Another thread mentioned ovulation pain and I am wondering how consistent it is for people and if it feels unique/distinct from other pain (like period cramping or general stomach pains)? How do you know that it is ovulation pain - b/c it coincides with when you are ovulating or b/c the pain/symptoms are distinct? These might sound like stupid questions but I'm realizing that I don't notice it regularly - either b/c I don't feel it or b/c I'm not attuned to it.
As an aside - the more I research about fertility and conceiving the more confused by my body I feel. I have super irregular cycles and it just makes me feel like my body isn't "working." For someone that works in health and pays a lot of attention to other aspects of how external things influence how my body feels (food, exercise, stress, etc), it has been weirdly alienating. Not sure if that makes sense or resonates with anyone else but just had to get that off my chest.
Re: Ovulation pain
For me, growing up I would have mild cramps on one side or the other of my lower back and 14 days later would have my period. So I figured they were ovulation pains. Some time in 2006 I think I had an ovarian cyst burst and ever since that time I've had spotting sometimes with that pain. Of course, that's also when I stopped having my period exactly 14 days after the pain. I still get the cramping midcycle, but now that I'm temping I can see it's actually a couple days before I ovulate.
My BFP Chart
I definitely have the side, sharp pain that PP mentioned and it is associated with ovulation. It usually starts O day and then gradually subsists. I get lower, duller cramps and the tugging sensation closer to AF.
edit. words.
Married August 2012. Me: 41 DH: 42
Daughter from previous marriage: 20
BFP 12/19/12: Ectopic discovered at 8 weeks, right tube removed 01/18/13
June 2013 Testing Results: Progesterone: 31.7, LH: 5, FSH: 5, Estradiol: 161
Clomid cycles Nov. 2013 and Jan, Feb, and March 2014
TTC journey over as of the end of October 2014
TTCAL BLOG
All ALers welcome!
I've never had O pain. Sometimes i'll feel what is most likely a gas bubble on one side or the other around when i'm expecting to O, but i have no idea if that's related and i only started to notice it once i started temping and checking CM. So it's probably all in my head. I'm not surprised that i don't feel anything in there...two years ago i had a baseball-sized dermoid cyst removed from my right ovary, and i had no idea that was in there either.
(note about the cyst - i SHOULD have noticed that my monthly bleeds from BCP were mostly brown or looked dried up and weird, but i didn't think anything of it...turns out the cyst was so big that my ute was contracting in on itself to make room for it. bastard. everything is back to normal. i guess dermoid cysts are not indicative of PCOS or anything, and are completely random, and during surgery my doctor was able to get the whole thing out without having to remove any of the ovary, so it should not impact my ability to conceive. just wanted to throw this all out there for lurkers or in case it helps anyone).
This is my experience as well. No cramping but a sharp quick pain located on one side or the other. Most often times the left. After being pregnant with DS, I can now more accurately describe it as a similar feeling to round ligament pain.
Mine feels like a sharp pulling sensation. Last about 2-3 minutes on an off for about a day or so, day before ovulation.
But I also have cysts and they have felt similar but have temped to rule out O.