MrsLaw
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So whilst PF was down, i realised how important it was in my life lol, had to start browsing other site just to get my kicks and get advice (felt like I cheated).... But now it's back!! 
Whilst checking other sites I came across a woman called MrzFish! And she dishes out amazing advice! She wrote this in one of her posts, and I thought I would copy and paste it here to help others who are also trying to conceive!! (No copyright intended & I hope I'm not breaking any rules)
Enjoy!!!
THE CYCLE: A normal menstrual cycle lasts anywhere from 21-35 days. There are four main parts of the menstrual cycle: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase.
MENSTRUATION: the shedding of the thickened lining of the uterus (endometrium) from the body through the vagina.
The first day that you have enough bleeding to need a pad or tampon is CD1. The normal range for a period is anywhere form 3-7 days. By this definition, you cannot have a period while you are pregnant, however you can bleed for various other reasons. If the uterine lining is shed, then so is the implanted egg or placenta that is attached to it, resulting in a terminated pregnancy and MC.
FOLLICULAR PHASE: the time between the beginning of menstruation and ovulation.
The duration of this phase can vary greatly, with differences of days or even weeks, if ovulation is delayed for any reason. First, a rise in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) causes about 5-20 follicles to form on the ovaries and begin to mature, one of which will become the dominant follicle. Next, as the eggs mature, they release high levels of estrogen, which thickens the uterine lining with blood and nutrients and also causes cervical mucus to become fertile. Finally, the elevated levels of estrogen trigger a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH) which is most often, but not always, followed by ovulation. This LH surge is what is detected with OPKs.
OVULATION: the final maturation and release of an egg.
Ovulation takes place between 24-36 hours after the beginning of the LH surge and about 10-12 hours after its highest peak. An egg can only live between 12-24 hours after it is released.
LUTEAL PHASE: the time between ovulation and the beginning of a new cycle.
The LP varies from woman to woman, but whatever a woman's personal LP is, it generally remains the same for her every cycle (no more than +/- 1-2 days on occasion). A normal LP is between 12-16 days long, with 10-11 days being considered low, and anything below 10 being unsuitable for pregnancy. The empty follicle left behind after ovulation becomes the corpus luteum, which produces estrogen as well as high amounts of progesterone to further thicken the uterine lining for implantation. The increase in progesterone is responsible for the temp shift and continued elevated basal body temps as well as the drying up of CM right after O. If pregnancy occurs, the imiplanted embryo stimulates the production of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and the corpus luteum remains intact to continue production of progesterone and sustain the pregnancy until the placenta takes over production around 10 weeks. If pregnancy does not occur, the corpus luteum stops progesterone production and dies, causing the uterine lining to be shed and a new cycle to begin.
***IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER***
LATE PERIOD
In order for your period to be considered late, you have to know when exactly you ovulated (confirmed by temping or ultrasound) and how long your luteal phase is. If your period does not arrive within your normal LP time frame, then it is late. Just because a cycle is longer than your previous cycles does not mean you are "late." It likely means that you ovulated later than you usually do and can expect your period at the end of your normal LP. LPs greater than 16 days are extremely rare (almost unheard of), so if you find yourself at "19dpo," then you did not ovulate when you thought you did and will have to just keep waiting for a BFP or AF. Unless you are temping accurately, an app cannot tell you when your period is "late." Apps are based on averages and generalities.
OVULATION
Normally, you only ovulate once during a cycle. It is possible to ovulate twice, but it is uncommon and both eggs are released within 24 hours of each other (hence, fraternal twins). But you cannot ovulate once and then ovulate again several days of weeks later. (There have been cases where women give birth weeks apart, but there have only been 10 or so cases ever reported out of the millions of babies born each year. Doctors still typically call it "impossible" despite these few anomalies.) Getting a positive ovulation test does not guarantee that you will ovulate at that time. Sometimes the body will try to ovulate but fail, then try to ovulate again at a later time. This would explain why some women get more than one set of positive OPKs in a cycle.
SYMPTOMS
Symptoms are misleading! Breast tenderness, fatigue, cramping, bloating, headaches, insomnia, changes in appetite, changes in sense of smell, etc. are all common in the TWW whether you are pregnant or AF arrives. True implantation bleeding is not common, but it has several distinct features. It is pinkish of brownish (even yellowish) in color and usually is no more than one or two streaky drops mixed in with CM. IB usually shows up around 10-14 days after ovulation and only lasts a few hours. It is a rare exception if it lasts up to 1 or 2 days. Additional bleeding is likely the result of fluxes in estrogen and progesterone, causing small amounts of the endometrium to slough off. Chronic spotting prior to period: progesterone helps maintain the uterine lining for pregnancy, but when progesterone is low, the lining is no longer held in place. This can often result in spotting several days to a week before the next menstrual cycle is due and can also cause minor infertility and early MC.
***When to Talk to a Doctor***
Your periods are less than 21 days of more that 35 days apart * You bleed for more than seven days You bleed between periods You develop severe pain during your period You bleed more heavily than usual or soak through more than one pad or tampon every hour or two hours Your periods suddenly stop for more than 90 days and you're not pregnant Your periods become erratic after having been regular Your period has not returned within two months after stopping birth control pills and you are not pregnant
Whilst checking other sites I came across a woman called MrzFish! And she dishes out amazing advice! She wrote this in one of her posts, and I thought I would copy and paste it here to help others who are also trying to conceive!! (No copyright intended & I hope I'm not breaking any rules)
Enjoy!!!
THE CYCLE: A normal menstrual cycle lasts anywhere from 21-35 days. There are four main parts of the menstrual cycle: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase.
MENSTRUATION: the shedding of the thickened lining of the uterus (endometrium) from the body through the vagina.
The first day that you have enough bleeding to need a pad or tampon is CD1. The normal range for a period is anywhere form 3-7 days. By this definition, you cannot have a period while you are pregnant, however you can bleed for various other reasons. If the uterine lining is shed, then so is the implanted egg or placenta that is attached to it, resulting in a terminated pregnancy and MC.
FOLLICULAR PHASE: the time between the beginning of menstruation and ovulation.
The duration of this phase can vary greatly, with differences of days or even weeks, if ovulation is delayed for any reason. First, a rise in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) causes about 5-20 follicles to form on the ovaries and begin to mature, one of which will become the dominant follicle. Next, as the eggs mature, they release high levels of estrogen, which thickens the uterine lining with blood and nutrients and also causes cervical mucus to become fertile. Finally, the elevated levels of estrogen trigger a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH) which is most often, but not always, followed by ovulation. This LH surge is what is detected with OPKs.
OVULATION: the final maturation and release of an egg.
Ovulation takes place between 24-36 hours after the beginning of the LH surge and about 10-12 hours after its highest peak. An egg can only live between 12-24 hours after it is released.
LUTEAL PHASE: the time between ovulation and the beginning of a new cycle.
The LP varies from woman to woman, but whatever a woman's personal LP is, it generally remains the same for her every cycle (no more than +/- 1-2 days on occasion). A normal LP is between 12-16 days long, with 10-11 days being considered low, and anything below 10 being unsuitable for pregnancy. The empty follicle left behind after ovulation becomes the corpus luteum, which produces estrogen as well as high amounts of progesterone to further thicken the uterine lining for implantation. The increase in progesterone is responsible for the temp shift and continued elevated basal body temps as well as the drying up of CM right after O. If pregnancy occurs, the imiplanted embryo stimulates the production of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and the corpus luteum remains intact to continue production of progesterone and sustain the pregnancy until the placenta takes over production around 10 weeks. If pregnancy does not occur, the corpus luteum stops progesterone production and dies, causing the uterine lining to be shed and a new cycle to begin.
***IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER***
LATE PERIOD
In order for your period to be considered late, you have to know when exactly you ovulated (confirmed by temping or ultrasound) and how long your luteal phase is. If your period does not arrive within your normal LP time frame, then it is late. Just because a cycle is longer than your previous cycles does not mean you are "late." It likely means that you ovulated later than you usually do and can expect your period at the end of your normal LP. LPs greater than 16 days are extremely rare (almost unheard of), so if you find yourself at "19dpo," then you did not ovulate when you thought you did and will have to just keep waiting for a BFP or AF. Unless you are temping accurately, an app cannot tell you when your period is "late." Apps are based on averages and generalities.
OVULATION
Normally, you only ovulate once during a cycle. It is possible to ovulate twice, but it is uncommon and both eggs are released within 24 hours of each other (hence, fraternal twins). But you cannot ovulate once and then ovulate again several days of weeks later. (There have been cases where women give birth weeks apart, but there have only been 10 or so cases ever reported out of the millions of babies born each year. Doctors still typically call it "impossible" despite these few anomalies.) Getting a positive ovulation test does not guarantee that you will ovulate at that time. Sometimes the body will try to ovulate but fail, then try to ovulate again at a later time. This would explain why some women get more than one set of positive OPKs in a cycle.
SYMPTOMS
Symptoms are misleading! Breast tenderness, fatigue, cramping, bloating, headaches, insomnia, changes in appetite, changes in sense of smell, etc. are all common in the TWW whether you are pregnant or AF arrives. True implantation bleeding is not common, but it has several distinct features. It is pinkish of brownish (even yellowish) in color and usually is no more than one or two streaky drops mixed in with CM. IB usually shows up around 10-14 days after ovulation and only lasts a few hours. It is a rare exception if it lasts up to 1 or 2 days. Additional bleeding is likely the result of fluxes in estrogen and progesterone, causing small amounts of the endometrium to slough off. Chronic spotting prior to period: progesterone helps maintain the uterine lining for pregnancy, but when progesterone is low, the lining is no longer held in place. This can often result in spotting several days to a week before the next menstrual cycle is due and can also cause minor infertility and early MC.
***When to Talk to a Doctor***
Your periods are less than 21 days of more that 35 days apart * You bleed for more than seven days You bleed between periods You develop severe pain during your period You bleed more heavily than usual or soak through more than one pad or tampon every hour or two hours Your periods suddenly stop for more than 90 days and you're not pregnant Your periods become erratic after having been regular Your period has not returned within two months after stopping birth control pills and you are not pregnant
