Please Help! Luteal Phase question

[Spuddle]

Hello all,
I think I ovulated 12 days ago and I got my AF today - is this luteal phase too short to conceive? Should I be seeing a doctor?
Help!

[sushee]

Is your LP always short, Spuddles? Or just this one time? Also are you absolutely sure when you O'ed? If this is a one time thing, I wouldn't worry too much as you often get an odd cycle. AF arrived for me on what I thought was CD 25 last month but I'm usually very regular, so I know it's probably just a one-off.

[Spuddle]

I felt that O twinge 12 days ago. I've only recently felt that twinge (like the last 6 months) and I wasn't aware of the luteal phase issue before so I never really took much notice, but yes, i would say it is a little under two weeks usually from the time of that twinge. I was 5 weeks to the day this cycle. Maybe I need to map my cycles over the next few months to see? I'm hopeless with the basal temp thing because i ALWAYS forget but I think maybe I need to become more disciplined hey. What do you think? Is a 12 day luteal cycle terrible?

[{sarah}]

I had a 12 day LP before conceiving Alexzander & in our fertility investigations it was never suggested that it would be a problem. After having him it was generally 12-13 days again, even going through IVF there was no mention that it would be an issue (IVF was for male factor, nothing to do with me).

[sushee]

It's true in that usually it's considered acceptable to have a LP ranging from 12 to 14 days, but anything regularly shorter than that is of some concern. But if you think that your LP may be on the short side, the best way to determine it is to chart, use OPKs and generally get familiar with your cycle. If it took 5 weeks for your cycle to complete, though, it could be that you O'ed a little earlier than you think you did.

[ticklish]

Spuddle, a 12 day LP is not a problem. Usual range is between 11 and 16 days - 14 days is considered average. You need to be sure when you O to have an accurate indication of O. A twinge alone is not enough - sorry - a twinge could be anything.
Have you tried observing CM? That usually gives a good indication of O. You could also try OPKs - but they don't necessarily work for everyone!
A LP less than 11 days, ie 10 days or under, could signal a problem and should be checked.
HTH
TICKLISH

[Spuddle]

Thank you all so much - my mind is now somewhat at ease. We just did everything right this time, you know? Everything was perfectly timed for once and it didn't happen. I'm starting to worry that something is wrong. We have 'sort of' been trying for 16 months now. I haven't been tracking my basal temp properly because I could never remember and my fiance was Fly-In-Fly-Out (so he worked away for 2 weeks and then came home for 1 week) for 12 months of that so timing was always tricky. I think he's beginning to think that we aren't meant to have children and flatly refuses to look into assisted fertility because he believes that if we should have children, we wouldn't need the help. Bit of a roller coaster ride, but for the first time, everything happened at the right time this month and I truly thought that it was going to happen. I've hit the gym to try and get fit and healthy to be in optimal condition for pregnancy, but I guess I'm beginning to give up. I know that 16 months isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but if I'm having trouble at 24-26, then is there really hope?

It's good to know that my luteal phase is ok if it's really 12 days. The twinge was more of a sharp stab that came and went for 10 odd minutes that I appear to get nearly two weeks before AF appears every month lately. I might just get checked up and see what MY options are. Maybe Clomid or B6 vitamins etc would help us to achieve the dream of having a baby.

Thank you all so much for your advice... it's wonderful