Progesterone: to take or not to take?

[kevinh]

Hi y’all,

Alright, here’s the sitch.

We’ve been doing monitored, medicated, timed intercourse cycles. I’ve been put on progesterone supplementation after ovulation for the past 4 months because while I ovulate on my own, I do have a LPD.

I had covid this month and we had to cancel our cycle with our clinic. We did everything the old fashioned way, I confirmed ovulation with OPKs and BBT, and now I’m 2DPO. I’ve got enough progesterone left to take it from 3DPO through 14DPO if I so choose to, and I want to but I don’t know if I should.

If I ask my clinic they’ll say to come in for bloodwork, but I honestly just do not want to pay the money for 1 blood test during a cycle we cancelled. But I also don’t want this cycle to be a total wash or risk another loss because my progesterone is low.

Also of note, my husband and I both “feel good” about this cycle. We had a great fertile window, we’re both in high spirits, and in the rest of our lives things are going well for us right now. We’ve definitely got that “this could be it” feeling.

What would y’all do? I know the biggest concern is that taking it too soon could result in tubal pregnancy, but if I start taking it maybe when I believe I’m 5DPO instead of 3DPO like my clinic usually advises I think we’d be fine. Any input?

Edit: the “progesterone too early can cause a tubal pregnancy” comment was based off of info given to me by my RE but appears to be closer to medical theory than medical fact. Either way, some evidence does seem to exist that taking progesterone supplementation “late” (5/6DPO) is better than taking it “early” (1/2DPO). I’m not your doctor, please don’t listen to me lol.

 

[zeesismepactfro]

@kevinh I’d take it. If I got a good feeling, I’d throw everything I could at it. 3DPO really isn’t so early, I’d just send it and take it then.

 

[kevinh]

@zeesismepactfro The encouragement I need, thank you kind stranger.

 

[zeesismepactfro]

@kevinh

 

[ken84in]

@zeesismepactfro I love this community

 

[kevinh]

@ken84in Me too. So much.

 

[mcg1102]

@kevinh

I know the biggest concern is taking it too soon could result in tubal pregnancy

Is this something your provider has told you? I wasn't aware there was a connection between use of supplemental progesterone and increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, and I'm curious what the link there would be.

 

[leviticusrocks]

@mcg1102 My provider told me this as well and said that it was better to delay progesterone than start too early. I was told progesterone slows the movement of the cilia in the fallopian tubes.

 

[mcg1102]

@leviticusrocks That makes sense as a mechanism to me. I wonder if this has been observed in practice or whether it's mainly a theoretical risk.

 

[kevinh]

@mcg1102 Yes, my RE said progesterone at or after 3DPO otherwise if fertilization has occurred it could shift the implantation window too early to where the blast is still in your tubes rather than having made its way down to your uterus.

 

[mcg1102]

@kevinh So in this case, even if the implantation window was shifted earlier, the embryo itself wouldn't be ready for implantation -- ectopic pregnancy doesn't happen because implantation happens too soon in the timeline. The embryo is not ready for implantation until it reaches the blastocyst stage.

The comment below about cilia in the tubes makes sense to me, and certainly that could be a risk. But advancing the window of implantation does not actually cause implantation to occur earlier than the embryo is ready.

 

[kevinh]

@mcg1102 Perhaps I’m remembering incorrectly or got some wording wrong, but that’s roughly what I remember my RE telling me.

I don’t know that it is scientific fact. He for sure used the words “the theory is…” when he explained this so take with a grain of salt.

Edit: I did a quick google and found this article. About half way down under “Should I Take Progesterone Supplements” it says something similar to what my RE said. Still though, grain of salt lol.

 

[bucky88]

@kevinh This is super interesting and something I’ve never heard before! And I’ve had an ectopic pregnancy (not on supplemental progesterone though).

If I were you, I’d take the progesterone. If you’re confident about your ovulation date, you feel good about this cycle, and know your progesterone will be low, why not? If your progesterone is consistently low, I doubt supplementing would raise it enough to alter your implantation date, ya know? Just my two cents though… I’m not a doctor! Good luck!

 

[kevinh]

@bucky88 Thanks friend! It’s oral progesterone too so it’s not like it’s super intense. I certainly wouldn’t be making this decision without medical advice if it were higher doses or suppositories but the oral progesterone has so far given the boost they wanted.

 

[nidmahl]

@kevinh The suppositories are the same as the oral pill. You just put it in the ol vajayjay. There's actually less side effects doing it as a suppository compared to oral.

 

[tigger69]

@kevinh I’m going to do the same thing this month. Just going to go for it with the progesterone as well

 

[aigli]

@kevinh I would probably do it too, but the only concern I'd have is that if you start using it and do get pregnant, you need to continue using it until around 10-12 weeks. Do you have a way of getting more progesterone if you do get pregnant?

All the best!!