Can excessive exercise /overtraining make you ovulate late?
pineygirl
Posts: 322 Member
Reason I'm asking is because according to my LMP I should be 7 weeks 5 days along as of today. But according to an ultrasound a few days ago I should be about 5 weeks and 2 days today.
When I first found out I was expecting I found out on 3/14/13. I went to the doctor a week later and my EDD was 11/12/13 based on my LMP. I should have been 5.5- 6 weeks along. When the doctor examined me he said I felt like I was barely 4 weeks along and asked if I have long cycles.
I came off the pill in September and after about 6 weeks I resumed regular 29-31 day cycles. That was odd for me because I usually have 35-40 day cycles. I'm used to expecting my period about 1-2 weeks "late."
In December I started trying to lose weight. I was doing intense cardio 4 times a week for 45 minutes on an elliptical and doing a strength training circut for 90 minutes 3 times a week. I didn't take rest days and I was eating at a 400-800/day calorie deficit. I eventually lost 7lbs by Mid-March before I realized I was pregnant.
I started spotting (brown and very light) after a much less intense cardio workout and called my doctor. He was concerned so he had me move up my ultrasound to the next day (6 days after the exam when he said I was more like 4 weeks along). The ultrasound showed I was only 4 weeks and 6 days, and that all it was was an empty sac. The doctor said the absence of a yolk sac was not a good sign, and it may not be a viable pregnancy.
I'm having bloodwork done to see if my hCG is increasing and to check progesterone. Then I have to get another ultrasound in about a week.
Could it be that I ovulated really late due to my excessive exercise? Or my cycles just getting longer like they usually are? If so I could have gotten a faint positive on a pregnancy test about 7-9 days post-ovulation. Is this even possible so early?
When I first found out I was expecting I found out on 3/14/13. I went to the doctor a week later and my EDD was 11/12/13 based on my LMP. I should have been 5.5- 6 weeks along. When the doctor examined me he said I felt like I was barely 4 weeks along and asked if I have long cycles.
I came off the pill in September and after about 6 weeks I resumed regular 29-31 day cycles. That was odd for me because I usually have 35-40 day cycles. I'm used to expecting my period about 1-2 weeks "late."
In December I started trying to lose weight. I was doing intense cardio 4 times a week for 45 minutes on an elliptical and doing a strength training circut for 90 minutes 3 times a week. I didn't take rest days and I was eating at a 400-800/day calorie deficit. I eventually lost 7lbs by Mid-March before I realized I was pregnant.
I started spotting (brown and very light) after a much less intense cardio workout and called my doctor. He was concerned so he had me move up my ultrasound to the next day (6 days after the exam when he said I was more like 4 weeks along). The ultrasound showed I was only 4 weeks and 6 days, and that all it was was an empty sac. The doctor said the absence of a yolk sac was not a good sign, and it may not be a viable pregnancy.
I'm having bloodwork done to see if my hCG is increasing and to check progesterone. Then I have to get another ultrasound in about a week.
Could it be that I ovulated really late due to my excessive exercise? Or my cycles just getting longer like they usually are? If so I could have gotten a faint positive on a pregnancy test about 7-9 days post-ovulation. Is this even possible so early?
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If your cycles are that long, your EDD may be off. Unless they asked you how long your cycles are, they typically run your EDD based on the first day of your LMP using a 28-day cycle. I would figure that might have more to do with it than exercise. But generally speaking, excessive exercise can lead you to not ovulate and/or ovulate late. If you weren't eating enough, that could also do the same.
It is possible to have a faint positive that soon after ovulation, depending on the sensitivity of the test you used.
Otherwise, I will keep my fingers crossed for you!0 -
Another set of fingers crossed for you! Good luck!0
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My understanding is that when you hear about elite athletes not getting their period, it's due to their low body fat (and therefore too little estrogen), as opposed to being directly related to the amount of exercise that they do. That said, ovulation can be delayed by a lot of things, including stress, and your body may have percieved the sudden jump in exercise as stress and delayed ovulation.
And if you only went off of birth control in September, it's also very possible that your body was still adjusting. When I went off of birth control I didn't get a period for a few months, then had a few cycles of 28-31 days, then had a few cycles that were all over the place (between 29 days and over 50 days), and eventually (about a year later) settled into a cycle that is about 35 days long. So that could cause a delayed ovulation too.
I tested positive about 7 days after ovulation both times I became pregant, so it's definitely possible to test that early.
Good luck! I'll also keep my fingers crossed for you.0 -
The pill really can throw off your ovulation...it can make you ovulate earlier, or later.....and throw your due date off either way. I was on the pill and got pregnant two days after I came off of it, which means the date the doctor initially calculated based on lmp was about 10 days to 2 weeks off. The formulas they use are based on the average time that women ovulate, but you could ovulate earlier or later than that on any given cycle. So I'd say the same thing, that you were just off because of the pill. Also, from what I understand you can get a very faint line early on, it will just be lighter than it would be, say, 16 weeks into the pregnancy.
Make sure you aren't still overtraining even if it is early in your pregnancy....also that you are no longer eating at a deficit.
I will pray for a good outcome for you and the baby!!0 -
Thanks ladies...
Just got the results of the blood work....hCG more than doubled in 72 hours, which is a really good sign and the levels are consistent for being about 5 weeks along.
I guess I just ovulated really late this month. I have my first prenatal appointment on Wednesday. I don't want to get another ultrasound until I'm at least 7 weeks. I think the reason for all this anxiety was because I had an ultrasound before I was 5 weeks along and there really wasn't much to see.
Also the light spotting has stopped.0 -
That is great news and sounds normal!! Depending on the ultrasound machine sometimes all you see is the sac til like 10 weeks! I had one at 6 weeks on a 3d machine (I was in another country and my only option that wasn't a public hospital with 1960s equipment was a specialist who did everything in 3d/4d)....even in 3d all you could see was a little dot in the sac and in 4d like a little shrimp! lol. So don't worry!0
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That's great news! If you use a reasonably up-to-date ultrasound machine you should be able to hear (or at least see) a heartbeat by 7 weeks which will put your mind at ease.0
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Thanks ladies...
Just got the results of the blood work....hCG more than doubled in 72 hours, which is a really good sign and the levels are consistent for being about 5 weeks along.
I guess I just ovulated really late this month. I have my first prenatal appointment on Wednesday. I don't want to get another ultrasound until I'm at least 7 weeks. I think the reason for all this anxiety was because I had an ultrasound before I was 5 weeks along and there really wasn't much to see.
Also the light spotting has stopped.
So glad to hear this!!!0 -
YAY! So happy that your levels are doubling!! Prayers still headed your way! Once you hear the heartbeat it gets easier not to stress too much.0
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That's great news! If you use a reasonably up-to-date ultrasound machine you should be able to hear (or at least see) a heartbeat by 7 weeks which will put your mind at ease.
Yes!!! At that ultrasound I did hear a strong heartbeat...that doc put me at 6 weeks but now that I am further along/with coming off the pill as I explained, I was actually more like 7 and a half when I heard the first heartbeat. If your doc only does 2d (it depends on the state/your insurance, but a lot of insurance companies only cover 2d so that's the standard in a lot of dr.'s offices) you can find someone to do a 3d transvaginal so you can hear the heartbeat early on.0
