Pre-conception, planning and trying!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 I wouldn't recommend testing before 10DPO. But 10-12DPO tends to give fairly good results for most people if you use a FRER and FMU.

@mackjm20 There aren't many ways to confirm ovulation to be honest. I'd just assume your OPKs are correct and stick with those for now. Other ways are:

• BBT as @CookieMonster3001 mentioned. I think BBT picks up on the rise in temp that comes from the rise in progesterone after ovulation.
• 21 Day progesterone test (normally taken around 7 days after ovulation). It's a blood test that checks your progesterone level is within the 'normal' range for a person who's ovulated.
• Ultrasound. From memory US techs can check to see if you've got a ruptured follicle. I definitely remember at my early pregnancy scan last time she went to go and look at my corpus luteum and so could tell me which side I'd ovulated from.

Like I said, I'd definitely just assume if you've had a strong peak OPK then you've probably ovulated. It's also very normal for your levels to drop to very very low after ovulation. Mine pretty much went stark white, peak and stark white again.

Also... amazing work on your weightloss! Gee! How much are you aiming to lose?

Morning Ladies!

Still no sign of ovulation for me and its CD12 (I usually ovulate today) I am hoping I ovulate Sunday or Monday as the weekend is the best days for me and OH to BD! Really hope it isn't more delayed than that! Fingers crossed.

@mayday27 I am sure I have read in these thread somewhere supplements you can take to lengthen your luteal phase, it might be worth doing a search?

@TTCWC2 I got my first super faint positive at 11DPO so I would probably hold out for a couple more days and if AF doesn't show up then do a test. But it also looks good that your LP could be increasing! I am sure I have again read on MN somewhere that short luteal phases are not idea, but some people have still been successful in conceiving. I would keep track of your BBT, especially if it stays high!

@curiosity101 those tests look great! lovely dye stealer there at the end! try not to stress too much, you can definitely see a progression there. Keeping my fingers crossed for a happy healthy pregnancy for you.

@mackjm20 ahh took me around a year and a half-ish! Down another 1lb today so only another 4lb to go before pre-xmas weight, woo hoo! And thank you for your words, honest being in this group with you ladies has been so positive for me! I would guess that if you ovulate today, your BBT should start to rise tomorrow! My LH usually starts dropping after my peak and returns back to low once I have ovulated, defo keep DTD for a couple more days so you have the best chance! If you DTD last night and you ovulated this morning, then sounds like you've definitely got it covered! 7lbs down is amazing!! Well done you!!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 I have to admit, I am getting slightly excited for you and keeping my fingers toes and entire body crossed for you!! I would hang out till around 12DPO before you test so that you can be sure!!! Maybe test this weekend? And be sure to use FMU!

@sunflowersaremyfav93 I think the earliest bfp someone had on here was 9dpo. I think they say to wait longer but that’s usually when I start testing like a crazy person each cycle using cheapies :) fingers crossed for you :) x

Morning ladies :)

@Curiosity101 thank you :) if LH doesn’t show ovulation are there tests I can get for actual ovulation for the next few months? My temp honestly changes every morning depending on whether I wake up in or out of the covers as I move so much in the night so don’t know how reliable the temping is for me it’s up and down every day. Will keep at it though :) your tests look good to me fingers crossed :)

@CookieMonster3001 that’s so good that you lost so much how long did it take? The 5’2 is good actually I kind of forgot about it until you mentioned it :) my app has moved my ovulation to today now. Hopefully you have your positive opk soon and we can tww together :) that’s so good that you and dh DTD and things are moving forward! If no one has told you this today you are honestly so amazing and strong :)

@sunflowersaremyfav93 thank you. Fingers crossed for you too :) anymore signs?

@MayDay27 thank you :) I’ve only just started tracking so unsure on this side of things but keeping everything crossed for you!

@TTCWC2 welcome back :) ah sorry to hear you have had such a rollercoaster hopefully everything settles soon! You are so good waiting not going to lie I’ve tested as early as 9dpo but like you said Atleast avoids unnecessary disappointment. Honestly keeping everything crossed for you :)

So update from me had my peak yesterday DTD immediately haha! Then the app predicted ovulation today. My temps are still up and down everyday depending how cold the house is so will keep going but not going to stress myself over them :) my LH was back to low this morning not sure if this is normal or not? But going to keep doing them twice a day until Monday just incase :) plan to DTD today tomorrow and Sunday just to cover all bases. I’m not pinning everything on this month as now I think based on when I’m supposed to ovulate I’ve missed it every cycle bar 1/previous 4 lol but gives me a lot of positivity moving forward if I can start to Mark a pattern :)

Also 7lb down since the 31 dec which I am so chuffed about as I know getting the bmi down will help. Also having done veganuary and dry January I’m hoping any egg that does ovulate will be super healthy :)

Happy Friday

@Curiosity101 thanks so much! Going to try my best to hold off until maybe Sunday morning and see what happens in the meantime.

Massive congratulations on your BFP! ❤️ It’s so nice to see it start happening for people in this group as few like we’ve been through the entire journey together- all the build up!

I've done my final FRER this morning. Hopefully everything is progressing ok but I'm not overly impressed by the lines strength. It's not an exact science though so I just need to assume the best for now. My picture is 10DPO on top, then 15DPO, 17DPO and 19DPO on the bottom.

@TTCWC2 At 10DPO you would probably be able to test and get a BFP if you are pregnant, but you would probably be better with FMU. If you can wait until 12DPO then that'll be a more conclusive answer though.

Fingers crossed for you! 🤞

Hey ladies, I hope you’re all well. Have just been trying to catch up on everything as took a bit of a break just to clear my head!

I was really hoping for some advice- I’m driving myself insane overthinking and googling! I have a short luteal phase- I have done since I came off the implant around 18 months ago. My LP ranges from 8-10 days. I also get brown spotting around 5 days before af and and have had all the physical tests to check everything is ok.

This was our first month TTC and things have all gone a little mad! I started to have brown spotting 4dpo. This was early for me so naturally started thinking the worse. The spotting continued until 6dpo when I had a sudden 2 day drop in my BBT and woke up on 7dpo with some red blood in my pants (not a few spots, more like a 50p worth that had spread.) since then I’ve had nothing. I’m 10dpo today. I’ve had mild cramps but not af or other pms symptoms I would normally get. My temp keeps rising to higher than it was before my drop. I’m suspicious as this means my LP is the longest it’s been for a while.

To complicate things, I started to take b6 and pregnacare on day 7dpo. I’m driving myself insane wondering whether there’s a chance I’m pregnant or whether it’s just the vitamins and they’ve worked pretty instantly? I think I will be ok either way, I need my LP to increase to help TTC- just the mental torment of not knowing now. Any advice/ experience? I don’t know whether I’m too early to take a test (I have some frer) and don’t want to get disheartened! Sorry for the essay post! ❤️

@Curiosity101 hopefully not! I wonder how long before your period starts the lining starts to come away, it says most likely day of implantation is 9dpo so I'm hoping my lining holds together till then at least 😆 anyone else just drive themselves crazy Googling!

@MayDay27 Fingers crossed it's not an issue for you. If it is then there are lots of investigations that can be done to work out why. 😊

@Curiosity101 I'm pretty regular with 31. I've tracked ovulation for three months now and it's been CD22 each time. My period last time was a little weird in that I spotted for a day then came on lightly then stopped for two days and then came on properly for two days! I wasn't sure if it was because I had started to take Vitex so I stopped. I go from being really excited to test and hopeful to thinking if my LP is only 9 days am I going to have major issues 😭

@MayDay27 Do you ever have longer cycles? Maybe you normally have a 31 day cycle because you normally do ovulate earlier?

I thought I felt a twinge on the left side one night but I don't know how much I imagine things! I was hoping I ovulate as early as possible as my cycle is usually 31 days so ovulating 22/23CD leaves my luteal phase really short. Panicking a little about the length of my luteal phase

@CookieMonster3001 Haha, completely forgot about BBT 🤦😄

Eugh, I did similar with my HPT earlier. I'm still nervously retesting each day 🙄 I know I shouldn't but I just can't relax. Fingers crossed for a positive OPK.

Now I am going to try and dehydrate myself so I can do an OPK tonight lol

@MayDay27 I agree with everything @Curiosity101 only to add that the only way you can really confirm ovulation has happened is by tracking your BBT and seeing a temperature spike. I always get almost like a period pain when I ovulate (It sometimes even comes from one particular side - my friends think I am insane when I say I know which ovary I have ovulated from!) but I always know I have generally ovulated the day after a peak because usually the day after peak my temp will dip a little or stay the same and then the day after it will increase usually around .2 degrees or more.
From your pics, I would imagine that you ovulate CD22 (late CD21 at the very earliest)

@MayDay27 it's normally assumed that you'll ovulate 24-48 hours after your peak. So for you it'd be CD22-23. Cycle tracker apps would probably all set CD22 as the ovulation day.

Some people get ovulation pains though, for those people it's easier to estimate ovulation. For me, roughly 12 hours after a peak I get a really uncomfortable bruised feeling between my hips and also if I sit down it physically hurts. This lasts for up to half a day or so before going away and only ever happens around 12 hours after a peak OPK. For that reason I always assume I ovulate within 12 hours of my peak, but I could be wrong!

Forgot the photo!

@mackjm20 get DTD!

Question about ovulation, I've seen some people say they get the peak and from that they can determine when they ovulate as in the next day? I seem to get my peak very early morning (4am) on CD21 after that it goes down pretty quick. Would i then say ovulation day is CD21 or is it impossible to say, I've attacked a picture of my tests! I say I think I peak 4am since last month I tested at 4am (I couldn't sleep!) and it was 1.84 so a little higher than the peak I got this cycle at 12am!

@mackjm20 woohoo!! that's a great increase from 21%!!! You are most likely going to ovulate in the next 24-48 hours so I would get busy tonight and tomorrow lovely!!!

Keep testing and you should see your LH drop over the next few days, and just keep DTD until it goes back down! Keeping my fingers crossed for you xx

Help please! Okay just got my peak 111% what does that mean? When am I likely to ovulate? Gosh opks are actually exciting haha! I will be beside myself if I ever get 2 lines on a preg test haha! X

@sunflowersaremyfav93 absolutely!! loosing weight is just a good by-product of eating well, but really your body is probably much better for it even if you cant see it on the scales!
I feel like you are in an unofficial TWW! Welcome to the fun!! I am going to try my hardest this month not to get caught up in the TWW especially as they say it can take longer than normal for your period to come back (which would make sense if my ovulation is being pushed back!) I have been reading SOOO many posts on SOO many different forums, and so many people have said they caught straight after a miscarriage, both my cousin and my sisters best friend did as well so it gives me hope. OH was also reading about it the other day and was like if its true, we really don't want to waste this month!
I am feeling much better about it now and don't get upset as much, but do get reminded every now and then and I just feel more gutted than anything else now, but every day is a step in the right direction and you are right, we will all be getting out bundles of joy soon! The other day my father in law commented on a Zoom call about when we are going to have a baby and it kinda felt like a kick in the gut! Had no choice but to just laugh it off really!

Annoyingly, I thought I would be super busy this week to keep my mind of it, but it actually hasn't been to bad!! So getting pregnant again is all I can think about!

Onwards and upwards!! Bring on ovulation!!