Progesterone Question

[sweetest77]

I'm headed into my 7th cycle with supps and feeling like I need a break...

I have a well established LPD. Blood showed borderline low-normal progesterone level at 7dpo. Consistent spotting starting at around 5 dpo and shortish LP (10-12 days) without any progesterone support.

I took a smaller dose (200mg) of progesterone for four months and it gave me a normal LP length but just pushed the spotting back to about 7-9dpo. For the last two months I've been on a higher dose (200mg 2x/day) and my spotting is gone and my LP was 13 and 14 days.

My OB is not a huge help, she means well but I don't think she is well versed in LPD. I'm going to need to move to an RE soon if I don't get pregnant.

Anyway, I guess I'm just wondering if anyone ever takes a month off from progesterone supps? I sort of feel like I need to see what my body does on it's own this month, but then part of me hates the idea that without the Prog. I am just throwing out this cycle.

Any words of wisdom?

[MaerynPearl]

If you have a well documented progesterone problem... not taking the progesterone is going to result in the same thing as you had before you started it...

Progesterone does not adjust your body to work the way it should on its own... but rather just assists your body each given cycle to do what it should be doing on its own.

If you have an LPD your body probably has a reason for it. I dont know what that reason could possibly be... but yes, not taking progesterone this cycle would be like throwing this cycle out the window.

[karmab]

i have to agree. i had lpd for a couple years, went on hormonal bc for about 7 years, because it felt like i either had af or pms more often than i didnt, but my first cycle off bc, lpd came right back. i was hoping it would have fixed itself during that hiatus, but alas, nope.

personally, im real tired of suppositories, and they are starting to cause me some irritation and that is not pleasant, thinking of switching to oral prometrium.

[sweetest77]

Thanks guys! I really needed someone to knock some sense into me I'm getting so frustrated sometimes I just feel like giving up.

This is only the second month I have had a completely normal LP, I guess I should try to remember how frustrated I was for the first 10 cycles when I couldn't get my LPD figured out!

Karma - Strange question...do you know anything about the effectiveness of taking prometrium orally vs. taking oral prometrium vaginally? I can't really get any solid information about wether or not it really matters. I started the prometrium orally at the lower dose and it made a difference but didn't fix my spotting problem. When I went up to the higher dose I started taking it vaginally. I've never tried the higher dose orally...maybe I will give that a try this month. I don't have irritation but I am so sick of feeling leaky and sticky all the time.

[karmab]

well, my doc said it was just my choice which way to take it. she sort of prefers vag, just because it is local vs. systemic, but she said it's a matter of personal preference. when i googled it back when she prescribed it, i dont remember anything saying otherwise. the only other thing she mentioned is that oral prometrium is not technically approved for use in pregnancy, it's off-label, but that doesnt really matter, it's still used all the time and there is no reason to think there is any problem with it, those kinds of things have to do with financial/testing/liablility issues on the pharmaceutical side, we use off-label drugs all the time in pregnancy (like terbutaline, if you know anyone who's had preterm labor, it's one of the top 3 drugs used to stop ptl, and it's off-label.)

[sweetest77]

Thanks Karma! I did ask my OB back when I first got the Rx and she just shrugged off the idea of taking it vaginally. Sort of like "why would you want to do that?" Ha!

I'm leaning towards taking it orally this month, maybe it really doesn't matter. It just seems like everyone is taking it vaginally, I can't seem to find any stories of people successfully taking it orally (for LPD anyway). I guess if I start to get spotting I can always switch back to vaginally...