Screwy Cycles After D&E, is this Bad?

[JAYLIN]

First of all, thank you for all your help, I love these boards, there is such a great deal of knowledge around here...

Anyway, I had a D&E in April and have had some long and strange cycles after that.

It took 40days to get AF after the D&E

My next cycle was only 31days so I thought I was getting back to normal....had a +OPK on CD 14....So I thought things were looking good.

But here I am today on CD 34, no sign of AF and many, too many, BFNs!

So my question is, is it bad to not have regular cycles, my OB had asked if I had regular cycles at my d&e follow up, we were discussing progesterone for my next pregnancy(i've had 3m/c). I couldn't answer that question at the time because I hadn't had more than 2 AFs in a row in the last 3 yrs because I've been pregnant so many times.

Should I be calling her to tell her what is going on? (I hate calling them, you always have to talk to a nurse first, and they always make you feel like you are bothering them!) anyway, would they put me on Progesterone now to regulate me? Is it bad that I'm irregular now....not to mention that I have no idea where AF is!

Sorry if all this sounds stupid.....I have no idea about any of this, this is not something I've every had to deal with.

Thanks for all your help!

[Scooter]

Jaylin, I'm feeling bad you haven't had any replies, but I can take a stab at it.

I don't think a D&E will itself cause your cycles to be irregular. It's more the reason you had the D&E. If you were pregnant, that can really throw your hormone levels for a loop and it can take months to regulate again. So it really could all be normal.

Also, a +OPK does not confirm ovulation. Only temperatures & charting can do that (well, without tests by a Dr). It does happen that people can have a +OPK and then their O is delayed, in which case they'd have a 2nd surge and a 2nd +OPK. The OPKs also don't work well with people who have PCOS. Do you know if you have that?

Regular cycles are an indicator that your hormone levels are probably in the normal range. If your cycles are irregular, it's a sign something is wrong--and it could be as simple as your hormones are off for some reason (like recent pregnancy or miscarriage) or you have a common cyst or something. Irregular cycles may mean you aren't even Oing at all, or rarely. Irregular cycles can also be a symptom of PCOS. I think an important factor here is whether your cycles were regular before or if this has always been the case for you.

Progesterone won't regulate your cycles. Fertility medications like clomid can do that, though. Progesterone helps you bring on AF if you've had a long cycle and AF isn't coming. But taking it that one time doesn't make your next cycle any more regular, especially if there is a problem (like hormones trying to regulate again) causing the cycle issues. HTH!

[JAYLIN]

SCOOTER.....thank you so much for taking pity on me! And for all the good info. Well AF actually just showed up so I don't know what to think. I was on BCP for 11yrs before getting pregnant the 1st time, so I don't really know if I am regular, from what I can remember of my teenager year I'm pretty sure I was.

I'm sure being preg 5xs has created chaos with my hormones. And like you said maybe my body just needs time to regulate itself again. In the meantime I'm hoping that doesn't mean I'm not ovulating, so are the OPK tests a waste of money?

I never imagined having babies would be so difficult!

Thanks again for all your words of wisdom!

[Scooter]

oPKs aren't necessarily a waste of money, if you're using them to help identify when you're probably going to O soon AND if you don't mind that occasionally being wrong and missing out on a cycle. Of course you could always use those and then BD every other day until AF comes, that would be a safety policy! ;)

Still, I'd say chart because that's going to give you a lot more information, you can actually see where some of the problems may lie, and you can see when you O. I hear you on this whole thing being more difficult than I'd ever thought it would be.

[JennH]

I had a D&E in June and went 40+ days w/o AF. I expected it, though. I had that problem before we got pregnant. My OB told me if I went over 30 days (if normal, I'm 28-29 days) to call her. I went on Prometrium to get my cycle going.

I'm sorry for your losses. It is so very hard. I'm also sorry the nurses make you feel you are bothering them. That is not my case. Possibly you should mention that to your doctor.