looong cycles

[widdly]

this is probably more of a vent, but any advice or sharing your similar experiences would be fantastic!

I am currently on CD41 with no sign of AF (got a BFN tonight). My last cycle was 38 days, i feel like this cycle is never gonna end. I have always had irregular cycles but usually they are between 28 and 35 days long. Some people have suggested taking vitex to try and get my cycles more regular. It took 14 months to concieve Archie, which i know isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things but it felt like ofrever for us. We were booked in for fertility investigations but got BFP 2 weeks before the appointment, so ig uess ever since i have wondered whether or not we really did have fertility issues or if i was just too wound up over ttc that it took ages to fall pg.

Would love to hear about peoples experiences with long/irregular cycles, and what you did to help them.

thanks for taking the time to read this

[ticklish]

Hi Elissa,

I am a long time sufferer of long cycles - apart from the time when I was on the BCP to mask them of course!!! I can be anything from 28 days to 6 months!

I have PCO/S - so that is the reason for mine but I have managed to have 2 spontaneous pregnancies - although one didn't stick.

My DS was concieved on about a 60 day cycle - some I have seen Drs still don't believe that this is possible (some believe long cycles are likely to be anovulatory - NOT TRUE!!!) and I made one quiet well known and respected FS look really stupid :nana: because I was actually pregnant (I found out a week later!) when she said I was very unlikely to concieve because all the tests I had were showing that I was not ovulating. I was coming up to that non successful TTC 12 month mark. Medical theory cannot explain everything.

I am trying acupuncture to regulate my cycles. My last cycle was a longish one - 40 days - even with the acupuncture. I think I may have actually O'd twice - or tried to O twice during this cycle - which may explain why it was longish - yep, I had 2 patches of EWCM too but ignored the second lot because I thought it was just some extra stuff coming before AF or the BFP - stupid me .

I originally I had expectations that acupuncture was going to make me normal and I'd have beautiful 28 to 30 day cycles with O happening around CD14 to 16 - but no, it doesn't work like that. As it was originally explained to me it helps your body do what it naturally needs to do. I am now just trying to accept that I my O will never come according to a "perfect" timetable - I am a freak - but I knew that anyway!! I am taking it as a message that the are many things in life that just cannot be scheduled for me - TTC being one of them.

I have had long cycles before where I have attempted to O as shown on a ultrasound - didn't quite get there because the BT showed that I hadn't - didn't get AF and then O'd normally a couple of weeks later - so I know that "normally" for me can be freakish! I am trying to bury the idea that one ovulation per cycle is normal - because from what I have been reading - that is not necessarily true for everyone and medicine needs to catch up a bit.

I find that CM really is the best indicator for me of whether I am O'ing - I am just going to have to not ignore it if it happens more than once in my cycle - poor DH is going to be tired!! TMI - but also cervix position seems to be a useful guide too but I am still working this one out for me!

You may want to have an ultrasound to check whether or not you have PCO because this might explain the longish cycle. This doesn't mean that you can't concieve naturally - you have already proven that you can do that!! It might just take a bit longer for you - just because mathematically you have less chances over the same time period compared to someone who has shorter cycles.

I guess what I really want to say is - I know how frustrating TTC can be with long cycles. I think the best thing is getting to know your body, what it is doing and work out what might work best for you.

ATM I am going to stick with the acupuncture - it is giving me some good insights into how I work.

All the best for the BFP soon, for all of us - or I might have to make up some more stupid ditties!
TICKLISH

[krisp]

Hi Widdly, try the herbal supplement Chaste Tree (also called Vitex). It is available from any health food shop or you could get it prescribed for you by a Naturopath. It works to regulate cycles so might help with your long cycles.

[Lynn]

Elissa, I have extremely long cycles too and it is so frustrating! I have PCOS and because my cycles were so long I had no idea on when I was ovulating. As it turned out I wasn't ovulating. My DS was conceived on Clomid but this time around my body didn't respond and I had to have FSH injections. I would get checked out with a fs to make sure you are ovulating but also they can monitor your cycle with bt and u/s which helps to pin point ovulation. I also tried Acupuncture with this bub and it was conceived on a 44 day cycle.

Good luck!

[ticklish]

Elissa, just a word of caution - Vitex is not suitable for everyone, particularly if your long cycles are caused by an increased level of LH - which is common with PCO/S. So I'd recommend not taking it without professional advice .

[Mrs Jak]

Hi Elissa,

My cycles vary from 30 days to 47 and once I didn't get them for 12 months. It was thought that I had PCO's but after an internal u'sound and bloods, apparently not?

It took us 15 months TTC DD and now we are getting close to the 2 year mark TTC #2.

We have just found out that DH has a sperm count on the low side. Our FS has prescribed clomid to make sure (hopefully) I ovulate around CD 14 (normally around CD19/20)and I will temp this month and we will abstain about 4 or 5 days before 'O'.

I really don't know what helped to conceive DD. Though, the cycle before DD was only 30 days and cycles that length are very rare for me.

have you thought about seeing a FS this time and getting DH's swimmers checked too?

Maybe just booking in will do the trick again!

Unless you've had a bfp since posting? Crosses fingers!

[widdly]

thnakyou so much for al of your advice, it is great to know that im not hte only one who has to put up with these frustratingly long cycles. I have only been off pill for 3 months so it could just be that my body is trying to get back into th swing of things, however i have never ever had cycles this long before. Yeh i could book in with a fs but DH and i agreed that if the next bub wasn't going to happen naturally with out effort then we are happy with our one perfect boy. More often than not i just feel like giving up on another baby and sticking with the one i've got instead of going through this frustration and possibly never getting pg again anyway.

thanks again for all your support and saring your experiences with me