Other reasons for a late period?

[TiredX2]

In the last year, most of my cycles have been 28-29 days.  I had one at 32 and one at 33, and one shorter but I can't remember exactly how short.  So, some variation, but nothing *too* drastic.

My last period started 2/29 (so, six weeks or 42 days ago).  I have taken three OTC pregnancy tests (last one yesterday) and they have all been negative.

Any ideas?

TIA

[Chloe'sMama]

Well, I don't have any ideas other than delayed ovulation, which could be due to stress.. or diet changes... or travel or sleep changes. I would see your doc too rule out false negative tests. I think taking Basel body temp is a great way to confirm ovulation. Good luck.

[JollyGG]

It might be time to have a doctor check it out. When I had that happen to me they did a blood test to rule out pregnancy and an ultrasound to look for cysts or other abnormalities.

In my case they didn't find anything wrong, attempted to induce a period (resulting in mild spotting for a few hours and nothing more) then told me to come back in 6 more weeks if I still didn't have a period.

When I came back six weeks later I was 4 weeks pregnant (no period for 12 weeks). So if you are not interested in another child I'd suggest continuing some sort of prevention even though everything seems wacked up right now. If you are wanting another child and this seems to have put a complication in your path, don't loose hope.

Edited by JollyGG - 4/11/12 at 3:10pm

[TiredX2]

So, when would you consider it time to go to a doctor?  Like how late?  We changed insurance last September and haven't been to a doctor since, so I'll need to *find* one first.  When does it become abnormally long? 

[JollyGG]

Originally Posted by TiredX2 

So, when would you consider it time to go to a doctor?  Like how late?  We changed insurance last September and haven't been to a doctor since, so I'll need to *find* one first.  When does it become abnormally long? 

I went at 6 weeks because it was also accompanied by weird pains. I also went a bit sooner than I would otherwise have because we were planning to start trying for child #2 and wanted to figure out what was going on so that we could get pregnant.

Without any other issues I personally would probably wait until 8 weeks, however, I tend towards longer cycles anyway.

Might be a good way to try out a doctor and see what you think. How they treat you in this situation will tell you a lot about how they would treat your concerns in other situations.

[filiadeluna]

Have you been taking any new supplements?  My cycles have always varied about the same amount as yours (28-32ish days), but when TTC #1, I decided to take Vitex one cycle, and it TOTALLY screwed me up.  I had a 45-day cycle, and all these "symptoms".  I was an emotional train wreck - took a blood HCG test, multiple HPTs, etc, and all these negatives.  So that is one thing I could think of that could throw things off that much for you.  Just a thought.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by filiadeluna 

Have you been taking any new supplements?  My cycles have always varied about the same amount as yours (28-32ish days), but when TTC #1, I decided to take Vitex one cycle, and it TOTALLY screwed me up.  I had a 45-day cycle, and all these "symptoms".  I was an emotional train wreck - took a blood HCG test, multiple HPTs, etc, and all these negatives.  So that is one thing I could think of that could throw things off that much for you.  Just a thought.

Nope.  I've basically cut out both caffene and artificial sweetners, but nothing beyond that.  Thanks for the ideas.  So, did you just start up your cycle again and everything was normal after that?

[TiredX2]

Just to update--- I ended up getting AF last Friday, so a 44 day cycle.  It started "quicker" than normal (largish gush, versus slowly increasing) and was distinctly dark--- more brown than red.  I've had a lot more cramps than usual (usually don't have any) and the blood flow was definately heavier.  It's calmed down now and is the normal bright red I expect.

Thanks for the input.