Wondering if I should have my progesterone levels checked

kmmharrison · October 2015

Has anyone had any experience with requesting that your doc checks your progesterone levels? Once AF gets here, we will be off the bench and can TTC again. I have this nagging feeling that maybe my progesterone is low and that could have caused the MC. I don't want to go through another one if it could be avoided by taking progesterone. Does anyone have experience with this? I'm wondering if my doctor will say no or if my insurance won't cover it.

ssnova · October 2015

We suffered a miscarriage at 12 weeks, our previous doctor didn't mention anything to us about levels for anything but our new midwife reviewed records and mentioned that our progesterone was a low and that she would have put us on a supplement (but that isn't to say thats what cause our miscarriage) so personally when we TTC again she will be keeping a close eye on this. With that said if you're were low during your first loss I wouldn't hesitate to request it be check next time. I would ask and request anything I thought might make a difference..then I would know I did everything I could ya know....do you know what you numbers were and how far were you?

ssnova · October 2015

sorry for you loss @kmmharrison

crob5685 · October 2015

Do you have specific reasons to believe your progesterone might be low? Are you temping and seeing weird drops during your LP or something?

kmmharrison · October 2015

I was only 4.5 weeks and had not even been to the doctor yet. My first appointment wasn't for another two weeks. So, the only thing they checked was my HCG. I was only at 20 the day the MC started and dropped to 3 when they checked it again 4 days later.
This was my first pregnancy and first MC so my doctor didn't run any other tests. He said they don't test for issues until after you've had 2 consecutive MCs.
I am temping and seeing some dips. It also takes a while for me to spike. My temp rises gradually after O and doesn't hit the highest temp until 3 or 4 days later. Then there is an occasional dip. I know that could mean an anovulatory cycle, but I'm hoping that's not what's going on.
I can't be sure because I didn't start temping until after MC. I have an extremely regular cycle and was able to rely on my calendar and CM plus OPKs before, but I started temping to try to figure out when my body regulated again after the MC and if I could find any clues about what might have caused it.
I just don't think I could take another MC especially if I don't at least ask them to check.

kmmharrison · October 2015

Here's my chart for this cycle. Expecting AF tomorrow or the next day.

ssnova · October 2015

I was just at another page talking about testing after miscarriage we just lost our first at 12 weeks...midwife says we can run test now since I didn't want to risk having anymore before we got tested...maybe voice your feelings to your doctor and ask why you couldn't have testing done now if that's what you wanted.

kmmharrison · October 2015

I'm going to call today. It can't hurt to at least ask.

carrieandr · October 2015

I let my doctor know that my temps have been lower than usual and I'm having brown spotting days before my period and I'd like to get my progesterone checked. He is sending me orders that I can bring to a lab one week after ovulation (about 2 weeks from now). I've had two losses. The first was a MMC in March and the second was a chemical pregnancy in September. My low progesterone symptoms started at the beginning of August, so I worry that it may have caused the CP.

R0824H · October 2015

I'm sorry for your loss, it's extremely difficult to go through. I understand what you mean by not wanting to go through another one if you can try to prevent another loss. I think it all depends on your physician if they will run the testing or not, I believe the standard for testing is 3 consecutive losses (from what my GP states) but some doctors may be willing to test after 2. I'm thankful my OB is willing to run testing now after just having gone through my second loss in a row (2 cycles back to back) and I hope it sheds some light to possible causes of why I just can't get one to stick.

Wishing you luck on your future TTC journey

crob5685 · October 2015

Did you call? You temp dips don't look too alarming to me as they don't seem to drop below your coverline, but I'm new to temping and certainly no expert. When I was showing early issues my doctor checked hcg and progesterone. Hopefully they can test and give you peace of mind. You will know better than any of us if something seems off with your cycle.

kmmharrison · November 2015

Thanks for the input ladies! I'm so sorry for your losses.

@crob5685, I was hoping someone would tell me my temps didn't look alarming. I'm new to temping, too. So, I'm not really sure what is normal for me. They just seem rocky.
I did call and talked to a nurse. She said that there are tests I can request if I want to be proactive and that I would need to make an appointment with the doctor to talk about it. Made the first available appointment and that's not until Nov 10. Which will be the beginning of my next FW. Hopefully he will be able to at least ease my mind. The nurse said something about checking my levels the day I get a BFP.

FX for everyone to get BFPs soon and to have safe and healthy pregnancies and babies!

marie2409 · November 2015

I didn't get anything checked after my first mc because it happened at 4+5 and I hadn't even called the OB yet (just confirmed the pregnancy with family doc). I got pregnant again and didn't call OB for a few days but when I did she wanted to test the progesterone ASAP due to my earlier mc. I wish now that I had called her as soon as I got the second BFP because it turned out progesterone was low and I had a second mc a week later. It's very possible that the low progesterone was a symptom of a nonviable pregnancy and not the cause of the mc, but wondering about it sucks. She said next time I get a BFP to call immediately to get progesterone tested so I think it's definitely worth talking to doc about. I have been worried for awhile that my progesterone is too low during my luteal as I often start spotting about 5-6 days before AF. 2 doctors have told me that this isn't a sign of low progesterone (which is baffling considering how many things I have read saying that it is) and current OB said it could be a sign of low progesterone, but since I haven't had a particularly hard time getting pregnant she didn't think it was worth all the testing for an LP defect.

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