle on the meds was beautiful and I was very hopeful. The 2nd cycle (ended yesterday) was not as good, temps went up a bit, went up some more but then by 10dpo they were dropping and stayed just barely above coverline the rest of my lp. I also had a tiny bit of spotting on 10dpo and a headache the day before menses (with migraine "aura" the night before the headache), all of this indicates low progesterone to me. So... keeping on keeping on. Sent an e-mail to my Dr and FP tonight to see what's next and if any changes are in store for the next cycle.

Cycle update

Okay, so haven't updated here this cycle yet - in short, it's been disastrous!

I upped my dose of soy iso like I had planned and I have been spotting continually, estrogen has been spiking and plummeting making my bbt chart look like the rocky mountains. I so rarely have mid-cycle spotting that this has been very strange for me and discouraging. I literally have spotted 20 days out of the 26 days so far in this cycle, and am annovulatory so far.

I now feel guilty for taking the soy against my better judgement, it was a "compromise" to hopefully avoid the clomid or femara. It has really messed me up this cycle and I pray it clears quickly and we can move on. This has likely set me back with the Dr. at least 2 months as far as getting labs done and moving on... :-( He knew I was taking it and even said last month that it seemed to be helping along with the metformin, but it wasn't prescribed.

Today, I am very crampy and have leg aches and twinges in my R sciatica, I am very hopeful that this is the end of the cycle coming... but hard to say. I'll let you all know how next cycle works out.

Thanks for your prayers and hanging in here with me.

Some improvements this cycle

Well, my chart looks even better and ovulation came a few days sooner and definitely stronger than last month... now we are in the two week wait which can be so hard, but I try to look at it as a break from all the tests and observations that I have to be so careful about in the follicular phase, I still temp and track cm but no OPKs, no microscopes, and it's just waiting.  :-)  I am encouraged by this cycle so far.

Ovulation!

I am so excited!  By all signs, it appears that I have actually ovulated and my charts looks so beautiful to me. :-)  Check out the TCOYF chart in the sidebar link --->.  I am in the lovely 2ww, actually half way through it now, so we shall see... I may start testing the middle of next week because if I get a + I want to get a progesterone test ASAP.  Pray for us!