Provera experiences?

leafyarch

I just took my first Provera pill after not having my period since Christmas. I have PCOS. I'd love to hear from others that have experience, mainly:

1) What day of taking Provera did your period start?
2) How long did it last?
3) Bad cramps?
4) Did anyone use OPK to check if you ovulated after Provera? My OBGYN said to try test on day 15 after taking first Provera pill.
5) Did Provera jump start your cycle? Did your period come back naturally after?

Sorry for so many specific questions! I really appreciate any answers!

LadyMillil

I haven't taken provera specifically but from what I've read most women get their period within a few days of the last pill. For some women with PCOS it seems like provera jumpstarts their cycle and they are able to O normally after that, but not for others. 

I get my period when I'm on progesterone. The cramps are a little worse than normal, but my bleeding (amount, number of days) is pretty much the same. I don't have PCOS and O on my own. 

StephyM89

1) What day of taking Provera did your period start? 4 days after my last pill
2) How long did it last? 4 days
3) Bad cramps? About the same as usual....slightly less actually!
4) Did anyone use OPK to check if you ovulated after Provera? My FS monitors my ovulation, so I do not use OPKs
5) Did Provera jump start your cycle? Did your period come back naturally after? Unfortunately this was not the case for me....and I am now doing my second cycle....induced by Provera. My FS recommended that I wait until CD30 and then begin taking Provera if no AF

Hope this helps! 

leafyarch

Thanks you guys, very informative! I'd still love to hear from others!

mrsdaddario

@leafyarch

1. Started AF 4 days after ending the fifth pill
2. AF lasted 8 days
3. Yes, painful cramps and much heavier than normal. But nothing Midol didn't help.
4. I'm on CD 30 after AF induced Provera, I've been using OPK's since CD 20, sometimes twice a day. No positive yet. 
5. I went in for an ultrasound on CD 21 and the tech told me I was "mid-cycle". So I'm not sure yet if the Provera has regulated AF or not. If this cycle is only 40 something days then it's possible it's on it's way to regulating. Last cycle was 80+ days before I took the Provera. But I'm seeing an RE for the first time in Thursday and I'm assuming he'll have me start another round to bring on AF.


Edit to add: @StephyM89 my OB also told me
to take Provera again around CD 30-35 if I didn't get AF by then! She even gave me a script for three refills. But since I have the appointment with an RE on Thursday I'm going to wait to get his advice. I'm afraid there's a slim possibility I could O late, and miss it if I start Provera! Good luck on your next round! 

Keep in mind everyone is different!! Good luck!

leafyarch

thank you @mrsdaddario ! Keep in touch, I'd love to hear how it goes for you!

today is day three of Provera and I'm having cramps already. I feel like a teenage girl waiting for my first period! Lol

calfherder

1) What day of taking Provera did your period start? The evening of day 7 (last pill)
2) How long did it last? 4 days
3) Bad cramps? Not really. Just average.
4) Did anyone use OPK to check if you ovulated after Provera? N/A, took it to start IVF cycle.
5) Did Provera jump start your cycle? Did your period come back naturally after? N/A

leafyarch

Thank you, @calfherder ! Hope your IVF was successful, baby dust! *

Ducks&Cats

I've done two progesterone withdrawal challenges. The first one my bleed started 2 days after. Can't remember how long it lasted. The last time I started 6 days after the last pill and it lasted 6 days. It was a mostly a light cycle with a couple days of moderate bleeding. Unfortunately my
cycle was not jump started as I also have pcos. I'm doing a third progesterone challenge right now with the intention of starting clomid. Good duck!

leafyarch

Thanks @Ducks&Cats ! Let me know how it goes! Baby dust! *

leafyarch

Another question to you guys: did the pills make you severly lethargic? I am. I literally sleep all day after work, wake up to eat dinner and go back to sleep. Feel foggy, forgetful, depressed and unmotivated. When I search for side effects it doesn't mention it and it only really talks about the effects it has on menopausal women. I'm dying here! Craving all the foods too. It, day 6/10, gah

sarah1198

Provera was rough on me, apparently I was a raving madwoman lol I slept a lot too and felt depressed and unmotivated, especially about the whole TTC thing. I was worried because some people say Clomid is worse for mood swings but I didn't experience that, luckily, or I would be divorced!! You will get through it!

ktmac315

I was on put on Provera because I had been having irregular cycles and it worked for me! I was already spotting when I began taking it and it definitely jump started my period! Although, I have heard that it can take up to 10 days after you stop taking it for your period to start. I had very bad cramping and very heavy bleeding the first round, but probably because I hadn't had a normal period in so long and my uterus lining had built up. After taking it for 4 months my cycle is now more regular then it has ever been! I hope you have good success with it! Good luck!

Ducks&Cats

No side effects for me but I metabolize meds fast

leafyarch

Update: My temp spiked yesterday (provera day 8) and went drastically down today. I took an ovulation test this morning and got a positive!!! Faint, because the surge was probably yesterday, but I've never gotten so much as a smidge of a line before so I'm pretty stoked!

Ducks&Cats

So here is how things ended up for me.  3 days after my last progesterone pill I started to get some mild breast tenderness.  I was expecting to start spotting 2 days later, that didn't happen.  After an incredibly long 10 days of breast tenderness I finally started  a light AF.  I was so irritated because the first time I did provera it was 2 days and the second 6 days when I started the withdrawal.  I was reading up on all the tricks the jump start AF...I BD's (sperm is supposed to help soften the cervix), I did some aerobic exercise with lots of jumping and sit ups.  I also did some yoga with abdomen twists.  I was letting my brain get carried away and was thinking that it wasn't going to happen! 

Long story short- 10 day after last pill to start AF, only symptom was breast tenderness.

Mythril

1) What day of taking Provera did your period start? 4 days after I finished the 7th pill.
2) How long did it last? I'm still on it, but last time it was 6 days long.
3) Bad cramps? Last time no cramps, this time bad cramps. The mood swings were also worse this time. 
4) Did anyone use OPK to check if you ovulated after Provera? I have never ovulated. My PCOS makes me anovulatory. I am taking Clomid in conjunction with provera. I'm on my third round, and haven't o'd yet.
5) Did Provera jump start your cycle? Did your period come back naturally after? No. I don't have periods on my own naturally. I have maybe 1 a year, and it's not actually menstruation. 

Ducks&Cats

I had a four day light period followed by one day of spotting.

leafyarch

Thanks for all your replies girls. I am now three weeks out from the last pill an still no AF. My doctor just says hang tight and that irritates me to no end!

according to most fertility articles I've read, women who don't have a withdrawal bleed after Provera suffer from one of the following:

1. Hypothalamic hypoestrogenism (low estrogen levels)

2. Compromised outflow tract - either Asherman's syndrome (adhesions) or cervical stenosis (scarring)

3. Premature ovarian failure


...with each being worse than the last, but all are bad! If I have hypothalamic hypoestrogenism (vey likely, as I don't have a thyroid) then I would need estrogen shots. But my doctor just says wait and take another round of Provera in July and that might start it?

Ain't nobody got time for that

so nobody has experienced not getting AF after Provera?

Ducks&Cats

Some women who don't respond to progesterone do a birth control pack to get their period started because they need the estrogen. Maybe ask your doc about that?

harleyquinn0621

'Thanks for all your replies girls. I am now three weeks out from the last pill an still no AF. My doctor just says hang tight and that irritates me to no end!'

how frustrating i'm sorry- I dont have any direct experience with provera... my RE almost put me on it this month but I saw him on CD 31 and told him my cycles are normally around 33 days.... so we were going to give it a few more days and sure enough.... 2 days later AF hit

 i've also heard of women using BC when provera didn't work.. could be worth a shot.... good luck !  

leafyarch

Thanks for the tip guys. I'll ask my endo about it when I see him next week. But at the moment I do not want to ever see another BC pill go inside these lips ever! I feel like being on BC for a decade is what got me here in the first place. I quit BC in November, had a BC period, then cycled by myself 46 days later, en since then it has been 5 months.

I'm thinking hypothalamic amenorrhea, which might be likely seeing as I don't have a thyroid...