Is this normal? (two LH surges w/ EWCM a week apart??) - your experiences with Oing??

[Bema1992]

Ok so backstory, last cycle I went off BC and believe I originally ovulated on 6/25 as I had a lot of EWCM and a couple positive OPKs. Then on 7/3, I noticed more EWCM (not as much as the week before) so I used a couple more OPKs which were positive - then my period arrived on 7/18 (15 days after my last positive OPK with a few days of light spotting off and on beforehand).. so it seems like I either geared up to ovulate around 6/25 and didn't and then did ovulate around 7/3 or possible ovulated twice?? I remember having my normal ovulation symptoms (left/right pelvic crampies with sore breasts/nipples after) around 6/25 AND AGAIN on/around 7/3. Then my period arrived at it's normal TWW time after the 7/3 possible ovulation.

Now cut to this cycle, my period lasted from 7/18-7/20 (started out heavy, then medium, then tapered off which is normal for me.. sometimes it will last 4 days but usually no more). I started taking OPKs on 7/30 (this one was showing a light-med line), 7/31 (again a light-med line), 8/1 (this one was a strong positive at 1pm and then back down to a light-med at 6pm, so I believe I caught my surge and felt ovulation symptoms on 8/1 and 8/2 (bilateral low pelvic twinges and sore breasts/nipples afterwards), so I set my O date as 8/2 [I use the Ovia app]).
My 8/2 OPK at 1pm showed a light-med line and I had EWCM again on 8/3 and took ANOTHER OPK which showed another light-med line, the same as all of the prior tests besides the blaring positive.

Since I had a weird month last month, I decided to take another OPK on 8/7 (as there was just a TINY amount of EWCM when I went to the bathroom in the afternoon) to see if the same pattern happened and it showed another low-med line but slightly lighter than the one on 8/3.

I noticed a huge glob of EWCM again today (8/8) when I went to the bathroom this morning, so I will be taking another OPK around 1.



My question to you ladies is, is it normal to have two surges a week apart before actually ovulating, or can you ovulate twice? Last cycle and this cycle, my breasts/nipples started becoming sensitive/sore right after the FIRST +OPK which ALWAYS happens after I ovulate until I get my period. And considering my period showed up at it's normal time last cycle after my SECOND +OPK, I'm just a little confused on what is going on with my body. Unfortunately, my temps aren't very reliable as my husband keeps moving my thermometer into the bathroom that is all the way across the house and after a week or two of temping, I would forget some days, so I don't have a temp chart to go off of.

I was originally having some cold-feet about going ahead with TTC, but I've since gotten over it and I'm back to being super excited (I'm really type A with generalized anxiety disorder, so I think I was having a "fear of the unknown" moment).

We BD on 7/27, 7/29, 7/30, 7/31, and 8/1 (the blaring positive OPK was on 8/1) - this was mostly because my husband out of nowhere couldn't stay away from me or keep his hands off of me and I didn't really get it at the time, but if I was ovulating then, it would make sense - I assumed I would ovulate the week after as in the past when I wasn't on BC at certain times, I would usually have slightly longer cycles (35-45 days) as I've had thyroid problems basically all of my life and at those times I was off of BC, my endocrinologist was working to stabilize everything, so I think my hormones were just a little out of whack. We BD again on 8/6 and I'm wondering if we should just go at it a lot this week as well? I did have 28-30 day cycles off of BC when my thyroid levels were in the normal range, although I only had a few cycles of that before I went back on the pill.

I was pregnant back in autumn of 2011 (24 y/o - still in college with a crappy job and leaving a "stable" house that belonged to my HORRIFIC ex to questionable living arrangements [friends places then a sketch apartment until I got a good rental house with my now-husband in 2014 - now in 2018 we are finally homeowners with no mortgage yippee!!!]). The pregnancy was a complete surprise and was a "woops" due to a pharmacy/doctor error - I was off of the pill that month for the first time in a couple years and by CD 28, I got a blaring positive HPT which makes me believe I had normal surges/ovulation back then. This did not result in a child although all of my HCG levels leading up to the unfortunate end were really good and normal (it's a long story and I was with an abusive partner which I was in the process of leaving and was essentially bullied by him and his family into getting a medical abortion [the clinic refused to show me the ultrasounds because I was already super upset, so I don't know if there was a heartbeat/if it was viable - I was around 6 weeks at this point] when I literally couldn't stop crying and had to go back to the clinic twice before I went through with it and this has haunted me a lot over the years - he later held this against me and stated that I "killed his only child" - it was horrible and he continued to literally stalk me and leave threatening notes on my car for at least a year after I left him - he sneakily followed me home from class one day [he had gotten a new car] and found out where I lived and knew where I worked at the time).

Anyways, I'm SO sorry for the novel. I'm just a little confused about what is going on with my cycles. I've been taking a prenatal for the last 6-8 weeks as well as vitex for the past week or so and drink a cup of Traditional Medicinals Healthy Cycle tea once in the morning to try to regulate my cycles a little better in case something funky is going on. I have had no abnormal paps in the past and all of the pelvic exams have been normal and no OBGYN has ever felt any cysts or anything abnormal although I've never had an ultrasound to completely rule that out. All of my reproductive hormones have been checked with labwork and are all in the normal range. Currently, my thyroid levels are in the normal range. I've also been vegan & low-carb for a month now and do light-med exertion exercise at the gym 4 times a week and drink plenty of liquids (cutting down on coffee is HARD!!!).

Hopefully I can get some advise/insight/experiences from you ladies because it just seems to weird to have tons of EWCM with a +OPK twice in a cycle, a week apart. I don't get it!!! I guess if we are going to go for it, we should probably BD a lot this week just in case - especially if I get another +OPK.

I'll keep everyone (if anyone is even interested LOL) updated on this afternoon's OPK.

 

[Bema1992]

Updated: my 8/8 1pm OPK was SUPER faint but I am having a TON of EWCM right now. I'll take another OPK around 6 before I leave work.

 

[CheshireDucky]

My guess would be that your body is adjusting to being off of BC. Some people can go back to normal pretty much right away and others take months to a year+.

It sounds like your body was gearing up to O and then didn't the first time. Have you considered temping? Temping would help you confirm an O date and used along with OPKs you'll get a pretty decent look at your body and what it's doing while it figured itself out.

There are also women who will have EWCM throughout their cycle for various reasons and not because they're about to O. You didn't mention this, but make sure when you're taking your OPK that you're taking it at the right time of day and that your urine isn't too diluted. I usually have a 3ish hour hold and won't drink as much water in that time to cut down on dilution. Most IC will want you to test more in the afternoon while other brands prefer FMU or SMU. Personally, I test at 3 PM when I'm in my fertile week and will test through surge and confirm O with temping.

I know it's frustrating but try to relax and just let your body adjust again while keeping note of everything. Sounds like you're on the right track!

 

[Bema1992]

My guess would be that your body is adjusting to being off of BC. Some people can go back to normal pretty much right away and others take months to a year+.

It sounds like your body was gearing up to O and then didn't the first time. Have you considered temping? Temping would help you confirm an O date and used along with OPKs you'll get a pretty decent look at your body and what it's doing while it figured itself out.

There are also women who will have EWCM throughout their cycle for various reasons and not because they're about to O. You didn't mention this, but make sure when you're taking your OPK that you're taking it at the right time of day and that your urine isn't too diluted. I usually have a 3ish hour hold and won't drink as much water in that time to cut down on dilution. Most IC will want you to test more in the afternoon while other brands prefer FMU or SMU. Personally, I test at 3 PM when I'm in my fertile week and will test through surge and confirm O with temping.

I know it's frustrating but try to relax and just let your body adjust again while keeping note of everything. Sounds like you're on the right track!

Will do, thanks for the advise. I've noticed a ton of EWCM today and took two OPKs at 1pm and 6pm. The 1pm was super faint and the 6pm was stark white, so I'm pretty sure I ovulated last week but I guess we will see. I did also have about 5 minutes of twinges/cramps that moved from my right side across where my uterus would be to the left which is weird for me. I'm not really hoping for a positive this month (if it takes a few months, I'd be fine with that just to adjust to the idea) but that seemed abnormal for me. I guess I should just stop overanalyzing everything lol!