Question as an Egg Donor

[HopefullyMama]

Hi guys, I know I probably need to go to a fertility specialist to get these questions answered more thoroughly....but I thought I'd let anyone here have a crack at them too.

I was an egg donor twice, once 18 month ago and then again about 13 months ago.  I've been TTC for roughly 8-9 months now with no success, and I just requested my medical records from my donation cycles to see if I could find any clues.  Here's what I found.

I have all my levels for my last suppression-then-stimulation cycle; they put me on Follistim and Cetrotide with an Ovidrel trigger at the very end.  All told, they got 18 BIG eggs out of me (phew!).  

What I'm trying to do is do a little fact finding as far as the hormones go.  My LH, E2, and FSH levels all looked great before and during stimulation, so I'm not too concerned about those.  However they happened to test my progesterone levels JUST before the retrieval (so ~18 hours after my trigger shot) and it was only 7.8.  Now I know when they usually test P4, they are looking for >10 in a natural cycle, and >15 in a medicated cycle.  But that's normally at day 21, right?  So does this level that they drew mean nothing to me?  

Is my P4 really low, and that's why I've had 2 chemical pregnancies?  Or is this post-trigger shot number really not worth even looking at, and I just need to have it drawn again, at 7dpo, in a non-medicated cycle of TTC?

Thanks!  

[Kyamo]

I am no expert, but it is my understanding that the progesterone rises after ovulation, it come from the corpus luteum which is the place where the egg used to be. They aim to do egg retrieval just before ovulation, right? So before retrieval would mean before ovulation. So therefore, your progesterone levels from before retrieval should not be compared to the standards for the CD21 progesterone tests which are supposed to be after ovulation.

Other indicators of a progesterone problem would be a short LP (the time between ovulation and your period, measured by temping each day) or spotting during your LP.

[marielizabeth]

I'm an IVF vet, and my understanding is also that progesterone should go up post-ovulation, not before. So I don't think the 7.8 means anything. However, if you are having trouble, a GYN provider could give you progesterone supplements and baby asprin to take during the second half of your cycle. There are few risks to this, and it could help. Progesterone to thicken the uterine lining, and baby asprin to undo any small uterine blood clots that could possibly interfere with implantation. Best of luck!