Irregular cycles... CM.. OPK... charting.. what really works?

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

I have extremely irregular periods - anything from 30-50 days. No PCOS has ever been diagnosed - it's just terrible luck.

I've been TTC for six months, mostly using my CM. But this is so unreliable! Does anyone else have this problem? I have EWCM at least twice in my cycles (and no it's not semen, as I will see it distinctly 3 days or so after sex), usually the second time EWCM arrives is about 10 days before my period comes. Otherwise I still have a lot of creamy, sometimes sticky CM. It's just constant flow down there, and changing between what looks like fertile and non-fertile CM intermittently.

So I think I need to move on to other options. I've tried OPK sticks, but they also seem so unreliable for me. I used them regularly, same time of day for 2+ weeks this cycle, and the results showed no pattern - again, all over the place in terms of shade of test line.

Last option is taking my temperature - but I'm concerned, don't you detect the temp. shift after you've ovulated? With my cycles being so irregular, I worry that I'll just keep detecting the shift after the ovulation happened, and won't be able to see any useful pattern to predict for the next month.

Sigh. Any help or advice from seasoned 'irregulars' is so very welcome! Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Get the Clearblue smiley OPKs. They are only first thing in the morning and more reliable. Have a lot of sex around the EWCM. Read Taking Charge of Your Fertility if you haven't. It's a quick easy read. Yes temping BBT will only confirm ovulation after the fact but you'll start to see the pattern and will know definitively. With OPK you only know you had the hormonal surge but you can have a surge without releasing an egg. Also with those late cycles you may be ovulating very late.

How old are you? With irregular cycles you really probably want to go see an RE sooner than 1 year if under 35 and 6 mos if older than 35.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, with periods that irregular, go see an RE.

[Anonymous]

OP, there has to be a reason other than bad luck. You need to see an RE and get to the bottom of this. There may be ways to regulate you. Or you may need some assistance to get pregnant.

In any case, OPKs, temping, CM work for young women with healthy reproductive systems. Don't waste your time and set yourself up for a disappointment. Seek medical advice.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks so much for this helpful advice. I'm 31 in November, so still have "time." This is why I've pushed off RE. But alas, I just can't make sense of any of this, so may just have to go for it.

I think I'll try another cycle or two with a more reliable OPK, and then start the testing process. I've been using the cheap ones off e-bay, and think they're pretty crappy. (Don't know if anyone has had similar experiences?)

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, there has to be a reason other than bad luck. You need to see an RE and get to the bottom of this. There may be ways to regulate you. Or you may need some assistance to get pregnant.

In any case, OPKs, temping, CM work for young women with healthy reproductive systems. Don't waste your time and set yourself up for a disappointment. Seek medical advice.

This. Ok, done and done. (OP here).

[Anonymous]

I had long, irregular periods. I tried an ovulation monitor and it didn't show ovulation. Got bloodwork done and found out my prolactin levels were high. I started the medicine and got pregnant right away. Go see someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had long, irregular periods. I tried an ovulation monitor and it didn't show ovulation. Got bloodwork done and found out my prolactin levels were high. I started the medicine and got pregnant right away. Go see someone.

Congrats! And thanks for the insight. Fingers crossed I'll have the same success. I'm a bit worried an RE will say because I'm under 35 and only trying for 6 months, I need to wait longer. But hope not - I'm leaning towards the Shady Grove Fertility practice, recommended by others on this forum. Does anyone have positive/negative experiences there?

[Anonymous]

(I should clarify - I'm going to the Shady Grove K St clinic, as I don' have a car, and it seems most metro-accessible. Any doctors to recommend/avoid there is appreciated!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, with periods that irregular, go see an RE.

Yes, do this. It might be as simple as a trigger shot and an IUI. That's all it took to get me pregnant after a year and a half of OPKs and charting my weird cycles. Even paying cash, it was totally worth it.

[Anonymous]

Go see an RE. The trying for one year thing is for healthy people with normal cycles. All it took for me was a round of Clomid with the RE.

[Anonymous]

i also recommend the clearblue fertility monitor. got mine second hand but i think its around 200, but it has worked much better for me than opk's.