Can you fail to ovulate in your cycle, but still get your period?

[aichi]

I have fairly regular period (Either 29 days or 33 days cycle) and I've been TTCing for 4 months now but nothing's happening..

So I just started to wonder if I'm actually ovulating or just getting a fake period (if there is such a thing...?)

Or am i getting the timing wrong?

Yes your body prepares for pregnancy every month whether you ovulate or not I'm afraid!

4 months is not really a long time [although I know it feels forever!], your GP won't do anything until you've been trying for 12 months [unless you're over 35]

How regular is your cycle? 4 months is a very short time though - the best way to make sure all your basis are covered is to literally start DTD every other day from the day your AF finishes until he day the next AF is due. It's rare to "catch" ovulation - since there are so many contingencies to it. You may catch the LH spike, but the egg may only be released days later. The best thing is EOD for the full length of the cycle to try "cover" it.

You don't have a period, per se. You have a withdrawal bleed - which tends to be lighter and last a bit longer than a normal period. It's called an "anovulatory cycle" if you don't ovulate.

Five points that could indicate you're not ovulating (but it's rare to be honest):

• Amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) occurs in about 20% of women with ovulatory dysfunction.
• Infrequent and light menstruations occur in about 40% of women with ovulatory dysfunction.
• Irregular menstruation, where five or more menstrual cycles a year are five or more days shorter or longer than the length of the average cycle.
• Absence of mastodynia (breast pain or tenderness) occurs in about 20% of women with ovulatory problems.
• Increased body mass and facial hair (this is relatively easy to treat, and is often associated with PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome).

Have you tried charting? If not give it a go-it's usually pretty clear when/if you're ovulating on a chart.

hi aichi, if your periods are that regular then there's a very good chance you are ovulating. Anovulatory cycles are usually much longer (up to 6 months or even more) and pretty irregular. As kaloobear says, if you are charting you will be able to see pretty clearly if/when you ovulate as your average waking temperature will shift by 0.2-0.6+ degrees C after ovulation.

Four months is still well within normal TTC timeframes, so I wouldn't be too worried at this stage. Just keep trying, and enjoy all the sex :) If you find doing the deed all month a bit hard, ovulation predictor kits might help you to concentrate it at the right time but for many women (and their men) it can make things a bit stressful and less spontaneous.

As long as your age isn't against you, and you've no reason to think you have anything wrong, I would suggest just keep on as you have. I am sure you will get your BFP soon :)

i had very regular periods when i was ttc ds1 and went to gps for ovulation test after 6 months ttc - it was inconclusive so i would say yes

I had regular normal periods but tests showed I wasn't ovulating at all. I was ttc for over a year though before I was referred for tests.
4 months is a relatively short time x

Hi there

When DD1 was 14 months old my periods returned and were regular (well, like OP's) and heavyish for 18 months. I hadn't managed to conceive number 2 so started charting - proof of no ovulation at all.

After quite a lot of fobbing off from my GP, it was discovered I had hyperprolactinaemia and a microprolactinoma on the pituitary which were causing my lack of ovulation... all sorted out with drugs some months later and am now pregnant with number 2!

Definitely worth charting - but 4 months isn't long to have been trying, really.
Good luck.

Just a note to those saying periods on annovulatory cycles differ to ovulating ones, I have one tube and one healthy ovary so I definitely don't ovulate every month and I'm buggered if I can tell from my cycle length or AF length/heaviness which month I do and which month I don't, and I've been tracking cycles and symptoms for ever over a year and a half...

Thanks for you replies

My period is very regular, I get one every month, 29 days for the last three months. but 33 days before that. My period only came back Janurary this year when I stopped breastfeeding. To be honest my husband and I've been having unprotected sex since then, so I guess longer than 4 months.
I'm 35 so really want to get going and give my dd (20months) a sister or a brother soon....Hopefuly sometime this year be nice...

It took me 2 years to conceive my dd but I think it was because I came off pills and I wasnt getting period and lost quiet alot of weight and stressful at work

I bought some ovulation predictor sticks, but I dont think I was using it right, just using it once a day - am i supposed to use it twice or more a day during the testing period??

Okay so I'll try and charting...Do I take temperature first thing the morning is that right? and if my body temperature is slightly higher then am I ovulating??

Get 'Taking Charge of Your Fertility' out of the library for how to chart properly-it's brilliant. (Toni Weschler is the author.)

aichi if you temp first thing every morning (at around the same time, and before moving, drinking or getting up) you'll see a shift up in your temperature just after ovulation. By the time you see the temp shift it is almost certainly too late to conceive but a biphasic cycle (with two distinct temp levels) is good evidence that you are ovulating. In order to time sex to conceive (i.e. just before ovulation), you'll need to observe other signs too - especially your cervical fluid, and some women check cervical position as well or notice other indications of approaching ovulation like changes in mood/energy/breasts etc. But yes, get hold of a copy of TCOYF. It's a bit of a revelation and whatever's going on it'll give you a much better sense of how your body is working. I used it for years as contraception and then very successfully to conceive (immediately).

TCOYF says that most women have anovulatory cycles occasionally, perhaps around one a year (though I only saw one in about four years of charting). More common after coming off the pill/at adolescence/menopause/weaning etc.

Great thanks everyone.
I'll try and get hold of that book