Charting to Avoid/Fertility Awareness, June 2010 - Page 5

[Baby_Cakes]

Huge drop today, AF can't be far behind. Oddly short LP for me, though, maybe that's why I was/am so PMS-y? Or something?

chart

I'm bummed to not be pg but I'm also THRILLED b/c I can officially say we CTA this month. We only used protection during fertile times (granted, we only DTD once during fertile times) but still - I think this will give DH some faith in this method. That's always a good thing!

[AnnieA]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

echo ~ I agree with everyone else. No confirmed O yet. FF is just wrong. Which O detector do you have it set to? Possibly, O was yesterday if your temps stay above 97.6. Ovusoft kind of has it with the lines that separate your fertile and infertile period. If you look, you can see that the horizontal line is set on what might be your CL. However, since it says you are now in your infertile phase, it may not look for O anymore. You might want to change your settings so that it won't use day counting for anything.

OT: I just got my first handspun yarn the other day. Mosaic Moon Dragon's Lair spun by Yarnoodles. It's so gorgeous! I wish I knew how to do that.

ESW: I agree w/MW. If your temp stays up tomorrow and Sat. then I would say O was yesterday. But definitely not on CD 22 like FF is suggesting.

[AnnieA]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes

Huge drop today, AF can't be far behind. Oddly short LP for me, though, maybe that's why I was/am so PMS-y? Or something?

chart

I'm bummed to not be pg but I'm also THRILLED b/c I can officially say we CTA this month. We only used protection during fertile times (granted, we only DTD once during fertile times) but still - I think this will give DH some faith in this method. That's always a good thing!

for not being preggo but congrats on successfully CTA for a cycle!

[lyterae]

I made it all the way to CD40! I can't tell if I should be excited or not.. Either way, more normal temp today since I wore pajamas and added blankets back to the bed.

[Toolip]

babycakes, you chart link doesn't work for me.

CD 1 for me, thank goodness. I have been super grumpy!! Now I'm just in pain which makes me much more subdued. What is it that makes your skin break out at the end of a cycle? Is it the drop in estrogen?

I'm doing a little experiment this cycle. I'm going to temp with both my thermometers (vicks and BD) at the same time and see if they are consistently different. Today they were off by .02 (BD was higher). This way (if there is a pattern) if I'm ever in a pinch and have to use the other one, I might have some idea what is going on, I hope!

[pinkgeek]

I'm new to this Thread, but after reading some of the messages, I see I'm in the same place as a number of other people here. I'm also on the Wanting but Waiting thread.

Quick background: I'm ready to TTC, but DH isn't. The way I see it, we're passively avoiding. I went off the pill in July 2009 and we used condoms for a while. Then we switched to WD only. My currently theory is that DH must not be TOO adverse to an oops since he knows that WD isn't as effective as other forms of prevention. I don't temp, but I do chart my CP, CM and this cycle I started OPK (from saveontests.com) DH is kind of oblivious to my cycle, other than when I say something about AF.

My question right now is about the OPKs - I took one May 30, stark white; May 31 at 6:30pm and it was only like 1/2 as dark as the control line. I also took another one June 1 in the morning and it was about the same, but stark white in the evening. June 2 it was back to stark white. I'm guessing that I just missed the surge between two tests? Or with those tests can a light line still be positive?

We DTD the night of May 31 and even though he WD, he wasn't as careful about where things ended up and potentially some swimmers could have had the chance to do their thing. (I know, it's wishful thinking, but still a chance )

Here's to fingers crossed to all of us hoping for an oops

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by Toolip

What is it that makes your skin break out at the end of a cycle? Is it the drop in estrogen?

I think it's probably from an increase in estrogen. Progesterone drops right before and estrogen starts to rise. Also, lots of women break out around O, which is when estrogen is at it's highest.

pinkgeek ~ Most opks require that the test line be as dark or darker than the control to be +. Some say if it's dark and very close but not quite as dark as the control it could still be +. It sounds to me that more likely your LH is just waxing and waning right now with no peak yet. That happens to me a lot with opks. They go through a series of light, dark, light, dark, etc. until it finally gets very obviously dark and +. OPKs are like CF. They are good for determine when you are potentially fertile, most fertile, but cannot confirm O. You can get a + opk and not O. Do you have temps?

I want to add that opks may be good for helping to pinpoint O if they line up with the thermal shift but they can be dangerous when CTA, imo. If one considers oneself safe until a + opk, that can get one into trouble since you can get pg from dtd anytime within 5 days of O and opks are usually only + for 1-2 days right before O.

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

I think it's probably from an increase in estrogen. Progesterone drops right before and estrogen starts to rise. Also, lots of women break out around O, which is when estrogen is at it's highest.

Isn't it estrogen that makes skin look so nice during pregnancy?

when does estrogen drop off? at the beginning of a cycle?

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by Toolip

babycakes, you chart link doesn't work for me.

Hmm, is it busted for anyone else? I think it works. Either way, my FF chart is 1966df.

Thanks for the heads up.

Hi PinkGeek! Welcome! Hopefully you (and I) aren't here too long!

ETA: Toolip - my skin was broken out like a mofo during pg! I didn't have a glow at all, I went from acne ridden to more acne ridden! Yikes!

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes

Hmm, is it busted for anyone else? I think it works. Either way, my FF chart is 1966df.

ETA: Toolip - my skin was broken out like a mofo during pg! I didn't have a glow at all, I went from acne ridden to more acne ridden! Yikes!

How do I find your chart with 1966df? I know I've done it before, I just can't remember how!

And yes, I know pregnancy isn't good to everyone's skin! It just makes me wonder why people react so differently to hormones.

[pinkgeek]

MarineWife - Thanks for the help with the OPK info. I will keep testing then to see what comes up. I'm actually hoping that I just missed the surge b/c I don't want another LONG cycle. I've been pretty regular with the exception of one cycle that instigated many tests from my GYN, all of which came back "normal." I'm not too worried about using the OPK to avoid preg since I'd be over the moon with a BFP. I'm more using it to know when to expect my period and when to cross my fingers if there's a slip up

Baby_Cake - I hope that we aren't here too long either!

[BarefootScientist]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

If you know how long your lp is, you don't need to watch for that temp drop. Just count the days from O.

This narrows me down to a weekend, but sometimes I like to know the exact day.

Originally Posted by jodi5

Babycakes - for what it is worth, all my kids have 4 year age gaps, and it really has been wonderful both times. I hope the timing whenever it come, end up being perfect for your family

I must have missed Babycakes talking about this, but this is good to hear for me too. It looks like my kids will end up being around 4 years apart or more.

I think maybe breakouts might be caused by the high progesterone right before your period? Because right when your period starts, you don't have very many of any of the hormones, and at least my skin usually clears up within a day or two of AF starting. Progesterone is also one of the main hormones in pregnancy though...I don't know, I did a quick google search and didn't find much. Don't have time to dig into it right now.

Originally Posted by Toolip

I'm doing a little experiment this cycle. I'm going to temp with both my thermometers (vicks and BD) at the same time and see if they are consistently different. Today they were off by .02 (BD was higher). This way (if there is a pattern) if I'm ever in a pinch and have to use the other one, I might have some idea what is going on, I hope!

That sounds like a good idea.

MW, are you really an evolutionary biologist? Is that what you did for work before you became a SAHM? Because I did work in genomics and the integration of evolutionary biology and genomics is quite fun! If we were in related fields, that's cool!

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by Toolip

Isn't it estrogen that makes skin look so nice during pregnancy?

when does estrogen drop off? at the beginning of a cycle?

No, it's the opposite. Estrogen drops off right after O as progesterone rises. From cd1 to O, estrogen rises as the egg matures. Estrogen is at it's peak, the highest, when the egg is fully mature. Then there's a surge of LH that causes ovulation. At that time estrogen drops and progesterone rises. Progesterone stays high throughout the lp until right before , when it usually drops quickly. Estrogen starts to rise at the same time since it's progesterone that keeps estrogen in check. Then you're back to cd1 with estrogen rising again. So, based on that, I have come to the conclusion that it's probably estrogen that causes break outs, for me at least, because I usually break out around O and right before .

I don't know what makes some women's skin look so nice during pg. Mine looks awful during pg. I don't get that glow, either.

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

No, it's the opposite. Estrogen drops off right after O as progesterone rises. From cd1 to O, estrogen rises as the egg matures. Estrogen is at it's peak, the highest, when the egg is fully mature. Then there's a surge of LH that causes ovulation. At that time estrogen drops and progesterone rises. Progesterone stays high throughout the lp until right before , when it usually drops quickly. Estrogen starts to rise at the same time since it's progesterone that keeps estrogen in check. Then you're back to cd1 with estrogen rising again. So, based on that, I have come to the conclusion that it's probably estrogen that causes break outs, for me at least, because I usually break out around O and right before .

I don't know what makes some women's skin look so nice during pg. Mine looks awful during pg. I don't get that glow, either.

My physiology teacher needs a kick in the butt! He was so wrong about all this.

[MarineWife]

Mel ~ I have a general B.S. in Biology by I focused my classes on evolution and animal behavior. I did not work in the field, though. I found genomics very interesting.

Toolip ~ Are you serious? Your physiology teacher told you it was the opposite? Did you see the link I posted a while ago that went to a paper providing scientific support for NFP?

Ok, I just read a little bit on hormones and acne. It seems that androgens, male hormones like testosterone, are the main cause acne. I don't know how that relates to the female cycle. Estrogen is very closely related to testosterone. Maybe testosterone rises with the rise of estrogen and the fall of progesterone.

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by MarineWife

Toolip ~ Are you serious? Your physiology teacher told you it was the opposite? Did you see the link I posted a while ago that went to a paper providing scientific support for NFP?

Ok, I just read a little bit on hormones and acne. It seems that androgens, male hormones like testosterone, are the main cause acne. I don't know how that relates to the female cycle. Estrogen is very closely related to testosterone. Maybe testosterone rises with the rise of estrogen and the fall of progesterone.

It wasn't exactly opposite but he had all kinds of stuff wrong. I'll have to go back and look at my notes.

Interesting about testosterone... I wonder how it relates to the female cycle.

[lyterae]

Originally Posted by echospiritwarrior

I hope your turn will come quickly! How can you emotionally handle going from whatevering to TTA, that would be so rough on me! I'm surprised that jammies made such a difference!

I'm still basically figuring that we are CTA and that it will still be a year or so before we are actively TTC. I'm trying not to worry too much either way, easier said than done! The idea of actively TTC is nerve wracking also though, so I'm just going to try and ignore it for now.

I think it's a combination of jammies and stripping the extra blankets from the bed, I think adding the jammies back will bring me back to normal temps.

I do a good job at fooling myself apparently. DH just retracted his earlier statements and has decided we are being reckless. So, back to avoiding until confirmed O.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by lyterae

I do a good job at fooling myself apparently. DH just retracted his earlier statements and has decided we are being reckless. So, back to avoiding until confirmed O.

Bummer!

Toolip - go to your own chart and erase your ID in the web address, and just plug mine in. I'm not sure why the link didn't work!

I think maybe this month I'm going to focus extra hard on getting in my workouts and eating healthy. So boring, but I need to channel my energy into something good. Plus, getting in shape can only help me with any pg that may happen, so it's for the good of everyone.

[AnnieA]

Originally Posted by lyterae

I do a good job at fooling myself apparently. DH just retracted his earlier statements and has decided we are being reckless. So, back to avoiding until confirmed O.

GRRRRRR! What is up with these men?!? Do they not understand what they are doing to us?

[RaraAvis]

Originally Posted by BarefootScientist

What's with all the randomly short LPs? Something in the water?

Maybe I'm like lyterae -- insufficient nightwear

Seriously, I think the changes in weather might be jiggering with my temps -- it's been HOT here the past week, and hot at night.