QuestionThanks for responding. I had blood work done on day 3 (everything came out fine) and day 23. Day 23 showed progesterone at 4. Nurse said it should be 10 or higher to have ovulated. I found conflicting info on the internet, saying progesterone only needs to be 2 or higher to ovulate, or I may have ovulated early or late & test didn't show it. Which is true?
A little history:
Depo Provera - 1 year. stopped in Jan. 2003
BC pills Mar - May 2003.
No period until 11-4-03 which lasted 5 weeks straight (heavy).
Next period 1-1-04 thru 1-30-04 heavy.
Took Provera 3-26-03. Got period 4-10-04 thru 4-22-04.
Light spotting in May 2 weeks straight.
Took Provera in Aug. Did not work so I took over-the counter drug which brought down period 8-16-04.
Took Clomid 8-18-04 thru 8-22-04. Have been sick everyday since 8-31-04.
Have been trying to conceive since Oct. 2003.
Still waiting for period. Blood test 9-16-04 was negative. He wants to retest pregnancy in 3 weeks. If progesterone was 4, how could I be pregnant?
Followup To
Question -
I took Depo-Provera for a year, then stopped in Jan. 2003. I took BC pills March 2003 - May 2003. I have been off of all birth control methods since May 2003. I took one round of Provera (to induce period) and Clomid (fertility pill) but my periods are still irregular and I am still not ovulating. I have been trying to conceive for 11 months. How long does birth control stay in your system. It's been 16 months since I've stopped birth control.
Answer -
The fact that you do not ovulate may or may not be an effect of the hormonal birth control. How do you know that you are not ovulating? Are you charting and temping?
If you are not temping an charting, there may be several reasons why you don't get pregnant. Maybe your luteal phase is short? Your luteal phase must be at least 10 days long to support pregnancy. The luteal phase is the part of the cycle that starts at ovulation and ends the day before your next period. But if Clomid didn't help that is maybe not the case. Has your partner tested his sperm?
To answer your question: The birth control does not stay in your system for 16 months. It is not longer in your system and has not been for at least 10 months.
Celine
AnswerIn general, the midluteal (middle of the second half of the cycle) progesterone in a non-pregnant woman is 8 to 10, but can be as high as 20 ng/ml. In a pregnancy cycle, it should be greater than 10 to 12 ng/ml to have a better chance of a good pregnancy outcome, but in general, the ideal is 16 or over. As you can see this may be the reason why you have difficulties with getting pregnant, but it also depends on at what time in your cycle you tested for progesterone.
However, I have heard some doctors say that the progesterone levels does not matter for the achievement of a successfull pregnancy, so you may retest pregnancy in 3 weeks, although the chances seem to be low.
If you have any more questions or if you feel that I haven't answered your question just ask for another follow up and I will do my best to answer any questions :-)
Good luck!
Celine
