TTC with irregular cycles

[Anonymous]

Ever since I was a teenager my cycles have always been irregular. They could range from 1-3 months. I had been on the pill for years and then, two months ago, my husband and I decided we would try to get pregnant. That was back in early October. I have not had my period since getting off of the pill and am disappointed. I know it is normal for your body to need time to readjust to its natural cycle, but my cycles have always been irregular. Right now I am wondering how I can get pregnant if I don't get my period. I called my dr. yesterday and she said some people do ovulate even though they don't get their period ,and it is possible to still get pregnant although less likely. If another month goes by she told me to call back to make an appt. to come in. Has anyone else experienced this? I could use some encouragement. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

First, I will say Good luck and sorry that things haven't been as smooth as you desire so far. Your doctor is right that you could still have ovulated - perhaps you will just have long cycles (as in 30-60 day cycles which will be the "norm" for you). However, until you get your period and have a few more long cycles you will not be able to establish that this is in fact regular for you.

I recommend you get the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility and I highly recommend you start charting - this is the only way you will know whether you are ovulating or not without spending a fortune on OPKs.

Also, I know a lot of doctors want you to get to the 90 day mark without a period, but a doctor can give you a px to "jumpstart" your period. Sometimes not everyone's body kicks into gear after going off BC....I believe I have heard several people that went off the Depo shot have had this issue.

While we all want to believe that you get pregnant as soon as you stop birth control there are just too many stories that allow us to know otherwise. With long cycles you may not get as many opportunities in a year to become pregnant, but it only takes once so keep your head up.

[Anonymous]

I had this problem as well, with my cycles being 45 days or longer and irregular. I never thought anything about it until I tried to get pregnant. I charted for a couple months and used the ovulation sticks but it appeared that I wasn't ovulating. Given this, my Dr. didn't think I should keep trying for a full year and referred me to Shady Grove Fertility. I worked with Dr. Osbourne in the DC office (who is wonderful) and was told that this problem is the easiest one to solve. It was a couple of stressful months of tests and uncertainty but I'm now expecting twins. It only took me two cycles of clomid. The fertility problems now seem like a blip on the radar screen.

Once you get your pd, it may turn out that you are ovulating so you won't have to deal with all that but just wanted to share that it's out there and not that bad. Good luck and try to be patient - that was the hardest part and now looking back, it almost seems silly how much I stressed myself out after only a few months.

[Anonymous]

I was in a similar situation - I had pretty infrequent periods pre-pill and then when we decided to try for a baby, I got off the pill and did not have my period for a couple of months. When I saw my doctor we discussed options and she ended up prescribing something (I forget what) to produce one period and then 3 cycles of clomid at 50mg (?). I was pregnant after the 2nd clomid cycle (although even on clomid my cycle in between 1st and 2nd clomid was long - 45 days-ish. My understanding is that clomid helps you ovulate and there is a risk of triggering more than one egg during ovulation and thus there is a 10% chance of multiples. Anyway, I ended up having a healthy #1 in '06. Husband and I decided to go for number 2 in Sept. Again, I was prescribed the period inducing drug and then clomid and just found out I am pregnant after the 1st cycle. I should also state that I am 36 and time did play a factor in my decision to try clomid relatively fast. If I was in my twenties or even early 30s, I may have tried to wait a bit longer for nature to take its course.

So, reassurance that infrequent/rare/irregular periods do NOT mean you cannot concieve.

I've also seen a number of posts about not trusting your OB to correctly prescribe fertitility drugs and you should go to a fertility specialist instead. Depending upon your view of multiples (b/c that's one of the risks) that might be a more prudent course of action.

[Anonymous]

I had irregular periods, too -- I think my cycle tended to be about 7 weeks long, but I'm not sure exactly because I was on the pill for 12 years before trying to conceive. Maybe my story will give you some hope:

I went off the pill in October of last year, but didn't get my first period for 7 weeks (late November). I saw my doc in December, who suggested I use an at-home ovulation testing kit just to see when I ovulate. Based on when my first period came, I waited 'til the end of December (12/26, to be exact), and I tested. On my first test, it said I was ovulating (or to be more precise, it said that I was having a surge in the hormone that precedes ovulation). I thought for sure the test was wrong, but I tested the next day and it came back "negative." So, I made DH do it with me on 12/26, 12/27, and 12/28 (I say "made" because the poor guy was sick as a dog with a cold, but there was no stopping me!). Turns out, on one of those days, DS was conceived, and he was born 12 weeks ago.

I know we were *incredibly* lucky (my sister called me "Fertile Myrtle"), but I just wanted to let you know it is indeed possible to get pregnant with irregular cycles. Try not to worry too much, and enjoy the process of trying - one thing DH was upset about was that he didn't really get to enjoy it!

[Anonymous]

This is a little different - but wanted to offer my encouragement.

After my DS was born, when my cycle came they were really long (between 40 and 50 days). By reading Taking Charge of YOur Fertility, I was became very aware of my fertile period. We were able to concieve #2 within 3 cycles.

I highly recommend this book as well as the software that goes with it (I think an additional $30 charge).

Best of luck

[[e-mail]]

I agree with the recommendation on the book, etc. One additional thing to consider is your age also - if you are on the younger side (under 30 /31 +/-) and you have some time you can work with your regualr OB and (hopefully0 relax and try to find the right intervention if any are evennecessary for awhile. However, I would not wait too long if you are post 30 - I had a similiar backgound - started trying to get pregnant at 32 - had difficulty concieving for many reasons - then had difficulty carrying a pregnancy to term...etc etc. So it was 4 years before I delivered my first full term baby. While this is certainly not the norm, I would just balance your decision by the age factor, especially if you wnat to ahve 2 or 3 children. I also (eventually) went to Shady Grove (Annandale) and had a great experience

Good Luck

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you so much for your suggestions. Age is not really an issue. I am in my late 20s so I know I have time to be patient.

[Anonymous]

I had very regular periods prior to going on the pill but once I went off there was no rhyme nor reason to them - my cycles became about 6-8 weeks long. I thought I'd have trouble conceiving because of this but DD #1 was conceived on the second try and DD#2 on the first. Neither time did I chart ovulation, we just lucked out. Hubby is very proud of his guys! Word of caution though, both times I did not find out I was pregnant until about 7 weeks along. I just assumed my cycle was being wacky and it too a long time for the home pregnancy tests to show anything. So be in the "I could be pregnant" mindset while trying, i.e. don't booze it up and sushi it up like I did the first time (DD is fine).

[Anonymous]

Hi - Am one of the previous posters. If you are in your late twenties my advice would be to just wait things out for 6 months and see what happens. it might all sort itself out on its own. Also, make sure to enjoy these days of pre-baby! Babies are wonderful, but I am so thankful for all of my pre-baby experiences (travel w/only carry on luggage, last minute late nights out, being able to stay up past 10pm, long uninterrupted showers, etc),

[Anonymous]

To the 11:30 poster, what did you mean when you said "it took a long time for the home pregnancy tests to show anything"? I have taken pregnancy tests since I haven't gotten my period yet and they all came back negative. I took them over a period of a few weeks. Are you implying that your experience was that there was a delay in the pregnancy tests being positive?

[Anonymous]

11:30 am poster here: the answer is yes. For whatever reasons, it took a while for the positive results to show up. I confirmed both pregnancies with the Dr. so, based on what the packaging says, the tests should have given me the results sooner. It's very possible I didn't do them correctly and I don't think I ever did them the very first thing in the am when the hormone, whose name I have forgotten, is at its highest levels.

[HrCreuzi]

Something you may want to look into being diagnosed for (or ruling out) if Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) I had very irregular cycles as a teen. I went on birth control- when I went off of it I didn't get any period for about 6 months. Then they came irregularly again and with added pain. It took a specialist, blood work, ultrasounds and such to figure out I have PCOS- which is the leading cause of fertility issues.

The good news- with treatment with Metformin 80% of women conceive in 6 months. After 6 months most Dr's put you on fertility drugs. I was very lucky in that it took 2 months to conceive my DD who is now 8 wks old.

Just something you may want to look into.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My advice would be to see a reproductive endocrinologist (REI). If you are not ovulating, there is always a reason and this can be figured out within a month. I found I got really frustrated when we were trying by everyone telling me to wait it out, especially because I am young. True, you may ovulate once in a while, but unless you are having intercourse every other day, you might miss your window. I found out I was hypothyroid and was put on Synthroid. I started ovulating regularly and got pregnant in 2 months.

Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

My cycles have been really irregular after a miscarriage.... I've read the book TCYF, but I feel completely out of control now and at a loss as to when and if we'll get pregnant... and since we did get pregnant originally after three months, I don't think my doctors are worried at all about fertility issues .

I'm so sad now, I feel like everything is screwed up. Just past my 'due date' of the first pregnancy and it makes me so sad...