Can you worry yourself into a long cycle?

LAMCH1980 · September 2012

This is my first month charting. Well, actually, I started mid-way through just to get in the habit of temping at the same time every day. I have been keeping a calendar of AF for about 10 months and had no success the good old fashioned way, so now I'm trying out FF and reading TCOYF. My cycles have always been somewhere between 25-30 days. Well what do you know, now that I'm charting I'm on CD 40!?! I am sure I'm not pg. I have an embarassing number of HPT's to prove it. I've never had such a long cycle before and it's really getting to me. Can you worry yourself into a long cycle? At what point would you go to the doctor?

I was sick, changed my work schedule and had some serious stress early in this cycle so I guess that can explain a late O, but this is starting to get rediculous.

I can't even figure out how to center the darn chart on my sig. Can anyone help? I'm so frustrated tonight!!!

xconf143usionx · September 2012

The short answer is, absolutly. Stress can do all sorts of funky things to your cycle, and it sounds like you're under a lot of stress right now. That being said, there are a lot of other factors that can make you have a long cycle. For instance, I just had a 59 day cycle instead of my usual 27-29 day cycles and was diagnosed with PCOS on Thursday, so it's important that you ask your doctor about what's going on. If you've been charting, you likely know whether or not you ovulated. Either way call your doctor. If you have and your LP is much longer than it normally is, you are either pregnant but don't have enough HCG in your system to pick it up with an HPT, or (and this is common in people with PCOS) you ovulated but the follicle that released your egg never died. If this happens, you probably won't see AF until it does. If you haven't ovulated, this could be because of stress, or several other factors. Even so, I would call your doctor. 40 days of no AF or O is definitly unusual. If you don't know whether or not you O'd, it is recomended that you wait until CD 60 (or twice your normal cycle length, so for you it would be CD 50-60). But you can certianly call earlier than that if you suspect there's a problem.

LAMCH1980 · September 2012

Thanks for the replies.

Ncchnat, It's been over 10 months since my loss, and now things seem more out of whack than usual. Thanks for the help with the siggy, I'll work on that now!

Rosie, I'll go read those pages of TCOYF once I fix the siggy! I think I read those, but I still am unsettled by the whole idea.

Xconf143usionx, What type of testing did they do to determine you had PCOS? I'm sorry that you were diagnosed with it. My last two pregnancies showed a + Hpt early on. I don't think that I'm pg, but I am worried about having PCOS. I'm not going to lie. The testing for all this stuff scares the crap out of me. I also just finally paid off the hospital for my mc and was hoping for one month without a payment plan to the doctor and the hospital. I don't want to put myself through a bunch of tests if I'm just overreacting.

Meow7511 · September 2012

ncchnat:
Stress can affect when you O. Having a loss can also mess with you cycles. It can take up to six months for your cycles to settle down into a recognizable pattern and that may be completely different that what you had before.
ETA: To center everything in your siggy, put <*br> (without the star) It will create a new line and TB automatically centers everything.
I learned how to do everything siggy-related from here:
https://www.thebump.com/profiles/Ambsies/mybump/mybio

I had no idea stress could affect when you O! It all makes sense though once I thought about it! Now, I have an added reason to get the spa day once a month. Stress can really eat away at a person anyway, so everyone needs a little time to unwind.

xconf143usionx · September 2012

LAMCH1980:

Xconf143usionx, What type of testing did they do to determine you had PCOS? I'm sorry that you were diagnosed with it. My last two pregnancies showed a + Hpt early on. I don't think that I'm pg, but I am worried about having PCOS. I'm not going to lie. The testing for all this stuff scares the crap out of me. I also just finally paid off the hospital for my mc and was hoping for one month without a payment plan to the doctor and the hospital. I don't want to put myself through a bunch of tests if I'm just overreacting.

My doctor ordered bloodwork (not sure what specifically that was to test for but it came back "positive" for PCOS) and an u/s. My u/s revealed that I have one ovary with the characteristic follicles surrounding the ovary, and one ovary with a large (1/3 the size of the ovary) cyst. She said the cyst looked clear (good sign) but she wanted me back in for another u/s in November if I'm not pg by then.

If you have insurance, don't worry about the cost of the testing. Mine was free (not including the $25 co-pay for a doctor's visit). If you don't have insurance then I'd wait until CD60 to call the doctor. I'll admit, it was scary finding out I had PCOS, but that was nothing compared to the relief of a diagnosis, and some answers (seriously, I've been reading up on symptoms, and my whole life makes sense now). It is entirely your decision. Just remember that if you do have it, a diagnosis may help you make better plans for the next few cycles, and if you don't, that's a huge weight lifted. Good luck!

Can you worry yourself into a long cycle?

Re: Can you worry yourself into a long cycle?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards