TTC #2 - periods still irregular 1.5 years after DC #1
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Anonymous
| I got my period back 5 months after birth and stopped breastfeeding DC #1 6 months ago. DC #1 is now 1.5 years old, but my periods are still irregular. My cycle ranges from 29-37 days. Before DC #1 I had very regular periods and got pregnant within 3 months. Now we've been trying for 6 months and no luck. I am 6 days "late" (based on 29 day cycle) and tests are bfn, so guessing just another late period. Should we be seeing a doctor for the irregular period? Fwiw, I'm 29 and DH is 33. |
Anonymous
| Is that even considered an irregular period? It's only a week off. |
Anonymous
| I was irregular as i was still breastfeeding. I just used the cheap wondfo ovuluation strips to help my chances. |
Anonymous
Yeah I think it's normal to be like, within a five day range if you're not on birth control. Mine range from 28 to 33 days (I have two kids, youngest is 2.5, and a paragard IUD). Have you tried the  ovulation sticks on Amazon? I think they're clearblue brand.
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Anonymous
| I don't think that's irregular, but it is enough of a variation that you may be missing ovulation. Read "taking charge of your fertility" or use another method to figure out when you are ovulating. |
Anonymous
Yes regular is every 28 days or same number of days. Irregular is not every x days |
Anonymous
OP here. This is probably a very stupid question, but how do ovulation sticks work? Is it like a pee stick you pee on every day? Do I need to use them for a full month to calculate what my baseline is and then the next month the sticks can actually tell me when I am ovulating? Or can the sticks tell me when I am ovulating as soon as I start them? |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thank you all for your responses. I think I am just worried because it is the first time in my life that my periods are not super regular (used to be like clockwork every 29 days). |
Anonymous
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My cycle length always varies a bit from month to month (about 27-33 days). I charted when TTC my first, but if you don't want to get that detailed, I second the suggestion above to get the Clearblue ovulation test. I got the basic one (not the "advanced" type) that shows an open circle when you're not fertile and a smiley face when you're in your window. You pee on them once a morning starting around CD 7, I believe, until you get the smiley face. Per my charting I ovulated 2 days after the smiley circle and got pregnant that cycle. There are directions on the box on when to start using them.
Lots of women swear by Wondfos as well, which you pee on several times a day. I tried them one month and thought it was too much trouble. The Clearblue tests are pricier but they do the trick! Good luck! |
Anonymous
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We used the wondfos. It's annoying because you have to pee in a cup then dip it in, but it works, and they are cheap.
Use them for a couple months and see what day of your cycle you get the strong line versus how long your cycle is. Meanwhile, when was your last physical? OB annual visit? Get those done, go from there. |
Anonymous
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I agree with PPs that you probably want to check to see if you're ovulating as a first step. You ovulate about 14 days BEFORE your period, so with a 29 day cycle that's about day 15 and with a 37 day period it'd be about day 23. Of course, the 14 days is an average, but the phase between ovulation and period generally varies very little so it's the easiest to guestimate by. So you should buy ovulation predictor strips (whatever ones you want) and test every day from about day 10 through day 25 (or until you get a positive). At first, this will mean you'll go through lots of strips and it will be expensive. BUT, once you narrow down the time frame, you should be able to test for a shorter time in subsequent months.
I assume you were not on hormonal BC prior to conceiving the first time? Because that would make your periods artificially regular and wouldn't give you a lot of info for this time period. Also, you are only 6 mos out from stopping breastfeeding, so it's possible your body is still regulating itself. Is it also possible you had a couple months where something stressful was going on or you got less sleep etc. I am very regular but have had two 37 day cycles in the last 6 months and both were related to stress/sleeping and late ovulation. Regardless of all this, it can't hurt to go see your ob/gyn to see what they say. |
Anonymous
| Not the same situation, but I went to my OB after experiencing irregular cycles following a D&C. I was in the same situation where I was very "late" for my period but negative pregnancy tests. They were able to do bloodwork to determine which phase of my cycle I was in and whether or not I had likely ovulated. From what I understand, progesterone is quite low during the follicular phase (pre-ovulation) and goes up during the luteal phase (post-ovulation). So even if you don't really know where you are in your cycle, the progesterone level should be informative. If it's low it means you haven't ovulated yet and if it's higher you should expect a period within 2 weeks. I am now peeing on Wondfos daily so I don't miss ovulation, as it could happen on day 14 or on day 24. It's a pain but better than potentially missing the window. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| I agree that I liked the basic clear blue easy better than the advanced. For the first 6 months after I stopped nursing my periods swung a lot and my Ob said more than 20 days and less than 40 days is within a normal range. Then, we moved and had months of TTC and a doctor here saw my periods ranged from 30-32 days and called my cycle irregular. I eventually switched doctors as I didn't like her and my new doctor was like "um, every 32 days is totally normal" so I got a few different answers. Because of my longer cycles I was getting smiley around day 18. |
Anonymous
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Saw an acupuncturist specializing in fertility who got my cycle regular after 4 months. Holding DC2 in my arms now.
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Anonymous
| Op here. Thanks for the replies. Still no AF and had a BFN last night. I wasn't tracking ovulation because we just started "trying" this month. But I wish I had because I just want to be able to confirm NOT PREGNANT. Not in a hurry to get pregnant, and I have tested every few days after work and gotten BFN, but AF would confirm it for me. Now I know why people track ovulation dates... |