Which would you say is the first day of my cycle?

[ItsJustMyOpinion]

Sorry if this is TMI
I am ttc no.2, the first time seemed relatively easy, only took 6 months. This time round taking a lot longer. I have just brought some OPKs as I have become irregular and have lost track of when im ovulating. When would you say the 1st day of my cycle was? Would it be on the day that I started spotting or would it be 2 or 3 days later when the flood gates open? It has been like this the last few months, spotting for a couple of days, then really heavy for a few days.

Im just trying to work out when to start my OPK...

From what I read, day 1 is when you see spotting.

I've been advised the opposite, it's from first day of full flow .

This is from Fertility Friend's FAQs:

When should I start a chart?

Your chart starts on the first day of your period. This is the first day that you have red flow (not spotting). This is cycle day one. When you enter "menses" on the data entry page, a new chart will be started for you. If you start charting mid-cycle, make sure your chart still reflects cycle day one as the first day of your period so that your cycle statistics will not be skewed. In this case, you can go back and enter "menses" on the date your period started and cycle day one will be that day. If your period arrives in the night or late in the evening, you can record it for the following day.

Thank you GetDownYouWillFall I will go by that method. It seems to make sense :)

First day of period is the first day of red flow (not spotting).

BTW spotting between periods should always be investigated further to ascertain the underlying cause. Its often not serious but it should always be checked out medically. Sometimes a lack of progesterone can cause this (I note your periods have become more irregular) or cervical erosion. It bears further investigation.

Would also suggest you not use the OPK's if your menstrual cycle is irregular; these may give you false readings in these circumstances. OPK's anyway work on two misleading principles; namely that there is only one rise in LH every month and that such a rise is immediately followed by ovulation. Both of these are not true.

Ok now im I have just checked my diary and my cycle is only irregular by a few days. In the last 9 months they have ranged from 24 and 31 days, some of them have been around 25 days, 31 days has been a one off, so im thinking that 25 is my average. I came off the pill in January of this year when we decided to start trying for number 2. When we were trying for our dd, I had been on the same pill for about 9 years, came off and was regular as clockwork for 6 months untill I fell pg. So its only since coming off the pill the 2nd time that they have been irregular. The spotting (or I suppose it's more of a smear when I wipe) only started happening 2 cycles ago. I had thought about seeing the doctor, but I thought that my age could have been a factor, im 30, also I dont want to waste the doctors time.