# Inactive left ovary-what does it mean?-Update



## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

I had an ultrasound scan yesterday as my consultant wanted to check that there were no cysts or anything that we didn't already know about. Coincidentally it was on day 10 of a clomid cycle and there are 2/3 14mm ( mm?) follies on the right ovary. But there is nothing at all on the left. I don't see the cons till next week ( was a radiologist doing the scan ) but I wondered if anyone knows if this means that my left ovary is not working?

I know that normally each ovary takes it month about but I would have thought that clomid would overide that and they would both be stimulated?

Great news if the left ovary is defunct on top of everything else...Not!!  

Px


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Hi

Obviously I'm not medical expert but I'd say that sounds completely normal.   As you say, during a natural cycle, each ovary will ovulate in turn although that doesn't mean that ovulate left ovary one month, right ovary next and then back to the left ovary.....sometimes may be that ovulate from the left ovary two or so months in a row.....no hard and fast rules, our bodies are pretty complex things 

Clomid wouldn't necessarily stimulate to make you ovulate from both ovaries every month....sometimes it might, other times it won't....we're all different and each month can vary too.

You sound like you have a few good follicles on your right ovary at the moment, especially if you're cd10 and already have 2 or 3 at 14mm.  You may find that only one of those becomes dominant and releases an egg, or may be that they all mature at similar rate so you'll release 2 or 3 eggs.

On a natural cycle, when I was having FET (frozen embryo transfer), I had a scan on cd9 and there were 4 follies - 2 on right at 9mm and 2 on left at 10 & 11mm and the sonographer even asked if I was taking fertility drugs that month, which I wasn't (but have been told before based on my high progesterone levels that may release more than one naturally)...anyway, I had more scans on cd11 & then on cd14 and by then I only had the one dominant follie was 18mm and I ovulated just after.

When I was on clomid I released 2 or 3 eggs each cycle (based on high progesterone levels at 7dpo and scans)...I ovulate fine naturally but was prescribed it to boost ie release more eggs.  I was scanned for the first 3mths (took it for 6mths)...

1st month on clomid I had scan was done on cd12 which showed 2 follies at 15mm (& 1 at 12mm) on right side

2nd month, scanned on cd10 which showed 2 follies at 13mm (& 1 at 10mm) on both sides

3rd month was scanned cd8 and showed 2 follies at 10mm & some smaller ones (he didn't tell me sizes) on both sides


If you're not seeing consultant until next week then I'd expect you would've ovulated by then.  They usually look for a follicle to be around 18mm before releasing egg to ensure it's mature enough....and follies grow around 1-2mm per day on average...so looks like you'll probably ovulate around cd14 or so.

I certainly wouldnt worry that your left ovary isn't working...sounds perfectly normal to me, whether on clomid or not.

Hope that helps and puts your mind at rest a bit.

Are you having progesterone blood test done at 7dpo ?

Good luck
Natasha


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

Bah-just lost a reply there, hate it when that happens.....

Anyway thanks for your great reply. It has kind of put my mind at rest that perhaps this is just a right ovary month! Just thought it was a bit odd as at both my ivf ec's there were def eggs collected from both of them , though I seem to recall the second time maybe less from the left. It is my left side that is worse off endo wise. I suppose that is a much higher level of stims though.

I am hoping to ovulate on cd13 or 14 as that would be saturday and sunday and quite frankly it is well nigh impossible to corral my dh for   outwith those days!!!

I am having bloods done on day 22 ( 21 is a sunday) but that's it as this is just meant to be a low key tx in the hopes that it will work.

Your october cycle is getting really close-I'll have my fingers crossed for you.


Px


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Yeah, I wouldn't compare stimulation from clomid to that during IVF as the drugs are different and as you say, much higher dosage as that's the point, you want a few more eggs !  During IVF I've had loads of follicles on both sides....and strangely despite both my ovaries being effected by endo, it's not hampered my response...although we'll see what happens this time round, don't expect to match my last IVF that's for sure !! 

Thanks for your kind words...we've filled in all the forms, we had our HIV & Heps done yesterday (and I had all my hormones tested as was cd2)...so just waiting for results of bloods and then we should get actual dates to start.  DPs just gotta get his swimmers checked as been a while but hopefully they're still A-OK.  If things go same as before I will start DR on cd21 which should be mid-Oct. 

Good luck to you too 
Take care
Natasha x


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

Just by way of update I saw my consultant today and he agreed, Minxy that the left ovary doing nothing is nothing to worry about. He said that each cycle both ovaries start off doing stuff then very quickly one becomes dominant and then as you also said that some or just one of the follies on that ovary becomes dominant. So that's something.

He basically just said to stick it out for 6 months and see what happens. Made no particular comment on the short luteal phases I seem to be having. I am on cd 15 today and STILL have not picked up any surge. Bit of an irritation to say the least as it will now not be the weekend ( see posts above   ) and also dh is away with work from wed morning till friday night. Sigh.

Also the cons said it might be sensible after clomid ( hmm , that's encouraging...) to pay for a fresh ivf cycle rather than use the frosties.And to assume at least three.  I totally agree that that would be the ideal but I hadn't really thought about doing that .... Food for thought.

Tilted wombs are red herrings in all of this apparently in case that is of interest to anyone.


Incidentally I have totally given up on opk's that aren't digital. It is amazing how one can agonise over whether a line is darker or not than the other and at least the digi ones take away that doubt. Until you notice the lines on the bit you insert once you remove it of course......

Px


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

Curiouser and curiouser. After not picking up any surge at all ( despite clomid and the cd 9 scan indicating I would ov between days 11-17) I picked it up yesterday at cd 22! Just tested on a whim and there it was. As my last 3 af's have been on cd 24 I can't say this fills me with great confidence. Must also mean that I didn't miss the surge last week after all and that I didn't ov with the follies I saw on the scan surely? Will this be new ones or none at all and my body just trying to ov with nothing there? Who knows....clomid certainly does not seem to be regulating my cycles.

Px


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Hi again

On your cd 9 scan you had a couple of 14mm follies so should probably have ovulated around cd14/15.  You'd usually get the LH surge around 36hrs prior to ovulation (but can be anywhere between 12-48hrs).

I can't remember if you mentioned you had PCOS or not ?  If you do then using OPKs are not that reliable so personally I'd ditch them...even if don't have PCOS then may be worth chucking them anyway as they only detect the LH surge (or not as the case may be), they're expensive, unreliable and become way too obsessive and don't confirm you've ovulated.

You would only ovulate once per cycle...if you were to release more than one egg then it would be within a single 24hr period...whilst there has been the very very rare case of a woman ovulating more than once in a month, this is not "normally" possible due to the hormones involved.....so I think it unlikely that you would be getting a surge now for new follicles/eggs.

The only other thing I can think of is that that the follicles you had didn't rupture and have continued to mature and are only now about to pop...but this may mean that the eggs inside are too mature.

Have you had a progesterone blood test or any further scans ?  Maybe it would be worth raising this with your consultant as it does seem strange !  Only a progesterone blood test at 7dpo can confirm whether you've ovulated as progesterone is released from the corpus luteum, the area of the follicle where egg ruptured.....or a follicle tracking scan done after ovulation as should be able to see the corpus luteum (which literally means "yellow matter" or "yellow body") so if they see that, it would be indicative of ovulation.

Sorry can't be more help...I'd certainly try and get some answers from your consultant though...and maybe ask for the HCG injection which will trigger ovulation...like with IVF before EC.

Take care
Natasha


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

If it is the same follies then they must be ginormous by now- doesn't bear thinking about! It's all very weird. On clomid before I have always ov cd14-17. Not a lot of point in going back to the cons , though I could, as he is not going to do anything else really as he just kind of thinks that if I needed ivf before I probably will again and that this is just in case it works. I have to say I am rapidly coming round to his point of view.

I will do an opk tonight again and see what gives. Have concluded that regardless of what it all means, nothing is going to happen without bms so that's my current project! Am also trying to get out of my mind that it might be hcg that is being picked up and not lh-pee on a stick website seems to suggest that is highly unlikely unless it would show on an hpt too and I think even with the best will in the world it would be way too soon for that. Therein lies madness. Opk tonight should assist with that if the + has gone I guess.

I will keep using opk's as an indicator but totally agree that they can be a complete hindrance. I def think they can lead to quite simply not having enough bms as you can easily miss the surge and even if you get it the timings are still pretty random. Another project for me to work on.....

I def don't have pcos btw. Ovaries are clear.

I had cd22 day bloods done yesterday coincidentally ( cd21 was a sunday) but I won't get the results for another 7-10 days.

I see that your bloods are through-I'm not an expert but they look quite promising, no??

Px


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

Surge has gone + I feel distinctly like I am going to get af!


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Very strange....have no idea why you'd be getting the surge now...unless you are going to ovulate very very late ?!  Hopefully the progesterone blood test will give a clearer idea.  As you say, it could be HCG but if you're only cd22/23 then would be a bit early for that.......

Sorry can't help anymore I'm afraid....I'm as flummoxed as you    Definitely agree with you re the BMS....and it's all fun too 

Yep, got my hormone blood results....my FSH has always been fine...back in Feb it was 7.3 iu/l and previously when tested it was between 6.5 and 6.9 (few years ago) so it's not changed too much.  I've never had AMH tested before so nothing to compare it to but 16.33 pmol/l is at the lowest end of "satisfactory" so I'm not overly worried.....considering my age I'm pretty pleased to be honest.....and on my other IVF cycles I've responded really well to the drugs (too well on occasion & risk of OHSS twice !)...last IVF (March 200 I got 40+ follies and 30 mature eggs collected....I'm not expecting to get that again though !!

Good luck & take care
Natasha x


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

It is indeed very flummoxing! CD 26 today and no signs of it having been hcg let's put it that way. No af either.

Don't think I have ever had fsh tested or at least I have never been told about it. AMH wise though your results sound v good as you say "for your age"!

Px


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

Wow, I think my gp's nurse is totally useless. I have just called for my cd 22 bloods. The nurse who took them knew that they were to ascertain if I had ov or not. The receptionist told me that the nurse said to tell me that everything was normal. Is that normal as in yes I have or have not ov thought i? So i asked for the level and was told 3.4!

Now , whilst it is true that I only picked up the surge later that day ( v odd also but there you go) which could well account for the level being low ( would it??) a few queries arise. First , I am right that 3.4 is low amn't i? Second, if the nurse knew the reason why I was having the bloods done and they do not indicate that I have ov, why the dickens would she report that 'everything is normal'?? If I hadn't asked for clarification on the levels then I would have happily skipped off thinking all was well.

Any advice ( other than going mental with the surgery) gratefully received.

cd30 incidentally and no af.

Px


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Sounds like your GP & nurse getting completely confused...this is one of the problems with getting them to do your blood tests, they're not specialists so really don't know huge amounts about fertility, hormone results etc.  

I remember once, having a pregnancy blood test done and when I phoned for results, I was told the nurse had said they were "normal" ......errrr excuse me, what does normal mean in that instance....absolutely rubbish !!  She said, well it says X mIU level which as turned out was really low and meant I'd had early mc, as we'd thought......I hit the roof and got quite angry cos I said that's not normal, it means I've miscarried, maybe normal for someone who's not been ttc for years and had fertility treatment and doesn't want to be pg but for me it's not normal...    I was so angry and considered writing a letter of complaint but then it wasn't the receptionists fault, as she then said they shouldn't really give our results over phone anyway.....the practise nurse is awful though...when I went for healthcheck and smear, she told me my BMI was "ok" but a little on the higher end (it's 22/23)....not good thing to say considering I've suffered bulimia since I was about 12 & still have bouts.....and she asked me several times if I had children, said no & explained things to her she then proceeded to tell me all about her little boy....  

Anyway, enough of my moaning, not sure where that whinge came from  

What was your progesterone measured in ?  Was it ng/ml or nmol/l.....10 ng/ml is approx 30 nmol/l.  Clinics would look for a level of 30 nmol/l to indicate ovulation so unfortunately your level of 3.4 is low (whether ng/ml or nmol/l) and shows no ovulation....it would be normal if it was follicular phase but not in luteal phase.

If you only got the +ve OPK on cd21 then you wouldn't have ovulated until about 36hrs later...so having your progesterone tested on cd21 wouldn't have really shown anything.......if you can, as you're on cd30 today, is there anyway you can get tested now ?  This would be around 7dpo so may give a much clearer indication.

All sounds very confusing to me....maybe you should go discuss all this with your consultant ?

Take care
Natasha


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

Crikey, your tale would be funny if it weren't true!! That's kind of what I felt like saying today too ie " ah you mean  normal as in no I haven't ovulated ie exactly what I do not want to be told is normal" but as you say it was the receptionist and what does she know? I did say to her though that in fact those results seemed to me to be bad news and she just cheerily rung off! My gp is actually fab so it would be nice to think she hears about this but I doubt it . What I might do though is not book bloods for cd 21 next cycle but do so for 7 days after I pick up the surge ( should that occur!) as you suggest. I don't think I have the strength to go back just now ( have had gastroentiritis since sunday which I guess won't be assisting anything!). It's just so frustrating. I will just have to hope I did ov on cd 22+, that those eggs weren't over mature, that the bms was timed right, that the swimmers swam, that af deosn't arrive, that the levels are rising...... I have to say when you start to look at how everything works it is a source of total amazement to me that anyone ever gets pg naturally!

Px


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

PS no I have no idea what the levels were measured in but I will def ask next time!!


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## pupz (Aug 12, 2006)

Just for completeness i can report that it is all over for me again this cycle. Af showed up today ie cd 34, 12 days after the surge. Kind of consistent or a little better luteal phase wise than previously when I was getting af on day 24/25 on picking up the surge on cd 15. Disappointing on a whole number of levels of course.

Px


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

So sorry pupz  

Glad to hear a longer LP though...good luck for this month  

N xx


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