Charting to Avoid/Fertility Awareness, April 2010 - Page 3

[BarefootScientist]

Originally Posted by nerdymom

So we are breaking the "rules" by using a condom on fertile days? That's too bad, I don't think I can abstain though. I have needs. And those needs get needier during my fertile days.

No...that's not what I meant at all. Confusing huh? Sorry. No, DTD with a condom during the fertile phase is within the rules for FAM (it would, however, be against the rules for NFP). With FAM, the objective is to find out when you're fertile. Then you just make sure to have protected or no sex during the time you are fertile. It's only breaking the rules to have UNprotected sex when you are potentially fertile. All I was saying is that if you do choose to have sex during the fertile time and use a condom *FAM has worked* - it has told you when you were fertile - hence why you used a condom. If you get pregnant anyway, you blame it on the condom, not FAM.

Condoms are still pretty darn effective methods of BC...I wouldn't sweat it. We use them too.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by BarefootScientist

Since the failure rate of condoms even with perfect use is...what...97% and with typical use is more like 85%, I'm more inclined to think that if a couple has several acts of protected intercourse with a condom during the fertile phase and no "iffy" unprotected acts, then it is a condom failure, not a FAM method failure.

You mean, condom method failure rate is about 3% and condom user failure rate is around 15%. I have to show you my because I think it's eerily like yours. What do you think? I didn't get a temp today because I'm visiting my mom and forgot to get my thermometer out of my suitcase when I went to bed last night.

But, nerdy, what Mel said. It is within the rules of FAM to use w/d or a barrier to prevent pg during your fertile time. It's strict NFP that requires abstinence. It took me a long time to really get that set in my head. I kept stating NFP with abstinence for a long time before realizing that NFP=abstinence.

Also, nerdy, I wouldn't be convinced about your O. I understand why FF did what it did. It's using the ROT to discount 1 or 2 outlying temps. However, since your supposed post-O temps aren't much higher, I don't think it's clear. Even if your CL is correct, I don't think you can confirm O before cd18.

[readytobedone]

AF is here

And this makes two cycles in a row of an 11 day LP, which is up from 9-10 before I started the Vitex

[AnnieA]

Hi ladies! I abstained from MDC for Lent and boy was it hard! I missed you guys!

DH and I are still CTA and we are now following the NFP rules. I've very glad about that because I have been teaching them for over a year and I felt like such a hypocrite since we weren't following them ourselves. We used to use W/D during the fertile periods. This past cycle, we abstained during my fertile period and it really was good for our relationship. I was worried that DH would hate it but he said he feels more close to me than ever before.

My chart: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/1f0436

[Kimmiepie]

I too, DTD during my fertile period. It's the only time I truly enjoy it. So to give that up would be like giving up sex all together.

Originally Posted by kcroto42

Got crosshairs today. I was a tiny bit surprised, just because -- I don't know, I haven't really been *feeling* it this cycle, if that makes any sense. My CF was pretty much the same the entire time I had any, but I have had a dry up now, and it looks to me like I had a temp shift. The temp that is discarded is because I'd only gotten sleep in two hour blocks, plus I temped like an hour and a half off from when I should. I figured that made it inaccurate enough to get rid off. Everybody agree?

It definitely looks like you O'd! I completely understand the not feeling it thing. This has happened to me during several cycles lately. I can tell that I am getting some CM, but it's not near as much. Or my drive won't be very strong, and the indications of O are mild. It's interesting how we can very very strong cycles and very light cycles. Something I would not have noticed if I hadn't been charting.

AFM: 9DPO today, so I expect AF within the next 1-3 days. My chart is climbing this month! http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/2be681 There are a lot of missing temps due to not being able to find my thermometer a lot. The baby runs off with it.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by AnnieA

We used to use W/D during the fertile periods. This past cycle, we abstained during my fertile period and it really was good for our relationship. I was worried that DH would hate it but he said he feels more close to me than ever before.

That's wonderful!

[Smokering]

nerdymom: NFP is essentially a religious method. It's based on Catholic teachings about the body, and Catholicism doesn't allow couples to use condoms. FAM is essentially NFP without the theology - it works the same in a practical sense, except that couples can use condoms, withdrawal or whatever they want during the fertile phase to avoid conceiving. If you're not Catholic, quiverfull or otherwise morally opposed to condom use, you're not "breaking any rules" to use condoms during the fertile phase. It just means you should, for the sake of accuracy, use the term FAM instead of NFP. And if FAM works perfectly to tell you when you're fertile and the condom breaks, be aware that it was the fault of the condom not doing what it was supposed to do; not the fault of FAM, which did its job of alerting you to your fertile time. Does that make sense?

FWIW we use condoms during our fertile phase, and I don't particularly stress about a failure. We do use them "right", and I wasn't stressed about using them before we started FAM, so I'm not stressed about it now (even though, technically, a condom break now would be more likely to result in a pregnancy).

[nerdymom]

Thank you all for the clarifications. I get it now. We've successfully used condoms for a year before beginning this so I wasn't worried per se, but a method of BC that leaves so little time for sex is definitely not for us!

mw - thanks for the input on my chart. I think I will play it safe for a few more days. I can't wait to get a few more chart completed so that I can really start to identify a pattern. It's so interesting to be doing this, I wish my mom had taught me when I was a teen, I think it would have helped so much. Just knowing my body and knowing what to expect would have been a big help.

[jeninejessica]

Speaking of climbing charts!! I told DH yesterday that if this keeps up he's going to end up taking me for a ride (he's a paramedic). Thankfully it was a bit lower this morning. I *hate* when I get really high during my luteal phase, and it actually starts interrupting my sleep I'm so warm.

[fresh_veggie]

I left the heater on way too high the other night, and my temp was a full degree higher than normal for pre-O temps!! Wow. It went back down the next day. Just thought I'd share. I love charting, even if DH insists on using condoms all month long . Lol.

[BarefootScientist]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

You mean, condom method failure rate is about 3% and condom user failure rate is around 15%. I have to show you my because I think it's eerily like yours. What do you think? I didn't get a temp today because I'm visiting my mom and forgot to get my thermometer out of my suitcase when I went to bed last night.

Uhh...yeah...I kinda stated that backwards huh? Thank goodness the failure rate of condoms isn't 97%. I went back and fixed it.

Your chart does look a lot like mine! Erratic.

AnnieA

[lyterae]

AnnieA - Welcome back! This past week I've cut out MDC quite a bit just because I was using up too much of my "freetime". It's amazing what I can get done if I don't spend so much time on the computer

AFM: CD 13, this cycle has been kinda "blah". I'm not keeping up on tracking everything as I should, the creamy CM has started but no eggwhite yet.

Question: Has anyone noticed a relation to cycle changes and exercise/dietary changes?

I'm trying to be more careful this cycle as I've started exercising again, I know that over the summer when I was eating low(er) carb and exercising I had 28 day cycles. Once I stopped my cycles became more unpredictable again (30-36 days). I'm not sure if I should be expecting cycle changes due to exercising again.

[dex_millie]

Starting my 2nd cycle and have questions..

I get spots before my period(like dark brown)..I heard I should still count it as my last cycle until I see red. So what happens when I am seeing brown but when I wipe there is some red(that happened Sat. night and Sunday) but only when I wipe. Today though I got the real flow red on the pad..will today be the 1st day or does the wipe of red count???

I stop temping after my 7th straight day of elevated temps, next time I will keep temping to see when it drops. I did check today and it is back to 97.6 but I don't know if it would have been around there yesterday...

help

[lyterae]

dex_millie : I sometimes get red spotting the day before the flow starts, I don't count it as cycle day 1 until the flow has actually started. I'm not sure what the official "rules" are though.

[Kimmiepie]

I used to have spotting before AF, but I haven't since I had the last baby.
I always counting the first day of actual flow, cd1.

AFM: My temp did a tiny dip this morning, and I feel bloaty and crampy. I'm expecting AF at any moment. http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/2be681

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by dex_millie

I get spots before my period(like dark brown)..I heard I should still count it as my last cycle until I see red. So what happens when I am seeing brown but when I wipe there is some red(that happened Sat. night and Sunday) but only when I wipe. Today though I got the real flow red on the pad..will today be the 1st day or does the wipe of red count???

CD1 is the first day of full, red flow. Spotting doesn't count regardless of the color. It's the flow part that counts. So that means that today would be cd1 for you.

[wholewheatchick]

AnnieA: So happy for you!

AFM: My chart has been "climbing" a bit, too. http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/277407 Missing 2 temps b/c DH and I went camping this past weekend. I also did the override on my cycle so that it shows that I O'd on CD 25. So now I'm 9 DPO officially.

[lyterae]

Morning ladies!

Pretty sure I'm still waiting to O, I've finally taken my temperature two days a in a row so hopefully O holds off a few more days so I can get more temps in.

[MovingMomma]

Originally Posted by lyterae

Pretty sure I'm still waiting to O, I've finally taken my temperature two days a in a row so hopefully O holds off a few more days so I can get more temps in.

Me too! Between an early am call from DH, waking up in DD's bed instead of mine, and gosh I don't even remember the other one...yup, I missed a few temps in there!

[Kimmiepie]

Originally Posted by wholewheatchick

AnnieA: So happy for you!

AFM: My chart has been "climbing" a bit, too. http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/277407 Missing 2 temps b/c DH and I went camping this past weekend. I also did the override on my cycle so that it shows that I O'd on CD 25. So now I'm 9 DPO officially.

We're climbing buddies! Okay, that was a bit silly.

I have a question. Although I feel AF is right at the doorstep my temp went back up this morning. Why does it have an empty circle on the temp instead of a filled in one? http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/2be681

ETA: I got my first ever triphasic on Ovusoft today. I'm sure I'm not pregnant though. It'd have to be an almost miracle.