Am I out at 14 or 16 or 18dpo? A WWYD ?

[babygrey]

Here's the situation-
I'm 14dpo and on loads of progesterone.
BFN. BFN. BFN.

I've gotten myself into a pickle where I declined a beta and now I don't want to stop taking my progesterone cuz, well, I don't have a BFP and maybe, just maybe it is too early?

Originally, I didn't want a beta bc we're trying to be money conservative and save every dollar we can for fertility tx and my insurance won't cover it (read: DH will be super pissed if I beg for one ) and, well, I just thought by 14dpo I would know.

This is my first cycle on progesterone, so I didn't really think about the implications that I would have to actually stop the progesterone to get AF and call myself out. I have enough progesterone to last thru Monday (17dpo).

My RE's office was really flippant about it. The assistant says I don't need a beta; at 14dpo I can consider myself out if I don't have a + hpt and stop taking the progesterone. They will do a beta if I want one... buuuut... since I didn't get all freaky about it until today, I got myself into a mean waiting game- I have to wait until Tuesday for a beta bc RE's office is closed Friday afternoon and my state observes the holiday Monday.

So. I guess I just want some words of wisdom. Am I truly "out" at 14dpo like my RE's office says? How about at 16dpo when my progesterone runs out?

I'm not, right?? But I probably am? (truly, part of me wants the answer to be yes so I can stop taking the progest and move on)

I guess I want WWYD wisdom about whether a beta on Tuesday- at 18dpo- is worth the money if we're trying to not spend unnecessary money or if I should trust a hpt by Tuesday and save myself the money to use next cycle.

For those on progesterone- without a beta, how do you get comfortable with stopping the progesterone? I'm scared I'll always wonder 'what if', kwim?

ps. anyone w/ a FF VIP- I can only see the pregnancy monitor thru the dpo I'm at- does anyone know what stats they quote for bfps at 16dpo?

okay. deeep breath.

[karmab]

im right there with ya, babygirl. every month. i've tried not to overthink it. my doc says if i make it to 14 dpo, take a test. if it's neg, stop the p4. and so, that's what i've done. this past month, i had spotting quite a bit, had spotting on 12dpo, thought that was af, stopped p4, was traveling so didnt have a hpt, didnt get af afterall for another day after that, and then had a heavy af (for me anyway) with clots. im kicking myself, what if i messed up. i was supposed to have a beta that day, 12 dpo, but i canceled it when i saw the spot- it was like a quarter size- but then had no more bleeding and headed out of town. anyway, that's a long way of saying i know the agony this can be, having to make the decision every month on when to give up, instead of just waiting to see if af comes. they do say on most of the hpts that they are 99% accurate by the time you are 1 day late, so about 15 dpo.

[Pickleopolous]

Tough call

Hi Babygrey-

It sounds likely that you're out, but it's possible that you're not. If I were you, I would take the full prescription of prog., and stop if I were still getting a bfn. That way you have the peace of mind that you gave it enough time to be sure. I would definitely want a beta, like you do, but I don't think you need one, you know? Especially at cd18...you should know for sure by then, I would expect.

Hang in there. I know it's hard. With my second I was prescribed progesterone as well, and it was scary to stop taking it even though the doc. gave me the ok.

Hope this helps!

[babygrey]

thank you, ladies.
that's exactly what I needed to hear.
I'm really glad I'm not the only one who feels torn about stopping the progesterone.

karma- I'm gonna try to follow your advice and not overthink it. Hugs to you. I can just feel where you're at with the wondering, too.

I just wish I were one of those lucky moms who got their super-late bfp, kwim?

[nintendork]

I would also take the full prescription. I did it for 4 months and I always felt like the progesterone was bittersweet and that having to make the decision to stop each month was so unfair. Taking the full prescription takes some of the guesswork out of it in a way. Good luck to you, I hope this works out for you soon!

[TTC]

I'd be really tempted to take the beta especially if your period hasn't started by Tuesday I mean isn't that in itself a sign? I don't want to give wrong info either, as I am a newbie. I too was prescribed progesterone as of yesterday (CD11). The nurse was vague and so I'm not 100% sure why I need it and am worried if it will affect my chances but if my doctor were to say stop taking it I would just stop even if I had more pills left in the bottle. I wasn't told how long to take it though.

[MaerynPearl]

hypothetical situation -

If you didnt O, your temps went up due to you being a little sick at the time... and thus you started progesterone pre-O, you would not O and thus you would not get AF until you stop.

However, you could be one of those rare pregnancies that just do not show up until 18dpo or whatever too...

I say call in and get a beta if neither a bfp nor AF has arrived by the next day you can (assuming Tuesday unless your doctors office is awesome and open on Saturdays)

[babygrey]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

hypothetical situation -

If you didnt O, your temps went up due to you being a little sick at the time... and thus you started progesterone pre-O, you would not O and thus you would not get AF until you stop.

*shudder* hm. I suppose that's within the realm of possible, I don't think likely, tho, bc my secondary signs have never, ever, ever been so convincing (I realize that's not certain), but I believe at least the 1dpo and 3dpo temp to be accurate. I was sick on O day (temp dip), and progressively less sick on 1dpo, 2dpo and then totally better on 3dpo. I didn't start the progesterone until bedtime on 3dpo (that's how I have enough to get to 17dpo)

I think, really, it is that I'm on 300mg of compounded, bio-identical progesterone suppositories (supposedly way more bio-available than oral- tho not as good as IM)- which is at least a moderate dose, and I'm pretty sure that's what's holding off AF.

Still holding out a tiny bit of hope that I'm a late bfp. Betabase is really encouraging. Have you ever seen anywhere the typical ratio of blood hcg to urine hcg levels? I mean, I'm sure it varies widely, but I've got to think someone has at least speculated... and on betabase, there are women @ 14dpo with super low blood levels that I assume wouldn't show up on a hpt...

[babygrey]

Originally Posted by nintendork

I would also take the full prescription. I did it for 4 months and I always felt like the progesterone was bittersweet and that having to make the decision to stop each month was so unfair. Taking the full prescription takes some of the guesswork out of it in a way. Good luck to you, I hope this works out for you soon!

Thank you. It really makes me feel better that I'm not the only on who feels burdened by having to decide to stop the progesterone.
Although I toyed with stopping the progesterone (I'm broken out like a pimply 13 year old!!), I'm going to take the whole prescription and, thus, at least feel like I did the best I could.

Originally Posted by TTC

I'd be really tempted to take the beta especially if your period hasn't started by Tuesday I mean isn't that in itself a sign? I don't want to give wrong info either, as I am a newbie. I too was prescribed progesterone as of yesterday (CD11). The nurse was vague and so I'm not 100% sure why I need it and am worried if it will affect my chances but if my doctor were to say stop taking it I would just stop even if I had more pills left in the bottle. I wasn't told how long to take it though.

Hi! Thx for the comments and welcome to the forum, I hope your stay here is short and sweet.
Taking progesterone can hold off your period (it is the same way it holds off your period when you are pregnant), and I'm on a pretty good dose, too. So, no, unfortunately, not getting your period isn't necessarily a sign of pregnancy when you're on progesterone. (some women will still get AF on progesterone)

I'm curious why your doctor prescribed progesterone for you. If you're not sure- I'd suggest calling and asking, bc taking progesterone before you ovulate can actually make you NOT ovulate. (although there are some situations where that's not true, and maybe those apply to you)

Good luck to you.