MemberFor those bees who have long cycles, long luteal phases, and times where they don’t get their period for months or know what is going on, can you offer any tips or advice or hope for me in TTC? I guess charting is going to be key to knowing what is going on in my cycle?
MemberI don’t have long cycles and have been TTC for a while. I honestly thought that long luteal phases meant pregnancy so I googled it….it said one of the reasons could be b/c of a luteal cyst. There are meds that a doctor can give you if that’s the case.
I used to chart a long time ago and I hated it…taking temps at the same time every day wasn’t always possible. My charts were always different and I constantly had to look them up to see what was happening…but I hear there are new apps that tell what’s going on. I’m regular and O around the same day every month so it’s not a necessity for me to chart.
I’d try charting for a couple of months if I were you. Then take those charts to your GYN and show them to her or him. It’s better to have a good idea of what day you are O’ing and your cycle length to help them decide what to do next.
MemberDefinitely chart. I fought against charting for so long, but if I’d charted then I would have had a lot more information about my body and how it was working at the time. I would have also known for sure that I wasn’t ovulating (granted I guessed this from the no AF bit but still) and wouldn’t have wasted so much anxiety and tests. Have you ever talked to your OB or an endocrinologist to see if there is a reason why you might be having irregular cycles? I’m asking because I didn’t find out until a year into ttc that I had PCOS. Granted I wasn’t having any kind of cycles at all, but finding out about the PCOS really helped me to start getting my cycles more regular. Now I’m just trying to get a bfp that sticks.
Member@dodgercpkl: Not to threadjack but how did your doc know you had PCOS? I get asked that all the time (if that’s my problem) but so far 4 doctors have told me I do NOT have it.
Member@texasbee: My OB sent me to an endocrinologist for testing and she did very thorough bloodwork to test hormones, thyroid and a bunch of other things. She also asked me a ton of questions about my life from birth on. Some of the things she looked at were the facts that I started my cycles later then usual; at the time that I should have ‘normally’ started my cycles, I started gaining weight around my belly area and have always had troubles with weight and most of my life those weight issues have been centered around my belly area; hair growth on my face and chest area; the fact that my cycles have never been regular and that a couple of times I skipped a month completely. There are probably other signs that she say in our talks that I’m not remembering, but when she combined those things with my blood test results (my hormones were completely whacked), she was able to confirm that I had PCOS. Later that was further confirmed when I had an ultrasound done to check lining etc and they saw cysts ringing my ovaries like pearls.
Do you know what your dr’s have checked in regards to whether you do or don’t have it? I remember talking to my dr (a LOOOOONG time ago) asking why I had irregular cycles and if there was a reason and anything to help and was only told that it was fine and if I wanted to regulate then I could go on bc, but other then that nothing could be done. I think that was because PCOS wasn’t very well known at the time, but I still think there are a lot of dr’s (and OB’s!) that just really don’t know anything about.
MemberThanks girlies, ok it looks like I will have to bite the bullet and start charting. I have also fought against it until now as it seemed so tricky with waking up at the same time etc.
@texasbee: thanks for the info re luteal cyst, I’ll ask the doctor about that.
@dodgercpkl: I have asked my doctor, and I’ve so far had blood tests to look at my hormone profile and thyroid function which came back normal. I haven’t seen anyone else about it. I saw an OB who said everything looked normal and that my body was probably just confused after coming off birth control – however, that was years ago now so it’s weird that my body would not have regulated itself by now.
Member@dodgercpkl: I’ve had a history of ovarian cysts but always ONE at a time. A friend who had PCOS said she had multiple so she didn’t think I could have it. My cycles have always been super regular….I’m not overweight, I don’t have facial hair but I have always had acne. Mostly hormonal after O’ing. I’m in the process of finding a fertility doctor overseas here to start doing all the testing again.
@Mrsluckywife: I was on BCPs for 12 years and the first cycle after going off was crazy. I did back to back pills during our wedding so I wouldn’t start on my wedding day and the first month after, my cycle was 31 days, then 30 days, then the standard 28. The last 2 months have been 26 days but I am O’ing which is what I’m most concerned about.
MemberI would advise calling your doctor is you go more than 60 days without your period. I did chart, but the problem with charting is that you don’t know until after you ovulate and if you don’t have consistent length of phases it may not be helpful. I didn’t know I ovulated until after it happened. However, if you aren’t ovulating then you can bring the charts to your doctor and have a clear picture of what is going on. OPK’s never worked for me but they do seem to work for a lot of women.
If possible I would honestly recommend charting and BD’ing every other day. This way you won’t miss the ovulation and if you chart at least you will know if you ovulated that cycle and if so when to test.
Member@Mrsluckywife: I couldn’t chart for that same reason. My cycles were super long, or my periods didn’t come at all or they did and then my LP was super short…it was stressful.
So, I decided i’d just buy A TON of really cheap ovulation sticks and pee on one everyday so I wouldn’t miss my ovulation window since I had to “day #” to help me. Well, when I’d get a positive stick i’d DTD and and wait about 14days to check if I was pregnant.
It took 2 cycles and I got pregnant. My first 6 cycles I didn’t even ovulate.
MemberI agree that you should begin charting, using OPK’s like TurtleDoves, and discuss it with a doc to see if any hormones are off =)
MemberFor those who are saying you don’t know you are ovulating until after it happens, if you track cervical mucus you should be able to get a better idea. I personally haven’t really done it, but I know some of the other natural family planning methods rely soley on the mucus, not temps, and you can tell much better when you are gearing up to O. Well, that’s what I gather from reading stuff online! Google Billings and Creighton method– they very well may be more involved that you want to get into, but I think it’s always good to have more information.
Member@Foodnerd81- Since my cycles were so irregular I didn’t have a consistent pattern of cervical mucus. That’s a good point in case it works for the OP but if you aren’t regular it may not help at all.
Member@roxy821: Oh, that makes sense. OP, she’s probably right. Sorry.
MemberDefinitely start charting and monitoring your CM. Combining both of these you may be able to guess you are going to ovulate to TTC, then confirm ovulation by the charts.
I had irregular cycles before going on BC, then went off in January and haven’t had a period since February. I was charting, so I knew I had not ovulated. I had random days of eggwhite CM, but never had a temp spike, so I wasn’t really concerned. Well, along came the end of May and I had eggwhite CM then a temp spike.. and here I am pregnant (totally not expected, we weren’t planning to try for a bit longer). If it wasn’t for charting I would have no idea that I was pregnant.
I didn’t ovulate until Day 108 of my cycle.
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