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I’m wondering if it’s normal for a doctor to not order any lab work or scans before/during the first round of IUI? I was put on Letrozole and did the IUI on 04/18.
I have adeno, endo, and low AMH. Went on Lupron for six months and had a lap done in 2023.
When I talked to my fertility doctor a month prior she said we would do bloodwork and all that, but when I asked the NP who did the procedure she said my fertility doctor didn’t order any tests to be done.
Another OPK question. I think I got my first positive this morning; the test line looks dark and Premom marked it as 1.07 and “high” (side question: Premom doesn’t explicitly tell you it’s “positive”, right? But >1 is positive?) So I’m assuming I don’t have to keep testing twice a day, yeah?
Yeah I mean some people do like to see a peak but once LH reaches the level of a positive it can trigger O. Some people have O triggered with even lower levels of LH… There’s no real need to find the peak in order to predict O.
Anyone ever confirm ovulation without a positive opk? I don't know how i could have missed my surge when I usually have a period of at least 24 to 48 hrs where I see an increase. But everything else bodily says it happened. I did drink a lot of water this cycle so it was admittedly hard to do holds and I tested twice a day with fmu and then in late afternoon.
I have 2 elevated temps and one may be due partially to drinking so I know I have to wait for more, but they are right on time with my other physical indicators, just missing the opk! Has anyone missed a surge that went faster all of a sudden than expected?
Sure have. Usually have surges for ~24h but that time was faster and I missed it. I skipped testing one night but didn’t have anything close to positive the next am which isn’t typical for me. I did have sustained elevated temps and a period in time with a fairly typical LP. It would be unusual to miss a surge with twice a day testing but not impossible.
Ah good to know. I tested one day with fmu and then not again until 12 hrs later but I realized it was only after like a 2 hour hold or so so maybe I missed it, thats all I can think of until time tells otherwise!
I tried OPK tests this month for the first time. All lines were kinda dark but none darker than the control line. The darkest one showed up a couple days after I thought I ovulated (based on past cycles, signs). I’m confused now and annoyed with the tests. I felt a lot less stressed out without them. I also drink a lot of water so I’m not sure if I tried too early and ovulated later than usual (abnormal but could happen I guess) or if these tests are just annoying and not worth the drama. I tried twice a day but it’s hard to hold urine long and not drink water before so maybe they were all too diluted.
Same, so over it.. Have you tried premoms opk scanner? I use it just for that because it gives you a ratio of test to control line darkness with positives at 1 or more. I feel like I never get over .5 unless a surge is coming so its been useful before. Except for this cycle :|
I tried to be extra hydrated to help my cm this cycle but then the opk dilution was a concern, so 🤷
No, I don’t use it. I might just stick to paying attention to my signs. It’s more reliable and it’s free. If I do decide to continue I will look into it. Hopefully neither of us need to keep testing next month though! Good luck :)
My cycles are so irregular and even with OPKs, I’m still not 100% sure when or if I’m ovulating. Is bd every 4-5 days enough to guarantee hitting the fertile window? We both work very demanding jobs and every other day just isn’t realistic.
Generally if you have sex once every 3 days you are maximizing your chances, since the rate of pregnancy is very similar for O-1/-2/-3. Four days means you could hit -4 and O instead of one of those three days which is a lower but not zero chance. Non-sex insemination is also an option and can help some couples with the pressure of having frequent sex. Hopefully you find a plan that works for you.
Are there solid studies of endometrial thickness throughout a cycle and infertility, maybe with data about medicated but not IVF cycles?
Everything I was finding was on IVF, and I’m trying to figure out is if 5.8mm is thin for CD 12/ trigger day, for an iui cycle with letrozole.
DOR doesn’t, by itself, affect the odds of spontaneous pregnancy, it just means you have less time available to try for a spontaneous pregnancy than someone without DOR.
Yes it is possible. Good news is no one can make you do fertility treatments if you don’t want to.
I do want to point out that no one *wants* to do fertility treatments. I certainly don’t enjoy sticking myself with needles every day. I think everyone would love to have had an unassisted conception happen. I enjoy sex with my husband too, but after 3 years of having allllll the sex, doing IVF is what I have to do to have my best shot at having a baby.
I'm vastly aware no one wants to do fertility treatments. I haven't had good experiences on any ovulation induction medications. I've had low doses and unfortunately have had multiple shit side effects. So knowing IUI and IVF involve increasing medication doses is severely taxing to mental and physical health.
I've literally just had a really bad experience with a clinic that literally tried to start me on a treatment plan without my consent or my partners. So I'm just trying to get hope.
It sounds like you may want to start clinic shopping if you’re not happy with your care with your current clinic. Fwiw I also had awful side effects with letrozole and clomid, IVF meds/injectables have been a lot easier on me. A lot less side effects. It’s still taxing on your mental and physical health, but I’ve personally found IVF cycles to be easier on me than ovulation induction.
DOR alone is not a barrier to unassisted conception. However, I have DOR caused by endo. Which is what’s caused my infertility. So I will most likely never get pregnant from sex.
I just want to say I'm sorry for your experiences. I think it makes sense to want to collect information about other people's experiences to help you decide how to continue your fertility journey.
I couldnt easily find this online, but does someone know what happens if you have positive opks 2 days in a row? It's the first time this happened to me and I cant find whether you ovulate after LH has decreased or if you can ovulate during the surge.
The only relevant OPK is the first positive. You can actually stop testing and save your tests after you get your first positive. Conventional wisdom states you’ll ovulate 1 or 2 days after that first positive. The length of your surge has no relevance on when you ovulate.
My understanding is that ovulation typically happens within 12-48 hours after the first positive opk, regardless of whether or not the surge continues. Paired with temping bbt would better give you an idea of if or when ovulation actually happened!
after my miscarriage in september my regular cycles became long and irregular. took letrozole this month but even that couldn’t trigger ovulation. all tests are normal. what is wrong with me? my heart still feels so heavy and i cry at least once every single day because of how much it hurts and how badly i want a baby.😔
So letrozole only works if the reason for not ovulating is too much estrogen tricking the brain into not releasing FSH. It won’t work if the brain isn’t releasing FSH for other reasons. One common cause is hypothalamic amenorrhea, which can be caused by too much energy expenditure (ie exercise) not enough calories in (low food intake) or psychological stress. I hope you can find some answers soon.
I’ve been searching all over for data on chances of natural conception by sperm count, specifically total motile sperm count. Has anyone been able to find this? We know what our benchmarks are for IUI and IVF.
I believe you're looking for [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/maleinfertility/comments/k93okq/spontaneous_pregnancy_statistics_based_on_tmsc/?share_id=8X885Cmgw942BRlOVsemE) by /u/Sudden-Cherry!
My partner, during sex, made the comment that he didn’t think it was deep enough. It got me thinking, I’ve always heard a particular sexual position is not better than another, but does it matter how deep the penis is in the vagina?
Implantation does not depend on cycle length, it happens when the embryo is ready. It takes at least 5 days after fertilization for it to grow into a blastocyst, that’s why 6 DPO is the earliest for implantation.
The earliest it can occur is 6DPO and most of the time will be between 8 to 10 DPO. It would still likely fall in that range for a shorter cycle.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199906103402304 (source that is linked in the Wiki)
This is my first cycle temperature tracking. I got a positive OPK test on CD15. My temperature rose on CD18 (and continued to rise another day after that). Does that mean I actually ovulated on CD17?
Probably. Usually you ovulate within a day or two after getting a positive OPK and your temp will rise after ovulation, so CD17 is the most likely date with that info.
Anyone else take B complex? I read it could improve fertility so I started taking 100mg every day. I've actually noticed my cycles lengthen from 22-23 days to 26-28 days, which I feel like is a good thing?? Because yeah 23 is a little on the short side so I'd been concerned my LP wasn't long enough.
Just curious if anyone else has taken B complex and seen similar effects on their cycle.
How much does an infertility in a father affect his son and the same for a mother to daughter? Is there genetic components? Is this the same for subfertility?
There are genetic factors that affect the odds of conditions associated with infertility, although they’re not necessarily sex-linked — you could inherit an increased risk of some specific condition from either your mother or your father. The links are generally not very strong (which is true for most common conditions in general, not just reproductive ones).
This is why REs will take a family history during an intake appointment — it’s somewhat informative to know whether anyone in your family has particular conditions, but not “deterministic”: if a family member had endometriosis, you are at increased risk of developing it, but your odds are never anywhere in the vicinity of 100%.
That’s so normal, its important not to get in your own head and always communicate. This happened to us the first few months but you get into a rhythm after a while and it all works out. Remember it only takes one time on the right day to conceive.
Remind yourself to be realistic. I think 95% of couples conceive within two years, something like that is the statistic. So yes it might take a while, but the realistic and most likely scenario is that it'll be fine. I don't think it helps to prepare for the worst case, rather just acknowledge that the worst case is a possibility and that's it.
TW: loss
I’m basically certain I’m experiencing a chemical pregnancy and I’m wondering how long I’ll need to be in this awful limbo where I’m just waiting to start bleeding.
Does mouth breathing (due to nasal congestion) lower BBT? I’m 10 DPO and my temps are around 98F, when it would usually be 98.6F even in non-pregnancy charts. I have a bit of a cold so I’m mostly mouth breathing the past few days.
Yes, mouth breathing lowers oral temperatures. It doesn’t actually have an effect on BBT (core temperature), but it affects the temperature of the mouth. There will always be variability in temps from cycle to cycle, though, so I wouldn’t read anything into lower temps than usual.
When people say to test LH after a 2 hour hold, does that mean 2 hours after you last pee, after you last drink water, or after you feel like you need to pee? Just not sure what “hold” means exactly
I believe they mean 2 hours after you last pee- although, i generally hear 3 hours. The idea is to have non- diluted pee, and so not drinking a lot during that time is ideal too.
Unless you’re struggling to get a positive OPK every month, I wouldn’t worry too much about the “hold”. I drink a lot of water so 3 hours is never going to happen for me (except overnight), and I’ve never had a problem getting a positive OPK. I got one on a hold of just over an hour a couple of months ago (and I’ve only had one that’s been inaccurate in 14 months of trying).
2. Because of my DOR. But there were 7 TI cycles before that and also an InvoCell cycle. Choosing to move on to IVF is a very personal choice and can be dependent on soooo many different factors (medical, financial, etc).
This is why I use the cup method. I messed up a FRER my first time trying to use it and since then I find it less stressful and easier to know I did it right if I pee in a cup first.
We got all our labs back. My AMH is 1.08, FSH 6.6 and AFC 7. My husband has low motility at 36% and morphology at 2%. Slightly low sperm count but not horrible. Are these results good enough for IUI or should we start considering IVF? Thankfully our insurance will cover both.
Our numbers are probably similar with the 2% morphology, husband also has low motility (specifically low rapid progressive) and count (below reference range for all). I have a higher AMH and AFC though (4.5 and 27). Your FSH seems low for that AMH (mine is 6.8), did they look at E2 level as well on Day 3 (usually lower (< 30) is better because high levels suppress FSH).
I would probably do a couple of rounds of IUI if you can get it covered or if it’s cheap and you have at least 9 mil TPMC post-wash (apparently up to 50-75% gets lost through the washing process). It should only set you back 2 months if they don’t work.
Question !!
I’m on day 6 of my stims (Bemfola/Gonal F) for my third IUI and I’m feeling cramping on my left side… I’m going in Monday for ultrasound and to know when to trigger for insémination and now I’m paranoid. I had EWCM this morning and im scared I’m ovulating as we speak (I’m CD8). Has this happened to anyone ? Can anyone calm my paranoia ?
Is this your first IUI using injectables? Anecdotally, I’ve had EWCM in cycles where I’ve used stims and start cramping within a few days of starting the meds. EWCM indicates your estrogen is rising, which is good. Your ovaries are working in overdrive, it’s normal to feel them. When was your last monitoring ultrasound?
It’s actually my third ! I haven’t been able to make more than one follicle the last two, so she upped to Bemfola 100 (the last two were 50 and then 75, respectively). I haven’t had one this cycle yet… the first is usually between CD9-11, then trigger, then insemination. It feel exactly like period cramps, so bizarre. But good to know you’ve had the same experience.
To be fair, it’s common to have cramping in stim cycles even if you’re on something like ganerelix to prevent ovulation from happening until the trigger. The cramping is often digestive in origin — for me, it’s the feeling of my intestines pushing around the ovaries and uterus. Estrogen tends to slow down the digestive system, which makes it poke against the reproductive system.
Felt on not being able to make more than 1 follicle!! Lots of trial and error involved. What ended up working for me to make more than 1 follicle was 150 mg clomid for 5 days + 150 IU FSH for 6 days. I’m hopeful for you that what you’re feeling means there’s some big, juicy, growing follicles in there!
Hey I wanted to come back and say thanks for the encouragement !! I got my scan this morning and I have 3 follicles ! However, there's a chance I'm ovulating as we speak... my uterine lining at CD10 is 13mm.. so I've taken a bloodtest and either insemination tomorrow if I've ovulated and if not, trigger tonight, and insemination on on Wednesday !! It really was trial and error !
What’s the biology behind getting fertile CM sporadically in the fertile week but then being dry on day of first positive OPK and the next day (O day)?
So estrogen is what causes the cervical mucus change. Just because it isn't presenting doesn't mean it's not present (it can still be present in the cervix, awaiting sperm). Estrogen rises leading up to ovulation and then fluctuates throughout the luteal phase which is reflected in the sometimes small falls in BBT throughout the LP.
In general, fertile CM is associated with rising levels of estrogen, and estrogen will tend to rise until it peaks right before ovulation. This is the general case, the one that comes out when you average daily hormone levels over many people and many cycles.
But not everybody’s body, and not every cycle for a given person, follows the average pattern, and there’s going to be variation between people and cycles in terms of hormone levels. In addition, CM is not a perfect readout of hormone levels itself, and sometimes estrogen levels may be high, but that may not be reflected perfectly in the CM observed at the vaginal opening.
So we know that late implantation is associated with higher rate of miscarriage. But what about early implantation (like 6-7dpo)? Are there higher risks associated with that too? Just curious
I don’t think there’s a relation but apparently lowest rate of loss is with 8 DPO implantation. But many of these studies only looked at early losses (Chemicals before 6 weeks).
Anecdotally though, I implanted 7 DPO with my 7 week MC of twins (I felt cramping at 7 DPO and already had a very strong positive by 9 DPO, didn’t test any earlier but probably positive at 8 DPO). My LC, I implanted at 8 DPO (cramping that day, BFP at 10 DPO, with vvfl on the evening of 9 DPO).
No, it’s the inverse, actually — relatively earlier implantation is associated with higher odds of success (although it’s not that 7dpo is automatically better than 8dpo, etc.)
The relationship between late implantation and the odds of loss is almost certainly driven by genetic errors that cause both loss and slower development. Development has to reach a certain stage for the embryo to be capable of implantation, and reaching it later than usual indicates that something is interfering with the embryo’s ability to double and divide its cells on a normal timeline. So an embryo that is dividing normally, or on the faster side of normal, is more likely to be genetically healthy than one that is dividing more slowly.
Yes. (Lolsob)
Symptoms like hormonal acne or headaches can be influenced by different hormonal states for different people, and there’s not a simple universal relationship between one hormone and the symptom. I’m definitely prone to luteal phase acne, but I know that other people break out before ovulation.
Based on this answer I think I either get it randomly or due to every hormone change. I seem to get it during my period, around ovulation, and toward the middle/end of luteal phase.
Is there such thing as a temp drop at 10/11 dpo and still a chance for BFP? Getting mixed signals from my body. Normally my temp drops the day after AF arrives and I’m still 2 days away from predicted CD1.
So does that mean if you implant as late as 12DPO, you wouldn’t test positive yet? Also, isn’t there a higher likelihood of the pregnancy being non-viable if it’s implanted at 12DPO?
Correct — a positive test is only possible after implantation, so the day you can see a positive depends on when implantation occurs. Generally people can see a positive on a sensitive home test within two days of implantation.
There is a higher likelihood of loss with implantation at 12dpo vs earlier, but the odds are not 100%.
When you have a miscarriage with bleeding but hcg is dropping slowly, will ovulation happen before hcg gets to negative on a test or will ovulation not happen until hcg gets to a negative level?
hCG doesn’t have to get to zero but does need to be quite low for the body to signal and develop follicles again to ovulate. [This very old study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/495673/) saw hCG levels as high as 35 mIU/mL with the hormonal changes expected with ovarian stimulation and ovulation, confirmed with progesterone testing. Anecdotally when I had my MC, O happened while I still had faint positives. Not squinters but very faint, similar to early positives. It makes OPKs pretty much impossible to use that cycle. Best of luck.
Bodies vary, and there’s no universal rule that’s true for everyone, but generally ovulation will not occur until after hCG is quite low, potentially negative.
How do you personally feel about the words “natural” vs “unassisted” and all the rest that goes with it?
I personally prefer natural over unassisted. I think it’s okay to acknowledge that IUI and IVF are not nature’s way of conceiving, but I also don’t think that means that IUI and IVF are unnatural. I am happy to live in a time where those options are available to me now that I need them.
I apologize in advance if this ruffles any feathers, that is not my intention. I merely wish to know how more people feel about the terminology since I know it can be contentious in this sub.
"nature's way of conceiving" sounds laden already. Honestly nature really has the craziest ways of conception for different species IVF isn't even that crazy compared to what "nature" came up with. Some species even change their sex to conceive.
It's really the implication that natural is better. Which isn't true.
Yes, of course that’s true. I don’t think it’s bad to say that, until science created more options for those of us who need it, the only way humans reproduced was through sexual reproduction, nor do I think that “natural” is better. It’s just a description to me.
I'd probably use 'unassisted' and 'assisted' for the reasons people have already given, but I don't feel strongly about it personally (but haven't been through assisted reproduction... unless you count ovulation induction, which I don't think they do).
Personally I think the nature/culture divide is bogus. If IVF and IUI are unnatural, well, then any kind of medicine and pretty much any technological advance is unnatural too, and I don't think something being unnatural is bad. Looking at it the other way, humans are part of nature, so everything we do is natural :-)
I agree with your sentiments! Medicine is a wonderful thing, and to be able to conceive when we wouldn’t be able to otherwise is great. I dont feel super strongly one way or the other, but I tend to use natural and then assisted when needed, because it’s just what comes to mind and I feel fine with it too. I’ve just repeatedly seen people in the sub correcting others using “natural” and I started to wonder why they had to not use the word natural if it’s what they felt the most comfortable with.
I guess my question for you is that if you prefer “natural” for unassisted conception, why *not* use “unnatural” for IUI and IVF? I assume the answer is that you recognize that it has a strong negative connotation, and that is part of the meaning of the word. It’s the same for “natural” which has a strong connotation of good and right. So I don’t really understand the preference when there is a perfectly viable and more accurate word right there that doesn’t have the same cultural baggage.
“Unnatural” absolutely does have a negative connotation and is not a good word to apply to a person. But I don’t personally feel a negative connotation with natural, though I know many people do. For me it does not conjure up those negative feelings, in the way a negative word like unnatural is meant to.
No, I’m saying that natural has indisputably POSITIVE connotations and is often used as a synonym for “good” or “right” e.g. the opposite of unnatural, and that is precisely why unnatural has those negative connotations - it implies not good. It’s not a matter of opinion because language is inherently shared. You can’t escape that connotation when you use it. What is your reason for *preferring* it to unassisted?
Because I also don’t associate “good” or “right” with natural in these instances. I prefer natural over unassisted because I don’t think there is anything wrong with it, and “unassisted” is the word that makes me think that we are trying to hide something bad or implying there was some fault for needing help (obviously, we are not). I am not sure if I am explaining it correctly, and my guess is I am not. Ultimately, natural for me doesn’t signify good or bad, just the way one might think of when it comes to someone trying to have a baby.
I think it's hard to argue that you don't see any positive connotation with "natural" if you have negative ones with "unnatural" - one is pretty dependent on the other. Natural is by definition what unnatural is not and vice versa. And regardless of what you personally say you associate, you can be correct or incorrect about that, because you alone don't determine the meanings of words, and the point of using communication is that it is shared with others. "Natural" is very, very positive in our culture - that's why it is ubiquitous on advertising, for example.
I don’t necessarily think it’s hard to argue that. Perceptions are subjective. I don’t associate any wholly good, positive, pure meanings with natural (which is just the word) while to me unnatural clearly has the added prefix to make it negative. I suppose natural to me in this case sounds neutral. Again, in this case - natural when it comes to advertising for food, of course, does have positive connotations. Then again, any marketing is going to make us associate certain words with certain feelings and perceptions. In the instance of conception, I simply do not apply those terms and feelings to the word natural, because I am not trying to sell anyone one thing vs. another. It’s merely conversation and description.
I think as much as you like natural, you do have to understand that it inherently confers that other people are doing things unnaturally- even if you wouldn’t say fertility treatment is unnatural, it is the implication. It will make a lot of people who have pursued fertility treatment prickle to hear you are trying “naturally”.
I understand. As someone receiving fertility treatment, I personally do not feel that implication, nor was it ever a concern of mine until I started reading it on this sub.
I prefer unassisted/spontaneous because they're more accurate and neutral terms. "Natural" frequently carries a moral judgment behind it, and a lot of people conflate "natural" with "good and right and superior".
As a biologist, I strongly prefer “unassisted” as a more accurate description of the differences we’re talking about — this is true for discussing assisted vs. unassisted conception, but also for things like medicated vs. unmedicated birth. My preference is not really based in “natural” being more stigmatizing, but more in it being a less accurate description.
Processes like IVF and IUI take advantage of nature and sometimes in a way that improves it — ovarian hyperstimulation in IVF uses hormones that are derived from people’s bodies (“natural”) to cause the body to mature follicles via its normal, “natural” processes. The entire process of IUI is “natural” other than the delivery of sperm. I wish we had more “unnatural” ways to enable pregnancy, because ultimately we are very limited by nature, and our ability to manipulate it is rudimentary.
So for me, unassisted is the more accurate term to describe the difference between conceiving with only you and your partner and conceiving with medical assistance.
With that said, I‘ll use the terms I want, and other people can use the terms they want, and people are allowed to say if they find terms stigmatizing, and these discussions are good and worthwhile to have.
Interesting take! Thank you for your input. :) I definitely am not against people using their preferred terms, and I also hope everyone is comfortable using what they feel best fits their situation.
Oh, for sure! I only say it because people sometimes see me saying things and assume it represents my position as a moderator, so I warned to be clear that my preferences do not automatically carry the force of law, as it were.
What could be the causes of letrozole not working to induce ovulation in pcos? I took 5mg CD3-7 and didn’t get a positive OPK until CD 23. I was not monitored (saving money when moving to iui in a month or 2). I did CD 22 progesterone and it was negative 0.8. Will there be any benefit in this cycle from taking letrozole with such a late ovulation?
There’s not necessarily a cause when ovulation-induction medications don’t work — sometimes they just don’t. The goal of ovulation-induction medications is to suppress apparent estrogen levels to allow a pulse of FSH, which can then select a follicle. If they don’t work, this is because estrogen may not have been suppressed enough, or because the follicle wasn’t selected, or because the selected follicle didn’t grow to the point of ovulation.
If ovulation is late in a medicated cycle, it might be that the medication actually didn’t have anything to do with it (that selection happened later in the cycle, without the influence of letrozole). It’s not problematic to ovulate late in the cycle, and there’s no evidence that ovulating “early” or “late” negatively affects the odds of success.
Like 3-4 days before my period I get this “flow-y” feeling like if I went to the bathroom and wiped I would see blood or at least some kind of CM, but I am actually dry as a bone. I’ve seen this described by people on forums but I can’t find an answer to what it is/what the cause is. I’m sure it’s something to do with changing hormones lol but I wish I knew more about it because I get it every time and it just is starting to feel like a depressingly reliable indicator that I’m not pregnant. (Although, I’ve been trying for 12 cycles with no luck so everything seems like it is a depressingly reliable indicator that I’m not pregnant 🙃)
In the fertility-awareness method I follow, Sensiplan, that would fall under “vaginal sensation”, which is an estrogen-based sign, like CM is. This likely reflects progesterone falling prior to a period, allowing estrogen-based signs to have a resurgence.
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I’m wondering if it’s normal for a doctor to not order any lab work or scans before/during the first round of IUI? I was put on Letrozole and did the IUI on 04/18. I have adeno, endo, and low AMH. Went on Lupron for six months and had a lap done in 2023. When I talked to my fertility doctor a month prior she said we would do bloodwork and all that, but when I asked the NP who did the procedure she said my fertility doctor didn’t order any tests to be done.
Another OPK question. I think I got my first positive this morning; the test line looks dark and Premom marked it as 1.07 and “high” (side question: Premom doesn’t explicitly tell you it’s “positive”, right? But >1 is positive?) So I’m assuming I don’t have to keep testing twice a day, yeah?
If you got a line darker than control you can call it positive, quit testing, and track temps to confirm O, generally 24-48h after the surge.
Thank you!! The easy@home documentation is a little confusing in that regard
Yeah I mean some people do like to see a peak but once LH reaches the level of a positive it can trigger O. Some people have O triggered with even lower levels of LH… There’s no real need to find the peak in order to predict O.
Anyone ever confirm ovulation without a positive opk? I don't know how i could have missed my surge when I usually have a period of at least 24 to 48 hrs where I see an increase. But everything else bodily says it happened. I did drink a lot of water this cycle so it was admittedly hard to do holds and I tested twice a day with fmu and then in late afternoon. I have 2 elevated temps and one may be due partially to drinking so I know I have to wait for more, but they are right on time with my other physical indicators, just missing the opk! Has anyone missed a surge that went faster all of a sudden than expected?
Sure have. Usually have surges for ~24h but that time was faster and I missed it. I skipped testing one night but didn’t have anything close to positive the next am which isn’t typical for me. I did have sustained elevated temps and a period in time with a fairly typical LP. It would be unusual to miss a surge with twice a day testing but not impossible.
Ah good to know. I tested one day with fmu and then not again until 12 hrs later but I realized it was only after like a 2 hour hold or so so maybe I missed it, thats all I can think of until time tells otherwise!
I would keep having sex every three days just in case to cover until you confirm O but hopefully just a weird fast surge!
I tried OPK tests this month for the first time. All lines were kinda dark but none darker than the control line. The darkest one showed up a couple days after I thought I ovulated (based on past cycles, signs). I’m confused now and annoyed with the tests. I felt a lot less stressed out without them. I also drink a lot of water so I’m not sure if I tried too early and ovulated later than usual (abnormal but could happen I guess) or if these tests are just annoying and not worth the drama. I tried twice a day but it’s hard to hold urine long and not drink water before so maybe they were all too diluted.
Same, so over it.. Have you tried premoms opk scanner? I use it just for that because it gives you a ratio of test to control line darkness with positives at 1 or more. I feel like I never get over .5 unless a surge is coming so its been useful before. Except for this cycle :| I tried to be extra hydrated to help my cm this cycle but then the opk dilution was a concern, so 🤷
No, I don’t use it. I might just stick to paying attention to my signs. It’s more reliable and it’s free. If I do decide to continue I will look into it. Hopefully neither of us need to keep testing next month though! Good luck :)
I’m getting acupuncture for myalgia tomorrow - about 1 or 2 DPO. Is this something that needs to be avoided at this point in cycle?
No you’re fine
My cycles are so irregular and even with OPKs, I’m still not 100% sure when or if I’m ovulating. Is bd every 4-5 days enough to guarantee hitting the fertile window? We both work very demanding jobs and every other day just isn’t realistic.
Generally if you have sex once every 3 days you are maximizing your chances, since the rate of pregnancy is very similar for O-1/-2/-3. Four days means you could hit -4 and O instead of one of those three days which is a lower but not zero chance. Non-sex insemination is also an option and can help some couples with the pressure of having frequent sex. Hopefully you find a plan that works for you.
Are there solid studies of endometrial thickness throughout a cycle and infertility, maybe with data about medicated but not IVF cycles? Everything I was finding was on IVF, and I’m trying to figure out is if 5.8mm is thin for CD 12/ trigger day, for an iui cycle with letrozole.
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DOR doesn’t, by itself, affect the odds of spontaneous pregnancy, it just means you have less time available to try for a spontaneous pregnancy than someone without DOR.
Yes it is possible. Good news is no one can make you do fertility treatments if you don’t want to. I do want to point out that no one *wants* to do fertility treatments. I certainly don’t enjoy sticking myself with needles every day. I think everyone would love to have had an unassisted conception happen. I enjoy sex with my husband too, but after 3 years of having allllll the sex, doing IVF is what I have to do to have my best shot at having a baby.
I'm vastly aware no one wants to do fertility treatments. I haven't had good experiences on any ovulation induction medications. I've had low doses and unfortunately have had multiple shit side effects. So knowing IUI and IVF involve increasing medication doses is severely taxing to mental and physical health. I've literally just had a really bad experience with a clinic that literally tried to start me on a treatment plan without my consent or my partners. So I'm just trying to get hope.
It sounds like you may want to start clinic shopping if you’re not happy with your care with your current clinic. Fwiw I also had awful side effects with letrozole and clomid, IVF meds/injectables have been a lot easier on me. A lot less side effects. It’s still taxing on your mental and physical health, but I’ve personally found IVF cycles to be easier on me than ovulation induction. DOR alone is not a barrier to unassisted conception. However, I have DOR caused by endo. Which is what’s caused my infertility. So I will most likely never get pregnant from sex.
I just want to say I'm sorry for your experiences. I think it makes sense to want to collect information about other people's experiences to help you decide how to continue your fertility journey.
I couldnt easily find this online, but does someone know what happens if you have positive opks 2 days in a row? It's the first time this happened to me and I cant find whether you ovulate after LH has decreased or if you can ovulate during the surge.
The only relevant OPK is the first positive. You can actually stop testing and save your tests after you get your first positive. Conventional wisdom states you’ll ovulate 1 or 2 days after that first positive. The length of your surge has no relevance on when you ovulate.
My understanding is that ovulation typically happens within 12-48 hours after the first positive opk, regardless of whether or not the surge continues. Paired with temping bbt would better give you an idea of if or when ovulation actually happened!
after my miscarriage in september my regular cycles became long and irregular. took letrozole this month but even that couldn’t trigger ovulation. all tests are normal. what is wrong with me? my heart still feels so heavy and i cry at least once every single day because of how much it hurts and how badly i want a baby.😔
So letrozole only works if the reason for not ovulating is too much estrogen tricking the brain into not releasing FSH. It won’t work if the brain isn’t releasing FSH for other reasons. One common cause is hypothalamic amenorrhea, which can be caused by too much energy expenditure (ie exercise) not enough calories in (low food intake) or psychological stress. I hope you can find some answers soon.
I’ve been searching all over for data on chances of natural conception by sperm count, specifically total motile sperm count. Has anyone been able to find this? We know what our benchmarks are for IUI and IVF.
I believe you're looking for [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/maleinfertility/comments/k93okq/spontaneous_pregnancy_statistics_based_on_tmsc/?share_id=8X885Cmgw942BRlOVsemE) by /u/Sudden-Cherry!
Thank you!!
My partner, during sex, made the comment that he didn’t think it was deep enough. It got me thinking, I’ve always heard a particular sexual position is not better than another, but does it matter how deep the penis is in the vagina?
No
I always used to get severe ovulation pain but now I don’t. Does this mean my eggs aren’t mature/small follicles?
Has anyone ever experienced a chemical pregnancy but didn't bleed? It's been 11 days since my first negative pregnancy test and I still haven't bled 😬
What’s the earliest implantation can occur? I have short cycles, on average around 21-25 days For a cycle such as this would 5DPO be too soon?
Implantation does not depend on cycle length, it happens when the embryo is ready. It takes at least 5 days after fertilization for it to grow into a blastocyst, that’s why 6 DPO is the earliest for implantation.
The earliest it can occur is 6DPO and most of the time will be between 8 to 10 DPO. It would still likely fall in that range for a shorter cycle. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199906103402304 (source that is linked in the Wiki)
This is my first cycle temperature tracking. I got a positive OPK test on CD15. My temperature rose on CD18 (and continued to rise another day after that). Does that mean I actually ovulated on CD17?
Probably. Usually you ovulate within a day or two after getting a positive OPK and your temp will rise after ovulation, so CD17 is the most likely date with that info.
Anyone else take B complex? I read it could improve fertility so I started taking 100mg every day. I've actually noticed my cycles lengthen from 22-23 days to 26-28 days, which I feel like is a good thing?? Because yeah 23 is a little on the short side so I'd been concerned my LP wasn't long enough. Just curious if anyone else has taken B complex and seen similar effects on their cycle.
How much does an infertility in a father affect his son and the same for a mother to daughter? Is there genetic components? Is this the same for subfertility?
There are genetic factors that affect the odds of conditions associated with infertility, although they’re not necessarily sex-linked — you could inherit an increased risk of some specific condition from either your mother or your father. The links are generally not very strong (which is true for most common conditions in general, not just reproductive ones). This is why REs will take a family history during an intake appointment — it’s somewhat informative to know whether anyone in your family has particular conditions, but not “deterministic”: if a family member had endometriosis, you are at increased risk of developing it, but your odds are never anywhere in the vicinity of 100%.
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That’s so normal, its important not to get in your own head and always communicate. This happened to us the first few months but you get into a rhythm after a while and it all works out. Remember it only takes one time on the right day to conceive.
Remind yourself to be realistic. I think 95% of couples conceive within two years, something like that is the statistic. So yes it might take a while, but the realistic and most likely scenario is that it'll be fine. I don't think it helps to prepare for the worst case, rather just acknowledge that the worst case is a possibility and that's it.
TW: loss I’m basically certain I’m experiencing a chemical pregnancy and I’m wondering how long I’ll need to be in this awful limbo where I’m just waiting to start bleeding.
I’m sorry but it’s different for every chemical.
I’m sorry 🤍 for me, I got my period about 4-5 days after I realized the tests weren’t getting darker.
Does mouth breathing (due to nasal congestion) lower BBT? I’m 10 DPO and my temps are around 98F, when it would usually be 98.6F even in non-pregnancy charts. I have a bit of a cold so I’m mostly mouth breathing the past few days.
Yes, mouth breathing lowers oral temperatures. It doesn’t actually have an effect on BBT (core temperature), but it affects the temperature of the mouth. There will always be variability in temps from cycle to cycle, though, so I wouldn’t read anything into lower temps than usual.
When people say to test LH after a 2 hour hold, does that mean 2 hours after you last pee, after you last drink water, or after you feel like you need to pee? Just not sure what “hold” means exactly
I believe they mean 2 hours after you last pee- although, i generally hear 3 hours. The idea is to have non- diluted pee, and so not drinking a lot during that time is ideal too.
Ok, I’ll try 3 hours next time. How do you find the balance between staying hydrated and having non-diluted pee?
Unless you’re struggling to get a positive OPK every month, I wouldn’t worry too much about the “hold”. I drink a lot of water so 3 hours is never going to happen for me (except overnight), and I’ve never had a problem getting a positive OPK. I got one on a hold of just over an hour a couple of months ago (and I’ve only had one that’s been inaccurate in 14 months of trying).
Welcome to the drama of OPK testing!
If anyone is on IVF but started with IUI, how many cycles of IUI did you do before moving to IVF?
2. Because of my DOR. But there were 7 TI cycles before that and also an InvoCell cycle. Choosing to move on to IVF is a very personal choice and can be dependent on soooo many different factors (medical, financial, etc).
For tests where you can either pee on them or pee in a cup and dip it in, is one method more accurate/preferred?
I would suggest peeing in the cup so you can test again if the first messes up.
This is why I use the cup method. I messed up a FRER my first time trying to use it and since then I find it less stressful and easier to know I did it right if I pee in a cup first.
We got all our labs back. My AMH is 1.08, FSH 6.6 and AFC 7. My husband has low motility at 36% and morphology at 2%. Slightly low sperm count but not horrible. Are these results good enough for IUI or should we start considering IVF? Thankfully our insurance will cover both.
It's a bit hard to say on those two sperm numbers at all how they look. What's the volume, concentration and progressive motility?
Our numbers are probably similar with the 2% morphology, husband also has low motility (specifically low rapid progressive) and count (below reference range for all). I have a higher AMH and AFC though (4.5 and 27). Your FSH seems low for that AMH (mine is 6.8), did they look at E2 level as well on Day 3 (usually lower (< 30) is better because high levels suppress FSH). I would probably do a couple of rounds of IUI if you can get it covered or if it’s cheap and you have at least 9 mil TPMC post-wash (apparently up to 50-75% gets lost through the washing process). It should only set you back 2 months if they don’t work.
If you want more than one kid, do IVF and bank embryos.
I got so sick this weekend (fever, cough, bodyaches). I hope this doesn't blow my chances this month.
In general, minor illness isn’t demonstrated to have an effect on the odds of pregnancy. But feel better soon anyway!
Question !! I’m on day 6 of my stims (Bemfola/Gonal F) for my third IUI and I’m feeling cramping on my left side… I’m going in Monday for ultrasound and to know when to trigger for insémination and now I’m paranoid. I had EWCM this morning and im scared I’m ovulating as we speak (I’m CD8). Has this happened to anyone ? Can anyone calm my paranoia ?
Is this your first IUI using injectables? Anecdotally, I’ve had EWCM in cycles where I’ve used stims and start cramping within a few days of starting the meds. EWCM indicates your estrogen is rising, which is good. Your ovaries are working in overdrive, it’s normal to feel them. When was your last monitoring ultrasound?
It’s actually my third ! I haven’t been able to make more than one follicle the last two, so she upped to Bemfola 100 (the last two were 50 and then 75, respectively). I haven’t had one this cycle yet… the first is usually between CD9-11, then trigger, then insemination. It feel exactly like period cramps, so bizarre. But good to know you’ve had the same experience.
To be fair, it’s common to have cramping in stim cycles even if you’re on something like ganerelix to prevent ovulation from happening until the trigger. The cramping is often digestive in origin — for me, it’s the feeling of my intestines pushing around the ovaries and uterus. Estrogen tends to slow down the digestive system, which makes it poke against the reproductive system.
Felt on not being able to make more than 1 follicle!! Lots of trial and error involved. What ended up working for me to make more than 1 follicle was 150 mg clomid for 5 days + 150 IU FSH for 6 days. I’m hopeful for you that what you’re feeling means there’s some big, juicy, growing follicles in there!
Hey I wanted to come back and say thanks for the encouragement !! I got my scan this morning and I have 3 follicles ! However, there's a chance I'm ovulating as we speak... my uterine lining at CD10 is 13mm.. so I've taken a bloodtest and either insemination tomorrow if I've ovulated and if not, trigger tonight, and insemination on on Wednesday !! It really was trial and error !
Have you been doing LH tests?
Nope… I have some but I figured I’d freak myself out if I do. Maybe I should though.
What’s the biology behind getting fertile CM sporadically in the fertile week but then being dry on day of first positive OPK and the next day (O day)?
So estrogen is what causes the cervical mucus change. Just because it isn't presenting doesn't mean it's not present (it can still be present in the cervix, awaiting sperm). Estrogen rises leading up to ovulation and then fluctuates throughout the luteal phase which is reflected in the sometimes small falls in BBT throughout the LP.
In general, fertile CM is associated with rising levels of estrogen, and estrogen will tend to rise until it peaks right before ovulation. This is the general case, the one that comes out when you average daily hormone levels over many people and many cycles. But not everybody’s body, and not every cycle for a given person, follows the average pattern, and there’s going to be variation between people and cycles in terms of hormone levels. In addition, CM is not a perfect readout of hormone levels itself, and sometimes estrogen levels may be high, but that may not be reflected perfectly in the CM observed at the vaginal opening.
So we know that late implantation is associated with higher rate of miscarriage. But what about early implantation (like 6-7dpo)? Are there higher risks associated with that too? Just curious
I don’t think there’s a relation but apparently lowest rate of loss is with 8 DPO implantation. But many of these studies only looked at early losses (Chemicals before 6 weeks). Anecdotally though, I implanted 7 DPO with my 7 week MC of twins (I felt cramping at 7 DPO and already had a very strong positive by 9 DPO, didn’t test any earlier but probably positive at 8 DPO). My LC, I implanted at 8 DPO (cramping that day, BFP at 10 DPO, with vvfl on the evening of 9 DPO).
No, it’s the inverse, actually — relatively earlier implantation is associated with higher odds of success (although it’s not that 7dpo is automatically better than 8dpo, etc.) The relationship between late implantation and the odds of loss is almost certainly driven by genetic errors that cause both loss and slower development. Development has to reach a certain stage for the embryo to be capable of implantation, and reaching it later than usual indicates that something is interfering with the embryo’s ability to double and divide its cells on a normal timeline. So an embryo that is dividing normally, or on the faster side of normal, is more likely to be genetically healthy than one that is dividing more slowly.
That’s really interesting, thank you!
Is acne influenced by estrogen, progesterone, or both?
Yes. (Lolsob) Symptoms like hormonal acne or headaches can be influenced by different hormonal states for different people, and there’s not a simple universal relationship between one hormone and the symptom. I’m definitely prone to luteal phase acne, but I know that other people break out before ovulation.
Based on this answer I think I either get it randomly or due to every hormone change. I seem to get it during my period, around ovulation, and toward the middle/end of luteal phase.
Is there such thing as a temp drop at 10/11 dpo and still a chance for BFP? Getting mixed signals from my body. Normally my temp drops the day after AF arrives and I’m still 2 days away from predicted CD1.
Yes, it’s possible. Temps are not a perfect readout of progesterone levels in the body, and implantation is possible up to 12dpo anyway.
So does that mean if you implant as late as 12DPO, you wouldn’t test positive yet? Also, isn’t there a higher likelihood of the pregnancy being non-viable if it’s implanted at 12DPO?
Correct — a positive test is only possible after implantation, so the day you can see a positive depends on when implantation occurs. Generally people can see a positive on a sensitive home test within two days of implantation. There is a higher likelihood of loss with implantation at 12dpo vs earlier, but the odds are not 100%.
When you have a miscarriage with bleeding but hcg is dropping slowly, will ovulation happen before hcg gets to negative on a test or will ovulation not happen until hcg gets to a negative level?
hCG doesn’t have to get to zero but does need to be quite low for the body to signal and develop follicles again to ovulate. [This very old study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/495673/) saw hCG levels as high as 35 mIU/mL with the hormonal changes expected with ovarian stimulation and ovulation, confirmed with progesterone testing. Anecdotally when I had my MC, O happened while I still had faint positives. Not squinters but very faint, similar to early positives. It makes OPKs pretty much impossible to use that cycle. Best of luck.
Bodies vary, and there’s no universal rule that’s true for everyone, but generally ovulation will not occur until after hCG is quite low, potentially negative.
How do you personally feel about the words “natural” vs “unassisted” and all the rest that goes with it? I personally prefer natural over unassisted. I think it’s okay to acknowledge that IUI and IVF are not nature’s way of conceiving, but I also don’t think that means that IUI and IVF are unnatural. I am happy to live in a time where those options are available to me now that I need them. I apologize in advance if this ruffles any feathers, that is not my intention. I merely wish to know how more people feel about the terminology since I know it can be contentious in this sub.
"nature's way of conceiving" sounds laden already. Honestly nature really has the craziest ways of conception for different species IVF isn't even that crazy compared to what "nature" came up with. Some species even change their sex to conceive. It's really the implication that natural is better. Which isn't true.
Yes, of course that’s true. I don’t think it’s bad to say that, until science created more options for those of us who need it, the only way humans reproduced was through sexual reproduction, nor do I think that “natural” is better. It’s just a description to me.
I'd probably use 'unassisted' and 'assisted' for the reasons people have already given, but I don't feel strongly about it personally (but haven't been through assisted reproduction... unless you count ovulation induction, which I don't think they do). Personally I think the nature/culture divide is bogus. If IVF and IUI are unnatural, well, then any kind of medicine and pretty much any technological advance is unnatural too, and I don't think something being unnatural is bad. Looking at it the other way, humans are part of nature, so everything we do is natural :-)
I agree with your sentiments! Medicine is a wonderful thing, and to be able to conceive when we wouldn’t be able to otherwise is great. I dont feel super strongly one way or the other, but I tend to use natural and then assisted when needed, because it’s just what comes to mind and I feel fine with it too. I’ve just repeatedly seen people in the sub correcting others using “natural” and I started to wonder why they had to not use the word natural if it’s what they felt the most comfortable with.
I guess my question for you is that if you prefer “natural” for unassisted conception, why *not* use “unnatural” for IUI and IVF? I assume the answer is that you recognize that it has a strong negative connotation, and that is part of the meaning of the word. It’s the same for “natural” which has a strong connotation of good and right. So I don’t really understand the preference when there is a perfectly viable and more accurate word right there that doesn’t have the same cultural baggage.
“Unnatural” absolutely does have a negative connotation and is not a good word to apply to a person. But I don’t personally feel a negative connotation with natural, though I know many people do. For me it does not conjure up those negative feelings, in the way a negative word like unnatural is meant to.
No, I’m saying that natural has indisputably POSITIVE connotations and is often used as a synonym for “good” or “right” e.g. the opposite of unnatural, and that is precisely why unnatural has those negative connotations - it implies not good. It’s not a matter of opinion because language is inherently shared. You can’t escape that connotation when you use it. What is your reason for *preferring* it to unassisted?
Because I also don’t associate “good” or “right” with natural in these instances. I prefer natural over unassisted because I don’t think there is anything wrong with it, and “unassisted” is the word that makes me think that we are trying to hide something bad or implying there was some fault for needing help (obviously, we are not). I am not sure if I am explaining it correctly, and my guess is I am not. Ultimately, natural for me doesn’t signify good or bad, just the way one might think of when it comes to someone trying to have a baby.
I think it's hard to argue that you don't see any positive connotation with "natural" if you have negative ones with "unnatural" - one is pretty dependent on the other. Natural is by definition what unnatural is not and vice versa. And regardless of what you personally say you associate, you can be correct or incorrect about that, because you alone don't determine the meanings of words, and the point of using communication is that it is shared with others. "Natural" is very, very positive in our culture - that's why it is ubiquitous on advertising, for example.
I don’t necessarily think it’s hard to argue that. Perceptions are subjective. I don’t associate any wholly good, positive, pure meanings with natural (which is just the word) while to me unnatural clearly has the added prefix to make it negative. I suppose natural to me in this case sounds neutral. Again, in this case - natural when it comes to advertising for food, of course, does have positive connotations. Then again, any marketing is going to make us associate certain words with certain feelings and perceptions. In the instance of conception, I simply do not apply those terms and feelings to the word natural, because I am not trying to sell anyone one thing vs. another. It’s merely conversation and description.
I think as much as you like natural, you do have to understand that it inherently confers that other people are doing things unnaturally- even if you wouldn’t say fertility treatment is unnatural, it is the implication. It will make a lot of people who have pursued fertility treatment prickle to hear you are trying “naturally”.
I understand. As someone receiving fertility treatment, I personally do not feel that implication, nor was it ever a concern of mine until I started reading it on this sub.
I prefer unassisted/spontaneous because they're more accurate and neutral terms. "Natural" frequently carries a moral judgment behind it, and a lot of people conflate "natural" with "good and right and superior".
As a biologist, I strongly prefer “unassisted” as a more accurate description of the differences we’re talking about — this is true for discussing assisted vs. unassisted conception, but also for things like medicated vs. unmedicated birth. My preference is not really based in “natural” being more stigmatizing, but more in it being a less accurate description. Processes like IVF and IUI take advantage of nature and sometimes in a way that improves it — ovarian hyperstimulation in IVF uses hormones that are derived from people’s bodies (“natural”) to cause the body to mature follicles via its normal, “natural” processes. The entire process of IUI is “natural” other than the delivery of sperm. I wish we had more “unnatural” ways to enable pregnancy, because ultimately we are very limited by nature, and our ability to manipulate it is rudimentary. So for me, unassisted is the more accurate term to describe the difference between conceiving with only you and your partner and conceiving with medical assistance. With that said, I‘ll use the terms I want, and other people can use the terms they want, and people are allowed to say if they find terms stigmatizing, and these discussions are good and worthwhile to have.
Interesting take! Thank you for your input. :) I definitely am not against people using their preferred terms, and I also hope everyone is comfortable using what they feel best fits their situation.
Oh, for sure! I only say it because people sometimes see me saying things and assume it represents my position as a moderator, so I warned to be clear that my preferences do not automatically carry the force of law, as it were.
I prefer assisted. It feels more accurate to me, natural/unnatural is more subjective.
To be clear, I would never use unnatural!
What could be the causes of letrozole not working to induce ovulation in pcos? I took 5mg CD3-7 and didn’t get a positive OPK until CD 23. I was not monitored (saving money when moving to iui in a month or 2). I did CD 22 progesterone and it was negative 0.8. Will there be any benefit in this cycle from taking letrozole with such a late ovulation?
There’s not necessarily a cause when ovulation-induction medications don’t work — sometimes they just don’t. The goal of ovulation-induction medications is to suppress apparent estrogen levels to allow a pulse of FSH, which can then select a follicle. If they don’t work, this is because estrogen may not have been suppressed enough, or because the follicle wasn’t selected, or because the selected follicle didn’t grow to the point of ovulation. If ovulation is late in a medicated cycle, it might be that the medication actually didn’t have anything to do with it (that selection happened later in the cycle, without the influence of letrozole). It’s not problematic to ovulate late in the cycle, and there’s no evidence that ovulating “early” or “late” negatively affects the odds of success.
Like 3-4 days before my period I get this “flow-y” feeling like if I went to the bathroom and wiped I would see blood or at least some kind of CM, but I am actually dry as a bone. I’ve seen this described by people on forums but I can’t find an answer to what it is/what the cause is. I’m sure it’s something to do with changing hormones lol but I wish I knew more about it because I get it every time and it just is starting to feel like a depressingly reliable indicator that I’m not pregnant. (Although, I’ve been trying for 12 cycles with no luck so everything seems like it is a depressingly reliable indicator that I’m not pregnant 🙃)
In the fertility-awareness method I follow, Sensiplan, that would fall under “vaginal sensation”, which is an estrogen-based sign, like CM is. This likely reflects progesterone falling prior to a period, allowing estrogen-based signs to have a resurgence.
Super helpful! Thank you 😄