Prometrium???

greeneyedgirl12 · October 2018

Hi all,
I'm a newbie to posting. I DID flip through the various welcome/intro/rules posts and searched (I tried to just search this board but I got results across all forums), and didn't see a great place to ask this and get broad consensus/input, nor did I find much help, but please let me know if there's somewhere else my ? needs to go.

I was just prescribed prometrium by my OB to try to thicken my lining after getting an OPK, app (Flo), and blood progesterone triple positive, and presumably tied into the fact that she thought my lining looked thin on my US done a couple months ago to rule out PCOS/check things out.

I can't find ANYTHING about prometrium as a treatment for infertility on this site since ~2012, unless it's being used in concert with IUI/IVF/clomid/etc., none of which we're doing (yet). Is it because it's no longer recommended or other options have been found or it's just less talked about, or is there another reason? I do trust my OB, but everything's making me nervous right now as I deal with the stress of IF, as I'm sure y'all can relate to.

holly321 · October 2018

greeneyedgirl12 said:

Hi all,
I'm a newbie to posting. I DID flip through the various welcome/intro/rules posts and searched (I tried to just search this board but I got results across all forums), and didn't see a great place to ask this and get broad consensus/input, nor did I find much help, but please let me know if there's somewhere else my ? needs to go.

I was just prescribed prometrium by my OB to try to thicken my lining after getting an OPK, app (Flo), and blood progesterone triple positive, and presumably tied into the fact that she thought my lining looked thin on my US done a couple months ago to rule out PCOS/check things out.

I can't find ANYTHING about prometrium as a treatment for infertility on this site since ~2012, unless it's being used in concert with IUI/IVF/clomid/etc., none of which we're doing (yet). Is it because it's no longer recommended or other options have been found or it's just less talked about, or is there another reason? I do trust my OB, but everything's making me nervous right now as I deal with the stress of IF, as I'm sure y'all can relate to.

This could go in the chart stalk question thread.

Otherwise I have no input

greeneyedgirl12 · October 2018

Thanks. I didn't think it was chart stalk because it doesn't have to do with ovulation/where I am in cycle, and searching just took me in a big ole circle, even though I had this board selected in where it should look.

suzycupcake · October 2018

The chart stalk thread is also a question thread posted monthly. Charting is about more than just ovulation.

coco2787 · October 2018

I was prescribed prometrium to use during my LP, but in my case, it was prescribed because of recurrent losses.
However, I have heard of it being used to treat luteal phase defects as well. From what I understand, estrogen is typically the hormone prescribed to thicken uterine lining, and prometrium is progesterone. Progesterone is used to make conditions better for implantation by maintaining the lining after it has thickened. This explains it pretty well https://www.livestrong.com/article/292193-effects-of-progesterone-on-the-uterine-lining/ If your body isn't producing enough progesterone conditions won't be adequate to allow for implantation. If a thin lining is your only problem, progesterone alone may not be enough to treat this issue.

I would honestly try to get more info from your doctor about what is going on and make sure you fully understand the reasons for prescribing prometrium. You need to have an understanding of what is going on and what you are being treated for so that you can be an advocate for your own care. Some doctors take a one size fits all approach to fertility treatments and it's really never that simple.

greeneyedgirl12 · October 2018

@coco2787 Thank you! I think my OB's main issue was the thickness of my lining given where I was in my cycle (CD2 and actively dealing with AF, I felt SO bad for her), not necessarily that my lining was thin.

suzycupcake · October 2018

It's supposed to be really thin on CD2. Was it like abnormally thin? Or are you saying it was too thick on CD2? So confused. Eta; Progesterone level can be checked 7 days after Ovulation to check to see if you have enough to support a pregnancy. It's not based on uterine lining thinness on CD2.

greeneyedgirl12 · October 2018

@suzycupcake She thought it was thin considering the day of my cycle I was on. Not sure her words were that verbatim, but that was most definitely the message, because it stuck with me.

suzycupcake · October 2018

Maybe ask her to explain what she means. Most of the lining is shed with menstruation except for the bottom third of it which remains to form a new one later on in the cycle. Progesterone levels aren't supposed to increase until the Luteal Phase of your cycle. Plus, like coco said, it is Estrogen that is prescribed to thicken lining. Progesterone maintains it to support a pregnancy. This is the truth.

coco2787 · October 2018

I’m no expert by any means but that seems really odd to do a lining check on CD 2. I’ll just reiterate that you need to talk to your doctor more about what she was looking for/what she saw. I also might seek a second opinion.

greeneyedgirl12 · October 2018

@coco2787 Thanks. I'll call OB back tomorrow, hopefully she calls back before I'm supposed to start tomorrow night. It wasn't a lining check, I had some of the symptoms for PCOS so she wanted to basically do a systems check, the fact it was CD2 was random coincidence.

@suzycupcake Noted, for sure. As mentioned above, I'll call OB tomorrow and try to get better explanation. Progesterone ovulation positive blood draw was yesterday, CD22, after OPK positive on Friday, CD18.

suzycupcake · October 2018

Oh now I get what you meant when you said triple positive. I have no idea what triple positive means, but it seems you're saying she prescribed the Progesterone after your blood draw results. Perhaps she sees something in that number that would make her think that you need to be supplemented for Luteal Phase support.

But a positive OPK on CD18 and a Progesterone blood draw on CD22 is 4 days later. Progesterone levels peak 7 days after ovulation so this does not make sense to check it 4 days after a +opk to make that kind of a decision. @greeneyedgirl12, get yourself a basal body thermometer to track ovulation accurately, a copy of Taking Charge of Your Fertility, and advocate for proper testing. I see you have been using Ava so maybe you have been tracking ovulation, but I'm not sure why any OB would be trying to treat you for Infertility with Progesterone.

Have you been diagnosed with Infertility? I see you have been trying for 10 months. How many of those 10 have you been able to see ovulation taking place?

greeneyedgirl12 · October 2018

@suzycupcake

Yes, sorry, I tried to explain triple positive as the OPK and app agreeing, confirmed by blood draw. Not the best phrasing, especially given the other meaning, I apologize.

I'm thinking she saw something that made her think I needed progesterone, but I am definitely calling tomorrow to try to talk to her, because I fell down this and the WebMD rabbit hole. I should know better, since DH is an MD and he loves to quote the your WebMD search doesn't equal my medical degree line that I know to be true, but when I worry, I do it.

She did mention that the positive progesterone blood draw may be premature and we could redraw it in a couple days, I may still take her up on that. Ordering a BBT now, just bought the kindle version of the Taking Charge book, and I will call and try to talk to, if not make an appointment with, my OB tomorrow.

My cycle is sadly not 100% regular, so Ava doesn't work correctly. I found this out AFTER buying it. When I e-mailed, they said I could still use it, but it wouldn't be accurate, so IDK exactly what the point would be until I get a BFP or my cycle gets regulated.

I have not been officially diagnosed with IF, since it has not been the full 12 months and I am not 35, but there are enough signs to show issues (irregularity, lining, etc.) that we are very much starting down the IF testing road and will contact an RE at the start of the new year if nothing changes. DH has already been tested, so that's out of the way at least.

suzycupcake · October 2018

It seems like you are on the right track then and have a good head on your shoulders. I really hope that you don't have to go down the IF testing road and that you'll get KU soon. Fx for you!

greeneyedgirl12 · October 2018

@suzycupcake Trying to keep the good head on my shoulders and not lose it (although I think we all lose our rationality to different degrees at times during this journey). Appreciate your help/input.

Still learning the ways of the boards, but will continue to lurk and try to generally post in threads, for this I just could not figure out where to put it and was hoping to get some extra eyes on it because I searched and searched and all the results were circa 2012, so I was worried it had been disproven other than IUI/IUD.

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