Charting to Avoid August Thread - Page 4

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by CanidFL

Then I looked it up online and it said in "perfect condition" the sperm can live for 7 days.

I thought it was only 5 days.

Originally Posted by CanidFL

I have been taking vitex for 3 months now I think.

3 months seems to be the universal time for things to start working fully on hormones. When I started taking metformin for PCOS I read it could take 3 months for it to become fully effective. I got pregnant with ds2 3 months after starting it after ttc for 2 1/2 years.

[MarineWife]

I just read about sperm survival again. It seems that sperm can survive in fertile CM for 5 days but can survive in the fallopian tubes for 7 days. So, I guess that means that you could get pg from sex 7 or maybe even 8 days before O. The reason I say maybe even 8 days is because I just read that with sperm survival in CM you could get pg from sex in the 5 days before O and the day of O. I always thought those 5 days included O day but apparently not. As far as I understand it, once the sperm has gotten into the uterus and fallopian tubes, CM doesn't matter. So, if you have only one day of fertile cm around the time you have sex and the sperm is able to make it into the uterus and fallopian tubes, you could get pregnant as much as 7 or 8 days later even if your cm dries up.

This is a bit worrisome for me, too, because we dtd without any protection or withdrawal 5 days before what now looks like could be my O day. Plus, I had at least 4 days of fertile cm during that time. On a good note, everything I read does say that it's not likely for this to happen. Sperm usually only survives for 2-3 days in any environment. Man, this is so much harder than using FAM for ttc!

[chi_mama]

This is my first month charting.....
I had a m/c last month, Aug was my first AF since. Today is CD10. Here's my question, I had spotting up to day 5 but I have had cramps, bad cramps off and on every single day. I've been dry until yesterday... sticky but no more spotting... and I've been feeling crazy hormonal, like PMS. I thought once AF returned it would sorta be like a reset button for my hormones, I realize that's probably oversimplifying things.
What has been others experiences shortly after m/c? btw my temps are pretty consistently 96.3ish (well I slept in twice...so not counting those)

[fanniefarkle]

Just want to say "hi, I'm new here and to charting." I have to say that I wish that I had known about charting years and years ago. I just came off of bc pills after 18 years (minus pregnancy and part of bf'ing). What a wake-up call to know that all the stuff I was taught as a preteen and teenager about my cycle was pretty much wrong. And here I am, almost 40 years old and just learning about my body! Better late than never, right?

Anyway, this cycle I started a chart mid-cycle, and it is such a stress-reducer to know when to expect my period. I used to think that being crampy meant that I was about to start, but now I know that I may cramp at other times in my cycle.

Glad to be here! amanda

[Juliacat]

My temp this morning was 98.5, which is way high. But I looked at the chart and there's no way I could be pregnant; we last had unprotected sex on Day 5, which isn't even possible, right? And if a condom had leaked, we would have known about it. So, business as usual, I think.

[akaisha]

Originally Posted by chi_mama

This is my first month charting.....
I had a m/c last month, Aug was my first AF since. Today is CD10. Here's my question, I had spotting up to day 5 but I have had cramps, bad cramps off and on every single day. I've been dry until yesterday... sticky but no more spotting... and I've been feeling crazy hormonal, like PMS. I thought once AF returned it would sorta be like a reset button for my hormones, I realize that's probably oversimplifying things.
What has been others experiences shortly after m/c? btw my temps are pretty consistently 96.3ish (well I slept in twice...so not counting those)

hey there,

s i'm sorry about your m/c.

i haven't had a m/c myself, but i know that it can take a few months for your body to totally reset itself after any kind of major hormonal event. things like m/c, pregnancy, going on/off/changing hormonal birth control can all cause your body to go out of whack for quite a bit of time. for some people everything gets back to normal after just a few weeks, for others it can take months. what you describe sounds normal to me.

[CanidFL]

sidshappymama - Welcome! It's fun to read your chart isn't it?

chi_mama - sorry about the m/c. I don't know much about it so I can't answer your question.

So does my chart still look like an O? I hope not. MIL called this morning to tell me someone is pregnant in the family but she does not know who so she wanted to let me know. She is weird like that and has dreams. She has predicted ALL 4 grandkids.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by CanidFL

So does my chart still look like an O?

It's hard to say for sure but I'd guess no. Although, your temps are still all higher than before.

What about mine? Does it look like I Oed?

chi_mama ~ I agree with what Amber said. I had 3 m/cs and my cycles afterward were all pretty normal. My m/cs were so early they were considered chemical pregnancies so they didn't have much time to mess with my hormones.

[CanidFL]

it's hard to say because 4 of the 6 temps are either missing or possibly taken at the wrong time. It looks like a thermal shift though based on what I see. I think you have probably o'd.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by CanidFL

it's hard to say because 4 of the 6 temps are either missing or possibly taken at the wrong time. It looks like a thermal shift though based on what I see. I think you have probably o'd.

Yeah, I know it's not 100% clear. I can't get temps at the same time every day. I have had what appears to be a total cm dry up. Plus, my cp has been LFC for several days now. Before it seemed like it was always either MMP or HSO. Also, I've been having my excruciating cramps that I usually get from O til AF and I didn't have them before. I've had to take ibuprofen for 3 or 4 days now.

[Marlet]

Even though you don't take your temps at the same time enter them in that way. Then put a note in the notes section stating the real time. I did that for a bit after DD1 and it helped. I knew the notes were there so I could go back and review them but I had clear lines/data on my chart so if I did a quick look I didn't confuse myself.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by OtherMother'n'Madre

Even though you don't take your temps at the same time enter them in that way. Then put a note in the notes section stating the real time. I did that for a bit after DD1 and it helped. I knew the notes were there so I could go back and review them but I had clear lines/data on my chart so if I did a quick look I didn't confuse myself.

The problem with that is that it's not accurate. It may look nice but it doesn't really tell you anything. My chart doesn't confuse me. I understand that it's not accurate and there's nothing I can do about it. I just have to wait for AF. BTW, I'm such a POAS addict that I ordered 20 IC strips even though I'm not ttc. I can't seem to stop myself.

[angelxxrose]

Hey Ladies! I am joining this thread! I just took my last BCP today (hopefully the last one ever!) and I will be CTA until early 2009. I charted this last cycle on the pill just to practice and have a cycle on hormones to compare off hormones (just for fun).

[Sk8ermaiden]

Originally Posted by angelxxrose

Hey Ladies! I am joining this thread! I just took my last BCP today (hopefully the last one ever!) and I will be CTA until early 2009. I charted this last cycle on the pill just to practice and have a cycle on hormones to compare off hormones (just for fun).

Welcome!

I hope your cycles return to normal for you quickly! Have you read TCOYF?

[akaisha]

[flapjack]

Angelxxrose, I did the same thing- started charting a month before having mirena removed. Welcome!

chi_mama, every miscarriage affects your fertility in different ways. What I found was that I was ovulating earlier than usual in my cycle and had shorter (unsustainable) LPs as well, so my cycles were closer to 3 weeks overall. A similar pattern to when I first started menstruating, in fact. They grew longer over time- again, about 3 months? something like that. Have you had an u/s to confirm that the miscarriage is truly over, btw?

[MarineWife]

OtherMother'n'Madre ~ I just remembered that you are using Ovusoft. I can understand why you'd want to use your regular time regardless of when you actually took your temp because, otherwise, the software discards the temp. You can undo that, though. All you have to do is go back and uncheck the disturbance box and the temp will stay without the X over it. That's what I do. One thing I like about FF is that you don't have to designate a time. It will figure out the most usual time for you. It's always re-evaluating it, too.

[CanidFL]

Originally Posted by angelxxrose

Hey Ladies! I am joining this thread! I just took my last BCP today (hopefully the last one ever!) and I will be CTA until early 2009. I charted this last cycle on the pill just to practice and have a cycle on hormones to compare off hormones (just for fun).

Welcome! I hope your cycles return to normal quickly for you and you have an easy chart to read.

Marinewife - I would say it's an O then. I am also a poas addict. I bought the 40 pack of OPK and 20 pack of HPT from amazon last year.

Ok, my temp dropped this morning. I am going to say it's not on O yet. Thank goodness!!! I was sweating it for a few days there

[Sihaya]

re: time - I don't look at the clock when I take my temp. Most of the time, I have no clue what time it was taken at and just tell FF that they were all taken at the same time unless I know it was taken especially earlier or later than the average time range. I am still able to chart fairly accurately this way.

[akaisha]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

re: time - I don't look at the clock when I take my temp. Most of the time, I have no clue what time it was taken at and just tell FF that they were all taken at the same time unless I know it was taken especially earlier or later than the average time range. I am still able to chart fairly accurately this way.

maybe. for me, time doesn't usually make a big difference unless we're talking hours and hours past my normal temp time. an hour or two or three more sleep does nothing to my temp. an hour or so less than three hours (the rec'd amount of time you're supposed to sleep before you temp) does nothing to my temp, it's very stable. when i sleep many hours longer than usual i get a huge temp spike though, which wouldn't be considered accurate. i work shifts so i'm always temping at different times of the day and night and my chart is still extremely stable.

it depends on your body and how it reacts, everyone is different, the rule though, is that if you're not taking your temp at very close to the same time everyday, after very close to the same amount of sleep it won't necessarily be accurate. remember though that temp is only needed to confirm ovulation. if you're at the very start of your cycle or 3 or so days past a confirmed ovulation your temp isn't really relevant.