Vitamin B6 to Combat Luteal Phase Defect (LPD)
by Brigitte (MikeandBrigitte)
A "short luteal phase" or a "luteal phase defect" (LPD) is when the interval from the time you ovulate until you have your period is too short. A fertilized egg needs a certain amount of time to implant in the uterine lining. If you menstruate in less than 10 days after ovulation, the pregnancy will not be able to implant firmly and you will get your period even though you may in fact have conceived. I always thought it was suspicious that we had not been using contraceptives for the almost 10 years we had been married and had never gotten pregnant. Once we decided to start actively TTC (temping and charting), I was nervous because of our "track record". I began to notice that while our timing was great, I was not getting the sought after BFP. I started to analyze my chart and found that my luteal phase on average was 8 days (if the interval between the day of ovulation and the first day of your period is less than 12 days, you may have LPD). I also had a few symptoms of PCOS (fibrocystic breasts, cystic acne, etc.) but have never been diagnosed.
Once I concluded that I had LPD, I called my gynecologist office to voice my concerns. I was told that it generally takes about a year to conceive and that I needed to wait it out before they were willing to do anything for me (although they did offer to let me come in and get a blood test). If I had been trying for over a year at that point (even though we were not using protection for almost ten), a reproductive endocrinologist would have supplemented my progesterone level. However, because we had actually been "aggressively" TTC for a shorter amount of time, I decided to look into alternatives to help myself. That was when I found documentation to support the supplementation of vitamin B6 to lengthen LPD.
My prenatal vitamin had 5 measly mg of B6 (which is 250% of the daily value). However, the dosage typically needed to correct LPD is between 50 mg and 300 mg daily. I started out with an additional 50 for an entire cycle. If your luteal phase does not change, or does not change enough, increase another 50 for each additional cycle until correction is seen.
The first time I took B6 I only took 50 mg daily and the cycle corrected instantly. I ovulated on day 17 and got a positive pregnancy test on day 31. I never did go back for the blood test, but it is still on my list of to do's. I was also taking a prenatal, selenium and additional folic acid. The only new things that cycle were the B6 and selenium (and I had DH taking the selenium as well).
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