Short Cycles?

polyhymnia23

I have been tracking my cycles since November (just my cycles, no temp charting yet) and what I noticed today (CD1) is that my cycles are usually between 20-25 days, never longer. Does anyone else have short cycles? If so, is this something I should worry about or is it okay to have a short cycle since they are regular? 

I do have PCOS and my doc is starting me on Metformin and BC (low dose) until my wife and I decide on a donor and are ready to start the IUI with n RE.

Thanks all! 

hlke

Are you temping and charting?  Sometimes short cycles can mean your luteal phase is too short, but the only way to know is if you know when you are ovulating.  Some women also just ovulate early and have short cycles.  "Normal" is 21 to 35 days.

The good news is, once you start cycles with the RE, they'll be monitoring you very closely, so they should be able to figure out any problems fairly quickly.  Still, bring any information you have to the appointment - it can be helpful to them in knowing what to look for.

polyhymnia23

Thank you. I have not charted my temp, but I have charted my AF since November. I won't be starting the RE until I "need" to. For now, my gyno has me on birth control and metformin (which I haven't started yet) to "give my ovaries a break". She says that I have the greatest change of conceiving the first ovulation after I stop birth control. 

We'll see! 

JGY

I would definitely recommend starting to temp chart now.  Having knowledge of your own cycle and being able to produce that information when you need it, can be really critical to formulating an effective plan once you do meet with your RE. 

While I know it sounds overboard, I temp charted on and off for 2-3 years before TTC.  It was so helpful to have that information.  Because any particular cycle can be different and affected by so many things, it's great to be able to analyze overall trends.

I don't have PCOS, so no experience there, and I don't have short cycles (30-31 days), but through temp charting I did find out that I have a very short leuteal phase.  In treating that condition, we found success in conceiving.

Good luck to you!

Now rereading, I would suggest talking to your doc about temp charting.  I'm not at all sure how being on BC would affect that since BC generally regulates your cycle.  Might not be that helpful after all ...

Let us know what you find out!

 

hlke

polyhymnia23:

Thank you. I have not charted my temp, but I have charted my AF since November. I won't be starting the RE until I "need" to. For now, my gyno has me on birth control and metformin (which I haven't started yet) to "give my ovaries a break". She says that I have the greatest change of conceiving the first ovulation after I stop birth control. 

We'll see! 

Gah, The Bump ate my post.

Short version: I've heard anecdotal evidence that works.  Both my sister and cousin with PCOS got KTFU their first cycle of BCPs.

 

Do you plan to start TTC with your gyno, on your own, or at the RE?  With PCOS and a short cycle, I'd probably go straight to the RE for a fertility work up.  No point in shooting expensive sperm into you if you have any issues going on. 

polyhymnia23

Thank you for the advice! We still haven't decided on whether we are using a KD or bank. If KD, we will have to wait at least 6 months while the sperm is quarantined (fda law), unless we do it at home. Once we decide if we are using a KD, we will know how to proceed and how long I will stay on BC. 

I haven't seen the RE yet, but will be seeing them as soon as we decide what we are doing. I haven't been diagnosed with any infertility issues as of yet. That said, I haven't ttc yet, either  

 Thanks again!! 

bundleoluv11

I have notice that my cycles are getting shorter I went from 30 to 28 to now 26 23. I think its because of the seasons I have not a clue. But, I have regular periods and I ovulate on time every month. So I hope with my cycle this month every will be ok. I think its starting so it will be time for my iui

JoySeattle

I also had regular cycles in terms of length (28-29 days consistently) but a short-ish luteal phase (9-10 days). I chose to do progesterone supplementation on insem cycles and was very glad I did as we got a bfp and it gave me peace of mind that I had done what I needed to do.

I don't know as much about PCOS, but if I did I would be very proactive about co-managing my care with my care in terms of bcp (some people have trouble with irregular and/or annovulatory cycles after being on them for awhile). I also highly recommend charting bbt, cm and opks, especially if/when you're off bcp and have some time before your first insem. My knowledge of my cycle from charting saved me so much stress and allowed us to avoid an RE.

 Best of luck!

polyhymnia23

Thank you!

polyhymnia23

That is great information to know. I didn't even think about using KD at home AND banking it just in case we need to do IUI. That is a great idea! Thank you!

polyhymnia23

Yes. I never thought about this as an option. If we decide to use a KD (we are having dinner with KD and his wife Saturday), doing the bank thing would be something we will talk about. They had their own fertility issues (now she is expecting their first) so he knows the drill. It is actually not "that" expensive to bank KD sperm. Thanks again for the tips!