# No AF for 40 days yet HPT reads BFN???



## justone (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi there. 
I've recently turned 43 and my AF has always been every 28 days without fail. 
My last AF was 40 days ago and being the forever optimist I did the CB HPT which showed a BFN. I've been having various symptoms such as headaches, back ache, sciatica, very tender boobs, very mild nausea, moody, albeit the latter two were brief in duration, tiredness, peeing more frequently and TMI alert last week I had nasty constipation for a few days which has since vanished, thank goodness. 
I am hoping and praying that I'm not perimenopausal... I'm otherwise baffled as I could usually predict my AF's arrival without fail... Anyone out there able to shed a light on what is going on? All replies gratefully received...


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## Sushi Lover (Oct 16, 2012)

*Justone*... how strange, have you been taking any Chinese herbs, supplements, DHEA that may have disturbed your natural hormone levels? They sound totally out of balance. OR, you could be pregnant and your hCG levels just aren't high enough for the HPT to pick them up! How about popping along to your GP for a blood test? I'd ask for a pregnancy test and hormone levels bloods to be done as well.

xx


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## justone (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi Kirstylovessushi
Thank you so much for your reply.    
I have been taking absolutely nothing at all in terms of Chinese herbs, supplements or DHEA. 
Last Friday I spoke to one of the doctors in the GP surgery I usually attend who incidentally knows me quite well but nowhere near as well as my usual GP. He told me to do the HPT (I hadn't done one as I wanted to enjoy the journey of thinking I might be pregnant for as long as possible...) and if AF still hadn't made an appearance by the start of this week to make an appt to see my usual GP or him. I did as asked and saw a BFN on the CB test. 
I have an appt later this afternoon with my usual GP and hopefully can get further advice then from her as well as bloods done. I am totally baffled as I said in my initial post as I'm usually as regular as clockwork. DH read somewhere online that my hormones may be out of sync due to my having lost just under 2 stones at WW in the past 13 weeks. I don't know. The doctor I spoke to did not discount this nor did he discount the fact that I may be hitting the menopause... My sister told me that when she was pregnant with her first child who turns 20 at the end of this month, she never actually saw a BFP in any of the HPT she did 
I'm trying not to get my hopes up in any way that I am pregnant as is my DH.  I have to admit that I'm doing a great deal of 'knicker-watching' and poor DH rings me three or four times a day to check if AF has appeared yet. 
Thanks again for posting a reply. Best of love, luck and happiness in your journey to become a mum.


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## Sushi Lover (Oct 16, 2012)

No worries...  well, weight loss could definitely be a big factor.  Your DH is right....  this can affect your hormone levels.  2 stone is a huge amount... well done!  For that to have an effect on your periods wouldn't be unreasonable or unusual.  You seem too young to be peri-menopausal... that's normally late 40's. Sometimes mid, but you are still only 43.  So I would try not to worry about that.  What your sister said, I've heard other women say the same!  Bizarre isn't it?  The hCG levels in some women aren't high enough to be detected by a HPT until 7 or 8 weeks in some cases. I've also heard others say not until the second trimester!  Crazy.  Maybe you are one of those women?!  With the symptoms, it's so difficult because quite often the pre-menstrual ones can be the same as in early pregnancy.  Just to make it even more difficult for us!

Good luck at the GP this afternoon.  Let me know how you get on.

xx


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## justone (Sep 10, 2010)

Kirstylovessushi, How are you?
Well, I spoke to GP. She totally discounted the menopause... says I have at least 10 more years to go before that... So that's great.
She agreed that all my symptoms indicate early pregnancy but didn't want to get my hopes up too much, just incase...
Did another HPT, also BFN. Bloods to be done on Fri. She is also going to contact my cons who did all my surgery for me post tx (see signature) to refer me for a scan next week... She has known a few patients who have been pregnant despite seeing BFN on HPT as hormones levels were too low for HPT but who went on to have healthy pregnancies and subsequent healthy babies... 
She briefly also considered weight loss and said it may have a small role to play too... So still none the wiser, to be frank..
She also did say that she'd never known me to look better or appear so calm, ''positively blooming'' in all the time she has known me...
So in a nutshell, advice: keep attending WW, get bloods done, see cons for a scan... 
Boobs getting more and more tender but no other real symptoms apart from mild back ache...
Poor DH is beside himself with worry and keeps telling me not to get my hopes up. Think he's trying to convince himself more than me, tbh!!!


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## Sushi Lover (Oct 16, 2012)

Wow *Justone*! It does sound very positive I have to say. For the GP to have said you are blooming must have been a huge boost. Did she examine you? I can understand why you and DH are trying not to get your hopes up though... I bet 'knicker watch' is your main activity at the moment! 

Good news she discounted pre-menopause... always a worry.

I hope the blood test brings some much needed reassurance and good news... also best of luck for the scan next week. 

*AFM*... I'm ok, thanks for asking. In limbo a bit as waiting for a hysteroscopy and laparoscopy either on the NHS or for my private medical insurers to come up with 'the goods' (they refused to pay and I'm appealing on gynaecological grounds, not fertility) I have a frozen blasto to use and didn't see any point transferring him/her until after the op really. So maybe by the end of the year I'll see some light at the end of tunnel. Trying to relax and not think about TTC too much... but it's so flipping hard! It's a constant thing that hangs over you when you want to be a Mum so desperately isn't it? Horrible.

xx


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## justone (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi again Kirstylovessushi! Hope all good with you today. 
Thanks for your lovely wee post.    
Really relieved that it's not the menopause. Gives me some hope that I might have a baby of my own some day.. Can't afford any more tx cycling, either financially or emotionally... 
Got a phonecall earlier from the cons's PA. Have an appt with him tomorrow morning! Have since cancelled my appt to get bloods done at GP's surgery, as appt with cons will be like a 'One stop shop'! I'll get my HCG bloods, scan... done while I'm there... 
Would love this to be a miracle pregnancy but am trying not to get hopes up too high. Said to DH earlier that this is like the dreaded 2ww only worse... Boobs still tender today and some mild backache but nothing else... 
Tomorrow will tell the tale. Knowing my luck, AF will probably rear her ugly head before my appt tomorrow..
How long is your waiting list for your hysto/lap? Hopefully not too long. You really hit the nail on the head with what you said at the end of your reply. Can so identify with that! Horrible doesn't come near it... Makes me so mad too when I hear people giving out about their LO...!!!! 
Really hope you get good news re your upcoming surgery. Think you're wise to hold off your FET until after it. You're so blessed to have a wee frostie waiting to go home with you. Unfortunately I never managed that in any of my 3 tx cycles... 
Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.


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## justone (Sep 10, 2010)

Uber quick post. HCG results show I'm not pregnant. Also got E2 and FSH as well as bloods to check whether I'm perimenopausal or not done. Still no AF; boobs still very, very tender and mild backache...


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## Sushi Lover (Oct 16, 2012)

Oh hun, I'm sorry to hear that.  What a horrible disappointment for your and DH...  how are you both feeling?  It's so hard not to have got your hopes up.  Very odd you still have all those symptoms though isn't it?  Something very strange going on.

I hope you get some clearer results from the hormone test results.

Take care  xxx


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## yoyobella (Oct 13, 2012)

hello justone,

i'm sorry to hear about your delayed period. it can be so worrisome, especially after we hit 40, (I'm 43, too). I am going through exactly the same thing at the moment. I am more than a week over due for af, so I contacted my consultant. He said it is likely a temporary thing and made a few suggestions of what it could possibly be.

He told me to get a bHCG test just to rule out pregnancy.

Th first thing he suggested was high FSH levels. High FSH can indicate that the ovaries are not responding to stimulation, and this can delay your cycle. Maybe you could get your FSH checked?

The second thing he suggested was it could be a thyroid problem. So maybe you could have your thyroid levels checked, too?

And the third possibility was a persistent cyst, (corpus luteum?) which is still producing the hormones that retain your uterine lining. I think they can do an ultrasound to check for this.

For me, I am thinking I might have a cyst. I recently had taken clomid and cysts can be a common side effect. Also, I think I can feel "a thing" in the left pelvic area.

I really hope they find out what the problem is, or better yet, that you have good news from the bHCG!!

Keep us posted. Take care.

yx


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## justone (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi kirstylovessushi and yoyobella
Thanks for posting. Hope you're both well.        
Have been feeling extremely down since my last post. After appt on Fri at hospital, symptoms continued. HCG levels came back as less than 1. Had spotting on Sat then full flow bleeding on Sun and tbh am still bleeding. I had an internal at the hospital on Fri by a junior doctor, not my usual cons. I've since been told by a dear friend of mine and one of my sisters who I'd confided in that I should not have had an internal, given the circumstances. What do you think?
All other symptoms finally left me yesterday, bar tiredness. Visited GP on Tues (one I'd spoken to on the phone previously) and he said he thought it was a MC. 
Have another appt with cons on 6 Sept when I'll get my FSH, E2 and menopause blood results back. 
I seem to be more down about everything than poor DH yet while we were waiting to find out if I was pg or not, I was the calm one.  
I'm extremely tired all week and could sleep for a week. I went to an open air concert on Wed with a friend of mine and didn't get home to really late. Saw the concert as a bit of a distraction at the time but am now paying the price in terms of fatigue.  
Had my thyroid levels checked last year and it was borderline so maybe I do need to get it checked again... 
As you can tell I'm all over the show emotionally. DH and I have a family wedding tomorrow so again I see that as a distraction. We've booked into a nearby hotel so if I get anyway overly tired or emotional I can pop in for a power nap!!! 
Sorry this post is lacking sense and clarity... it's a true reflection of how I'm feeling right now.
Thanks again for posting. Take care!


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## Ipomée (Oct 30, 2012)

Hello Justone (Hello Kirsty ! and Yoyobella ),
I was just reading your post and wanted to also suggest a possible "prolactin" issue to rule out if other causes are ruled out and AF doesn't come back. 
The only time my AF was ever late, with the exception of when I was pregnant once, was when I found out I had hyperprolactemia. My boobs were very sore and I thought I was pregnant. I did the home test a couple of times which both came out negativeand finally got a blood test that came out negative as well. I examined my sore, swollen breasts and when I pressed them, I noticed a milky discharge. I then remembered an endocrinologist that checked for such a thing many years ago and I made the connection. I went to a Dr and asked him to test my prolactin levels. They came back high. Prolactin levels can affect your ovulation and cycles. Mine is apparently due to thyroid probs... I have to take a drug called Dostinex that has possible crazy side effects like obsessive gambling and hypersexual activity  ! I have neither, but just wanted to throw some humor in there   . 

I just read that your thyroid test came back borderline and wanted to add, my thyroid has always been "borderline" at worst and a recent endocrinologist gave me meds to bring the TSH down, because borderline can be too high when we're trying to conceive. Make sure they test for your thyroid antibodies. I've had thyroid issues since I was 17 and if the Drs only checked my TSH and T4 levels all these years, they would say I "didn't" have a thyroid prob. The reproductive endocrinologist I consulted said that the TSH needs to be around 1.5 (between 1-2) when TTC, when there is a thyroid issue. 

 
Ipomée


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