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12-10-2012 at 1:56 PM
JocelynB09...
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JocelynB0911 is online. Last active: 06-18-2013, 2:03 AMSilver

long cycles, short periods... annoyed

So after having my IUD pulled at the start of June I was told, and read that "you could get pregnant so fast..." blah blah blah NO! I've always been "that girl" with the 28 day cycle and could tell you that I would get by period by the 3rd day of every month and end by the 7th possibly 8th if AF wanted to have an extended stay. Now I am going anywhere between 35 at the shortest and 52 at the longest. The latter has been the last few cycles. Yes, we have two wonderful children but would like and have planned for more.

I know it could take 6 months to a year for my cycles to regulate but in my mind shouldnt they be getting closer together and not further apart? I track my cm which by the looks and amounts tells me i should be ovulating twice per cycle but my OPKs are telling my I've only ovulated once in 4 cycles. I am going in to talk to my OB/GYN tomorrow morning to get his input on the situation. Has anyone had a similar situation? Outcome?


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12-10-2012 at 1:57 PM
gamergirl5...
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You don't ovulate more than once per cycle......

ETA: You also don't know for sure you ovulate unless you track your BBT.  An OPK just detects LH.  It doesn't mean you ovulated.  At the same time, even if you use OPKs, you could miss your surge and not get a positive at any point in your cycle. 

 
12-10-2012 at 2:01 PM
gscoville
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CM on its own is not an accurate way to tell when you ovulate, as you can really have EWCM at any time in your cycle.  Checking CM just helps to confirm O along with other things, like OPKs, temp spike, etc.  You should use OPKs and temping to help with detecting ovulation. 

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12-10-2012 at 2:03 PM
JocelynB09...
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i know you dont ovulate more than once per cycle. My cm looks like i ovulate more than once. i cant track my bbt as i work nights and when i have a few days off i am up and down every few hours making it pointless.

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12-10-2012 at 2:05 PM
JocelynB09...
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I cant temp as i work nights and when i have a few days off i am up and down every few hours. I use opks as soon as there is a change in CM.

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12-10-2012 at 2:06 PM
dmwbqb
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I'm on month 10 after having my Mirena removed and my cycles are still wacky. I O'd on CD 55 of this cycle. They've been anywhere from 29 days to the current one I'm on CD 65. That being said, everyone is different. Some women get pregnant right away after they have the IUD out.

I agree with PPs. Check out fertility friend and chart. You will know more about what your body is doing.

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12-10-2012 at 2:10 PM
JocelynB09...
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i use period tracker on my phone which from what ive discovered is the same as FF. This is my first time on my comp for longer than 30 minutes in wuite awhile lol

thank you for putting me at ease on not being the only one with crazy cycles.


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12-10-2012 at 2:23 PM
coraggiosa
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The tracker you use is useless unless you are actually temping - even fertility friend is pretty useless without temps. While charting your CM is all well and good, you really won't know if you are ovulating unless you temp. I don't remember seeing you mention using OPKs, but if you aren't going to temp, it would be a good decision to at least use OPKs.

You mention that your job prevents you from temping - check out fertility friend's article on temping while doing shift work.

I have a horrible sleep pattern - I never temp at the same time because my sleep is so unpredictable (I get up at all hours of the night for no reason at all). I still am able to pinpoint ovulation even though my sleep is erratic. The main thing I try to do is to sleep for at least 3 hours before temping, as that is the only parameter I am able to hit. I would definitely give it a try just to see what happens.

Good luck! 

ETA: reading fail on the OPKs. I see that you use them. Are you only using them once a day? Some people miss their surge if they only test once a day. 



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12-10-2012 at 2:25 PM
gscoville
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Period Tracker is not the same as FF, it doesn't analyze input data like OPKs, CM and cervix position, and temps in order to pinpoint when you ovulate.  All it does is estimate when your next period is due based on your past three month average.  This is fine if your cycles are 'average' and you ovulate right in the middle like the textbooks say, but most women aren't like that. 

Also, I've read how lots of women on The Bump are on shift work and manage to temp successfully, as long as you have three hours of sleep your temp should be reasonably accurate.  BBT means your temp after you sleep for several hours, it doesn't necessarily have to be at the exact time every day, your body will get to its basal temperature after several hours of sleep no matter when in the day that sleep is.  I know for myself, I'm an insomniac, I wake up at random times most nights and just can't get back to sleep for hours sometimes.  I sometimes take my temp at the wrong time, but as long as it's after my longest period of sleep it still seems to be accurate.  In fact I was away this weekend 'sleeping' in a crappy hotel bed (read not sleeping well at all), but still managed to temp after a few hours of sleep and catch my temp shift after ovulation last Thursday.

Basically, if you're serious about figuring out your cycle, you should temp.  Give it a try, how could it hurt?


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Married August 2012. Me: 39 DH: 40
Daughter from a previous marriage is 18 years old
TTC #2 since August 2012
BFP 12/19/12
DX with ectopic pregnancy at 8 weeks, surgery to remove right tube 01/18/13
May 2013 Testing begun, CD3/7DPO BW and HSG
My Ovulation Chart  
12-10-2012 at 8:05 PM
kat81again...
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When had just gotten off bc pills my cycles were long and wonky. They also got longer at first (35, then 38, then 50) before going to the 42-45 range. I got pregnant on a cycle that was going to be a 31 day cycle. It was my third one ttc but my 7th or so since coming off of bc (and nearly a year later, given how long they were!) 

I also tracked my cm so I know what you mean about ovulating "twice." It is NOT possible to ovulate twice in a cycle. But you can have several patches of ewcm and other signs. Your body can gear up to ovulate twice. This will often happen if you have long cycles, and can be the cause of the length (you have a failed attempt or two before you actually ovulate). Because of this you can also get multiple positive opk readings.

My advice -- chart your temperatures. It helps for some piece of mind when you have a long cycle. After a while your cycle will probably go back to normal. But you can still ttc while you have weird cycles, and can get pregnant on them. 

12-10-2012 at 8:11 PM
hqinmd
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JocelynB0911:
i use period tracker on my phone which from what ive discovered is the same as FF. This is my first time on my comp for longer than 30 minutes in wuite awhile lol
thank you for putting me at ease on not being the only one with crazy cycles.

A period tracker app is nowhere near the same as FF. It estimates cycle lengths and guesses at when you might ovulate but it cannot tell you for sure.

Have you TRIED charting your temps? Before you assume it won't work for you, at least attempt it.

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12-11-2012 at 3:45 AM
JocelynB09...
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No, it couldnt hurt. I never get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time no matter what I am doing but we'll see.

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12-11-2012 at 5:53 AM
McHotts
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JocelynB0911:

So after having my IUD pulled at the start of June I was told, and read that "you could get pregnant so fast..." blah blah blah NO! I've always been "that girl" with the 28 day cycle and could tell you that I would get by period by the 3rd day of every month and end by the 7th possibly 8th if AF wanted to have an extended stay. Now I am going anywhere between 35 at the shortest and 52 at the longest. The latter has been the last few cycles. Yes, we have two wonderful children but would like and have planned for more.

I know it could take 6 months to a year for my cycles to regulate but in my mind shouldnt they be getting closer together and not further apart? I track my cm which by the looks and amounts tells me i should be ovulating twice per cycle but my OPKs are telling my I've only ovulated once in 4 cycles. I am going in to talk to my OB/GYN tomorrow morning to get his input on the situation. Has anyone had a similar situation? Outcome?

 Did you have your super regular cycles when you were on BC? If so, then don't take that into account, as it was being affected by the hormones in the IUD. I am saying this just so you don't think you have started TTC and suddenly your body isn't cooperating. 




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12-12-2012 at 10:06 AM
JocelynB09...
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JocelynB0911 is online. Last active: 06-18-2013, 2:03 AMSilver
McHotts:
JocelynB0911:

So after having my IUD pulled at the start of June I was told, and read that "you could get pregnant so fast..." blah blah blah NO! I've always been "that girl" with the 28 day cycle and could tell you that I would get by period by the 3rd day of every month and end by the 7th possibly 8th if AF wanted to have an extended stay. Now I am going anywhere between 35 at the shortest and 52 at the longest. The latter has been the last few cycles. Yes, we have two wonderful children but would like and have planned for more.

I know it could take 6 months to a year for my cycles to regulate but in my mind shouldnt they be getting closer together and not further apart? I track my cm which by the looks and amounts tells me i should be ovulating twice per cycle but my OPKs are telling my I've only ovulated once in 4 cycles. I am going in to talk to my OB/GYN tomorrow morning to get his input on the situation. Has anyone had a similar situation? Outcome?

 Did you have your super regular cycles when you were on BC? If so, then don't take that into account, as it was being affected by the hormones in the IUD. I am saying this just so you don't think you have started TTC and suddenly your body isn't cooperating. 

No, this was before the IUD. I expected things to be a bit screwed up since getting it removed but not this screwed up.

I had an appt with my OB/GYN yesterday and he thinks its a bit odd that my cycles are getting longer while my periods are getting shorter. We did a blood work up to check on my compliments for my Lupus to see if that could be affecting anything and he wants to see me by day 5 of my next period to do more blood work and an ultrasound to see whats going on with my uterine lining. Based on the neg opk's and how often I am testing with them hes betting that I am not ovulating and would want to start me on Clomid. But if its showing that its too thick then we may go the Provera route, if that makes sense. I left my notes and what not in my purse which was left in my MIL's car. I told him see you at the end of January... smh


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