Recently, a 36-year-old patient came to see me with concerns about her PMS.
She also, tearfully, admitted that her marriage was struggling.
Along with all the symptoms of aluteal phase defect1, her cycle day-21 lab test showed low progesterone levels.
What is the luteal phase?
This is a predominantly estrogen-dominant time of your cycle.
Then, ovulation is triggered by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH).
In other words,the exact timeline is unique to you.
After ovulation, we step into our luteal phase.
This is when the follicle that released the egg closes up and forms this Corpus Luteum.
Its primary function is to produce progesterone and to prepare the uterus for pregnancy and implantation of the embryo.
What happens during the luteal phase?
How long is the luteal phase?
Typically the luteal phase lasts between 12 and 16 days.
If pregnancy hasn’t happened, then you will start your period.
A short luteal phase is shorter than 10 days after ovulation and may be called a luteal phase defect.
In gynecology, we measure peak levels of progesterone somewhere around day 20 to 22 of your menstrual cycle.
How to measure your hormone levels.
How might you feel during the luteal phase?
before your period starts.
(you might learn sugar levels and your menstrual cycle here.)
You typically get a peak in libido during ovulation and a decrease in libido during the luteal phase.
Can you get pregnant during the luteal phase?
This basically puts you in the luteal phase!
Be aware that physiology affects your behavior, and it can work for you or against you!
How can you optimize the luteal phase?
There are several ways to optimize the luteal phase, from food to exercise and more.
Here’s what I recommend:
What to eat.
I recommend eating healthy high-quality, free-range, and organic proteins, when possible.
(Read more about what to eat during each phase of your menstrual cycle,here.)
What punch in of workout to do.
What to avoid.
During every phase, but in the luteal phase especially, you’ll want toavoid increasing your cortisol levels.
Other things to keep in mind.
While the menstrual cycle is natural, suffering through it should not be.
The bottom line.
Within two months, she reported feeling better, less angry toward her husband, and more confident.
