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Ceridwen posted:Looks like I have been successfully knocked up. Doesn't seem real yet (period was due today but I got a positive test 4 days ago). Thanks for your tips! Congrats on your pregnancy! I attempted to track my temp but I work shift work and it proved very, very hard. I have looked into that book, but have yet to purchase it. I know that when my temp spikes, I am no longer ovulating...so let's say my temp drops on the 15th of this month...does that mean on the 15th of next month I will no longer be ovulating? I'm very, very lucky in the fact that we have an extremely active sex life so we time sex to both the calendar and my cervical fluid, trying to have sex once in the morning and once at night on my most fertiles days (as per calendar and as per cervical fluid)
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May 14, 2012 03:54
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Ophelia's Ashes posted:Thanks for your tips! Congrats on your pregnancy! You're welcome and thanks! Shift work can make it more difficult for sure. What kinds of shifts are you working? You might be able to only temp every other day or every third day and still get a good enough idea of when you ovulate. The way it works is that your temp spikes the day after ovulation and stays high until around the time you get your period (for some women it drops a couple of days before the period, for some it won't drop until near the end of the period). Then they stay low until the day after you ovulate again. Even if you can't temp every day, temping every other day or every third day would most likely let you establish pre-ovulatory and post-ovulatory temp ranges (which are different for every woman). You likely would not be able to find the specific day you ovulated if you don't temp every day, but you would be able to say within a couple of days when it occurred, which would be an improvement. Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't have to temp at your wakeup time. I temped at 6am every day even though I usually don't wake up before 7am and sometimes don't wake up until 10am. I would just wake up enough to take the temp and record it my phone, then go back to sleep. And some women find that the time of day isn't as important as long as they temp after at least 3 hours of sleep every day. So even with the shifts you might be able to find something that works for you. There are a few things that could be going on that temping would help you figure out: 1) You could be having anovulatory cycles where your body tries to ovulate (so you get signs of it like cervical fluid) and then has an anovulatory bleed when it fails. Usually anovulatory cycles are irregular, but even some women with regular cycles don't ovulate. There are meds that can help you ovulate if this is happening. 2) Your ovulation and cervical fluid could be mismatched. This would make it harder to conceive because you don't have fertile cervical fluid at the time you are ovulating, so the sperm are less likely to survive long enough to knock you up. There are some things you can do to help with this (taking mucinex, using a lube called PreSeed) if it's happening to you. 3) You could have a luteal phase that is too short (less than ~10 days) and might make it harder for you to get pregnant. If this is happening there are some medications and supplements that could help. All three of these things would make it hard to get pregnant no matter when you are having sex and are pretty easy to address with either OTC stuff or basic and relatively cheap medications. Alternately, you could be just fine. For example with an 11 day luteal phase (shorter than average but should not be a problem) and a 29 day cycle you would not not ovulate until day 18 (a good 4-5 days after the calculators expect) and your CM would be "late" relative to the calculators but there wouldn't be anything wrong with your cycle. But temping would help tell you that too. Sorry this is kind of long. The book is really a huge help with this stuff and I think she words it all better than I can. Even though I've always had regular cycles I found charting really nice since I was coming off birth control and wasn't sure exactly what would go on with my body. We didn't really use it to time sex (like you we have plenty of it regardless) but more to reassure me that I was ovulating and when it was happening so I knew when to expect my period. If you can't get the book right now, I'd recommend you check out the Fertility Friend app and website. They offer a free online "course" on charting that will cover most of the stuff you need to know and the app is nice. It's a bit different than the Fertility Awareness Method that is taught in TCOYF (the rules it uses are a little more loose most of the time), but it will give you all the basics.
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May 14, 2012 04:48
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Ceridwen posted:You're welcome and thanks! I work a 4 on/4 off schedule; two days (7am - 7pm) and then two nights (7pm - 7am) followed up 4 days off. I will try the 3 day temp and see if it works. It sounds much easier than every day and hopefully will be able to give me a good idea. The difficulty is temping every day at the same time as my schedule is very out of whack. Because my schedule is so insane, would you think that ovulation strips are a better alternative to temping? Does that question even make sense?! Doing some research today, I believe what is happening is that I have a short luteal phase (8 days). I looked into some of the medications online, but worry that it will make my cycle irregular (as I'm lucky enough to have it regular). My other consideration is if I go see my GP, will she prescribe me Clomid if we've only been trying for 4 months (and truly only charting for 1) or will she tell me to wait a bit longer? I also read about Soy Isoflavones, does anyone have any experience with these?
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May 15, 2012 06:03
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That totally depends on your doctor. A lot of doctors want you to try for a full year before tryng anything. When I brought up our issues to my doctor, we'd been trying for 6 or 7 months (I don't really remember anymore) and he had me on metformin pretty much the next day and clomid that cycle. He thought it was clear I had PCOS and wasn't ovulating, though. I would just order a bunch of ovulation strips cheap off of amazon. It doesn't hurt to have that extra bit of information, and charting while on a rotating schedule is a BITCH. My charts for the months I was in retail were all over and made no sense. vvDefinitely. Ben Davis fucked around with this message at 15:26 on May 15, 2012 |
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May 15, 2012 12:25
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Ophelia's Ashes posted:Doing some research today, I believe what is happening is that I have a short luteal phase (8 days). I looked into some of the medications online, but worry that it will make my cycle irregular (as I'm lucky enough to have it regular). My other consideration is if I go see my GP, will she prescribe me Clomid if we've only been trying for 4 months (and truly only charting for 1) or will she tell me to wait a bit longer? I also read about Soy Isoflavones, does anyone have any experience with these? You should go see your gynecologist about fertility issues since they will know more than your GP.
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May 15, 2012 14:44
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Any suggestions on which Ovulation strips to try? I'm going to buy FCOYF (and a boot rack!) from Amazon today. I've alo taken your advice and have started doing some research on a local Gyne. Any other tips on how to handle the short luteal phase naturally?
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May 15, 2012 18:27
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If not needing to interpret them is more important than price, get the clearblue digital ovulation tests. If price is more important, get the Wondfo or earlypregnancytests.com ones. I didn't have too much trouble with the line type tests (like the Wondfos) but some women really hate them and they can sometimes be a pain to interpret. Not sure on natural ways to lengthen your luteal phase. Some people take herbs or supplements, but honestly you can just as easily end up screwing up your cycle that way. I would try charting/opks for at least one month before you add anything else to the mix and would strongly advise you to talk to your doctor about what to do and if your luteal phase is even short enough to be a problem. Keep in mind that a lot of women get a secondary surge of estrogen that gives them CM during their luteal phase and some women get CM that just doesn't line up with when they ovulate. So I'd be cautious about jumping to the short luteal phase before you've got some more information. Good luck! I hope you are able to get it shorted out quickly.
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May 15, 2012 20:02
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Ceridwen posted:If not needing to interpret them is more important than price, get the clearblue digital ovulation tests. If price is more important, get the Wondfo or earlypregnancytests.com ones. I didn't have too much trouble with the line type tests (like the Wondfos) but some women really hate them and they can sometimes be a pain to interpret. Thanks for the help once again! I ordered some from earlypregnancytests.com and they should be arriving soon, so I will use them on my next cycle. I agree about waiting with the natural supplements and will speak to my Dr. It's really strange because I've never had issues with my period. I've never missed a period or been late and when I came off the pill (approx 10 months ago) my cycle regulated right away. It's incredible the things you can learn about your body when you start charting and paying attention! I ordered my copy of TCOYF and will let you ladies know how it goes!
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May 15, 2012 21:25
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Two lines on the pee stick this morning. Here's hoping this one sticks as the last two didn't make it past 8 weeks. It's a weird feeling. One second I'm cautiously optimistic and daydreaming about the future then forcing myself down so it doesn't hurt so much if things go poorly.
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May 16, 2012 14:29
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Congrats to the newly-expecting! Good news for us; my day 21 progesterone test as well as the thyroid panel all came back normal, and I definitely ovulated last cycle according to the progesterone test. Next up is the hysterosalpingogram, which is scary, but I'll deal. So basically next Thursday they're going to insert a balloon into my cervix and shoot me up full of dye to get images,and then we're supposed to go home and have lots of sex for the next four days because, according to my dr, the test sometimes "clears out the tubes." Either way I feel pretty relaxed about the whole thing, which is a nice change 
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May 18, 2012 12:09
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Schweig und tanze posted:Congrats to the newly-expecting! Congrats and good luck!
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May 18, 2012 23:42
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Schweig und tanze posted:Congrats to the newly-expecting! I just got back from having my HSG and it did not live up to the hype. It was about as bad as having a pap smear. My tubes are open but my cervix is wonky. Looking forward to the dr. appointment so I can find out what is next. I had a day 3 blood test, had my full blood panel from my previous gyno sent over, the HSG and my man is taking care of his analysis tomorrow.
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May 21, 2012 22:05
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Just chiming in on the whole cycle thing with my experience. I came off the pill 3 months ago for a couple of reasons 1.) I've been on the pill for nearly 10 years and thought it was time for a break and 2.) my husband and I are probably going to start gearing up to try for a baby in the next year or so. At the moment however we are still using condoms, which is what we did when I was on the pill as well (I was very paranoid as a teenager about using double protection). Although looking in the birth control thread it's amazing to see the failure rate up at 15% due to incorrect use of condoms etc. Since coming off the pill, I've had 2 periods that almost went straight into a regular cycle at 27 days apart. But this month I'm 2 days late and I'm not getting any usual cramping symptons that I usually get the day before my period. Since my cycle seemed regular very quickly I kind of thought my body had already got it's natural rhythm back but I guess maybe it hasn't? Not particularly worried if it is a pregnancy as it would be a happy surprise rather than oh god it's the end of the world thing. Has anyone else had that?
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May 23, 2012 13:03
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Well my nifty little ovulation strips arrived in the mail today and I need some help on when use them! I'm having a hard time tracking my fertility as it would appear I ovulate late. I have 29 day cycles meaning I should ovulate on the 15th of the month. It appears I actually ovulate on the 18 the though. Do I test from the 15th - 18th? Or before the 15th? Which is the best way to ensure accuracy without wasting strips?
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May 24, 2012 03:34
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I would start on about the 12th day this month until you are sure of when you ovulate. Then in future months you'll be able to start closer to the time you O.
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May 24, 2012 04:12
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Ceridwen posted:I would start on about the 12th day this month until you are sure of when you ovulate. Then in future months you'll be able to start closer to the time you O. I read I should be testing twice a day (once between 11am - 3pm and again between 5pm - 8pm) to hit any hormone peaks. Confirm/deny? This seems a little excessive to me.
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May 25, 2012 03:12
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I needed to test twice a day. My LH surges were apparently short enough that I missed some of them before I went to testing twice a day.
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May 25, 2012 03:16
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Ophelia's Ashes posted:I read I should be testing twice a day (once between 11am - 3pm and again between 5pm - 8pm) to hit any hormone peaks. Confirm/deny? This seems a little excessive to me. It sucks because you'll go through tons the first month, but once you figure out your cycle you should be able to cut back lots the in the following month(s). I had poor luck with afternoon testing, but for me ovulation both months followed the day after I got a positive with first morning urine. Other women will never get a positive with morning urine and need to test in the afternoon or twice a day to catch the surge.
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May 25, 2012 20:09
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Well I'm late. I'm not excited or happy or anything though. I feel super annoyed with myself that even 1% of me in mentally excited that I could possibly be pregnant! I will test tomorrow when I get home from work. I don't have a positive feel about it though. Edit: I buckled and tested. Negative. Just like I thought! Oh well, armed with my new book and testing strips....I will be ready next month for sure
Ophelia's Ashes fucked around with this message at 21:07 on May 26, 2012 |
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May 26, 2012 20:27
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Open question for anyone who has struggled with PCOS or something similar: what do you say to your partner when she tells you she feels like a failure as a woman, unable to perform her most basic biological function? She gets so frustrated sometimes and I'm at a loss of how to comfort her when she says things like that because I feel like anything I say will be countered with 'But I CAN'T get pregnant!' 
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May 26, 2012 22:39
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Well...still nothing. When you guys are late, how often do you test? I'm trying to avoid the everyday testing, but I have a feeling that's where I'm heading.
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May 27, 2012 13:48
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TVs Ian posted:Open question for anyone who has struggled with PCOS or something similar: what do you say to your partner when she tells you she feels like a failure as a woman, unable to perform her most basic biological function? Being able to reproduce is not all she is worth to you. Tell her about all the other things you love about her and how important she is, regardless. And that there's always other options. I mean, I know PCOS doesn't always make it impossible to get pregnant since a bunch of my friends have done it, but if she "knows" it's impossible I'd probably add something about how many people have made it past insurmountable odds. Also that it's an excuse to have lots of sex trying. 
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May 27, 2012 13:56
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Ophelia's Ashes posted:Well...still nothing. I tested multiple times a day because I have no self control.
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May 27, 2012 14:23
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TVs Ian posted:Open question for anyone who has struggled with PCOS or something similar: what do you say to your partner when she tells you she feels like a failure as a woman, unable to perform her most basic biological function?
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May 27, 2012 14:27
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Thanks for the advice guys Ben Davis posted:Has she been going through all the different rounds of medicines and stuff like that yet? If not, you have that hope. There are a lot of different things to try, from just losing weight all the way to IVF, adoption, and fostering. For us, the first round of metformin and clomid did it, even though I apparently wasn't ovulating at all before (despite positive pee tests). We just did our fourth IUI. Metformin makes her very ill so after six months that was out. She's lost over 50 lbs, currently at a very stubborn plateau, eats well and exercises regularly. If the Clomid didn't work this time, we're going to try Femara next, then probably injectibles. It sounds awful, but neither of us have any desire to foster or adopt a child and IVF is prohibitively expensive. Basically, the roughly 6 years of failed attempts have been taking their toll on her lately.
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May 29, 2012 01:49
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It doesn't sound awful at all. Going through all that is so emotionally exhausting! I really hope the clomid works for you.
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May 29, 2012 02:20
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TVs Ian posted:Open question for anyone who has struggled with PCOS or something similar: what do you say to your partner when she tells you she feels like a failure as a woman, unable to perform her most basic biological function? I don't have PCOS but I do struggle with the same feelings. Nothing anyone says can make me feel better, for me all that matters is that I'm allowed to express those things without my husband telling me I'm being irrational or silly. I already know I'm being irrational Best of luck to you guys.No HSG for me this month; too much was happening on the day for me to get out of work to have it done. So we'll do it next month, I guess. I dunno, I'm burned out on all this and need a break so I'm not thinking about it much.
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May 29, 2012 03:49
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Anybody hypothyroid? I'm 25. I stopped BCPs end of October 2011. When I was taking birth control, my gyno said there was no reason for me to have my period...so I didn't. I bled for about 11 days after I stopped the pill, but haven't had a period since then. I saw my gyno end of February and got Provera, which induced bleeding, but I didn't ovulate. I went back in April and got some bloodwork done. I also got another script for Provera. While on the induced bleeding (I don't really count it as a period since my body isn't doing it on its own), I got a call from the doctor saying that my TSH was high. I saw my GP a few weeks ago, and I'm taking 75mcg of Synthroid. From what I understand, people with hypothyroidism have heavy periods, not lack of bleeding. I'm still testing with the OPK strips to see if I ovulate, but I doubt it's going to happen. I know it's only been seven months, but I'm still frustrated that I'm not even having a period. Has anyone else gone through this?
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May 29, 2012 06:13
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tishthedish posted:Anybody hypothyroid? You should go see an endocrinologist and not just your GP. Thyroid issues and pregnancy aren't good and it has to be constantly monitored. You probably won't get pregnant until your thyroid is stable. I have Graves Disease and I suspect just a wonky thyroid since I've had undiagnosed issues for years of bouncing to hypothyroid to normal and eventually I went hyperthyroid with Graves. It took about 6 months to stabilize my thyroid levels and I got pregnant the first month it was stabilized without even trying. (we had been trying for about 3 years) Now that I'm pregnant, I have to have regular bloodw ork and checks done at my endo. An uncontrolled thyroid while pregnant is really bad for the fetus and can result in a lot of bad things.
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May 29, 2012 16:20
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My copy of TCOYF arrived today and I'm already obsessed with it! Regardless of the fact it's hopefully going to help us have a baby...it is unbelievably interesting! Armed with this and my new ovulation strips, I am ready to go in T-minus 10 days. SUPER excited and just generally curious as to what's going to happen!
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May 29, 2012 22:18
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Alterian posted:You should go see an endocrinologist and not just your GP. Thyroid issues and pregnancy aren't good and it has to be constantly monitored. You probably won't get pregnant until your thyroid is stable. I have Graves Disease and I suspect just a wonky thyroid since I've had undiagnosed issues for years of bouncing to hypothyroid to normal and eventually I went hyperthyroid with Graves. It took about 6 months to stabilize my thyroid levels and I got pregnant the first month it was stabilized without even trying. (we had been trying for about 3 years) Now that I'm pregnant, I have to have regular bloodw ork and checks done at my endo. An uncontrolled thyroid while pregnant is really bad for the fetus and can result in a lot of bad things. Yeah I forgot to put in my other post that I do have an appointment on June 11th with a reproductive endocrinologist, one that my gyno referred me to. I saw my GP because I wanted to get started on the Synthroid before waiting a month and a half for the RE.
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May 30, 2012 09:19
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So, the husband and I are trying to get pregnant again after having a miscarriage within the past six months. I've been eating right, getting enough sleep, taking prenatal vitamins..everything I can personal do to stay healthy and increase my chances of a healthy pregnancy. I'm thinking of buying that Conceive Plus lubricant to get that extra boost on getting a positive, but I don't know how effective it is. Have any of you used it or known others who have? Also, what seems to be the consensus on fertility enhancing teas? Seems odd to me.
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May 31, 2012 03:19
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Is that similar to Pre-seed? We used that. It was a good-enough lube, not overly gloopy. I don't know if it contributed to us conceiving, but it didn't hurt!
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Jun 1, 2012 02:38
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Ben Davis posted:Is that similar to Pre-seed? We used that. It was a good-enough lube, not overly gloopy. I don't know if it contributed to us conceiving, but it didn't hurt! Yep. You just don't need to use it internally. And I guess it has magnesium and calcium in it to increase sperm motility.
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Jun 1, 2012 05:21
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So, I've been on the pill since May 2001. I quit taking it just over a week ago. For the past several years, I have been on a pill where I take it continually for 3 months so I only have 4 periods a year. Generally my periods starts about day 3 of my 'off-week.' I took my last pill on a random day (Thursday of last week). I haven't gotten my period yet. It was at a really random spot in the pill cycle (I think about 4 weeks into my normal 12). Should I be worried that I haven't got my period yet, or is my body probably just trying to figure things out?
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Jun 2, 2012 01:08
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sheri posted:So, I've been on the pill since May 2001. I quit taking it just over a week ago. For the past several years, I have been on a pill where I take it continually for 3 months so I only have 4 periods a year. Generally my periods starts about day 3 of my 'off-week.' It's just trying to figure things out. Don't worry about it unless you haven't had it for about three months. The pill is still in your system and the body needs to wean off of it.
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Jun 2, 2012 06:58
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Potentially stupid question: Is it possible that if I'm testing using Ovulation strips twice daily that I could still miss my surge? Is it possible I could go a whole month without getting a positive result on the strips?!
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Jun 9, 2012 20:26
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Oh jesus, just got a positive and I'm trying hard not to freak the gently caress out. On the very bright side, what a loving AWESOME father's day gift for my husband!! Still trying to let it all sink in, which would probably be easier if my brain would work.
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Jun 11, 2012 21:19
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Schweig und tanze posted:Oh jesus, just got a positive and I'm trying hard not to freak the gently caress out. On the very bright side, what a loving AWESOME father's day gift for my husband!! Still trying to let it all sink in, which would probably be easier if my brain would work. Congratulations!!!!!
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Jun 11, 2012 23:43
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Schweig und tanze posted:Oh jesus, just got a positive and I'm trying hard not to freak the gently caress out. On the very bright side, what a loving AWESOME father's day gift for my husband!! Still trying to let it all sink in, which would probably be easier if my brain would work. That would be awesome, I hope to see you over in the other thread soon
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Jun 12, 2012 00:05
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