TTC for first time at 35 with irregular period

[ElleMcElle]

Having spent decades of my life terrified of getting pregnant and massively paranoid about contraception failing, DH and I are now trying to conceive for the first time - we're both 35.

My periods are pretty irregular: I've tracked them over the past year, and the cycle wasn't the same length twice (!), although they were generally within the 21-35 day range (except for one rogue 18 day cycle). Also - most months, I tend to bleed a tiny bit on Day 1-2, then it goes away for a few days (maybe 3-4), them comes back heavier. My questions are:

1. Should I be worried about my irregular cycle length even though it is usually in range? Is it worth a trip to the GP?

1. What should I count as the "first" day of my period? First day of 'spotting', or first day of bleeding proper?

1. If using an ovulation kit, how do I figure out when to start using it - given the varying lengths of cycle? Guess I just have to use it for a week in the middle to be sure of 'catching' the right day?

Apologies if these are basic questions - as I say, I've spent most of my life trying to AVOID pregnancy, so have not thought much about this before!

1. Yes, you should contact your GP ASAP. An irregular cycle can signify lots of things, like irregular ovulation, polyps, PCOS, short luteal phase, etc. You can still start trying now so you don't miss any cycles, but you definitely want to get worked up soon.
2. It's hard to say which is the first day if you spot and then stop, but would probably count the first day of a real bleed as day 1.
3. If your cycles vary from 21-35 days, you could start doing OPKs at the beginning of each cycle (say, when your bleed stops) and do them daily until you see an LH surge.

Hope that helps.

Thanks so much for the response - I'll make an appointment. What sort of work should I request? Assume there are standard blood tests etc?