Anyone Understand Fam And Celiac?

[NicoleAJ]

So I've had "lady issues" since I was 12--first with violent, long-lasting painful periods that would last over 14 days, give me a few weeks off and then return with a vengeance. My doc put me on low dose birth control at 15 to control the symptoms and to get me to have more regular periods. I stayed on it until I was about 21 and then I went off of it to see if my body would self-regulate. My periods were normal for a while until I got into a car accident and had an ovarian cyst burst--then for the next several months, I had cysts burst on a regular basis, which is extremely painful. So my doc put me back on birth control to stop the cysts from forming.

I've been married for over a year now, and we'd really like to try to conceive soon (I'm 29). I feel healthier than I've ever felt--I've been vigilant with the diet. My blood levels and nutrient levels are all in great shape. I'm taking prenatal vitamins to prepare. And I've been off of birth control for almost 5 months. And I've read Toni Weschler's book and have been using FAM ever since. Unfortunately, I'm having really abnormal cycles. I know this is somewhat normal after coming off birth control, but I was wondering if any of you out there are charters who might know more about FAM than I do. And specifically if there are any things I should know or ways I should accommodate for having celiac and using FAM?

My first cycle was normal and lasted 36 days. But last cycle was 53 days, and I'm currently on day 50 of my next cycle. I keep having a situation where my fertility signs seem to align but then I don't get my period, I don't have 18 days of high temperatures, and I don't test positive for a pregnancy. In other words, on day 16 I'll have fertile fluid followed by a thermal shift, but my cervix won't be in the right position; then on day 28 I'll have fertile fluid, a thermal shift, and my cervix in the right position. But then 7 days later, my temp drops below coverline for several days followed by another period where it seems like I'm ovulating again.

My temperatures are low, and I wonder if this has anything to do with it. My average pre-ovulatory temp is 96.7 and my average temp after a thermal shift is about 97.5. Am I just being impatient--is this all just a side effect from coming off of years of birth control, or is it possible that these odd cycles are telling me something about my system, and are they at all related to celiac? For instance, could gluten exposure on day 28 stress me out enough to prevent my body from actually releasing the egg, so the clock resets and I ovulate later? I did have an accidental glutening this past weekend, and I don't know if that did anything?

[darkhorse]

Everything you have described sounds very much like Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I am brand new to this whole celiac thing so I have no clue if the two are related in any way. I have been off BCPs for about 5 months and I am charting. I originally went on BCP to help with cycle irregularity 7 years ago and now my cycles are still just as messed up now that I am off. I have some of the symptoms for PCOS and I am trying to see if my issues are from gluten or from PCOS. It might be something to look in to or discuss with your doctor.

[NicoleAJ]

I'm really hoping it isn't PCOS--I have looked into that before, but I don't have a lot of the symptoms and none of the women in my family have ever had it. It'll be a few months before I can get in with a new gyno, so I'm hoping things start to regulate on their own.

[MammaG]

So I've had "lady issues" since I was 12--first with violent, long-lasting painful periods that would last over 14 days, give me a few weeks off and then return with a vengeance. My doc put me on low dose birth control at 15 to control the symptoms and to get me to have more regular periods. I stayed on it until I was about 21 and then I went off of it to see if my body would self-regulate. My periods were normal for a while until I got into a car accident and had an ovarian cyst burst--then for the next several months, I had cysts burst on a regular basis, which is extremely painful. So my doc put me back on birth control to stop the cysts from forming.

I've been married for over a year now, and we'd really like to try to conceive soon (I'm 29). I feel healthier than I've ever felt--I've been vigilant with the diet. My blood levels and nutrient levels are all in great shape. I'm taking prenatal vitamins to prepare. And I've been off of birth control for almost 5 months. And I've read Toni Weschler's book and have been using FAM ever since. Unfortunately, I'm having really abnormal cycles. I know this is somewhat normal after coming off birth control, but I was wondering if any of you out there are charters who might know more about FAM than I do. And specifically if there are any things I should know or ways I should accommodate for having celiac and using FAM?

My first cycle was normal and lasted 36 days. But last cycle was 53 days, and I'm currently on day 50 of my next cycle. I keep having a situation where my fertility signs seem to align but then I don't get my period, I don't have 18 days of high temperatures, and I don't test positive for a pregnancy. In other words, on day 16 I'll have fertile fluid followed by a thermal shift, but my cervix won't be in the right position; then on day 28 I'll have fertile fluid, a thermal shift, and my cervix in the right position. But then 7 days later, my temp drops below coverline for several days followed by another period where it seems like I'm ovulating again.

My temperatures are low, and I wonder if this has anything to do with it. My average pre-ovulatory temp is 96.7 and my average temp after a thermal shift is about 97.5. Am I just being impatient--is this all just a side effect from coming off of years of birth control, or is it possible that these odd cycles are telling me something about my system, and are they at all related to celiac? For ins

[MammaG]

So I've had "lady issues" since I was 12--first with violent, long-lasting painful periods that would last over 14 days, give me a few weeks off and then return with a vengeance. My doc put me on low dose birth control at 15 to control the symptoms and to get me to have more regular periods. I stayed on it until I was about 21 and then I went off of it to see if my body would self-regulate. My periods were normal for a while until I got into a car accident and had an ovarian cyst burst--then for the next several months, I had cysts burst on a regular basis, which is extremely painful. So my doc put me back on birth control to stop the cysts from forming.

I've been married for over a year now, and we'd really like to try to conceive soon (I'm 29). I feel healthier than I've ever felt--I've been vigilant with the diet. My blood levels and nutrient levels are all in great shape. I'm taking prenatal vitamins to prepare. And I've been off of birth control for almost 5 months. And I've read Toni Weschler's book and have been using FAM ever since. Unfortunately, I'm having really abnormal cycles. I know this is somewhat normal after coming off birth control, but I was wondering if any of you out there are charters who might know more about FAM than I do. And specifically if there are any things I should know or ways I should accommodate for having celiac and using FAM?

Oh one more thought real quick. Being underweight can also mess with you cycle too incase that might apply.

Also one thing I remembered from the book was that the abnormal part of one's cycle is the first part but then once you ovulate then it is pretty reliable that it is 2 weeks for your period to come. I also remember from other research is that it is actual a natural thing to have a fertile time of year (ever meet people with kids with close birthdays) and natural to skip periods too.

My first cycle was normal and lasted 36 days. But last cycle was 53 days, and I'm currently on day 50 of my next cycle. I keep having a situation where my fertility signs seem to align but then I don't get my period, I don't have 18 days of high temperatures, and I don't test positive for a pregnancy. In other words, on day 16 I'll have fertile fluid followed by a thermal shift, but my cervix won't be in the right position; then on day 28 I'll have fertile fluid, a thermal shift, and my cervix in the right position. But then 7 days later, my temp drops below coverline for several days followed by another period where it seems like I'm ovulating again.

My temperatures are low, and I wonder if this has anything to do with it. My average pre-ovulatory temp is 96.7 and my average temp after a thermal shift is about 97.5. Am I just being impatient--is this all just a side effect from coming off of years of birth control, or is it possible that these odd cycles are telling me something about my system, and are they at all related to celiac? For instance, could gluten exposure on day 28 stress me out enough to prevent my body from actually releasing the egg, so the clock resets and I ovulate later? I did have an accidental glutening this past weekend, and I don't know if that did anything?

[SGWhiskers]

I charted dilligently for a few years before being diagnosed with celiac, (but I was symptomatic at the time). I've always had long cycles 34-45 days typically, and painful cramps from endometriosis. A few thoughts from my experience. Although I could read the charts well within a month or two, it took 5-6 months before I really knew my body. Almost every cycle, I would have a double rise. That messed with my head making me think I was pregnant. The first one would be nearly a week long starting around day 14, then it would dip again and rise even higher around day 21. I finally figured out that if I didn't get a full degree rise from my day 5-10 level, it was a false alarm. Now don't get me wrong, we practiced at baby making even on the false alarm days just in case. I continued to chart my post ovulatory levels for about a year and was able to learn valueable information about my body. In regards to the question of if gluten can make you delay your ovulation date. From my experience, stress and colds and the whole list of triggers in Toni's book were enough to routinely delay my ovulation. (Even at this point, I can't remember the last time I ovulated other than on a weekend). I found that my cervix shifting was the single biggest predictor of ovulation in MY body. Like clockwork, 14 days later. Hello. My fluid could vary by 1-2 days as well as the other signs. Hmmm. What else do I remember. Time of day and position also changed my cervix, so I tried to keep the check consistent.

When you get into the gyno, request a workup for endometriosis (causes painful periods), pcos (causes irregular periods and is associated with diabeties [just like celiac]), and have the day 3 and 10 test (I forget the name) that they do before IVF (that way you know if your eggs are about to age too quickly). Celiac disease should be enough to get you in to see a reproductive endocrinologist after 6 months of trying.

Good luck

[NicoleAJ]

Thanks SGWhiskers. I definitely should be more consistent with times of day that I check my cervix. I'm sure I'll become a lot more familiar the longer I do this. I just hope that my periods start coming a bit sooner together. It's funny that during my teen years I wished I would never get my period because it was so intense and frequent, and now I wish it would come much more often then it actually does.

[Vamonos]

Nicole,

Like you, when I was off the Pill I had very irregular periods. After a year of trying to conceive without luck, I tried an over the counter ovulation predictor kit. I was stunned to find out that I did not ovulate any where near where I thought I was. I also had a history of PCOS but at the time I had no idea about the Celiac portion of the story.

Long story short, my son will be 17 this summer...conception was easy once I knew what I was looking for!

Best of luck.

Beverly