New here with question about progesterone cream

[jeomom3]

Hi, I posted the message below on the TTC board and haven't heard anything, so I thought I'd try here. This is probably where I should be anyway because of my previous history with infertility. I guess I'm just reluctant to admit to myself that I do have fertility problems still. :


Hello everyone. I've been lurking here for a few days and thought I should introduce myself. I'm a 34 year old sahm. I was diagnosed with pcos back when we started ttc #1. We are trying for a baby after a second trimester miscarriage in April. I've been charting for the three cycles that I've had since the miscarriage. (I charted for the two years that it took us to conceive our first child, so I do have some experience charting.) The first cycle I think I O'd but then AF came 5 days earlier than expected. So really short LP! My next cycle was annovulatory.

After doing a bunch of reading I decided to take Vitex and use a natural progesterone cream. This cycle that I'm on now seemed annovulatory for the first few weeks. Then I got some ewcm and a temp rise the next morning. So I started the progesterone cream that day. My temps have been high for 10 days, going up .1 everyday for the last 6 days.

I have since read that you should make certain that you O before starting progesterone cream. I wasn't certain that I O'd when I started.

My question is this: Since my high temps may be ONLY the result of the progesterone cream, how long do I keep using it? Will AF stay away as long as I am using it? I don't want to stop if there's even a chance that I'm pregnant because I've read that that can actually cause miscarriage. But if I'm not pregnant I want to get on the the next cycle as quickly as possible so we can have another go at it! Does anyone have any experience with this or words of wisdom for me?

I know it's only been a few months, but I was supposed to be having a baby in about 6 weeks. If I'm not pregnant again by my due date I think I will have an emotional breakdown. I know it's very unlikely that I will get pregnant by then so I should just prepare myself for it!

Thanks for listening. And TIA for any info about progesterone cream.

Jen O.

[klink2]

Hi, Jen. I'm so sorry for your loss. I can only imagine the added pressure you must feel to get pregnant by the time you would have delivered.

I'm on an IUI cyce right now, and I've been using Progesterone suppositories. It sucks to tack on a few extra days each cycle due to the progesterone. If you knew what your cycle length should be, then you could test on that day, plus a day or two later, then stop the cream if it was still bfn. Otherwise, I think I read that a bfn at 16 dpo is pretty reliable. That's a long time to wait though, isn't it? Especially if you feel like you're losing time. Because I'm on an IUI cycle, I'm automatically scheduled for a blood test a 13 dpo. I'm sure someone on here will have some better advice. Good luck to you.

[jeomom3]

Thanks for the sugestions. I think I will wait until 16 dpo and if no AF and bfn, then I'll stop the progesterone. I guess all this added uncertainty is what I get for trying to self-diagnose and self-prescribe! I'm at 12 dpo now and I'm fairly certain I'm not pregnant. Just a feeling. But I think I'm okay with it. I'm looking forward to next cycle where I'm going to try Preseed and the smep!

Jen O.

[hannybanany]

If AF is going to arrive the progesterone cream won't keep her away. Just stop using it when you start bleeding.
Check out Dr John Lee's site for more info.