There are two ways to have low progesterone, and understanding that difference is key to understanding your cycle. The first is an anovulatory cycle, when you don’t ovulate and therefore make no progesterone at all. The second is a short luteal phase, when you do ovulate, but your progesterone window is too brief, and the hormone never reaches its full potential.
Progesterone is not just a lab value. It’s a story told by your cycle, and one of the clearest ways to understand that story is to chart your basal body temperature or BBT.
