fertilecm and ovulation

[ladders]

Hi ladies
Iv been ttc for seven months and two months ago I realised I had never had ewcm so I ordered some fertilecm which I started taking cycle day 1. I usually have a 26 day cycle and get positive opk on cycle day 12 which was Friday but it's now Sunday and no positive okp. Could the fertilecm have done this? Am I likely to still ovulate?

 

[carlywarly]

Sorry hun, I'm not sure :/ I will say though that I noticed when I started TTC that I didn't get EWCM. I tried epo for a cycle and it completely messed me up. I decided to forego it the next cycle and I went back to normal. I have read numerous times that EWCM can stay up by the cervix and not show when you wipe...so doesn't mean you aren't getting any? We decided to just use conceive plus as an extra aid

 

[mmMlm]

I have been taking it for a few months now, it hasn't changed my ov date. It has helped with my CM.

 

[bunyhuny]

I wouldn't recommend taking FertilAid of FertilCM without doctor approval. The herbs in both of them change your CM and cycle length by causing changes in how much of certain hormones your body makes. If it changes them in a way that your body isn't suited for it can cause real issue.

Case in point: Up until 2012, I ovulated like clockwork. AF came ever 32-34 days. I started taking FertilAid and FertilCM to "help things along", but the hormone changes the supplements caused manage to trigger dormant PCOS. I went from perfect monthly cycle to not being able to ovulate without medical assistance.

If you're noticing that you're ovulating any later than normal, I'd say stop the supplements immediately. I was stupid and took them for three months like the bottles said. Had I stopped sooner, my doctors think that my body might have been able to recover.

 

[mmMlm]

Hi bunyhuny,

Sorry for your loss and to hear that the Fertile supplements messed up your cycles. Did you see a change with your very first cycle taking them or did it happen slowly?
I ovulate regularly but I have a lot of spotting before AF, I am hoping that FertileAid helps with that - it was a bit better the first cycle with no big changes in ov date but I am nervous for future cycles...

 

[bunyhuny]

I noticed issues immediately. I started taking both FertilAid and FertilCM mid cycle a couple days before O. The first cycle, O came as normal, but my luteal phase was 17 days instead of the normal 13. (OB/Gyn later told me this can be because the Vitex in one of the supplements can raise progesterone abnormally high, something that can also trigger PCOS). The next cycle, I never got a positive OPK and then AF never arrived. All the info I was reading said that it could take 3 months for the supplements to work so, stupid me, I just kept taking them.

After three full months, I decided enough was enough- so on CD 95 (yeah, I know, I really was dumb) I stopped the supplements and thought, okay, I'll ovulate now and things will go back to normal. Well... I was wrong. The next day I started spotting, and the spotting did not stop over the next week. I called my OB/Gyn and she said to give it a couple weeks to see if it might turn into AF. Well, after an entire month of spotting, she said to come in and we did Provera to induce a cycle. Finally got AF on CD 140. When I got to CD 88 of the next cycle, she induced AF again with Provera. Still no ovulation the next cycle, so they finally started me up with the fertility clinic. Been dealing with fertility treatments ever since. Not a path I'd wish on anyone!

 

[bunyhuny]

Oh, and from what my OB/Gyn at the time said, she doesn't recommend FertilAid at all since it changes hormones differently for every woman and you never know what you're going to get. (Unlike prescription hormones which have a measured dose and don't cause your body to start making random hormones.) She also said it is also especially bad for for women with regular cycles because, like in my case, it can trigger issues that were never there before.

If you're having spotting leading up to AF (which is what I had and one of the reasons I took FertilAid as well), the best thing to do is have your progesterone monitored during your LP. A lot of the time, the spotting isn't an issue at all, and if it is, your gyno can just give you a progesterone suppository to use. That way, you're naturally supporting your progesterone level to stop the spotting instead of using random herbs to trick your body into producing more than it wants to- which can be way, way more than is healthy.

 

[ladders]

So sorry to hear that bunyhuny. Iv stopped taking them now, didn't notice a rise in cm and just pushed my ovulation day to five days after ewcm had gone so I think has messed up this cycle chances I'm not letting it do more. Thanks for the advice I appreciate it.

 

[bunyhuny]

No problem, hun. Good luck and lots of baby dust!

 

[mmMlm]

thanks bunyhuny, sounds like a nightmare! I am still taking it for this cycle but I will be very vigilant. I didn't have any huge changes last month, there was less spotting and ov didn't seem to be affected so hopefully I will be OK with it.
I asked my doctor about the spotting months ago and she wasn't too worried, but I think I will ask for some tests in the next month or two if I don't get a BFP