ttc...when does your period actually start??

[forpitysake]

stupid sounding question i know

but do you count your period starting when there is the first sign of any blood at all (ie spotting) or when it is full flow?
TMI i know but i get spotting for days and days. sometimes it will slow right down and then its really heavy, then its done.

getting broody now for DC2. the comfort pure advert at the top here isnt helping-it keeps catching my eye!

easy conception with DD. we let nature take its course and we were taken by surprise, but we dont seem to be hitting the right time of the month this time round.

i have tried to be more aware of any pains/sensations about half way through month that might be ovulating, but i dont seem to get anything at all. the ovulation strips dont seem to be much help either. im maybe not ovulating at all???

[izzybizzybuzzybees]

Hiya,

You count first day as first day of full red flow, not spotting.

[forpitysake]

thank you izzy!

[Tangle]

Have you read all the blurb on //www.fertilityfriend.com?

TTC DD1 I used temping and often got a really strong shift in temperature around the middle of my cycle. 2nd time round and DD1 wouldn't let me sleep long enough for BBT to be reliable, and did use OPKs a little bit - although the month I conceived DD2 we hadn't used them. Reading it all also made me much more aware of how mucus and the like changes through the month, which also gave me a bit of an inkling as to when ovulation was approaching.

What time of day do you normally take the OPK? How long after you went to the loo the last time?

[forpitysake]

not sure what OPK/BBT is?? new to all this talk

i had been using clear&simple test strips where you dip strip in pot of wee, and it says not to use the one from first thing in the morning

i will have a look at that link though-thanks

[Tangle]

OPK = ovulation predictor kit/ so the test strips that detect lutenizing hormone in your wee.

BBT = Basal Body Temperature, which is the temperature that your body adopts after a period of uninterrupted rest. For most women, your BBT rises just after ovulation and then remains high until either your period arrives (at which point it drops again) or a fertilized egg implants (where some women see a 2nd rise in BBT).

IIRC, lutenizing hormone peaks in the afternoon and drops away again fairly quickly, so the advice I followed was to test then. If possible, the wee you test should be fairly concentrated - so try not to go to the loo too soon before hand (I think they said 4 hours - something I always found a struggle!)

The "books and tutorials" section on that site will teach you more than you ever wanted to know about hormone changes during your monthly cycle and what signs and tests you can use to try and work out what's happening. It can get overwhelming (or you might be like me and revel in having lots of details to focus on ), but equally if you are struggling to conceive then being able to present your Dr with lots of data showing why you think there's a problem should help prevent them saying "well, it can take a while - go away for 6 months and keep trying".

[forpitysake]

durr...not bright today am i?? should have realised what they stood for
thanks for that tangle. will give the strips another go

[Tangle]

As in any walk of life - there are far too many TLAs (three letter acronyms...) Until/unless you become interested enough to remember what they are it does look like a page of gibberish! Good luck :)