Cervical Mucus/Fluid

[marmoura81]

Hi Ladies,

My husband and I have been TTC #1 for 6 months now with no luck although I've been charting and temping perfectly. I have a 30-35 day cycle, 14 day luteal phase, and ovulate around CD 18 or 19. I know this because I use an ovulation predictor kit and my temps rise at this time.

My CM/CF has been kind of an issue though. I get a lot around CD 13-14 but not much after that. Our doctor told us to time intercourse the day before, during, and after ovulation - but most of the time I'm dry by then so we have to use Preseed otherwise intercourse is impossible (because we can't use lube)

Does anyone have any advice? Should we be trying on CD 13-15?

Thanks, Mary

[Tear78]

If you're really ovulating on CD18, then trying on day 13-14 might help, because sperms can technically live that long. However, it would be better to get them in there right before and on O day. Have you tried taking guaifenesin? It's available over the counter in tablet form, and it's normally used to help turn a dry cough into a productive one, but it can also help create more cervical mucus. Good luck!

[Tulpen88]

This may be an obvious suggestion, but are you drinking tons of water? Drinking water can help with cm production too. Try to drink lots of water and go ahead and use Preseed too.

[karmab]

here are some of the things women use to increase cm. the most important is lots of water. Grapefruit juice, baby carrots, evening primrose oil (a supplement) FertileCM (a supplement) green tea (with lemon especially,) possibly unsweetened cranberry juice, guifenesin/Robitussin (must be taken with lots of water and be only guifenesin, no antihistamines or 'initials' after the name,) 40 mg soy isoflavones cd 5-9, and avoid dairy.

do you check for it right up by your cervix- you can give your cervix a little squeeze, or check with clean hands after bearing down for a bm, that's when you are most likely to find it if there isnt a whole bunch. sometimes it's up in the cervix, but you just dont find a lot.

and well, have to say, the day before, day of, and after o is ok advice, but really the 2 most effective days for conception statistically are two days before o and the day before o. the day of o and the day after are about half as successful. the egg likely is only able to be fertilized for about 12 hours, so depending on when you o in relation to when you take your temp, the day after o is often of no help, and the day of o may or may not be. it just depends, since we can only temp once in 24 hours. like tear said, it is possible, under good conditions, to be successful as much as 5 days before o. the best chances are in the 2-3 days before o. if you find that cm really seems to be the problem, everything else checks out and there are no issues with you or your dh, and cm wont get better, you might consider iui. but i think you will see results with the above. i hope that helps.

[marmoura81]

No - I'm not checking internally, but even if there was, intercourse is impossible without Preseed when I'm "dry"

I will start checking mroe carefully though.

Is it possible that my CM runs out before I ovulate? I mean it appears I have it 4-5 days before Ovulation but doesn't last long enough. Could I really be ovulating earlier?...around the time of CM?

Can opk's be wrong?

[Sweet.Bee]

Originally Posted by marmoura81

Is it possible that my CM runs out before I ovulate? I mean it appears I have it 4-5 days before Ovulation but doesn't last long enough. Could I really be ovulating earlier?...around the time of CM?

Can opk's be wrong?

As far as I know, you can get a positive OPK and not ovulate. But you said you temp too, right? If your temps agree with the OPKs, then I don't think the OPKs are wrong.

As for CM, I don't think it just runs out before O. I have over 2 weeks straight of fertile CM, so if anyone were to run out, I would. I'd drink lots and lots of water, as the others said (this is what I do). My fertile CM is mostly "watery" CM, then a little EW just before O.

Sorry, I don't know why your CM would dry up before O, but maybe it's hidden up there, as others said.

[scarletjane]

Hi there!

It sounds like you've gotten some great advice already, but I wanted to add a couple more things.
One is, can you share your chart? If you use fertilityfriend.com, you can post a link to it on here. we all love to look at charts! But.. you sound like you know what you're doing and my guess is that you're right about when you ovulate.

If you are not having sex during that time of the egg white, I would definitely recommend doing so because sperm can live quite long in that fluid, as it really supports their long-term survival.

Also, as Karma said, it's completely possible that there is still more EW up there that you just can't see or find.. possibly even inside or just at the tip of the cervix.

Lastly, you can certainly conceive without it. When we conceived my daughter, i hadn't seen a single bit of EW that month. So either our timing was good enough that we caught the egg right as the sperm went in and it didn't need to survive for long.. or there was some in there that just wasn't visible to me.

The advice here for increasing it is all good, the simplest and least-interventionist being the increase of your water intake.

Also, studies consistently show that it can just take some time to conceive.. even with great timing and no fertility problems. I SO know how frustrating it is to wait and wonder if something is wrong, but it really may be just a matter of time for you.

Good luck to you! I hope you get that baby soon!

[MountainMamaGC]

I found that since I started drinking 1 cup of green tea per day, that I get EWCM for a couple extra days and more of it.

[love_r4ks]

I have nothing to add to the great advice already given, but I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone! I have plenty of EWCM for days leading up to O, but by the time I get a +opk, I'm completely dry, and it does make DTD quite uncomfortable sometimes. Despite this, I did get PG a couple months ago.

[karmab]

im not likely going to be able to follow up on this because im heading out of town tonight, but i would really be curious to see your chart too. as far as opks, i havent ever heard of them being blaringly positive after an o. there can be a delay between when you o and when your temp goes up of actually 2 days if the timing is just right (wrong,) but i have not heard of the other scenario, with opks delayed. are you very confident in how you use them? they can be tricky, and there have been several recent posts with a lot of opk info, so if you have any question, peruse them too. when are yours positive in relation to your o? the avg is 36 hours, but everyone is a little different, even cycle to cycle. what days were they pos this past cycle? and you have a nice sustained temp rise after o, right?

[slinkyfish]

Originally Posted by Lydiah

I found that since I started drinking 1 cup of green tea per day, that I get EWCM for a couple extra days and more of it.

I totally second this!

[marmoura81]

Hi ladies,

I first want to THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your replies. I can't believe how supportive you all are!! I'm new here and I'm in awe of how fantastic you all are to help your fellow friends who are TTC.

In response to you:

1. I don't use fertilityfriend, but just paper charts. I will try to scan and upload for you but I'm pretty sure of my O.
2. I will start taking/drinking more water, green tea, primrose oil, and guaifenesin because I do agree, they do increase EWCM.
3. Again, I have not checked for CM way up there, but will start.

QUESTIONS:
1. Have any of you used Preseed? What is your impression of it? There are so many mixed reviews and I don't want to be hurting my chances by using it.
2. We have hesitated trying too early because we have been afraid that he'll "run out" of sperm right before O. What do you think?

Thanks again - you ladies are FABULOUS!!

Lots of love and babydust to you all.

[Kinza]

Originally Posted by marmoura81

QUESTIONS:
1. Have any of you used Preseed? What is your impression of it? There are so many mixed reviews and I don't want to be hurting my chances by using it.
2. We have hesitated trying too early because we have been afraid that he'll "run out" of sperm right before O. What do you think?

I have used Preseed a few times. I didn't conceive while using it, but I think the point of it is to make it possible to have sex during your fertile time when you're so dry that sex does not appeal. From the research I have done, it is not an aid to conception, but it is something that will not hinder conception, as other lubes can. It does a decent job as a lubricant, and it does have a different feel than most other lubes I have tried.

As to your other question, does your DH have a low sperm count? My DH does, so we do every other day, or even every 36 hour intercourse up until I get a positive OPK, then try to time sex for O Day even if we did it less than 36 hours before.

Good luck!