View Full Version : Am I ovulating?
jess520
Sep 17, 2009, 03:54 PM
How can I tell if I am ovulating? I am getting conflicting information from my doctor vs information that I have read. I have been charting my temperatures and using a fertility monitor for the past couple months. My doctor asked me to take a progesterone test 6 days after my ovulation. I took the test and the result came back as a 9. When I spoke to the physician's assistant regarding the results, she told me I didn't take the test on the proper day. She said since my cycle is 28 days (regular) I should have taken the prog test at day 16. I took a second test and the result came back as 2.5. Going by my own testing (thermometer and ovulation monitor) I had not ovulated yet. I actually had ovulation on day 19 according to the monitor and the temp reading. When I spoke to the PA today, she told me I am not ovulating. This makes no sense to me! She has now suggested I go on Clomid. Does anyone have any advice? I hope I have provided enough details...
LearningAsIGo
Sep 18, 2009, 01:16 PM
A typical 28-day cycle does not mean you are ovulating on CD (cycle day) 14.
The key is to know exactly what day you ovulated and take the progesterone test 6 days after that.
Some women may have a 28-day cycle, but they ovulate on day 18 and only have a 10 day luteal phase (time after ovulation) before their period. If this is your case, it would certainly throw off your results. Some with a 28 day cycle may ovulate on day 20 and have an 8 day luteal phase before their period - which makes it very difficult for a fertilized egg to implant before a period. See what I mean?
You're on the right path by temping and using a fertility monitor. I took the same path, but using OPK's were much more accurate for me - I'm one of those women with a short luteal phase - averaging 10 days. If you KNOW when you ovulated, you may still have to argue with the PA/doc. I'm 5 months pregnant, know exactly when I ovulated from temping/OPKs and they still insist my due date is 4 days off based on my last menstral period. *sigh*
There is a chance that you have a slight hormone imbalance - but that doesn't mean Clomid is the right choice for you. Clomid is a very popular drug because its cheap and tends to be effective - so some doctors jump to it without doing extensive testing.
DoulaLC
Sep 18, 2009, 02:37 PM
To add to what LearningAsIGo said, since many women do not know when they have ovulated, or whether they are or not, the 21 day test is a common starting place. This is 21days after the start of your cycle, which is far easier to determine than the day of ovulation. However, it is just one test that should be utilized before Clomid is suggested.
Have you had other blood work done to check other hormone levels? Clomid, or any other fertility med, should not be prescribed based on a single test.
jess520
Sep 18, 2009, 06:23 PM
Thank you for your responses. I think I am on track with the temp tracking and monitor. It's frustrating because I can't see the doctor only the assistant. Maybe I will check into getting a new doctor. I thought it was odd that the assistant said the doctor gave me wrong instructions. The doctor clearly wrote out "take serum prog test 6 days after ovulation". I have not had any other tests done. Only the 2 prog tests. Thanks again! I will keep trying!