Post # 1
Member
869 posts
Busy bee
Hi Everyone!
I just got married in June and I think I should probably change my username from weddingobsessed to babyobsessed lol! I went off the pill the end of July after being on it for 8 straight years. I got my first real non-pill period on August 30th so it looks like my first cycle off the pill was 31 days. I’ve been doing the following to check for ovulation (hubby and I will officially try for a baby in december but if it happens before would be totally happy as well).
OPKS: I’ve been taking OPKs since August 11th and have yet to get a positive result (this month I even tested 2-3 times a day to make sure I wasn’t missing my surge). The only day I got what looked like it was a positive result (the lines were equal in color) was 2 days before I got my period…so obviously that was a false positive.
Checking CM: I always had a lot of discharge when I was on the pill and the first month off it I really didn’t have too much…it was mostly clear and thin. This month it has been more abundant but still primarily thin and clear. I was supposed to ovulate a few days ago(on CD 17) but no positive OPK. I am now on CD 23. The past few days the clear thin CM changed to a thicker, white creamy/sticky consistancy. Last night I had a huge glob of this stretchy, jelly clearish cm which was definitely new (on the pill a few times I did have some cm that was jelly-like but never this big of a glob). This morning it was creamy again. So…I’m very confused by my CM..unless that glob last night was the EWCM everyone talks about, I’ve never seen EWCM.
BBT: I tried temping this cycle at the same time every morning..it was going fine until my themrmometer kept saying “Lo” and I thought that meant low battery even though I had just bought it. So I tried a regular thermometer and it was vastly different so I figured my BBT wasn’t accurate and used the regular thermometer for a few days (gave me false hope because my temp was wayy higher with the regular thermometer than the bbt one). I got a new bbt thermometer yesterday and realized it’s my regular thermometer that is the one that is off (ugh such a headache!) So basically I need to start over with the temping next cycle but I’m pretty sure I haven’t ovulated because my temp this morning was only 97.2.
Do you all think my body is just messed up since I recently got off the pill? I know it could take months to ovulate and get things back on track but I guess I’m just feeling really paranoid that I will never ovulate. Let me know if anyone has any advice or insight or stories about how long it took to ovulate after going off the pill. Thanks in advance ladies!!
Post # 2
Member
3281 posts
Sugar bee
I don’t have too much advice since I just stopped the pill a few weeks ago, but for the thermometor Lo meas it’s ready, if you read the directions it should say Lo every time before you use it. I also had a lot of clean, thin CM most of this first cycle. If it stretches a few inches it’s EWCM. I had several dark opks but never a clear positive, I also tested three times a day most of the time. They kept getting light and darker all through the cycle so I gave up. The only thing keeping me sane is my temps because I’ve done them consistently and had a slight rise the past two days so I’m hoping CD 16 was my O day. I think the best thing to do is chart everything you see, (OPKs, CM, and start temping with the BBT again). It may just take some time to get everything figured out, which is soo hard when TTC!
Post # 3
Member
2907 posts
Sugar bee
With OPKs, some women just never get a true positive even though they are ovulating. Did yours get darker and then fade away again, or were they consistently light across the whole month?
Also, for some women the clear, thin CM is their most fertile type. I almost never had the classic stretchy egg white CM, but I was ovulating for sure.
And finally, you can’t bring in a new thermometer mid-cycle – it just won’t be accurate. Are you taking your temp at the same time every day, as soon as you wake up and before getting out of bed? If you got out of bed to get the new thermometer when you noticed yours said Lo, it’s not surprising that it’s vastly different. As soon as you get up and move around, your temp jumps up and you’re no longer getting a true basal temp.
It’s possible that your cycles are still regulating, but it also might just be that your body doesn’t give you all the textbook signs! Just keep tracking and hang in there. (And make sure you stick with the same thermometer all cycle!) 🙂
Post # 4
Member
869 posts
Busy bee
MrsN14: Thanks so much for your input!! Glad to hear you had a temp rise…hopefully I will see one next cycle when I actually use the same thermometer the whole time! I know you are right though, I need to just give it time and chart everything 🙂
Post # 5
Member
869 posts
Busy bee
KatieBklyn: Hey! That’s interesting to know about the OPKs that not everyone gets a full blown positive…mine actually did get increasingly darker when I got closer to my predicted ovulation date, but never got as dark as or darker than the control line. The past few days the test line has been decreasing in color (still visible though, I’ve only had 2-3 times that the test line wasn’t visable at all). That’s also good to know about the fertile cm. Do you think that glob I described was ewcm since it stretched? It was really thick and jelly-like though so I don’t know how it could help the sperm travel as all! I have been taking my temp in bed before getting up…that is good to know though that the day I jumped out of bed to get the other thermometer that that could throw it off. I know this month I should just ignore my temps because they aren’t accurate if I used literally 3 different thermometers lol. Thanks so much for your help!!
Post # 6
Member
2022 posts
Buzzing bee
Weddingobsessed: Yes, it sounds like that stretchy glob was EWCM! You might not have even ovulated yet. O can vary and some cycles can be longer than others, especially fresh off the pill. My first cycle off BCP I O’d on CD22 and the next cycle it was CD28! Do you use FF to chart and do you have a link to your chart? Us bees in the charters of the hive threads can help you out since you’re newish to charting…come join us! 🙂
Oh, and DH and I will also be TTC in December, yippee! You can also join the Waiting to TTC threads if you want some company from other waiting bees. 🙂
Post # 7
Member
2907 posts
Sugar bee
Weddingobsessed: I’m not sure if the jelly-like glob is EWCM or not… I’ve had that before, but usually after ovulation. But yeah, if it’s clear and stretchy I’d err on the side of caution and have sex. (Or not have sex, if you’re charting to avoid.)
And I didn’t know that about OPKs either, until I saw a reproductive endocrinologist and was like, “and I never get a positive on my OPKs, what’s wrong with me?” He said lots of women never get a true positive, and to just test two or three times a day and take note of whatever my darkest line looks like.
Post # 8
Member
869 posts
Busy bee
MrsFairyBee: Thank you SO much! Good point..I may not have even ovulated yet. I will def join those threads! I have the FF app but my chart is all over the place this month because I used 3 different thermometers…I’m better off just starting fresh after I get AF this cycle. If I had a normal first period off the pill…do you think I could have ovulated that month? I know it’s def possible to get a period without ovulating but I have no idea if that’s common or not.
