TTC girl with short LP and no patience!

[jules]

So I have two boys both conceived while taking various supplements to help lengthen it (AC, Dong Quai, B-Supps and Raspberry Leaf). These helped increase my LP and I conceived quickly. I was also doing lots of things that sway boy without realising (diet, vitamins, preseed etc)

Anyway this time I am keen to avoid things that I did last time but still have a short LP. I am over 35 and keen to get PG fairly quickly though so am not sure what to do for the best!

I can't manage the full LE diet as I like food too much but am eating reduced calories, skipping breakfast, reducing protein, red meat, and salt. I am also taking AC again for my LP along with B vits but not seeing any improvement. I have also taken SP this cycle but ovulation seems to have been delayed by this. I also produce very little EWCM naturally.

Any ideas what I should do? Should I drop the supplements completely? Would soy be good to try next month instead? Should I try Dong Quai again for my LP (not sure if it's a coincidence but I conceived the first month I took this both times in previous pregnancies and it really helped my LP) or should I just be patient and keep doing what I'm doing?? Help!!

[Prepsina2014]

I would suggest seeing your doctor and getting a prescription for a medication that will lengthen your LP without swaying blue... You need a progesterone supplement...
Good luck! :)

[jules]

Thanks. I'm in the UK though where the NHS doesn't give out progesterone, and I'm not sure they would even prescribe clomid seeing as I already have two children. You have to be trying at least 6 months here before they will do anything anyway I think!

[maidentomother]

How about Vitex? The LE really shortens my already short-ish LP (11 days before LE, 8-9 days on LE) but with Vitex my LP is 13-14 days! It did delay O for me the first month but after 2 months I Oed at my usual time.

I personally think limiting saturated/healthy fats is the MOST important thing you can do dietwise to sway. I am a huge foodie too but it's only a few months of your life that can change the rest of your life...

[atomic sagebrush]

Tell me more about the length of your LP. Many people think they need to treat LP's that are really ok for conception. When you get pregnant, the implanting egg will signal your body to begin making progesterone (and that is very likely what happened with your boys)

I am not a fan of Chinese herbs for fertility as I feel that they have not been adequately studied and also that the mechanisms are not in place for quality control and you do not know what you are taking. Studies have found that many herbs don't contain what they claim to and even have harmful ingredients. I'm not totally sure what AC is...cat's claw? Again, not studied enough and it may cause miscarriage.

The B vitamins and rasp. leaf I believe to sway blue and I would avoid.

IF your LP even needs treatment (which I need more info on that) then Clomid is the gold standard for that. Yes, the NHS does give Clomid to people who have kids already and if it's an issue of short LP, they have been willing to give it to people who have not been ttc for 6 months. If your LP is so short it prevents pregnancy, it is a medical condition that requires treatment and not the same set of circumstances as Clomid for simply not conceiving. It can also be had in Spain and while not legal I personally would trust the safety of Clomid even "under the table" use vs. herbs that have not even been studied.

Vitex is another thing that may be an option, it does sway pink and is good at extending LP. But I want to make sure this is really something that even needs to be treated first.

[jules]

Hi there thanks for all the advice. Sorry, I wrote AC short for Angnus Castus aka Vitex so I'm already taking it and took it with my previous pgs. My LP is about 9 days and always has been as standard except when I take the supplements and herbs - when I took dong quai previously with the Vitex it went up to 11 days.

Do you think I should just try for a couple of months taking nothing apart from the Vitex and then ask the Dr for clomid if I don't get pg?

[jules]

Just to clarify I took dong quai a couple of months before we started ttc my first so I think it did help increase my lp. Second time round I added it after a couple of cycles without it and got pg the first cycle I took it. You could buy it here in Boots as an own brand pms supplement so I felt confident it was quite safe. I won't take it this time though.

[maidentomother]

Since your LP is still short kn Vitex, I agree you should try for Clomid, or order it from an online pharmacy if a dr won't prescribe it. You can get pregnant without it but it will probably speed things up.

[atomic sagebrush]

I'd go for the Clomid straight away as that is the gold standard.

I know lots of herbs are sold for various reasons but they have next to no info about them. Even things that have been tested for years by the governmental agencies are later found to be unsafe. I personally wouldn't risk it...Clomid has been used by millions of women for near on 50- years and the quality of data is SO much better than anything with the herbs that I would totally go with the Clomid. (plus, for the vast majority of people, it works much much better!)