difficulties conceiving

[want2bmum]

I am a 33 year old female, with a BMI of around 18.5. I have been trying to concieve for 1.5 years now. I have had regular but very heavy periods for 10 years now and more recently, they have become more painful. Some were so heavy that a tampon plus a maximum flow pad will not cover for 2 hours. I have also been irregular with my eating habits and although I enjoy eating, I did often ate less than I knew I should - mainly becasue I lived alone. I have been trying to keep the eating under control to help with conception (I am also a vegetarian). I was recently checked for endometriosis (TV-ultrasound and laparoscopy - results were normal, no sign of endometriosis) and I just had a blood test for progesterone (I have 26 day cycle so it was taken on day 19). The result came back borderline for progesterone. I was told to repeat at the same time next month. What does this mean for my chances of conception? Is there anything I can do to improve it? I am also worried the whole process of finding out what is wrong will take too long.

[Dr Amanda Tristram]

Although 18.5 is at the lowest end for a normal BMI, it is still normal, so this should not be affecting your chances of getting pregnant. Heavy periods can be very disabling and often treatments do not go together with conceiving. There are some medical treatments that you can just take during your period, which will not stop you getting pregnant, so it is probably worth while talking to your GP aobut this. I think that repeating your day 19 progetogen is a sensible idea and the result of this will guide what investigations or treatment you might have next. It is very frustrating waiting for this and by definition, it will take time. The main thing is to try not to worry about that, as this will certainly not help. There is some really good information about infertility on the NHS website, which I hope helps:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Infertilit ... ction.aspx

[Mr. Hugh Byrne, MRCOG]

I would only add that a BMI is misleading, because you need at least 15% of your weight to be fat in order to produce estrogen in enough quantities. Now is a time in your life when you could afford to put a little weight on in a sensible way