Re: extremly long cycle?

Posted By mhop on May 03, 1999 at 14:07:51
I have been reading your forum for some time and find it very informative. thank you.

here is my question.
Got married in dec, and wanted a family right away.  In jan , a friend got pregnant, my period was three days late also.  She decided to have an abortion which devasted me.  Feb, normal period.  March, my period was late again when it turned out another friend was pregnant. I got my period several days layter on day 38 of my cycle. March: it is now day 40 of a cycle which is usually 28-31 days. Two Hpts (day 34 & 38) have been negative.  I know that wanting to have a baby can cause a late period.  Also, stress... my two friends pregnancies bothered me (bc it wasnt me) plus my husband and i have moved 3000 miles from home this month.  

Questions are: given these factors,  
How long do i wait for my period to come before going to a doctor??
Should I take another htp and when? (i took them on day 34 and 38)
Thank you so much for your time.

[hfhs.rn.bp]

Posted By hfhs.rn.bp on May 04, 1999 at 16:35:47
Generally, 3 months without a cycle starts to be a concern in absence of a pregnancy.  You can do home tests at any point.  Chances are you did not ovulate this cycle secondary to the stress.  Your cycles may or may not regulate on their own when the stress decreases.  Check with your doctor if this continues to be a problem since there may be other reasons for irregulsr cycles.

This information is provided for general medical education purposes only.  Please consult your provider for diagnostic and treatment options pertaining to your specific condition.

[MOB__0]

Posted By MOB on May 05, 1999 at 15:00:20
I had been on the contraceptive pill since I was 16 but at 32 and maried I decided to give it up. We opted for Natural Family planning, as we were thinking of trying for a baby later this year, and everything was fine with very regular cycles (27 /28) days for the first 6 months. But my last cycle went to 36 days and this one is past 40. I know I have been under a lot of pressure at work, could this be entirely to blame or should I seek further advice from my GP?

[Liz__0]

Posted By Liz on May 05, 1999 at 21:16:08
I've got to say, what you're going through sounds pretty typical for BCP withdrawal-especially after being on them SO long.  Your body hasn't ovulated in 16 years! It's possible that these "normal" cycles you say you've been having have not actually been normal at all, but your body following the pattern of monthly bleeding that it's been following for so long.  I was only on BCP's for 3 years and now, nine months after I went off them, I'm still not back to normal ovulation and periods.  It's true, some womens bodies bounce right back after a few years of BCP's and you hear them say that they got pg the next month after they got off them.  But there are many more that you don't hear about that take months, even years to get back to normal.  Your cycle lengths are going to be all over the place 25 to maybe even 50 days.  You could very well have some anovulatory cycles and miss months altogether.  And that moving stress you mentioned also could affect your cycle drastically.  Though it sounds long, I've give yourself AT LEAST a year untill you expect to be cycling regularily. If you're trying NFP, I'm assuming you're charting your BBT. Do they show you've been ovulating?  By the way, I'm not sure what you meant about wanting a baby making your period late but it doesn't sound right.  There are never late periods (unless you're pg) only late ovulations.  Your period will always come 12-14 days after you ovulate (again, unless you're pg)
After all that, I understand how much you want a baby, and I hope you prove me wrong and get pg real soon.
Blessings!










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