Help with cycle!!

[Ladylaura23]

Hello girlies,

been nosing around on here for a few months now and find lots of answers to most my questions! You all seem so nice and helpful


Basically I came off the pill (microgynogyn 30) in march because we were wanting to TTC in about a year. I've been on the pill about 11 years (dr put me on it because i got really bad cramp). I had normal periods in April and May on the exact same dates I would of if I had still been on the pill. However this month I really thought I could of been pregnant as we haven't been 100% careful and I felt different in a number of ways. Unfortunately I came on yesterday and I was gutted Made me want to TTC now!! Plus i know it could take us years to fall.
I came on 5 days earlier than I expected which is making me think this may of been my first "real" period - along with really bad cramps like I used to have.


So anyway my first question is, do you always count back 14 days from the first day of cycle to find out when you ovulated? If so then we defo did the deed smack bang on ovulation, it obviously just didn't happen.


Second question is when/how do I use the ovulation stick things?? I mean I know I have to dip them in my wee!! But do I use them just once a day or two? And how many days after AF should i start testing? I've ordered a bunch of them of eBay and also a thermometer and chart - but haven't a clue where to start. Please help!!!


Sorry for the long post! x

 

[Emma.b]

Hey hun welcome to the site, there are alot of really nice people on here and you'll find there is always someone to answer your questions, so fire away! lol

I would say the early period you had was most probably your first real period since the pill. You may also find that now the pill is out of your system you may have a few odd periods while your body sorts itself out.

Answer to your first question, no dont count back you may miss your ovulation. Those 14 days you mention is whats called your luteal phase, thats the part of your cycle were a fertilised egg would implant. A average luteal phase can range from 10- 14 days...so until you know your luteal phase counting backwards isnt going to work.

The only way to determine ovulation is to use the ovulation sticks you mention, and also charting your temparture.

The tests should come with instructions, a lot of girls on here do 2-4 test per day when they think they are nearing ovualtion. A lot of ladies test from the day AF leaves using the ebay sticks, once or twice a day. First test is usually done around 2 - 3pm after holding your pee for a few hours. Never use first morning pee as it will give a false reading, unless you are going to be using the clearblue monitor which only uses first morning pee. Once you start seeing the lines getting darker then i would test 3-4 times just so you dont miss the surge.

Once you figure out how long your cycles are you can reduce the amount of sticks you use.

Hope some of this helps, if you need to know anything else let me know, good luck x x x

 

[Ladylaura23]

Aww thanks for the reply it's really helpful!! So my period only lasted two days - monday and yesterday - so should i use just one of those sticks today? Then as soon as it starts to get darker (in a week or two i'm guessing) start doing it a few times a day yeah? What is the need for doing it more than once a day exactly? Say if its dark about lunch time but more faint on a tea time does that mean i've missed it or something? Or is it because it might not show up until later on that day? Sorry for sounding thick just trying to get it all straight in my head!

Chart, sticks and thermometer all arrived today (v.excited!) so going to sit and read through it all later x

 

[jojo3972]

with u just coming off the pill its a toughy one cos ur cycle could be messed up so i would suggest this cycle to maybe use the opks from day 5 at around 2pm ish its up to u wether u do 1 2 or 3 but with normal 28 day cycles most woman start to test cd 10 with 2 a day n when u start to get darker second line maybe up to 3 opks a day untill u get a + which is usualy cd 13-15 but some woamn ahve longer cycles so its anyones guess when u just come off the pill as and when ur body will ovulate fingers crossed its right bk to normal cycles xxx

 

[Emma.b]

Aww thanks for the reply it's really helpful!! So my period only lasted two days - monday and yesterday - so should i use just one of those sticks today? Then as soon as it starts to get darker (in a week or two i'm guessing) start doing it a few times a day yeah? What is the need for doing it more than once a day exactly? Say if its dark about lunch time but more faint on a tea time does that mean i've missed it or something? Or is it because it might not show up until later on that day? Sorry for sounding thick just trying to get it all straight in my head!

Chart, sticks and thermometer all arrived today (v.excited!) so going to sit and read through it all later x

I would say as you've not long been off the pill i would cover all bases and start today wth just 1 test. When you start to see faint lines test more often. The reason i use to test more than once a day is because a surge can come on really sudden and last between a few hours or a few days. I liked to know exactly when and how long my surge lasted. And yes you may test at dinner and the test be negative then by late pm it could be positive!

Once you get your first positive stick it means you should ovulate 12-48hours later. So the best time to have sex is before and during the positive tests.

With the sticks you'll find that you have to 'work out' if the lines are positive or not, some tests dont get strong lines but can still be positive. I would for this cycle use its as a test cycle, keep your strips. It sounds gross but i taped them into my book in order. Then you'll be able to clearly see how your positive opks will/should look.

x x x

x x x

 

[netty]

it may be hard to judge your ovulation as the pill messes up things sometimes, but as previously said start today and see how you go maybe just use the opks for now and when you are sure you are getting positives start the temping so as not to baffle yourself lovely x

me for example:

26-28 day cycles, i bleed for 5 days average and ovulate about day 15 of my cycle, giving me a 11-13 day luteal phase ( which is when the egg if you catch it implants )

its all a bit RAAARRRR sometimes but you will get there hun!

good luck

 

[Becky1]

Goodness this thread is an eye opener! I've just been using the clear blue ovulation kit (with the smiley face) and testing once in the morning. The two days I got the smile I made sure we had sex... Sounds like I need to be buying some cheaper tests and testing more often!! eBay for me this evening

 

[netty]

i always have a few days of sex during ov, when i got 2 lines on a cheapy i backed up with an smiley face and bedded for the next 3-4 days seeing as your surge can last upto this long. SMEP are good guidelines for when to bed for optimum results but no matter what you do the percentage of the egg actually fertilising are just 20% at most ( for us all )


so dont get too disheartened when you see that smiley but get your bfn! its harder than it sounds

 

[netty]

Goodness this thread is an eye opener! I've just been using the clear blue ovulation kit (with the smiley face) and testing once in the morning. The two days I got the smile I made sure we had sex... Sounds like I need to be buying some cheaper tests and testing more often!! eBay for me this evening

also do you use your first wee of the day? if so you should use the second wee xxx

 

[Ladylaura23]

Wowza...! Thanks for the replies girls, i think its starting to sink in now haha. Done a test before and got a control line with no test line so il just keep doing that once a day for now. Got plenty of them!! Might invest in the Clearblue smilies eventually but not just yet, best wait til i get my cycles straight first. I think i will keep the sticks Emma thats a good idea!
Downloaded an iPhone app for the charting, looks much easier than the paper! xxx

 

[Becky1]

Yes i was using 1st wee, going to try testing at 5pm this month (don't really want to be peeing on a stick at work lol)!

 

[netty]

well i work long hours and always tested at 7pm when i got home, made no odds to me x always got good results

 

[Emma.b]

When i used the clearblue smiley i used them at all different times 10am, 12pm, 4pm even 10pm at night and it still showed my smiley face! The only thing with them is the expense. I've now changed to the monitor, which is expensive at first but you can pick up the sticks cheap on ebay. 1 stick once a day easy peasy!! lol

 

[Emma.b]

Wowza...! Thanks for the replies girls, i think its starting to sink in now haha. Done a test before and got a control line with no test line so il just keep doing that once a day for now. Got plenty of them!! Might invest in the Clearblue smilies eventually but not just yet, best wait til i get my cycles straight first. I think i will keep the sticks Emma thats a good idea!
Downloaded an iPhone app for the charting, looks much easier than the paper! xxx

Make sure to write on the stick what cycle day and am/pm...as a few of mine fell off 1 cycle!! Lol

I have fertilityfriend on my mobile. Its brilliant, i take my temp and pee on a stick and before even leaving my bedroom its charted in my phone!

 

[Emma.b]

oh my i have just re-read that. For the record i dont pee on a stick in my bedroom! I have an ensuite!!

 

[janinesboutiqu]

oh my i have just re-read that. For the record i dont pee on a stick in my bedroom! I have an ensuite!!

hahaha.. that really made me chuckle i read the first post and thought "hey!?" then read the second and was like "ahh makes sense " xx

 

[Ladylaura23]

That's the one I got Fertilityfriend! Was confusing at first til i went online and worked out what all the different colours stood for on the calandar but i think its great!

Lol at the peeing in your room!!

Everytime i try to reply using stupid Tapatalk i spend ages typing it then when i click send it only puts the first 3 or 4 words so i have to come online and edited it on the computer and start all over again AHHHHHHHH!!

 

[Becky1]

Just downloaded fertility friend app! Looks great, one place to record everything. Thanks ladies

 

[Ladylaura23]

Just downloaded fertility friend app! Looks great, one place to record everything. Thanks ladies

Looks fab doesn't it! I get excited over the smallest of things haha! X

 

[Becky1]

Haha me too, just ordering my thermometer to record my temp on it too This ttc business has opened my eyes to a whole new world x