Can I come here now??

amorcito27

Hello! I haven't been on TB for a while, but I have been TTC since June 2015.  Since then, I have had numerous irregular cycles ranging from 36-43 days with no confirmed O and kind of gave up hope.  After a few non-ovulatory cycles, I stopped temping because it was just annoying to watch the months pass by and the temps frustrated me.  At about 9-10 months of TTC with several irregular cycles, I went to my doctor.  She did a progesterone test (among other tests) on CD 23 and it was extremely low (.5 if I am remembering the number correctly), everything else she said looked beautiful. 

I mentioned to her that I had been exercising very hard for the past several months (was doing anywhere from 2-3.5 hours of high intensity training), but she didn't think that could be an issue.  After reading several articles about intense exercise when TTC, I decided to cut back and now limit myself to an hour or less.  The first cycle that I cut back on exercising went down to 35 days, followed by a 34 day cycle last month. In between there I had my annual physical and explained everything to that doctor.  She recommend we do another progesterone test and it came back much high than the previous one, so while I had not been temping that month, I believe it may have been the first I ovulated in several months. 

I started temping again this month, as I am hopeful that I am ovulating now and it appears I have O'd on CD13 - crazy!  I'm still waiting for my chart to laugh at me and switch up my temps and take away my CH, but I am trying to stay optimistic.  I have also boarded the crazy train for the first time since last year and have started symptom spotting!  Now I'm looking to pass some time and get some advice on what I should be doing now that I am hopefully ovulating again. Since I didn't ovulate for so long, I'm debating if I should see if my cycles get back on track now that I have limited my exercise before getting any other tests done (or sending my DH to be tested) or if I should consider going sooner.  I'm guessing I am going to wait a little while longer and see what happens.  Looking forward to getting to know you ladies!

GoldenKeys

Hi there, it's great that you've taken the initiative to take charge of your fertility plan. I can't begin to tell you how many people I've met who knew more about infertility than their family doctor or even their OBGYN.   Good for you!

It's really up to you to decide if you want to go for testing or not.  If you were older I would probably recommend that you go in for testing, but the stats are enough in your favor to try for a while on your own if you want to.   It sounds like you might have a very low BMI due to the extensive amount of exercising, you might  want to look into that,  since there is a range of fat needed for optimal hormone regulation.  Just a thought though.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!

amorcito27

Thank you @GoldenKeys.  That is exactly what I was thinking in regards to waiting a little while longer.  Since I do have age somewhat to my benefit, I was thinking of giving it a while longer, especially now that it seems like I am finally ovulating after several months of no confirmed O.

As much as I wish my BMI were on the lower side, it's on the high end of the average range which is why my doctor did not think that exercise could be a factor.  However, upon reading a bunch of articles on this, I learned that the intense workouts for extended period of time can still impact your cycles, which I am hoping was my case because if so, it was a relatively easy fix - and now I can sleep in longer since I am not going to the gym as long!

I really appreciate the support and I am looking forward to learning about the next steps in this process should I get to the point where we need to do more tests, etc.