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How long does it usually take for temps to drop with af?

I've been spotting since 4 dpo and went ahead and officially started a new cycle last night at 10 dpo when the spotting had red blood in it. My temp was high yesterday and is still high today. I really thought it would have dropped this morning. I don't understand the prolonged spotting at all and flow still hasn't picked up. I had a m/c in May and assume my body is just struggling to recover, but just in case there is any sense to be made, I thought I'd ask. I've been temping for less than a month, so I have nothing to compare it to as far as past temp drops with af.

Also, if I ov'd on cd 20 (or possibly 19), should I wait a little later before opk testing with this cycle?

8 Answers • 9 years ago


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Your cycle should not be recorded as having started until you have actual flow, not just spotting, i.e. meaning you need a regular pad or tampon. Without knowing how long your normal luteal phase (after ovulation) is, it is hard to say when you should test. If you are ok with a possible false negative (meaning you are pregnant and just not registering yet on an HPT) or chemical pregnancy (you are pregnant but will not be able to sustain the pregnancy) then I would test tomorrow with First Morning Urine. Otherwise I would wait it out. The fact that your temps are up is a good sign. Either way I would see your doctor since spotting for that long may indicate a hormone imbalance or other issue. Good luck!


9 years ago


Thanks for your response. The vast majority of my cycles since May have only been spotting, which is why I went ahead and called it quits on this one when the blood showed brighter. I had a complete work up with labs and an u/s and everything was in normal range. As for testing, I meant when should I start testing with an opk to determine ov for this cycle. I'm trying to not put any faith in my elevated tips because the bleeding has progressed from beige tinted, to brown, to pink, to now bright or brick red over the course of about a week. It may or may not ever develop into a flow heavy enough to need a tampon just based on the past few months.

9 years ago • Post starter


Even after a MC that doesn't seem right that you are only spotting for AF. I encourage you to push your doctor to find out what is going on as this can affect your fertility.

As far as OPK testing goes it really depends on when you normally ovulate. I ovulate around CD12, so I start at CD8 just in case I O early. Hope this helps.


9 years ago


To echo what smiles8045 said, I would definitely push your doctors more about the spotting. It's concerning that you started spotting so early, and the lack of real flow would make me worry that your lining is very thin. Did you do the bloodwork and u/s with an obgyn or RE, and on what cycle day? (I'm asking because my obgyn completely missed some pretty obvious clues from my bloodwork that something was wrong, even though everything was technically in normal range - but my RE saw it immediately).

As far as temps, temps can be all over the place during af as progesterone drops off. I've stalked enough FF charts that I don't believe there's any rhyme or reason to temps during af (except perhaps for each individual woman). For the opk's I would start testing 3-4 days before the earliest o you've had since your miscarriage just to be sure you don't miss your surge. Good luck, I hope things are smooth sailing for you from now on!

9 years ago


Thanks do much for the insight, ladies. YarnLady, it was with my ob. The lab work was taken at probably cd 12 or somewhere within that range. This past cycle was the first in which I was testing and temping, so I don't know how near ov I would've been at that time. I ov'd on either cd 19 or 20 this past cycle. The u/s was performed on the 15th of Sept. I'd been bleeding and going in between spotting to gushes of blood loss since the 6th at that time. The day before the u/s appt, I'd been on about day 3 of a very thin bleed that was only present when I wiped, but had characteristics of an actively bleeding source. I used a tampon that day and, just like that, the bleeding completely stopped. Not a trace of blood after that. It was very bizarre. So, 9 days of flow broken up with random spotting. The two cycles before that were spotting only. My ob offered no real insight about any of it. She just said my levels were fine. Of course, my uterus was thin, but I'd been bleeding for 9 days.

9 years ago • Post starter


Paperheart - ugh, how frustrating! I don't what options are/aren't available to you, but I would either get a referral to an RE or go for a second opinion. Bloodwork on cd 12(ish) doesn't tell you much unless you know precisely where you're at in your cycle (and if you didn't know that, I'm sure your doctor didn't either). It's standard for an RE to do baseline bloodwork on cd 3 and a blood progesterone test at 7dpo - those are the days that you can get useful info. I know they were trying to fix a problem and not do a whole workup, but it might be worth doing. I'm just worried your doc is missing a problem that likely has a pretty simple fix, and in the meantime you're suffering and it could be delaying your bfp. Temping in particular may be really helpful for you too - a big difference in fp/lp temps usually means good progesterone levels, while a small difference can mean low progesterone. I hope your body's just settling down and things get back to normal soon!

9 years ago


Thank you so much for your help! I was really chalking it up the m/c and might've delayed pursuing it further for at least a couple months, but I went ahead and called and she's going to call in a Rx for a progesterone cream for me. I'll give this a go and may look into a RE if I have no luck in extending my lp with the progesterone. I can't remember that appt date or I'd know what cd I was on for the lab work, but I do know I was in my projected fertile window, so well beyond cd 3. Again, thanks so much. I've had a nagging feeling since my pregnancy with the baby I lost that I needed to be on progesterone (I had persistent spotting from implantation up until week 8 when the baby died). Even now, the spotting has kind of subsided again, so I'm going to hang tight a couple days and may test again if nothing changes.

9 years ago • Post starter


Ugh!! My insurance just declined the Rx. $140 out of pocket for a 30 day supply without insurance. The pharmacist said to call my ob tomorrow and see if they word the order differently. I'm just at my wit's end :-(.

9 years ago • Post starter


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