Or....I just wanted to enjoy Thanksgiving and not think about the fact that I'm not pregnant (again). Probably the second one.
Anyhoo...Keep moving forward! I'm taking December off (which is actually two cycles because I'm scheduled to ovulate the first week of December, cycle through and ovulate again the week after Christmas). There are two (or three) reasons for this. The first (and absolutely least scientific) is because the Chinese Birth Chart tells me that January is a good month to conceive a girl, but December would be a boy (I'll take whatever I get, but I'd like to start off with a girl). The second is that I've been rocking this game completely uninsured thus far, and it's open enrollment season for that type of thing and I'd like to have some insurance this year moving forward. Also, if I can get in to see an RE at some point and see if there's any real reason I haven't already thought of or addressed why I'm not knocked up already. The third reason is that I'm going to try a progesterone shutdown for the two cycles I'm skipping in December.
What is a Progesterone Shutdown (or NPC Shutdown, as it's also known on the interwebs), you may ask? Well, let me tell you. Basically, there are several reasons why some women may try this method, but for me it's because I have a short luteal phase. As you may or may not know, short luteal phase (the period of time between ovulation and the beginning of a new cycle) may occur if you have a progesterone deficiency. I have long suspected this to be the case for myself because 1) I have a shorter than average luteal phase (mine is typically 10-11 days, usually 11. The average, and shortest necessary to allow pregnancy implantation is 12 days), and 2) the only time my LP was longer was when I did my medicated IUI cycle in Thailand and was on progesterone suppositories afterward, suggesting that the only thing keeping my cycle from lengthening (that hadn't already been addressed by my acupuncturist) is a low progesterone level. Now that you know that progesterone can lengthen LP at the right dosage, you should also know that it is generally prescribed post-AI to begin the day after confirmed ovulation. The reason it is not given before that time is because high progesterone levels can impede, delay, or stop ovulation altogether (depending on the dosage). That's where the "shutdown" comes in. You can prevent/stop ovulation for 2-4 cycles using Natural Progesterone Cream from days 5-25 of your cycle. Begin applying the cream twice daily on or around CD5 of your cycle. Stop using the cream on CD25 and allow your period to come to start a new cycle (it may happen within 1-4 days after stopping progesterone). Cycle as usual until CD5 of the new cycle, and repeat. The idea is that you halt ovulation for 2-4 cycles (and use the time off from active ttc to detox your body and set up a healthier diet and exercise regimen), and then after the "shutdown", you stop using the progesterone and cycle as usual, checking for normal ovulation, and when you do ovulate, it's a super good quality egg because you've been holding it back and nourishing it for however many cycles. Many women have gotten pregnant on the cycle directly following a shutdown in this way.
Now, if you read my previous post, you know that I was using progesterone cream after my most recent home insem attempt in the hopes of lengthening my LP and giving anything that may have gotten fertilized enough time to implant. BUT, I started spotting on the day when my period would have been due anyway, and started bleeding full-on the next morning. So, I think I wasn't using a high enough dosage (I was using about half of what the dosage was with the prescribed progesterone suppositories I'd used after my medicated cycle). The shutdown begins now...I'm at CD7 and just decided to go ahead with the shutdown today, and I'm using a slightly higher dose. I'll be checking to see if thee's any sign of ovulation in about five days (I typically ovulate on CD13) and hopefully, there won't be. If my cycle lasts long enough for me to still be applying the cream on CD25, I will. Otherwise, I'll start again from next cycle at the end of December and up the dosage a little more (Because of my size, I already need a slightly higher than average dosage). Continue using it until CD25 and wait to see when the January cycle begins and get ready to order more spermcicles for home insem on that one.
So that's all the news for now...Stay tuned...
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