Detecting Ovulation???

[dollface1982]

I don't want to sound crazy, but when do you ladies know when you're ovulating? I have been on Metformin since March 2008 and I haven't O'd yet. AF doesn't visit too often, but I'm not quite clear on how to tell that I'm ovulating without calendar. Can somebody please help me with this by giving some advice. I really appreciate it.

Waiting for a Miracle
~Senobia

[JulesTest]

I was about to make a post exactly like this.
I am on Met as well, but no AF (yet).
How do I know when(if) I ovulate? Is it just a matter of charting my temps and/or using an ovulation predictor kit?
Can I start doing that now before I get an AF from Met? Or would that be a waste of time and I should just wait until I get my AF, and be able to pinpoint a CD 1?
Thanks for asking this question, dollface.

[kc_angel]

I am confused with this too.. i havent had AF yet but i would like to know if i do OV!

[MoonStarFalling]

Start charting your basal body temperatures now using a program like fertilityfriend dot com or ovusoft.

[HarleyGirl93]

Charting your temps will only tell you after the fact that you have ovulated. If you are TTCing, it would also be good for you to learn how to check your primary fertility signs, like quantity of cervical fluid, position, softness of the cervix and whether your cervix is open or closed. These signs indicate impending ovulation, which helps you to time BD or the use of OPKs. The FertilityFriend (free) online Handbook for charting and checking fert signs is here: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/HelpC...ook/index.html

The specifics on how to record and observe your BBT & signs are here:
http://www.fertilityfriend.com/HelpC..._signs.html#17

On the TTC forum, there is a specific thread dedicated to BBTing, so feel free to lurk/post/ask questions. There are a lot of chart stalkers on SC! LOL Good luck with it! Dianna

[Darlow-babe]

I always thought that if you didnt get af you werent ovulating

[HarleyGirl93]

If you never get AF, then you are not ovulating. If you bleed 4, 6, 8, whatever times a year, you may or may not be ovulating, as you can also have what's called anovulatory withdrawal bleeding, which is basically where your body produces enough hormones to shed the lining of your uterus, but didn't have enough hormones to release an egg. But you could also be ovulating, just really, really late in your cycle (like CD60 CD80, etc). By tracking your BBTing, you can determine if you are ovulating or having anovulatory cycles. If you are not TTCing, then just tracking temps is fine as three sustained high temps will indicate ovulation. If you are TTCing you will want to track other fert signs to predict impending ovulation. Once you've confirmed ovulation, your period will show up within 10-16 days (usually). A woman's luteal (post-Ov) phase is generally stable from cycle to cycle for the same woman. HTH Dianna

Edited to add - I also highly recommend a book by Toni Weschler called "Taking Charge of your Fertility" It is excellent in explaining what a woman's body does throughout the menstrual cycle and how to best time sex to either avoid or TTC. It's generally used to enable TTCing, as the TTAing is not as reliable as other forms of prevention.

[~Danna~]

Hello All,

Well if AF doesn't visit every 3-6 months you need to get put on PROVERA or some such medication to force it to come...

Other than that, you can chart your temps to find out if you Oed, they even sell strips that you can urinate on and it'll tell you if you're ovulating, but I've heard that they're pricey...

I take an HPT test monthly to be sure if I have gotten the BFP or not... It can be dissapointing at times, but I don't have the patience to keep taking my temps or monitoring my ovulation.

[Livvie]

Edited to add - I also highly recommend a book by Toni Weschler called "Taking Charge of your Fertility" It is excellent in explaining what a woman's body does throughout the menstrual cycle and how to best time sex to either avoid or TTC. It's generally used to enable TTCing, as the TTAing is not as reliable as other forms of prevention.

Actually, natural family planning to TTA can be just as reliable as other forms of prevention if a couple is committed to following the "rules." Several studies have found the same percentage, or less, of method failures for NFP as there are for other forms of prevention (for an example of a recent study, see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0221065200.htm)

Method failures are when the method itself fails despite all the rules being followed -- as an example from another method, a condom that breaks due to a manufacturing defect, not anything the couple did wrong. User failures are when the couple doesn't follow the "rules" or takes some chances with the method -- e.g. putting the condom on incorrectly, skipping a pill, or being intimate when the signs indicate that it's a potentially fertile time.

Of course, the decision of a couple to use natural family planning either to conceive or to avoid conception is a personal one, as is the decision to engage in intercourse at particular times of a cycle. But if a couple is committed to following the rules, natural family planning can be just as effective as other methods when TTA.

[HarleyGirl93]

Actually, natural family planning to TTA can be just as reliable as other forms of prevention if a couple is committed to following the "rules." Several studies have found the same percentage, or less, of method failures for NFP as there are for other forms of prevention (for an example of a recent study, see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0221065200.htm)

Method failures are when the method itself fails despite all the rules being followed -- as an example from another method, a condom that breaks due to a manufacturing defect, not anything the couple did wrong. User failures are when the couple doesn't follow the "rules" or takes some chances with the method -- e.g. putting the condom on incorrectly, skipping a pill, or being intimate when the signs indicate that it's a potentially fertile time.

Of course, the decision of a couple to use natural family planning either to conceive or to avoid conception is a personal one, as is the decision to engage in intercourse at particular times of a cycle. But if a couple is committed to following the rules, natural family planning can be just as effective as other methods when TTA.

All true - the method itself can be reliable. I personally hated having to use other methods to prevent or abstain for more than 50% of the month.... I'm counting in the fact that most real humans won't strictly follow the rules (heat of passion rule). So yes, the method might work as well as other methods, but people exactly following the method is a whole 'nother story as it takes work and diligence. Cheers, Dianna

[Darlow-babe]

Hello All,

Well if AF doesn't visit every 3-6 months you need to get put on PROVERA or some such medication to force it to come...

Other than that, you can chart your temps to find out if you Oed, they even sell strips that you can urinate on and it'll tell you if you're ovulating, but I've heard that they're pricey...

I take an HPT test monthly to be sure if I have gotten the BFP or not... It can be dissapointing at times, but I don't have the patience to keep taking my temps or monitoring my ovulation.

Hi the ovulation strips you can get on ebay for a couple of pounds for like 30 strips and thermomiter, i checked it out yesterday getting some later this week. Im going to the drs on monday to ask him to put me on something to force a period as i havent had af proper since september 08.

[Tinkie]

Hey Guys! I tried charting for a few months. But my temp just NEVER moved. I do have PCOS and even with Clomid did not ovulate. I just took 3 courses of Femora, which made me af regularly. I am now on Met and starting Femora on day 3 of cycle.....So if you have PCOS charting is probably not a reliable way of detection alone.

[HarleyGirl93]

Hey Guys! I tried charting for a few months. But my temp just NEVER moved. I do have PCOS and even with Clomid did not ovulate. I just took 3 courses of Femora, which made me af regularly. I am now on Met and starting Femora on day 3 of cycle.....So if you have PCOS charting is probably not a reliable way of detection alone.

Tinkie, I'm sorry that charting did not work out for you. It's good that you were able to try it for a few months, so that you knew when to move on to the next steps in getting to reliable ovulation! It is true that women with PCOS have some challenges in accurate charting because our menstrual hormones don't work at optimum levels... So our temps can either vary so widely, Ov is impossible to detect (ie, you never get 3 sustained temp rises and your chart looks like the Rocky Mountains) or your temps never go up which really just indicates you are not ovulating on your own, which is a red flag to go see a RE or GYN to get some help to ovulate. Or for the fluffier cysters, you can get multiple patches of EWCM which is caused by excess fat elevating estrogen levels, so it makes detecting ovulation a challenge. I think it really just depends on how PCOS affects you as an individual.

I personally find BBT to be the best indicator for impending ovulation, and can predict within a a half day when AF is due after ovulation. It is the single most empowering piece of information I can take with me when I go to see my RE. I know that I am ovulating, I know I don't have an LP defect, so I know I am not getting pg, then having an early m/c. So that tells me the getting the sperm to a good egg is probably the problem, which helped us to determine that the best protocol for now is to try natural IUI for a cycle or two. If that doesn't work then the next step would be IUI with Clomid or Femara to try to improve egg quality.

BTW, when you are on Met, your temps tend to "normalize" and that Rocky Mountain effect goes away, so it's easier to tell if you've ovulating when you are on Met. Anyhoo, sorry to wax eloquent on BBTing, I am just a really big fan! Dianna

[RunnerDuck]

All true - the method itself can be reliable. I personally hated having to use other methods to prevent or abstain for more than 50% of the month.... I'm counting in the fact that most real humans won't strictly follow the rules (heat of passion rule). So yes, the method might work as well as other methods, but people exactly following the method is a whole 'nother story as it takes work and diligence. Cheers, Dianna

Some women don't have much of a sex drive, except around ovulation. This means that for some women, using NFP as birth control means skipping sex at the only times they actually WANT to do it... or putting up with condoms or other barrier methods which, IMO, are the sort of thing to get old and not be stuck with reliably after a while. *Personally* I tend to think of condoms as a short-term birth control option - I can't imagine using them as a married couple over years and years. I know some people do, but for me - no way.

So I agree TTA with NFP is more prone to failures than other methods. It may theoretically work great - but in practice ... not so much. Just my opinion of course.

[Antigone]

Some women don't have much of a sex drive, except around ovulation. This means that for some women, using NFP as birth control means skipping sex at the only times they actually WANT to do it...

This is definitely true of me, although I seem to be pretty alone on this. When I went off BC I discovered ovulation. Even though I ovulate irregularly and sometimes less than once every 3 months, I could tell when I was about to ovulate because of my higher sex drive and quantity of CM (which I didn't know what it was at the time). Charting just confirmed what I already knew, which was pretty gratifying. I also recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility, it's a great book that really helped me to understand my cycles for the first time in my life. I never understood that the part of my cycle that took so long was the time pre-ovulation, and that the time between ovulation and my period was a stable 14 days. For the first time in my life I can actually be prepared for my period! Amazing!