Progesterone Levels and when to test
July 17, 2007
I am currently on day 43 of my cycle. I had been on clomid for a while, so i expected my cycle to be a little funny this month. However, i naturally tend to go anywhere from 40 to 50 days. Well this month i used the clearblue fertility monitor and it said that i ovulated around day 15. Well, on day 33 i went in for blood work and my doc said i had no HCG, but my progesterone was 19, so i must have just ovulated. Can you ovulate twice in one month? So now i have my monitor saying day 15 and the doctor saying on day 33 that i must have just in the past few days. I took a pregnancy test last night and it was negative, but my breasts have been hurting for a week...which hasn't happened before a period in a long time. How long after a reading of 19 progesterone level would it be safe to test. Do you think i'm even considered late yet if i ovulated in the late 20s or early 30s? This progesterone reading doesn't mean anything to me. Help!
July 18, 2007
Pretty much, the only thing consistent about a woman's menstrual cycle is the 14 day period after ovulation with a resulting period thereafter unless you're pregnant.
Having said this, a blood progesterone test is extraordinarily accurate at determining that ovulation had occurred within that 14 day timeframe.
People with PCOS, and you may be one since your cycles run on the longer end of normal, can create at times false positive OPK (ovulation predictor kit) results.
I'll bet that given your blood progesterone levels and your symptoms (oh boy, you were superovulated with clomid, which created these high progesterone levels after ovulation causing your tender breasts) that you'll be getting your period in about a week unless you're pregnant. In my opinion, a progesterone level greater than 15 is an excellent amount to maintain the "luteal" phase (the fixed 14 days after ovulation)
I would suggest that at least for the following month, that your Ob or RE monitor your follicular growth so that you can actually prospectively see when you are about to ovulate