Now I have a short Luteal Phase...great

Well, my hopes were dashed when last night I saw what looked like significant bright red spotting. I decided to wear some protection to bed just in case. It's a good thing I did because I started my period overnight. So, on to the next cycle! Onward and upward!

I am having horrible pains though. My stomach feels as though I've done a hundred crunches, cramps, maybe bloating and of course still have sore nips. Yay for periods!

Anyway, I think there are good things to draw from this cycle. First, I ovulated! A genuine temp rising ovulation confirmed by OPKs.

However, I got my period at 9DPO a seriously short luteal phase. This causes problems because right during prime implantation time, menses starts preventing implantation from occurring.

Not good information out there whether it is low progesterone or insufficient growth of the follicle during the follicular phase that can contribute to a luteal phase defect. I'm inclined to think in my case it is the latter as I only stopped my med that was raising the Prolactin in my blood two weeks before ovulation.

So, hopefully this cycle will have an earlier ovulation and a longer LP. I'd like to see it be at least 12 days. In some of my research it shows that Vitex (Chasteberry) is a vitamin that can assist in a luteal phase deficiency. I have Fertility Blend, which is a vitamin/herb blend and one of the primary ingredients is Vitex. So I'm going to start taking it this cycle to see if it helps.