TTC, exercise messing with menstrual cycle?

[Hydrabinx]

Hi,

My husband and I are ttc and I have a question. I got off birth control in mid March. My next two cycles were 5 weeks long (normally 4 when on BC). During that time I was exercising on a fairly regular basis (moderate, about 30-40 minutes, 3-5 days a week - I'm also a very fidgety person). Then I got off track with exercising and hardly did any at all. My next cycle was back to only 4 weeks. Could this change in cycle be due to exercising as I have always been a very thin person (5'1''~110 lbs). Although, my BMI is always in the normal range (~21). The thing is, I would much rather have the 4 week cycles as we are ttc and I am afraid to start exercising again because I don't want to have the longer cycles. I know exercise is supposed to be good, but with me, it seems to be having a negative effect (my body does have a tendency to do the opposite of what doctors say it should do). So the real question is, should I put off exercising again until after I do become pregnant?

Thanks in advance for any responses!

[ISISandOSIRIS]

As far as I know, the only issue with exercising and ttc is overdoing it to the point that a women becomes annovulatory (usually because her bmi is way below normal range).  Another reason for the abnormal cycles could be that it took a few months for your body to adjust post-bc.  However, if you want to exercise, you may want to consider adding it gradually.  Exercise is beneficial for fidgety people (especially if it comes from nervous energy). You may enjoy something low-impact and meditative like walking, hiking, and/or yoga.  

[JMJ]

A moderate to heavy exercise routine can mess with your cycle some, but I'm not sure the difference between 4 and 5 weeks is really anything to worry about.  If it bothers you, maybe you could find some middle ground.  When you're already pregnant is not the best time to start a big exercise routine.  It's better to build on being fit from before pregnancy.

[Jaimee]

Welcome to MDC!! 

First, your body may need some time to regulate after getting off the BCP.  Some woman are regular right away and others take upwards of a year to regulate.  So you might be experiencing that.  But, moderate exercise definitely messed with my cycles.  I am underweight (5'4" and 99 pounds when not pg) and I used to run 3-4 times a week usually 4-6 miles a time.  So not strenuous by any stretch, but definitely moderate.  Since progesterone and estrogen are stored in fat if you don't have quite enough of it your cycles can be affected.  Ovulation can be delayed and your luteal phase can be shortened.

Personally I'm a big fan of charting your temp and cervical fluid to get a clear picture of what is happening in your body.  It is not uncommon for women on the lower end of the weight scale to have shorter luteal phases and this is something you would want to know prior to TTC.    My LP was less than 10 days until I cut back on running and supplemented with vitamin B6.  I also increased my calorie intake to around 3000 per day and managed to gain about 4 pounds (I have a very hard time gaining  weight as you can see!).  Over a couple of cycles my LP went up to the 10-12 range, allowing me to conceive.  Plus, charting helped me to know when I was going to ovulate, which for me, was never at the traditional CD 14, but usually around CD 20.   So I was able to time the BD well and also know accurately how many days I was past O in order to know when to take an HPT.

If charting sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler and logging your temps and other data on a free site like www.fertilityfriend.com so you can share you charts on this forum to get tips and help deciphering anything that's confusing.  Good luck!