Questions/Chart Stalk June 2022

optimistgardener · June 2022

Got a question? Need chart interpretation? Ask away!

Want To Sell More During The Pandemic Ask This Simple Question - Paul Castain

acleverusername · June 2022

@robotpopcan this is a good place to ask anything that's "random" TTC related. I've done the Modern Fertility test (twice) in 2018, 2020. I'm also a co-moderator in the community there. What questions do you have about the test?

kiki047 · June 2022

@monkeysalwayswin Have you heard of SMEP? Sperm Meets Egg Plan - google it, there's a lot of resources about it. https://spermmeetseggplan.com/ Essentially the premise of that plan is to maximize your chances of ensuring there is always sperm readily available to meet an egg. You start by HIO EOD (every other day), then on CD8 you start OPKs and once you get a peak reading you HIO that day and the following 2 days, skip a day, then HIO once more. It's a lot. It helps if you know exactly when you ovulate because you can pinpoint the timing better.

Here's a good chart showing best days to HIO for timing purposes.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/0c/nhiemco8oquc.gif

stormageddon-darklordofall · June 2022

@kiki047 That's the EOD plan I was thinking of! I just couldn't remember what it was actually called. There was like too much math involved, and I was lucky if DH and I could muster the strength to DTD at least once during the the FW. Ugh.

kiki047 · June 2022

@stormageddon-darklordofall yeeaah we have some MFI issues too so daily was completely out of the question. EOD for like a week was a struggle but not like it did us any good. My uterus is apparently just uncooperative and hostile.

acleverusername · June 2022

@kiki047 MH and I also have slight MFI (or more like cyclical MFI) and we try and do AM one day / PM next day etc. So it ends up being ED but with 36 hrs in between. Not any method (that I know of) so I’m calling it “the acleverusername method.”

kiki047 · June 2022

@acleverusername well now that I've found a decent lube that could work, but then we only HIO for funsies nowadays. I like the "acleverusername method", or maybe you can have a whole line of "aclever" methods, like "aclever HIO method", "aclever supplement regiment"

acleverusername · June 2022

@kiki047 LOVE IT! Have you missed a calling in branding?

robotpopcan · June 2022

@acleverusername Thank you for guiding me to the right post! My question was if anyone had used it and found it helpful. I just got my results back and they seem promising. My only question was the thoughts on TSH... but I suppose I will wait to discuss with my doctor.

liberator0423 · June 2022

Hi! That ovulation chart is super helpful. Curious if anyone on here has any tips for TTC with extremely long and irregular cycles (i.e. 45 days +)?

For some reason I can’t find the search function to look for where this might have been answered previously, so please feel free to point me in the right direction! I’m sure this has been discussed before.

ejoseph16 · June 2022

@liberator0423 most of us do BBT and OPK tests to find our fertile window… that helps a lot. Personally, my cycles vary from 30-35 days, sometimes even longer. So it helps DH and I not lose our drive too soon 😂

robotpopcan · June 2022

@liberator0423 Buy some OPKs in bulk of Amazon and test every day. OR go in for the big bucks with the Clear Blue fertility monitor. Honestly, if I had known it was going to take this long to get pregnant, I would have saved money by getting the monitor.

liberator0423 · June 2022

@ejoseph16 @robotpopcan Amazing - thank you both. Will definitely check out the Clear Blue fertility monitor if the OPKs don’t work. Fingers crossed… :-)

acleverusername · June 2022

@robotpopcan I did find MF test useful. I did it in 2018 as a way to gauge whether or not I should rush into an egg freezing. Then in 2020, I did it right when we started to TTC. At that point, it showed higher than normal FSH which was a warning that I might have issues if we ended up going into IVF at any point. This helped us decide to consult with an RE after 6 months of trying (most women over 35 are advised to do that anyway, but many OBs are like “just keep trying for another 6 months”). And so we started out consultation process in July 2020.

The other issues was discovered by my acupuncturist: she looked at my various MF TSH results and said “Hrm… it’s bouncing around… have you had that looked into?” Sure enough, a few weeks later my OB did my “Day 3 panel with a full thyroid panel and it turned out that I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.”

Knowing all that I know now, MF test is a VERY BASIC SCREEN. It won’t tell you if you have issues with your uterus or your tubes or endometriosis or many more things. I can’t remember how old are you, so keep those things in mind as you TTC. I hope I’m not fear mongering. I just went to level set.

Btw, what’s your TSH? I could perhaps provide some guidance?

kiki047 · June 2022

@liberator0423 I agree with ejoseph and robotpopcan about getting some OPKs to try to help pinpoint ovulation. I have PCOS so I gained a lot of insight tracking BBT. I used a thermometer but depending on your budget and how closely you want to start tracking, there are some great wearables on the market these days (e.g. Ava, TempDrop, I think even the Oura ring can be used for that purpose?). Then there's the OvuSense.

I know you mentioned in your Intro that your OB suggested the irregular cycles could be from PCOS. Don't be too daunted by that possibility - it is entirely possible to get pregnant naturally while managing your PCOS, if that ends up being the case for you. One thing to keep in mind is that if you do have it, sometimes it can make OPKs unreliable because the levels of LH in your body (which is the hormone that OPKs measure) can be elevated at any given time so it can make them always look positive. This is why tracking multiple data points - like Basal Body Temperature - simultaneously will give you a better/bigger picture of what is going on.

robotpopcan · June 2022

@acleverusername my tsh was 3.5. Thank you for the rundown on your experience. I'm 33 almost 34 and we've been actively trying just about a year now

liberator0423 · June 2022

Sorry for the delayed reply but this is incredibly informative - thank you @kiki047! One follow-up question. Your temp rises just after ovulation, right? So did tracking BBT help you detect patterns in ovulation historically, even with irregular cycles?

Thank you for all the helpful info!!

ejoseph16 · June 2022

@liberator0423 yes, your temp will dramatically shift after ovulation. I have irregular cycles since having my son, and BBT is life for me!

acleverusername · June 2022

@robotpopcan 3.5 isn’t bad but most physicians like to see it below 3.5 pre conception. You’ll also want to rule out Hashimoto’s so when you see your doctor, be sure to ask for a full thyroid panel.

kiki047 · July 2022

@liberator0423 sorry for the delay, I was on vacation last week and don't like mobile bumping from my phone.
Yes, BBT was very helpful for me to be able to visualize a pattern, even/especially on an-ovulatory cycles. When I thought for sure I was ovulating because my cycles seemed somewhat normal, BBT showed otherwise.

Here are some historical examples (these are from 2018 pre-IVF, I don't track anymore because of that, but you can see a clear difference). The orange line was tracking my resting heart rate (RHR). As you can see, it's not perfect but it's another interesting data point to measure and it does closely correlate with BBT. I wore my fitbit at night to track this, my Apple Watch is nowhere near as accurate.

These were some of my very early cycles (we started TTC in Dec 2017, had very irregular cycles for a few months after coming off BCP, saw a doctor in May who suggested PCOS which was later confirmed by BW & US around August 2018).

May 2018 cycle - an-ovulatory. You can see a few false rises where I had some peak OPK readings (around CD16/17) but clearly no temp shift and no ovulation.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/3s/4nkaxuh2lf2d.png

This was a cycle where I actually had some BW done near the end of my cycle which confirmed that despite what looked like a clear BBT shift, with a LP of only 9 days my progesterone level was flat which meant I still wasn't ovulating.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ff/keh5hh693odt.png

Around August 2018 I started seeing a Naturopath who prescribed me a bunch of things to help regulate my cycle so we could try naturally (Vitex, seed cycling, some homeopathic remedies as well as weekly acupuncture). Oct 2018 was the first cycle that I ovulated on my own, confirmed by BW and monitoring.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/f6/i5d3l4y3lvav.png

This was my first cycle using Letrozole for ovulation induction - as you can see, it drastically changed my ovulation date from ~CD31 and was the first of my more regular cycles going forward. I credit the supplements, some lifestyle changes and the letrozole to making my cycles pretty much normal for about 9-10 months until we started IVF in the fall of 2019.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ry/sec9qibtno59.jpg

robotpopcan · July 2022

@acleverusername
ok, thanks for the advice!

liberator0423 · July 2022

@kiki047 Yes - wow. Totally see how this would be helpful. Your cycle lengths are very similar to mine as well - ha. My last one was 45 days. Definitely going to have to try this. So sorry it’s been such a long journey for you! 😞

Want a personalized experience?

Questions/Chart Stalk June 2022

Re: Questions/Chart Stalk June 2022

Choose Another Board

Search Boards