Progesterone in Pregnancy

[Blushingbaby]

Hey all! I'm sorry I don't know where to ask this question and everyone on here has always been so knowledgeable and supportive.

I'm currently 7 weeks pregnant. At my appt at 6 weeks (I should have been 8 but I knew I O'd late) I asked ge doctor about my Progesterone levels because I was concerned they would be low since my cycles had been so wacky. He took my blood and called me the next day to confirm they were "borderline" (somewhere in between 5-20-he didn't give me the exact number). I started taking 200mg of progesterone daily since. I was wondering if the LE diet has any higher instances of this? My hcg levels have been more than doubling and I never had issues in any other pregnancy. My cycles prior to my other two children were always very regular.

Lastly, I'm very worried because dh and I just had a HUGE argument. I know cortisol lowers progesterone so I'm freaking out a lot worrying about the baby.

At my first appointment where I believed I was 5w6d they saw a sac and what he believed to be the start of the fetal pole. I have to go back next week to check again and make sure everything has progressed.

Any insight or experience is greatly appreciated.

[XXforhubby]

Hang in there! Early pregnancy is nerve wracking! Try and not worry about this! Your progesterone levels will increase and stay high, if this is a viable pregnancy. No one can tell you if things will work out or not, unfortunately. It’s best to try and stay positive and give things time. I know it sucks not knowing, but worrying about this won’t help you either. I hope things get better with your DH! You certainly don’t need any extra stress at the moment! I’m hoping things work out and stay ok for you! 🤞🏻


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[atomic sagebrush]

No, LE Diet does not cause low progesterone in pregnancy. The primary reason for low progesterone is that the pregnancy is not viable (don't panic I have a reassuring explanation to follow in the next paragraph). This is how nature ends a pregnancy that is not viable, is by lowering progesterone levels and then the pregnancy comes to an end. Progesterone supplements have been studied and found that they are placebos - they do nothing to help anyone get and stay pregnant. Doctors still prescribe them but if your progesterone is low this means that the pregnancy is not developing normally.

Now, before you worry, I suspect your numbers were "borderline" because they were incorrect about how far along that you were. So go ahead and continue the prog supps till 12 weeks since once you've started them you can't stop them till that point (or whenever doc says to stop, of course) and please don't assume that the pregnancy is not working out. The main reason for "borderline" prog is that they were off on your dates and that sounds like this is the case for you because by far and away the HCG levels are the biggest predictor of a viable pregnancy and they've seen the sac and fetal pole which is all very, very reassuring.

People have arguments and stressors in early pregnancy all the time. Sitting around worrying about cortisol levels (as I'm sure you already know) is not going to reduce your cortisol levels LOL. Having seen the sac on ultrasound and the HCG levels are a really great sign so please try not to get upset about the prog levels which are almot certainly because they thought you were further along than you were.