Help and your expertise is needed

[InsideOutUpsideDown]

Hi, im wondering if you can help me, hopefully this will make sense. I came off bcp at begining of the year (just because it made me crazy) and have since been using natural forms of contraception, pull out method and avoidance of dtd prior to or on fertile days etc. I dont track ovulation as such but do (or did) have regular 28-29 day cycles and keep a look out for cm, have not had issues conceiving etc before so thought this is ok.
Af arrived 28/02 cd 28 so all ok so far.
Had unprotected sex cd 17-21 without using withdrawel method (prior to that we used withdrawel). Was expecting af 28/03 as per normal cycle but nothing. I dont really get a lot of signs just heavy boobs a few days before, cant stop crying the day before and a few niggly pains day before and first day of af then thats it, af usually lasts 3-6 days (last day is more of a discharge sorry if tmi)
So far no af, i had the heavy boobs, i had the crying, i had the pain but its still not here.
I did a hpt yesterday (cd32 but got a bfhn) i didnt use fmu.
The thing is af i did have some creamy coloured discharge around cd23-27 but thats it, nothing. Af symptoms have stopped apart from cramps but they are most of the day which is unuaual, But i feel like poo. I cant stand my tummy being touched, it feels so bloated, tender and 'stretched' if that makes sense.Im emotional, my nipples are killing me and i keep feeling a bit shitty from lunchtime onwards im exhausted. Im obviously not not pregnant (the bfn) but could it be that i havent ovulated at all, or how normal is it to ovulate late, in which case am i right in thinking af isnt actually late yet. Im trying not to stress. Im 38 but no other signs of menapause.

[physicskate]

Coming off hormonal bc can play havoc with cycles... if you aren't looking to get pregnant, withdrawal is not a method of natural bc. If you aren't closing tracking ov, neither is the rhythm method... sperm can be present in precum and ov can be a little erratic when coming off bc!

Yes, you can ov late and that will delay your period.

[Emma2803]

Have you only had the one period since you came off the pill? It can take a while for cycles to regulate when you do stop it, for example when I came off combined pill it took 5 weeks to ovulate first time and three weeks to ovulate after first period even though pre pill I was very regular 28 days could have set your watch to it.
You can't go by what you were pre pill at least until you have had a good few months for things to get back to normal. So it is quite possible you didn't ovulate on Cd 14 as you assumed, and dtd a few days later in most fertile time. I would wait 3 days and test with fmu if af doesn't show. And maybe think about using condoms if you don't intend on getting pregnant.

[InsideOutUpsideDown]

I was only on the pill four months, prior to that i hadnt been on it four years and just used condoms, so i thought it would just go back to regular cycles. Im sure im not pregnant as surely i wouldve got a bfp rather than a bfn. Im guessing i didnt ovulate at all as its been a busy moth with various things. Thanks for the advice ladies.

[InsideOutUpsideDown]

Yes only one but was bang on 288 days so just thought that was it.

[InsideOutUpsideDown]

Soz 28 lol, defo not 288, sod that.

[InsideOutUpsideDown]

Well still no af (ten days late now) after another BFN this morning im assuming that its just my post pill cycle regulating, although the first cycle was 28 days and pre pill cycles were 28 days it looks like its not always that simple. Im aware i must have ovulated late (or wouldve seen af by now) but surely i would be seeing a BFP by now if i was UTD.
Im going to go to the docs if no af next week though as think i have water infection (may be reason for the issues) keep peeing and terrible back ache so am hoping a course of antibiotics will help. My nipples are so sore im sleeping in a bra and tummy cramps galore so im not sure im looking forward to this af (when she eventually shows up) as from the symptoms im guessing its going to be a bad one.

[Emma2803]

Hmm it's a strange one? Could be due to cycle regulating, so hard to know. You would think Yes you would get a positive now if you were indeed pregnant, unless you still haven't ovulated yet? Do you think you could be ovulating now with the sore back, cramps and sore nipples?
Maybe you should leave a urine sample in to the Dr's to rule out a uti?

[InsideOutUpsideDown]

I dont think im ovulating now, i would remember feeling like this every month and i dont lol. The tummy cramps and back pain and extremely sore nipples have been ongoing for about 8 days now and seem to be worse in the evening, hense sleeping in a bra lol. I generally dont feel well so i suspect a UTI is causing the pain and that the nipples are a sign of a very late cycle and prediction of a late ovulation/af. Im quite worried that with feeling shitty and the pain (which is really worse and different to my normal pms cramps) something else may be wrong so im off to doctors thursday (earliest appointment) i feel upset, and anxious today so there must be something going on.

[InsideOutUpsideDown]

Quick update, went to docs yesterday but no water infection so im at a loss. Doc said as i dont know when i ovulated it could be too soon for hpt, he also said not to trust any bfn until at least three weeks after my missed period, not sure about that though. Nipples arent as sore and stomache/back pain arent as bad today, so im assuming my af may be arriving shortly. Im still in a considderable amount of discomfort though and the other signs arent sibsiding, lethargic and just generally unwell so i think i may have an infection of some type. Ive got to go hospital next week for blood tests and urine tests to see if anything can be determined.