Ovulation and seeking help

[SunSparkle]

Hi.

I have one daughter who is 2.5 years old and I had a miscarriage in late June when I thought I was 12 weeks but embryo had stopped developing at 8/9 weeks.

since then I don’t think I’ve ovulated. Every cycle for as long as I can remember I’ve had loads of EWCM around the time of ovulation. And since the miscarriage, I’ve had none. I bought some OPKs but never saw a surge and just found it all very depressing and stressful which I’m sure can’t help either.

im absolutely desperate to be pregnant again. Would the GP refer me for tests? I’m mid thirties. Could I get Clomid privately prescribed?

Am I being daft thinking I should go to the GP now? Would they take me seriously?

I’m sorry I can’t give you any reassurance. But I have PCOS, have been using the Ovusense wearable BBT sensor on my arm each night to confirm if I’ve ovulated. I have had one cycle confirmed and hoping this cycle is about to be confirmed - BBT is the only sure way to confirm you’ve actually ovulated. It might be worth starting to measure you’re BBT to get an idea.

id be interested to know if you can get clomid prescribed privately as my bmi is too high for nhs.

hope you get some answers soon

Hi OP, sorry for your loss. How many cycles have you had since your miscarriage and have you been tracking them? I'm not sure a GP will refer if it's your first MC and you're just going by your CM.
When you say you've never seen a surge, how religiously have you been using OPKs? I had a weird irregular cycle this month where I used OPKs daily from day 16-31 until I got a positive, but it did happen eventually.
I can relate to the desperation to be pregnant as I'm the same. I had a TFMR in January and really thought i'd be pregnant again by now but it just hasn't happened. General advice is to be TTC for a year before going to the doctor so that's what I'm doing, although I know they'll just say I need to lose weight so I'm doing that too before going.

Hi @Girlfolk

attached an image of my cycles. My miscarriage was around late June and first period after was late July. I have short cycles since I stopped breastfeeding my daughter so they are around 23-26 days.

im new to OPKs and so I probably did them once a day until I thought I should have ovulated. I probably didn’t do them right. I found it all a bit stressful seeing pale lines all the time. On the advice of the poster above I’ve just bought the Ovusense as I think that will be easier for me.

I guess it’s only been 3 months or so but I feel the need to be pregnant in my bones since the miscarriage. I’m sure you have similar feelings after your TFMR.

does the trying for a year include the pregnancy and loss?

@SunSparkle I'm not sure your image posted? But yes 23-26 days is quite a short cycle. Short cycles could mean you have a short luteal phase which can make it harder for a fertilised egg to implant. Getting a good idea of when you ovulate will help you to know if your luteal phase is short and tracking BBT would be useful. It might be worth giving OPKs another shot alongside tracking BBT? Gives a double layer of reassurance because anything like a disrupted night sleep or being poorly can skew your BBT.

I'm not sure whether the year thing is anything official, it's just something I've seen online and my friend also was told to be actively trying for a year when she saw a doctor. But I would take it as a year of actively trying but I think lots of NHS trusts differ, not the same rules everywhere. It might help you to see a doctor and find out.

Oops. Here’s the pic.

And cycles prior to my latest pregnancy

@SunSparkle i totally agree with feeling stressed with negative OPKs, I was exactly the same. I struggle actually being able to do them properly as I’m a nurse and can’t always carry them around with me to do them when I get time to pee.
ive been much less stressed since only using ovusense and seeing my ovulation confirmed.
which sensor did you get? The skin worn one or the vaginal one?

@Ncl31 i got the skin worn one as that’s what it recommended for me. Which one did you get/use?

a negative OPK just stresses me so much and since I’ve been using them I haven’t had my usual ovulation signs so I wonder if they are doing more harm than good for me

It recommended the same for me. I’m currently having EWCM so hoping it’ll confirm ovulation soon for me

@Girlfolk i think I will chat to the GP as I had short cycles and was trying before the pregnancy. See what they say.

my cycles before my daughter were 28 days pretty textbook. But since stopping feeding her they are now shorter. But I’m also older and fatter! So….not really sure what’s causing the short cycles or if there’s anything I can do about a short luteal phase. Any tips?

@Ncl31 keep me updated with how it works for you. I always saw EWCM as a pretty reliable cue for me so keen to know how that correlates with a BBT reading

This bbt graph is all over the place! I’m not sure what to make of this at all. I was a bit under the weather on day 2 and 3 of this tracking but I’m sure I should have ovulated by now as I’m on CD 11. Any thoughts?

Hi OP, is that the last 6 days (CD 5-11) or the first 6 days of your cycle? I used to temp using Natural Cycles app and at first it said it needed 3 months of data to accurately predict anything. 6 days is really not long enough to spot a trend especially if for 2 days you weren’t well.

It’s the last 6 days. The sensor arrived on the last day of my period so started tracking from then. Just seems totally all over the place.

ahould I just let it run a few months?

I would go to your Gp a blood test will show if your ovulating or not or at least give an indication you have to take age into account as well when we get into mid 30s if there's a problem we need to know we don't have time to be messing about

@SunSparkle i have PCOS so I was using mine for 21 days before detecting ovulation.
its just detected for the second cycle of using it. See attached my chart.

@SunSparkle There's probably no harm in at least getting a GP appointment and seeing what they say/advise, tell them you don't think you've been ovulating. As LizzeyBenett said, in our mid thirties we don't really have time to mess around. Let us know what they say if you get an appointment.

Have you had any luck getting a GP appt? Or catching your ovulation?

@Girlfolk not got a gp appointment yet. Here’s my graph as of this morning. I haven’t done any more OPKs as they were stressing me out. I think my graph is a bit off because I wasn’t well and took some paracetamol so I think it’s a bit all over the place. CD 16 today so just think ovulation very unlikely when my cycle is 24 days.

@SunSparkle this sensor will let you know you’ve ovulated at 3DPO, it looks for 3 increased temperatures for an accurate result. It looks like you might be on the rise.

@Ncl31 sorry if I’m being stupid but if it tells me at 3dpo then that’s too late to use this this cycle. Is it just building the picture for next cycle?

plus let’s say it reveals I ovulated yesterday or today, then my biggest problem would be that my luteal phase is ridiculously short if I’m not ovulating until cd16 of a 24 day cycle. Im not sure what I can do about a short luteal phase.

@SunSparkle temping does not predict ovulation, it confirms it. It will however over the first few months learn about your cycle.
im sorry I can’t help with a shirt luteal phase. But I remember reading somewhere there are some vitamins you can take to help extend it but I can’t remember what they were sorry

Well I got my period today. According to Ovusense I ovulated on the 20th of the month which would have been CD16 of a 25 day cycle. So 8/9 day luteal phase and an ovulation date much later than CD10 which is what apps always automatically plot me at.

ive booked a private appt for my partner and I on the 16th November to get a health check and hopefully the appointment on the 23rd will get a prescription for progesterone and maybe an ovulation drug like Clomid.

Here’s my Ovusense graph. I started tracking on the first day after my period this month hence missing a few days at the start of the cycle.

@SunSparkle sorry to hear AF has arrived. Let us know how you get on with your appointment