2nd month on Clomid, 2nd 6 day LP - Advice please

[LA_Girl]

This is my second month on Clomid (50mg), and the second time my LP is really short. It’s usually around 9-10 days. I don’t know what to do now. I have more Clomid, but do I not take it because it appears to be shortening my LP, or could it just be that I’ve been in the PCOS LE diet for so long (nearly six months) and I’ve lost quite a bit of weight? I’ve lost 18lbs. I started at a weight of 121lbs (8st 9lbs) and I’m now 103lbs (7st 5lbs) and my BMI is 17.6 and I’m defined as underweight.

I’ve been trying to make sure I’m in the 50g-60g range for fat and around 1800cals per day. Protein is around 45g-50g.

I’m vegan and sometimes swapped vegetable oil for coconut oil. I might just totally switch back. I fell pregnant a year ago with a baby boy (which ended following a sub-chorionic haematoma) and fell pregnant quite easily, but I was eating a much higher fat and protein diet and was snacking a lot.

Do I continue with the Clomid and make a few changes back to how I was eating before - which was obviously more blue friendly or ditch the Clomid and stay strict on the diet?

Any advice will be gratefully received! Thanks ladies.

[MrsEnglish]

Clomid generally increases LP, but if for you the two times you took it you had a 6 day LP, I think you shouldn't take Clomid any more. A 6 day luteal phase means you can't sustain a pregnancy.

I think for a 9-10 day LP you should be eating more fat and not losing weight to try to extend your luteal phase.

My advice is to take Femara instead if you can. If you can't, I'd still stop taking Clomid, because twice in a row doesn't sound like a fluke, and you just can't get pregnant that way.

[LA_Girl]

Thanks for replying MrsE.

My gut feeling is that I’m falling pregnant and it’s implantation bleeding, but my progesterone is too low to sustain a pregnancy as the bleeding is a bit weird (TMI - brown initially and not proper full flow, although more than just spotting). I had a blood test yesterday morning to test for progesterone levels (as my progesterone was really low last month) but I won’t get the results for a few days.

I increased my fat intake to 50g-60g after I ovulated, because I was a bit scared to earlier in my cycle. I’ve also switched out vegetable oil in favour of coconut oil and some seeds and nuts. I’ve just struggled a bit psychologically with eating healthier food, but I guess I need to get over that! If I can’t fall pregnant I have no chance of a DD! I was hoping that it was just a one off, but something is obviously not right and I need to listen to what my body is trying to tell me!

[atomic sagebrush]

No matter what we need a month off Clomid so go ahead and skip it this upcoming month. It's up to you if you want to try in this month off or not.

I have very rarely had someone whose LP got short on Clomid, but I think you're too thin and not eating enough and that's at the core of the issue.

The cutoff for weight loss on LE Diet is 18.5. This is the absolute minimum weight and at 21 BMI is where I like to have people start trying to hold steady. You're WAY below that (at lower weights, smaller amounts of weight matter more since they are a greater % of your body) and it is IMPERATIVE that you stop losing weight right now, today. I would in fact like to see you gain a bit back (don't worry about your sway, it's very likely you won't conceive at all at this low BMI)

Protein on PCOS-type diet is meant to be 50-60 g so up that.

with coconut oil...but are you saying you were using that and switched, or weren't using that and are now? If you aren't now using coco oil, do. If you are, continue.

Are you counting the protein and fat in fruits and vegetables? Or anything (inc. calories in low carb veg?) If you are, stop. Low carb veg are free and unlimited, higher carb veg and fruit are free for protein and fat, so if you were counting those, you actually need to be eating more to make up for that.

[LA_Girl]

I was using Rapeseed oil and have switched to coconut oil, so I’ll stick with that.

I’m not counting anything in low carb veg. I have counted the fat and protein in fruit, but I only eat one piece a day so it doesn’t really count for much.

I’m a bit gutted to take a month off, but I know that if I did fall pregnant and I’m not at a healthy starting point it’ll increase the likelihood of miscarriage.

I really had it in my head that I needed to be in an actively declining situation to sway girl. Is that not what we’re aiming at? I just need to be “low” in nutrients even if they’re on the way up?

Thanks for your help!

[atomic sagebrush]

You can still TTC this upcoming month. The Clomid still seems to sway pink even the next month after having taken it.

It does you no good to be in "declining" condition if you've declined yourself to such extent that you cannot get or stay pregnant.

Think of swaying like a radio dial. At the far end, you're much more blue friendly but have stopped ovulating due to PCOS, and at the other end you're much more pink friendly but you have stopped ovulating due to hypothalamic amennorhea (low weight, exercising too much) You need to turn the dial the direction you need to go, little by little, in order to get pregnant. So for you, you need to turn it back the opposite way, just a bit, so you're still able to conceive.