Questions/Chart Stalk July 2021

fameonmain2

inthewoods23

Free Pregmate OPKs are great and all.... but the package I got a month or so ago is ALREADY about to expire! I won't even get to use them next cycle as I'll be on like CD5 on the expiration date.

Is it safe for me to still use these past the date? WWYD?

mamanbebe

@inthewoods23 I think the box I’m still using is 2 years expired and they still work perfectly. 

Eta: they are expired pregmate brand btw

pajamstagrams

@inthewoods23 I mean, I would 🤷‍♀️ knowing in the back of my head that there might be some inaccuracy, and you can't fully trust it. And *barely* expired, so probably would be ok. 

inthewoods23

@mamanbebe 2 years damn lol. Are your tests with the pink label with LH on it? That was what tipped me off about the date because the last box or two I got was with the blue handle and ovulation printed all over it.

@pajamstagrams yeah it's not like this is milk we're talking about lol. I guess the dye could get a little weird right? I feel like I remember seeing someone either in a BMB or in the 1st Tri board about taking an HPT that was expired that was giving weird or inconclusive results. Finally went and bought a brand new test which gave them a definite answer. OPKs probably don't have that issue as much since there is always LH in our systems.

keikilove

@inthewoods23I think you’ll be fine to use them. On a random note, I was tossing those inserts that come in the package, the ones where they tell you to scan the QR code and request your free pack after writing a review. Well, recently I finally scanned the QR codes for the OPKs and the HPT packages and was so happy that I was able to request my free packs without posting  any reviews anywhere. Winning! (My only complaint is that I liked the design much better before they recently updated them: the sticks used to be a bit wider & the lines were much more obvious. But I’m not looking to gift horse in the mouth!😄) 

inthewoods23

@keikilove yes! Once you scan the code it takes you to a form to fill in your information and that's it. I was also very happy to not have to write a review. Not that I wouldn't have great things to say about them! Anything is better than the skinny AF Wondfos.

mamanbebe

@inthewoods23 Ok, for starters I was wrong haha. They are *only* a year expired But they are the pink LH ones. I had no idea that they changed the label, that would have thrown me off too! But yeah, I think you're right about LH being in your system and it catching the changes. These seem just as sensitive as they were when they were not expired. 

paytonpedro

Tw***** mc bleeding. 

My doctor is calling it a chemical pregnancy which I understand but it just feels so devaluing to me. My question is, after such, what do I expect in regards to bleeding? It started Monday morning and was heavy all day and all day yesterday. Today seems to be slowing down. I’m only using a pad which I don’t ever do so it’s hard for me to really gauge it. My normal period is usually only 3-4 days. Should it be comparable to that seeing it was an early loss? (Also do I track it as a period? For ttc purposes?) I wanted to ask my dr but she’s not in until tomorrow and the nurse wouldn’t answer any of my questions. 

Edit to add, my other cp in November was a super squinter and then I got af the next day so I almost just doubted it and didn’t even call the dr. That af was more painful than normal but bleeding was about the same. Af came 1 day later than expected. This time I’m a week+ past when af would be expected. So I wasn’t sure. 

inthewoods23

@paytonpedro I would expect bleeding to be about the same. Maybe a little bit more since you were further along this time for the CP. Tracking apps should have an option to mark the day of a miscarriage. FF has it under the Specifics section

fameonmain2

TW

@paytonpedro I was 4+2 with my chemical it was a bit heavier and more painful than my regular AF. I had one day of cramps that made me pretty uncomfortable (I don’t usually get them) and a good amount of clotting. Length was the same but I did spot for an extra day at the end. 

paytonpedro

@inthewoods23 thank you. It was definitely more, and fully unexpected, initially. I couldn’t find it in ff so thanks for the info! 

Edit to add

@fameonmain2 thank you for sharing. That’s basically what I’m experiencing I think. Just was unsure if it would be a long drawn out event. 

daisy0322

I have a Letrozole question- so I’ve never had a huge CM problem there’s always been a moderate amount but over the last two days.... holy waterslide Batman! It’s been creamy but is getting stretchy... Is this typical? Would this be solely due to the synthetic HRT and letrozole hormones or is it a good sign that it is working? Hopefully I’ll get in for a monitoring U/S next week 

optimistgardener

hey @daisy0322. I am no expert, but your changing CM would seem like a sign that your body's hormone levels are shifting. I can't say for sure whether it means the HRT (or maybe the letrozole)  is "working" (if we define working as gearing up for/accomplishing ovulation), but it isn't a bad sign! I think "typical" cycles go something like: menstrual fluid, followed by dryish, increasingly creamy or wet, to wet, to stretchy "egg white", and then after ovulation more or less creamy or dryish till menses. usually creamy is more associated with progesterone and wet or egg white associated with higher levels of estrogen, but everyone's body is different! i would say it's more likely to be the HRT, or indirectly the letrozole encouraging your body to bump up its own production of hormone, but not directly the letrozole itself, if that makes sense.

during my recent IVF stimulation cycle when my estrogen levels were sky high, i produced a fair amount of wet and ewcm, and since i started on the progesterone shots i've shifted to dry/creamy.

daisy0322

@optimistgardener hmmm that’s what I was thinking. Ugh I just want a clue that I’m actually going to ovulate it not. Mainly because I’m impatient haha thank you for the answer 

bows22

@daisy0322 is the HRT estrogen? That may be a dumb question sorry haha 

daisy0322

@bows22 not a dumb question I’m a medical weirdo! HRT is 1 mg estrogen everyday and 200 mg progesterone for CD 21-30. 

The estrogen purely brings my levels up to a normal number. The progesterone is so high because of how it metabolizes which I love pharmacokinetics but I’ll save you the explanation haha so the HRT brings my hormones up from 0 to a normal level. The Letrozole is what is supposed to be helping me ovulate 

bows22

@daisy0322 then I think it makes sense you would see increased EWCM while on it, not sure if you can trust it to show you are in FW though? Do you
have a monitoring appt coming up?

daisy0322

@bows if I can get the freaking U/S place to schedule me! They’re supposed to call today but the doctor was gone last week so they weren’t scheduling 

inthewoods23

FRER question - what exactly does an indent on a test look like? I'm only asking because the FRER I took last Tuesday while I was on vacation was clearly a BFN, but if the light was shined on the test window at the right angle, I could see the test line reflect off the light as if there was a scratch in the window. Staring right at it like normal you couldn't see anything. Are indents something you really have to look for or are they pretty obvious like a weird shadow?

pajamstagrams

@inthewoods23 I think they look more gray than pink, or just like an "indent" where color would be. I've kinda seen those on my very obvious stark white BFNs. 

kiki047

@daisy0322 speaking from experience, my CM while I'm on letrozole is out of control too. Like, tons and tons of EWCM when I do get it, to the point where I needed a liner sometimes. That's a good sign the HRT is doing something, though still not necessarily an indication of actual ovulation. Just a heads up if you haven't taken supplemental progesterone before...  it makes me super constipated. Drink lots of water and get your fibre in. 

keikilove

@inthewoods23 What you’re describing on the test window is exactly what I’ve experienced multiple times with FRERs. Honestly, I think it’s the reason so many people take those tests apart. Between the faint false positives and the weird indents & reflections they give off the plastic window, I find those tests very unreliable. *This was just another opportunity for me to rant about why I hate FRERS.😝*

optimistgardener

yo, what @kiki047 said about the progesterone. that stuff is no joke.

daisy0322

@inthewoods23 I’ve had indents and those are usually more colorless or grey and you gotta try super hard to see them verses I’ve had Evaps that some even show up within time frame that are light pink and you don’t have to try to see them but I know for a fact I wasn’t pregnant not even a chemical because of bloodwork 

@keikilove thanks for the heads up- good lookin out lol but that’s good to know at least it seems like it’s the correct hormone levels

inthewoods23

@pajamstagrams yeah that sounds right. I think the line I saw was whiter compared to the rest of the window. Like white vs off white lol.

@keikilove haha your hate for FRERs is like my hate for Wondfos vs Pregmate OPKs. Stupid tiny ass sticks I've thankfully never had issues with the FRERs, but maybe it helps that I start with the cheapie HPTs before considering a FRER. If the cheapie is positive, a FRER would definitely show as positive.

keikilove

@inthewoods23 ***TW for potentially annoying +HPT talk***

I’ve had many positive Pregmates that didn’t show up till daaaaays later on FRER. FRER usually doesn’t pick up for me until at least a day or two after missed period. It is likely because my hCG is too low and the FRER threshold is higher than Pregmate. But also, I truly just don’t trust FRERs. 

loveanddatadriven

@inthewoods23 @pajamstagrams @keikiloveHaha! This is a very useful conversation for me. Thank you for the reality check on the limitations of HPTs.

@daisy0322 I would have thought pink lines on evaps during the time window with no HCG would be exceedingly rare.

inthewoods23

@keikilove **tw more HPT talk + MC mention*

that's very weird! Especially when I had the experience of still turning a FRER when we were tracking my HCG down to 0 after my MC when HCG was 3. I watched a video once of someone who tested a whole bunch of HPTs a couple days after she got her first positive (at the time of video recording she was maximum a few days after her missed period so still pretty early) and it was fascinating to see how some barely show a line while others are much stronger. I think some tests may have still been or looked negative.

pajamstagrams

@inthewoods23 @keikilove

*TW HPT and MC*

This is interesting! When I tracked my HCG down after my loss, I used pregmate cheapies until I got a stark white, and then switched to a FRER, which had a vvvvvvfl line (and then gave up after that because my curiosity was sated). Weird that everyone seems to have different experiences with FRERs. 

keikilove

@inthewoods23 @pajamstagrams More TW for same content 

Very interesting indeed! At the time that I was getting more frequent positives (albeit delayed compared to my Pregmate tests) I was also getting some VVVFL false positives (hcg determined to be 0 by beta blood tests).  As we are prone to do, I went online to Google these issues. There were tons of complaints about the same, with many comments about how the FRERs started to be unreliable around X date. My most recent chemical pregnancy actually showed up early on a FRER (for the first time!) as well as on my Pregmates. I was shocked to turn a FRER so early. Maybe the company became aware of all the complaints and fixed whatever the issue was? Or maybe I just had more hcg the most recent time around. Either way, really interesting to read about your experiences. 

inthewoods23

@keikilove *I think this is general enough I don't need to spoiler it* I always kind of joked in my head that I was always just so extremely not pregnant that I couldn't even get the tests to give me indents or false positives *sad uterus noises*

ok that sounds weird but you get the meme ha!

acleverusername

Now I'm thinking about what a sad uterus sounds like. 

optimistgardener

@inthewoods23 dude, i have always made the same private joke to myself for all of my bfns. like, dang, i am soooo not pregnant that this thing is starker than white. barren snowdrifts of white hella not preggers white. nothin to squint at here! (i still squinted.)

edit to clean up my pottymouth

inthewoods23

@acleverusername idk I imagine a pouting puppy or that "nothing" sound you hear in a deserted cave 😂

@optimistgardener yes!! Haha

daisy0322

@loveanddatadriven girl I had the pictures to prove it - even the doctor was confused and de I maybe it was a bad batch of tests but I’ve had it happen a couple crimes with FRER

paytonpedro

Heyyyo. So I feel like this is kinda a stupid question for me butttttt recommendations on prenatal vitamins (or the supplements you use instead)? I’ve used Olly gummies for literally like 5 years now with just a couple breaks in there but I feel like they’ve been upsetting my stomach lately. And they don’t have iron, but not sure if I should be taking one with iron anyways because I do have other stomach problems. Please help!

mamanbebe

@paytonpedro I switched off gummies because I was advised that absorption isn’t always great (and I have MTHFR, which already makes that a problem) but I’m not sure the accuracy of that statement. I take Thorne prenatal because it is considered a really high quality, bio-available form of vitamins and minerals. I do not take one with iron so that I can manage that separately. I find the slow-fe mini tablets are great, but I prefer desiccated beef liver capsules (yes, kinda gross) because they work really well without messing with your digestion and also help with B vitamins. 

inthewoods23

@paytonpedro if you're still interested in gummies, SmartyPants prenatal are f*cking delicious. They also don't have iron. I switched to their capsules that are pretty similar in terms of ingredients and percentages because years ago when I donated blood I barely made the cutoff for the iron so I could probably use the extra iron. The only problem now is that I get the fish oil burps! 😤 They also have a mint scent to them which I find super weird, but I'm used to it at this point.

I did also use the MegaFood Baby & Me prenatals but those got expensive. I think the plant (or food?) based prenatals are gentler on the stomach.

Prenatals have also been talked about somewhat recently in the randoms and IF threads if you wanna do a site search. And it's popped up in the dailies from time to time.

agesandstages

@paytonpedro I use ritual! Lemon scent can be good if you’re nauseous!

acleverusername

@paytonpedro I recently switched to Modern Fertility vitamins. It's similar to Ritual in that it's a subscription. I also did a personal comparison of contents before making the switch (I used to that RAW Vegan Prenatal). Here's what I looked at: 

I also have a subscription to Consumer Lab, and their top pick is Deva. Here's the review: