OPKs

[Gwynie]

Is it worth using them if your periods are ALWAYS irregular.

Mine vary from 1 one day later to 5 days later each month, so half the time I'm not sure when I ovulating.

Also, since having DS, each month I feel sick, retch (sorry) and have painful boobs (which I NEVER had before DS), only to discover I'm not pregnant, just late!

Anyone got any tips on how to monitor ovulation for irregular periods?

Tx

You need to start charting your temperatures and consulting your mucus(!)
Sorry - I know it's a bizarre answer but it is the only way other than OPKs or persona. You'll find the details you need on www.tcoyf.com or in GREAT detail in the book Taking Charge of your Fertlity by Toni Weschler.
If you have any specific questions please come back with them - but there's little point in me going into detail here - (I'm pretty sure people have done elsewhere here though if you look thru some of the conception threads) when it's all on tcoyf.
Goodluck

Hi Bayleaf, would you happen to know re temeprature taking - is a digital ear thermometre ok? A mercury thermometre is always recommended but I thought the digital ones were more accurate.

Yes I thought so too but tcoyf says yes to mercury or to the kind of digital ones that you don't use in your ear but no to ear ones.

I use a digital one orally as it only takes 1 minute and bleeps to let you know it's ready.

Thanks Bayleaf, off to Boots it is then.

OK, here's another question for bayleaf or anyone else: when measuring the luteal phase (ovulation to period, for those who haven't read all the threads on this!), is day 1 the day you ovulate, or the day after? And is the last day the day your period starts, or the day before?

So ... to give a real life example: I ovulated (according to OPK and charting temperature) on Friday 12 Jan, and period started yesterday (boo). So is that LP of 12 days (including both ovulation day and first day of period), or 10 (including neither) or 11? It seems important since I think I am on the edge of having 'luteal phase defect'. I've been taking vit B6, but only for a couple of weeks, so it probably hasn't had time to work yet.

Ruth21, you must have typed the wrong dates in as 12 Jan is about 4 weeks ago!

Whoops. I meant Friday 31 Jan. Can't even claim to have transposed the numbers. Must concentrate more ...

Cervical fluid and body temp.