Confused about CM tracking, advice please!

[MintGreenLife]

Hi all,

Sorry if this is a bit graphic, but feel its important to explain properly...

I came off the pill three weeks ago and my partner and I are planning on TTC after I have had my first period. While waiting, I decided to try and get to grips with CM tracking in the meantime to look for ovulation, when we start to try I will start using ovulation sticks, but for now thought this would be a good place to start.

I've been checking for a few weeks now, and have had milky white CM everyday, however today I had the slippery egg white (clear) CM described when ovulation occurs. What I'm confused about is this - this clear CM is what I have found on the tissue when I've wiped after going for a pee, but I also manually checked today too (inserting) and have found the same milky white CM, but have been experiencing the clear stretchy CM when wiping several times today, and there's a fair amount of it too. When i first saw this this morning I instantly assumed (and got quite excited) thinking I must be ovulating, but after checking and finding the white CM now I'm not so sure and am a bit confused. Has this happened to anyone else before?

Thanks in advance x

I have no advice but I get the same thing. I just wake up one morning and it's on the toilet tissue.

For me it's not a reliable way to determine ovulation, as the day tends to vary every month as well.

Thanks for your reply @iswhois - perhaps CM tracking isn't very reliable then! I was hoping it would give me some reassurance that my cycle is going back to normal after stopping the pill before I get my first period, as well as learning how to track ovulation, but maybe that's not the best bet.

Hi @MintGreenLife, have you tried using OPK’s? You might find them helpful with learning to interpret CM. I came off the pill at the start of January and had similar to you - it can be just hormones getting back to normal for a while but mine was my first ovulation. We’re on our 4th cycle now and I’ve learned I get EWCM for around 3-4 days before ovulation tho others can get more or less. It’s really interesting learning about your own cycle! Good luck 🙂

Hi @GiraffeInScarf

Thanks for replying :) I haven't yet as was thinking I wouldn't until we are ready to try, but maybe I will start so that I can get to grips with them.

That's interesting that you find the same thing. Do you mind me asking when your first proper period occurred after coming off the pill? I'm quite anxious about getting mine. I finished my last pack about 4 weeks ago now and had a breakthrough bleed as normal about 5 days later, still waiting on my proper period though. Thanks x

No problem, your post sounded just like me 4 months ago, more than happy to help 😊

My first proper period was about 6 weeks after stopping the pill, and about 2 weeks after the first EWCM. Like you I panicked loads when/if it would arrive, and even after that whether it would be irregular for a while. I know it can take months to settle down for some. I’ve been lucky, every cycle since has been 30 days. My periods are still very light, 2 days at most with maybe a day of spotting at the end. It bothered me for a while but it still falls into ‘normal’ and I’ve seen plenty of other ladies with similar. I was on the pill for around 18 years 😳 so not surprising my body has changed in that time!

I’d recommend OPK’s as they take the guess work out of it - getting to grips with how it works now might help take some of the pressure off later on. I started off with One Steps and could see a darker line but never truly got a positive, (the reviews are good so maybe I’ve had a bad batch) Last month I started BBT tracking to find out if I was definitely ovulating rather than just building up to it, I use Femometer alongside the app and it’s so easy. It came with some of their OPK strips too which I compared with the others this month, got a clear positive on them while the One Steps were showing negative from the same sample 🤨. Femometer also interprets the OPK’s, you can tag CM type, symptoms, DTD etc if you choose. There’s plenty of similar apps but this has been the one I’ve settled on, definitely recommend it for helping cycle tracking for as much or little as you want to put into it.