Me and my darling husband recently started trying to cook up our first little one. I have always had long cycles, around 45 days or so, though I’m unsure how consistent that is as I’ve never tracked them until now. I had never really thought about the fact that my long cycles might make getting pregnant more difficult, and now I’m realizing that it could be a pretty big problem. I don’t want to stress about it because [name_m]Lord[/name_m] knows that won’t help, but I would love to hear from some moms who went through the same thing and came out on the other side, or even get some tough love from those who haven’t had huge success in the babymaking department.
BTW, I’m a new poster (been registered over a year but have mostly lurked) and I am thrilled at what a fun community this is! I’m excited to get to know some other name enthusiasts
I think your best bet would be to chart your cycle with your bbt for a few months. I’ve only just started doing it so I don’t know how best to explain it, but fertilityfriend.com is very helpful. Once your chart a few months you’ll get a better idea of when you’re about to ovulate and when best to time having sex. I also use opks which tell you when you have your LH surge when you’re about to ovulate.
Basal body temp is a cheap and easy way to start getting to know your body’s cycle and soon a pattern will develop as far as ovulation goes. And you’re right, stress is probably the best way to prevent yourself from getting pregnant! So try to stay stress-free and zen like. Good luck!!!
Highly recommend the OPK’s too! They take a TON of guesswork out of it and make life much easier. Most women here will recommend the WondFo brand but I didn’t like them, they were just as confusing and there was just as much guessing for me. I coughed up the bigger bucks for the digital OPK’s you can buy at Target or WalMart and knew exactly when I was going to ovulate thanks to the smiley face, zero guessing or trying to read the lines or whatever. Good luck!
I am in a similar situation as you are. I have irregular periods and my husband and I have been TTC for about six months now. I have been tracking my cycles with a menstrual app and I have been trying to use the ovulation test strips without any success so far. I bought mine online and they were pretty inexpensive so you can try looking for them online since the ones in the store seem to be expensive. I wish you the best of luck.
Thanks everyone! I am going to try extra hard to be very consistent with tracking from here out. I’m also trying to get in better shape and lose a little weight, which the midwife DH and I plan to use suggested may help my cycles get more regular and frequent.
I have checked out a couple apps and websites for tracking. I’m going to give them a whirl but sometimes I am more of an old-fashioned pen-and-paper person, so my printed out calendar pages may work better for me. We’ll see!
My cycles are long and irregular too. I forget exactly how many days it was, but quick math, my last period was [name_f]September[/name_f] 13, 2012, I got a positive OPK on [name_f]October[/name_f] 14, and positive pregnancy test on [name_f]October[/name_f] 29. I was sure it would take a long time and we’d have trouble due to my cycles, but we were very very lucky to conceive the first month trying. So don’t write off your long cycles quite yet, everything may be totally normal that way. Good luck!!
Yay, that makes me feel better! I really don’t think I have an ovulation issue, and I’m more and more suspecting that my only problem is long cycles, so hopefully it doesn’t take a long time for us. If I get my period I am definitely getting the opks!! Sounds like it’s working for lots of ladies!
I had long cycles - 50+ days - when I was TTC my first. The book, <u>Taking Charge of Your Fertility</u>, was a very helpful guide for me with tracking my cycles and anticipating ovulation. I’m also hypothyroid and was taking replacement hormone. At the time I was TTC, I realized my basal body temperature was low so I had some bloodwork done to check my thyroid levels and it turned out my TSH was high - which meant my thyroid levels were low. My doctor adjusted my medication and I was able to conceive a couple of months after this. Altogether it took almost a full year for me to become pregnant the first time. I have four children now and I did not have any issues after this.
Also have very irregular cycles. We tried on our own with OPKs for about a year and a half before seeing a fertility specialist. We did about 6 months with Femara, and my eggs looked great but I never got pregnant. Decided I didn’t want to try injectables. We were sad for a while, but then kind of decided we would travel and find other things to do with our lives. We weren’t really trying or keeping track of anything at all anymore, but I just found out this week that I’m about 5 weeks pregnant! You never know what will happen. Best wishes to you — may you find peace whatever the outcome.
Hello. If your cycles are between 25-35 days and are regular chances are very high that you’re ovulating. If they’re longer than this then the chances are low and if they’re irregular the chances are very low. I definitely agree the first step is to get some ovulation test sticks and find out. If you have PCOS or another hormone imbalance these may not be reliable- most likely they’d be positive every day! You can also see your doctor for a ‘[name_u]Day[/name_u] 21 progesterone’ test which will indicate whether you are ovulating. Yours wouldn’t be done on [name_u]Day[/name_u] 21 as the timing relates to your cycle length. ([name_u]Day[/name_u] 1 = first day of period)
If you’re not ovulating the next step would be to try clomid (clomiphene citrate) the ovulation induction drug. This would require regular transvaginal scans to monitor for something called Ovarian Hyperstimulation which is very rare but very serious (ITU kind of serious).
So, id recommend you investigate whether you’re ovulating and not just carry on hoping you are as the chances are actually pretty low with long irregular cycles.
Another way to get to know your body and understand your cycle is to become firm freinds with your cervix if you are not squeamish. There is lots of great info on line about how to do it.
My fertlity specialist suspected I might not be ov’ing every month so put me on clomid to kick start things. I fell the month I came off it.
Good luck and have fun baby dancing x
@liliawillow Thanks for the advice. I’m 99% sure that I do ovulate on a consistent basis, but next cycle I’ll be using some OPKs and charting my temp and all that to try and pinpoint some of the specifics and make sure. We’re going to try on our own for at least 4 or 5 cycles before trying any medications as I try to avoid them if I can, but if it comes to that we will likely go for it as I’ve heard many great success stories! I’m not anti-medication my any means, just I prefer to exhaust my options before resorting to it.
