Help!! I can't predict when I ovulate

[BBYfever]

My hubby and I have been TTC for about 3 cycles, does not sound long but I am already frustrated with the process!! Reason being, I can not predict when I ovulate....I have started temping this cycle, but my temps are all over the place, so it's really confusing! I have been testing with opk every day this cycle starting at cd9 and all I am getting is bfn! I went to the dr. And she did every blood test imaginable, and everything came back normal and my progesterone showed that I did ovulate the last cycle. Basically, I am bd every other night all cycle...but my cycles are crazy long-40+days (which is why I went to dr) I love my hubby, but biding EoD for that long is too much!! Haha I need a way to somehow narrow down my fertile window. I have started my first cycle of pregnitude, but not
Sure if it's helping... So far on cd 22, and not sure that I have O yet. I have had EW cm for like 6 days now!!!! I'm soooo confused!! Can anyone give advice or tips!?!
Thanks a bunch!!!

 

[Babyflakes]

Are you temping at the same time every day? That can make a big difference.

Are you holding your urine for 4 hours prior to using OPK? Your urine could be diluted. Are you testing twice a day? You could miss your surge.

 

[ferndalegirl]

Hi BBYfever! I totally understand why you'd want to narrow down your fertile window. BDing every other night gets old, even in the best of relationships.

The good news is your blood tests prove you are in fact ovulating. My only advice is to keep taking the OPKs. On average, most women get AF 14 days after ovulation regardless of cycle length, so with a 40-day cycle that would put O at around CD26.

Also, are you using digital or regular OPKs? If you're using digital, starting CD 9 is probably too early. My RE says the digital devices have a chip in them that actually records the LH level on your first day and uses that as your baseline for the rest of the cycle (until you don't use the kit for a certain number of days in a row, at which point it resets). So if you start too early, it may take longer to recognize the surge. I know it sounds confusing, but I've had better results when I started testing on the correct day. I think there's usually a chart in the literature that comes with the package.

I hope you get it figured out soon!

 

[ferndalegirl]

Babyflakes is right too...testing at the same time each day (my doc says between 9 and 11am is ideal) and not with first morning urine is important. Hope it helps! xo

 

[BBYfever]

Thank you so much, ladies!! I was temping every morning at 5:30 am, but I gave up after a couple of weeks, I will start again next cycle and try to stick with it. What do you recommend to use for charting? I was just entering my temp into a fertility app, but it does not graph, so it's hard to tell what it's doing.
As far as opk, I am using cheap sticks right now, but I have the bc digital, was going to use those when I started getting a darker color on my cheap ones...hasn't happened yet �� I am only testing once a day, between 5-7pm, guess that could be my problem, I may have missed my surge. Also, I try to hold out for at least 4 hours, but I normally have a few sips of water or tea. Would that make
A difference?
It's so crazy how complicated this is!! Ahhhhh I never thought it would be! Haha boy was I wrong �� anyhoo, I will try to test earlier and at the same time every day! Thank you so much for the tips!! Wishing you both lots of luck!! ��

 

[DosPinkies]

I agree with everything already said. I suppose the only things I would add are...

1- I highly recommend charting in Fertility Friend. I even pay for the advanced app (and I don't pay for crap...lol...so this is weird for me), but it's totally worth it. Oh and if it's a new account, I think they usually start you out getting to use the advanced features for free for a couple of months. I love it...can't say enough about it. Ooooo, they should hire me to do a commercial!

And 2 - Some women who get erratic temps choose to switch to...wait for it...vaginal temping. Personally, I've never tried it, but it can't be too horrible. Anyways, some people's oral temps are erratic because they're mouth-breathers or because of other sleeping patterns that affect temps, so for them vaginal temps are way more accurate and don't jump around so much. If you're not too squeamish for it, I might try that technique out next cycle and see if you have better luck.

 

[Babyflakes]

I like fertility friend. It's helped me soo much! A little drinking is fine during the urine hold. You just want your urine as concentrated as possible. I like how you can also track symptoms using FF. My chart is linked below if you want to see what it looks like.

I too use a digi OPK. What I love about clear blue easy digi smiley is that it gives me a warning 3 days in advance of 0. I'll get two days of flashing smiley, one day of solid, and the next day I ovulate. My O date is confirmed w my temp rise the next day. The nice thing about this digi is that you use it w FMU. So after the 2nd day if flashing smiley I use the regular OPK strips 3 times a day to pinpoint O. This way I'm not testing w those strips for several days!!! It saves me a lot of effort!!


If it's any relief, it does get easier once you go through a few cycles. After doing this, you really start to get a feel for when you O each cycle.

 

[mmMlm]

I agree with everything already said. I suppose the only things I would add are...

1- I highly recommend charting in Fertility Friend. I even pay for the advanced app (and I don't pay for crap...lol...so this is weird for me), but it's totally worth it. Oh and if it's a new account, I think they usually start you out getting to use the advanced features for free for a couple of months. I love it...can't say enough about it. Ooooo, they should hire me to do a commercial!

And 2 - Some women who get erratic temps choose to switch to...wait for it...vaginal temping. Personally, I've never tried it, but it can't be too horrible. Anyways, some people's oral temps are erratic because they're mouth-breathers or because of other sleeping patterns that affect temps, so for them vaginal temps are way more accurate and don't jump around so much. If you're not too squeamish for it, I might try that technique out next cycle and see if you have better luck.

I second #1, Fertility Friend is great. I am still on the free membership, although I am getting more and more tempted by VIP features!
Regarding #2 - I am a mouth breather, and what helped me get better temps was to put the thermometer under my tongue (as far back near the middle as possible) and close my mouth while the thermometer is in. Make sure not to drink before temping. You could try this before vaginal temping, although that is worth a try if your temps are still erratic.