cervical positions

[Tandy]

i just started checking this sign this month...

i had a really high soft day yesterday with lots of EWCM...

this morn...there is still EWCM but the cervix is lower and a tad more firm...

does that mean maybe i O'd yesterday? if at all...

who else checks this sign?

how reliable have you found it to be?

i am interested in hearing anything about it...

[kristenok18]

I used to check religiously (for 3yrs). Are you finding the ewcf at the cervix, or at the base of the vagina? I have found that the cervix and fluid changes fairly soon after ovulation. Does the cervix feel open to you, or more closed?

[Tandy]

i am doing internal exams to find the mucous...it is by the cervix..

i haven't got a good feeling for the open/med/closed thing yet...

i started by guessing but now i am unsure bc i can't put my finger inside of my cervix...is that what you are supposed to be able to do?

i do feel an indentation like a circle that seems to be getting bigger in circumference...but i can't put my finger in so i am not sure if it's "open"...

any advice?

[kristenok18]

When it's open, if just feels like a round indentation. Here are some pictures of the cervix during various times of the cycle.

[Tandy]

thanks for the pics...

i have seen many in the past week doing my internet research...but my cervix doesn't feel like those pictures look...

but if you say that it feels like a rounded indentation when it's open then IT'S OPEN!! AND HAS BEEN FOR DAYS!!

what does it feel like when it's not open?

[kristenok18]

When mine is closed, I can't feel that larger round indent. I can find the center, but it just feels like a deep crease/line (sorry, I don't know how to describe it). Also, when it's closed, the cervix is usually low and very firm, like the tip of my nose. When it's open, the center feels like a more pronounced and definitely round indent, and the cervix itself is soft and mushy, like my lip.

[Tandy]

thanks for sharing...it's helped me a lot..i did research for hours to figure it out and couldn't get very far...

but what you have just shared makes perfect sense to me and matches my experience...thanks...

does it close after O slowly like O then M then C? or is it an abrupt change like the CM?

[kristenok18]

Originally Posted by Tandy

thanks for sharing...it's helped me a lot..i did research for hours to figure it out and couldn't get very far...

but what you have just shared makes perfect sense to me and matches my experience...thanks...

does it close after O slowly like O then M then C? or is it an abrupt change like the CM?

Glad it helped! It's so hard to describe sometimes, and I remember feeling totally overwhelmed about what exactly was going on. Over the course of time, though, everything started to make sense as I started to recognize my body's patterns.

I can't feel ovulation, so I never know exactly when I ovulate. From opks, cp, ewcf, and temp shifts, I have come to assume that for my body, the cervix changes probably within 3-5 hours after ovulation. It's so hard to say, since I don't know precisely when I ovulated (just a general 12-24hr window), and I don't check my cervix more than once a day.

[Tandy]

so it looks like my cervix goes through all the "normal" changes...but my temps are screwy this month...

could my cervix go thorough all that even if it is an anovulatory cycle?

[kristenok18]

I have pcos, so in my case, yes. My body gears up to ovulate, and does all the right stuff, then for some reason I don't and everything halts. This might happen a few times before my temp finally shifts and I'm clearly in the luteal phase. This is the only part of my cycle that has been consistent since I started charting 4 years ago! I probably have between 2 and 4 good cycles a year (meaning good clear signs followed by a temp shift), and it is soooo frustrating (especially since we never know in advance if it'll be a good cycle or not!). But even without pcos or other causes, it is not abnormal for a woman with normal fertility to have an anovulatory cycle now and then.

[Tandy]

i certainly have anovulatory cycles...

what i am wondering is if my cervix would still go through all of that and it sounds like a "yes it can"...

so i guess the only way to know for sure if you ovulated is temping right?

i don't have pcos....but my body does the same...

[kristenok18]

Well, the temp shift does indicate that you're in the luteal phase, and for me that happens no matter whether it's a good or bad cycle. In some of my more closely monitored "bad" cycles, I've noticed that my estrogen levels indicate a weaker ovulation, perhaps the egg is too old or the hormone levels weren't enough to sustain proper growth of the follicle. (I'm totally speculating here!). I think the only way to know for sure that you've ovulated is to observe your fertile signs, back it up with an opk, and have them followed by a temp shift.

[Tandy]

well it looks like i ovulated (according to fertility friend) not while my cervix was in the high position....hmmmmm....

and 3 days after my monitor detected my lh surge....

i guess it's definitely not an exact science....

[kristenok18]

no, it's far from being an exact science! If it helps, ovulation can occur up to 48 hours after an lh surge (if I'm remembering correctly). Of course, this can vary from person to person; someone on another board o'd within 12 hrs of her surge. I've noticed in my charts that I have a significant temp dip (by about .4 degree) the day before my temp goes up, so I usually consider that the ovulation day.