Should I be concerned? (Cycle changes & ovulation)

[TrueBluee]

Good morning all,

I don't know where else to turn to for advice right now, no-one knows we are TTC for baby #1. I feel really down and confused.

I came off my POP BC at the beginning of March 2022 and had my withdrawal bleed in Apr 2022. My first 2 cycles started off somewhat "normal" and I found it easy to identify my ovulation peak with LH strips & CBAD, mostly occurred around CD12-14.

However I'm now finding my cycles are getting longer and the ovulation peak is anywhere between CD15 into the 20s. My last 6 cycles have been; 34, 29, 27, 39, 27, 37 and my current cycle I'm on CD16 and on day 8 of flashing smiley on CBAD. I'm really scared I'm not ovulating as on Flo app it's saying if you're period varies by more than 7 days and is longer than 35 days it's likely you're not ovulating or may have conditions such as PCOS.

I'm 27, BMI is 20 and my weight is healthy. I've tried to seek advice and ask for blood tests from my doctor and she refused. She's told me to wait at least 2 years as I'm still young. I really don't want to keep trying pointlessly for such a long time if I'm not even ovulating. My husband has done a home SA and count it is good, motility is on the lower side but not deemed an issue, he is keeping up a good diet and starting to exercise again.

Thank you for reading, I really appreciate the support. TTC can feel really isolating and confusing.

I would recommend the more expensive option of an Ovusense. It's a little silicone thing in the shape of a tampon and you insert it every night. It measures your BBT and you sync it to the app on your phone.
It will retrospectively tell you that you've ovulated but over a few months you can then predict you'll ovulate on Day x of your cycle. You will have the data to analyze. I used it for 4 months (I'm 10 years older than you, time is on your side!) My baby is now nearly a year old.

I would be wary of apps that generically tell you when you're ovulating as they're based on general population data eg if it's day 14 you're ovulating. If your cycle has been 30 days historically then you ovulate on Day 16 etc. This may not be the case here.

Flashing smileys, ovulating strips are easy to misinterpret. Go with the hard data!

Also read Taking Charge of Your Fertility
And the Maisie Hill book about periods - Period Power (?)

@TrueBluee hey, sorry you’re feeling so down, I also worried about not ovulating so I tried these tests proovtest.com/products/proov-test-strips

They’re just like opks but you use one as a baseline when your on your period and the others between 7-10dpo. The app is really good and confirms ovulation and that your progesterone is high enough to support a potential pregnancy xx