Ovulation after pregnancy loss

[AnotherEllie]

Hi everyone
I sadly had a mc which started with bleeding on 1st Jan and I believe I miscarried completely on 2nd Jan this year. It was confirmed as a complete miscarriage on 4th Jan with a scan. I bled until Saturday 7th and I have been taking hcg tests everyday which are getting lighter - as of today, they are basically squinters. I was 6weeks 2 days and things happened quickly and with little pain.
I'd like to try again ASAP as my husband works away and it's difficult to plan these things.
I have a very regular cycle - usually 27 or 28 days but I've not really tracked ovulation before so not sure when I typically ovulate - I guess probably around day 13 but not sure.
I am wondering if people can share when they ovulated after their mc? I've become confused by reading online as some have said 2 weeks later but was this 2 weeks after bleeding started or 2 weeks after bleeding stopped?
Or am I unlikely to ovulate until 2 weeks after HCG has fully gone? I am getting myself confused. I can only see ranges online but not sure if the range is smaller for your next period if the mc was early.
I'm going to track BBT and use OPKs too but I'm just interested in others experiences. Could this happen as early as this Sunday as this was 2 weeks from the start of the MC?
Also, I already have one ds who is 18 months and I'm still breastfeeding. No idea if this has any bearing on things but it was a straight forward pregnancy and birth with him.
Thanks so much in advance!

@AnotherEllie oooh that sounds positive! Fingers crossed for you!!
Previously my tests gradually got darker until I got a positive 😊
I’m suffering from insomnia hence the crazy o clock reply.. When I’ve been pregnant before I slept badly right from the day of ovulation so now I’m getting my hopes up.. Even though I know it’s more likely because I’m stressing over ttc..

@Travellingislife so they seemed to get slightly darker but now have returned to light again - no strong positive at any stage. Not sure what is going on with CM either as it's definitely not EWM.
My BBT when up today but we have woken up with colds so maybe just that.
We DTD last night just in case and will do it again today as I won't see my husband until Thursday.
I'm sort of hoping I don't ovulate for another 5 days now until he is back as I know I will stress if I ovulate when he is still away about not being able to DTD closer to ovulation.
We are in the same boat as my husband is away for work in a months time too so can't even relax and think we will try again next time.
I was really hoping for a positive LH yesterday to give us the best possible chance. But I suppose that's life!
Keeping my fingers crossed for you! I also sleep really badly with changes in hormones so hopefully things have worked for you!!

@AnotherEllie
I’ve heard about many women who never get a positive LH test but just strong lines and they ovulate. Is this your first time testing LH? You may be one of them. It’s so stressful not knowing when you’re about to ovulate, fingers crossed you won’t be until he’s back!

I’ve had egw the last couple of days but very weak LH tests, no idea what that is about. My temperature isn’t that high either but when I was pregnant the last time my temperature took a few days to elevate but that’s when I lost the pregnancy, I wonder if that meant my progesterone levels weren’t as high as they should’ve been?! I’m seeing a fertility specialist on the 23rd so hoping to get some answers and guidance then and if I need progesterone and I’m pregnant now I hope it’s not too late!!

@Travellingislife good luck with the fertility specialist! I have often wondered about progesterone levels too so I think your appointment will be useful!

I think my cycle is kick starting again now as finding more CM today for the first time. Not EWM yet but definitely wetter so I think that's encouraging. Will continue with the BBT and LH tests too. I read somewhere the best time to test is between 12 and 6pm so I will try that, as well as a morning test!

As long as my LH test doesn't come up positive before Tuesday, I think my husband and I may have a shot this month. I guess if I it did come up positive tomorrow, we DTD today so also a chance that could lead to pregnancy if I ovulate on Tuesday / Weds. I just have a feeling now it won't be very easy and may take a few painful months of stressing about timing and plans.

Wish I'd tracked more prior to TTC as would have been helpful to have the baseline - but never mind! Can only do what we can do from this point forward!

@AnotherEllie how are the LH tests looking? I think you’re definitely in for a shot! Regular periods will help a lot. How old are you? Sorry I think you’ve said but I can’t remember. I’ve had egcm for a few days on and off but no positive tests. I wonder if the nearly positive tests a week ago were just leftovers from the pregnancy.. Now I’m expecting my period to arrive as I’m doubtful ovulation will come first.
I’ve started thinking about ivf a lot and will ask the fertility specialist about it, we would have to go private but if that’s the only way I’ll have a healthy baby we will go down that route. I’ve read a lot about it though and it‘s not that high success rate when you’re over 40. Another thing I will try not to stress about 😅

@Travellingislife so I invested in some clear blue advanced ovulation tests and got a flashing smiley which is the high fertility symbol and then it goes to peak fertility in a couple of days (in theory!) so that's encouraging. I think it should hopefully work out with my husband. I am also using cheap LH tests which are getting a bit darker but not showing a peak yet. My CM is also becoming more slippery. I'm going to do an LH test this afternoon and if it looks possible it is a peak, my husband has arranged work to be able to come back a day earl if needed.

Is there a chance you haven't ovulated yet? I'm on day 17 and I think it'll happen around day 20 for me but the looks of it so maybe the case? I would keep testing and tracking but do whatever works for you and is least stressful. I am finding myself borderline obsessive over it and I know I will have to have a break from it if it doesn't work in the next few months.

I am 30 currently so I am fortunate I am not feeling pressure in that sense. I would definitely consider ivf if that was the best option for me too though. Maybe see what they say?

Just had this @Travellingislife . Don't think it is a definitely surge but I think it is getting close and much darker than any previous. Going to see if my husband will come back a day early to try and catch this window of opportunity. I probably won't ovulate for another few days now but when one of you works away, you don't want to miss any opportunities if possible... particularly as I think he will be away again in 4 weeks when I assume I will next ovulate.

@AnotherEllie yay that’s good news! CM and the tests are good indicators you’ll ovulate soon. Maybe you’ll get a positive test tonight or tomorrow, then ovulate between 24-26h after that. But I guess it can be both earlier or later. So if your husband comes back early you shouldn’t miss it!! It is a super stressful time, even though age is on your side I understand how you feel!
My tests looked like yours but then just dropped off, it might be that I haven’t ovulated yet like you said. I’m on day 18 and the last few cycles I ovulated between 16 and 18, after a loss I’ve read that it’s not uncommon that the ovulation will be delayed by a few days.

Yep I think I will test again tonight @Travellingislife . I'm really interested to see what my BBT does too as I've never tracked that before. I wish I had done this when we started TTC again back in October as it would have helped me understand the timings a bit more.

I (think I) usually ovulate around day 13 or 14 so I'm a good few days / one week behind if I ovulate in the next 3 days - may very well be the case for you. Will you be with your partner to try if you are a few days behind this cycle? It sounds like you are doing everything you can to catch ovulation so keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Have you seen anything with your bbt this month?

@AnotherEllie when I’ve been tracking before I’ve had a big shift in temperature the day after ovulation, about 0.5 deg C, but I find that it’s less reliable than CM, you need to wake up the same time, don’t pee in the night, not sleep with your mouth open etc etc to get a true reading. If you regularly DTD when your CM is fertile I think you should be covered. The bbt could corroborate the LH tests and the CM though. When I got pregnant now in Nov my temperature rose slowly over 3 days and just by 0.2-0.3 deg C, not one big jump, that’s what made my think my progesterone wasn’t as high as it should’ve been. I’ve read some studies on this though and it might’ve meant the pregnancy wasn’t viable from the get go, the corpus luteum didn’t produces as much progesterone just because it wasn’t a viable embryo. It might not have been my low progesterone causing the loss. But I will never know.
I’m at home for another 3-4 weeks so hopefully we will catch one fertile window!

I find it strange that my CM haven’t been infertile though this cycle, but that may be because of all the leftover pregnancy hormones.

When ever I did bbt I did it vaginally. Most accurate that way

@Emmamoo89 oh that’s an idea, never even thought about doing it that way!

Hey ladiesss can I join you :( sadly had MMC last week and trying to work out what the hell is going to happen over the next few weeks!!! I was meant to have a d&c Monday but think it passed naturally over the weekend (the pain my god it was horrific ended up on a&e and they did visual check and saw womb closing 🤷🏻‍♀️😞). ANYWAY, arill bleeding and a bit of bleeding which still is fresh so hoping that effs off soon…. I have a scan at EPU tomorrow AM for them to confirm if all passed.! Then onto focusing my mind on those bloody LH strips again. ! Lord its so depressing isn’t it….

how long did everyone bleed for? Would be grateful for any insight xxxx

hope everyone is doing ok💕

So sorry to hear that @LMM91x.

So my experience was that I passed things naturally at 6wks2 and it was confirmed with a scan 2 days later. I was fortunate in that I only had mild cramps but did have some bad headaches the week before - which I am now putting down to my hormones dropping. I bled for around a week and had a negative pregnancy test around 12 days after the bleeding started - though they became faint very quickly. I felt extremely hormonal for the first week and my skin was terrible too.

I am tracking ovulation and expect to ovulate around day 19 or 20 if the cycle is considered to have started from first day of bleeding. I forked out on some clear blue advanced fertility trackers this month as they track estrogen too apparently - I thought it might be helpful this cycle at least as I had no idea what was going on. I am also tracking BBT and CM.

To note, I think LH tests can come up positive it you have HCG in your system so just keep this in mind if you do decide to track.

To note, I already have a 19 month old son and fell pregnant quickly both times with regular cycles.

I am feeling much better too so please hang in there - I know it's so horrible though and I am so sorry you are experiencing this. Xxx

@AnotherEllie heyyy thank you 💕. The headache was the major indicator for me too, I knew deep down somwthing was wrong but you read how much headaches are normal etc! I mean everything can either be normal or a bloomin miscarriage if seems. I was supposed to be 9+5 - started bleeding brownish and heatt sunk, went for a private scan and fetus was measuring 7w and no heartbeat. Very sad…. But onwards we go eh!

just want the bleeding to stop now! And hopefully see a normal cycle so I can start ttc again, going to start LH later this week. I did one yesterday and was blazing so ovviosuly the pregnancy not actual ovulation 🤣. Such a weird feeling to pray for a negative pregnancy test!!

@LMM91x yeah for sure. I know some people are afraid to test but honestly I was so relieved when I got a negative and felt it was closure. It also felt like a step towards being able to try again so I was testing every day. It weirdly just felt like a routine and was something I could do to understand my body better.

I also felt something was wrong - I said to my husband a few days before that I didn't feel pregnant. I find it interesting you had a headache too. I know I'm going to be anxious if I become pregnant again and anything out of the ordinary happens.

I will keep posting here when I get a definite positive ovulation test. I will also post if/ when I get my cycle back just for information. I found it helpful to read forums just to hear different experiences including timeframes.

Hope the bleeding stops for you soon - it feels better after that too as there isn't this constant reminder then.

Yes thank you - interesting to track and get back in tune with your body after such a trauma xx

For anyone interested, I think I've had a positive LH test now and I have a solid smiley on the Clear Blue tests. I suspect I will ovulate in the next couple of days. This would put ovulation at around day 20 after the start of bleeding for me. My husband is returning from work a day early so we can start TTC for this cycle. I am tracking BBT too so will see if this confirms things in the next few days. No idea when my period will come if we don't conceive this cycle but happy to share when it does.

@LMM91x I’m so sorry about your loss. It’s such a shitty situation.
I was around 6-7 weeks when I lost my pregnancy and I bled for about 6 days, one day of heavy bleeding and the rest light spotting.
I got a negative pregnancy test 13 days after the day of heavy bleeding, I know some people don’t want to do one but I wanted to ttc right away and found it best to know.

It’s interesting you saying you had a positive LH test so early, I started getting ovulation like cervical mucus on day 8 and felt like I was about to ovulate, I tested on day 11 and 12, they were negative but strong lines if that makes sense. From then on they’ve just got lighter and I’m on day 19 now, it makes me want to believe I would’ve had a positive LH test on day 10 maybe ( I didn’t check) but it may just be wishful thinking since it could’ve been the pregnancy hormones lurking. My pregnancy test was positive on day 11, albeit a line you could hardly see even if you squinted.
Now I feel like my period is about to start, which I’m both sad and excited about, I really felt like I would be pregnant right away after the loss but at least if I get my period I should ovulate a few weeks later and can ttc then. I hate this waiting game, waiting for ovulation, waiting for periods, the two week wait.
Hopefully your bleeding stops soon, I felt so much better once mine did, I just wanted to get on with it. Age isn’t on my side so I certainly feel the pressure!

@AnotherEllie that’s amazing! What a relief to get your positive LH test 😊
I think I’ll invest in those clearblue ones as well.
My bbt is all over the place, I’ve had a few days of highs and now it’s dipped back down 😫
Just waiting for my period now, I’ve got period like symptoms but saying that, I did when I ovulated the last time too randomly so it could be ovulation signs.. Gaaah it’s driving me insane symptom spotting all the time. I shouldn’t do it but can’t help myself.

@Travellingislife it really does drive you insane.

I don't want to give false hope but I actually felt like my period was coming about 4 or 5 days ago - so maybe there is still a chance?

I was sceptical but I'm glad I got the Advanced Clear Blue tests as it showed up as high fertility yesterday and then peak today - I'm not sure I would have realised it would peak today otherwise and maybe wouldnt have suggested my husband come home. I read it measures estrogen too so maybe that extra hormone check helps? It's odd though as I think typically you would have a couple of high days first and then two peak days but not the case for me. I suspect my body is still a bit strange. Also, I only used 5/ 10 tests so will have more for the next cycle too if needed - which makes the cost feel a bit better!

The waiting is terrible isn't it? We wanted to start trying sooner but put it off to maximise maternity pay so I think it's made me more impatient as mentally I've been ready to try for ages. 2 weeks feels like forever when TTC. It's made me reflect though and realise sometimes in life you just have to go for it as you are never really sure what's around the corner.

If my period comes in 2 weeks, my ovulation will be right in the middle of my husband being away so not sure how we will manage that... I guess we will make a plan when it shows up!

@AnotherEllie
Yeah the maternity pay, it’s a pain in the an isn’t it. I find it so sad that people have to put their life on hold because of maternity pay, it shouldn’t be like that! The government should encourage us to have families by making sure we won’t suffer financially when we do. If men were pregnant I’m sure it would be sorted already..
You’ve done so well to wait for so long even though you’ve been ready!
Hopefully you don’t have to worry about the next ovulation 🤞🏼

That's great news on the positive OPK! I know how frustrating waiting for that first ovulation is, so I'm glad it wasn't too long (though 20 days can definitely feel like an eternity when TTC!). I really hope your DH makes it back in time and will keep my fingers crossed for you 🤞🤞🤞

@AnotherEllie My cycle app just confirmed that ovulation happened on day 14, I’m taking it with a pinch of salt though. I actually feel pregnant ( I hardly dare to think those words though) but surely it can’t be that easy and I shouldn’t have symptoms yet. Period, pregnancy and ovulation symptoms can all pretty much be the same as well 😫 I should get my period on Wednesday if it’s like a normal ish cycle, so we will see..

@Travellingislife I am keeping everything crossed for you! And if your cycle does come, it will show your body is hopefully re-regulating itself.

I do find symptoms so confusing. I had an upset tummy after we started TTC in October and was convinced I was pregnant (as I thought it was nausea). Then in November, I didn't think I was and it turned out I was.

My OPKs are now showing much fainter so I guess I have either ovulated or will ovulate today. Going to DTD today and tomorrow to have a decent shot at it. I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Interestingly, only had very little EWM a day or two before the OPKs peaked and not much since. I know everyone is unique though and mine seems to be more clear and slippery. My BBT is also not very helpful but I'm not sure the thermometer I have is the best. Will keep tracking though to see if it rises.

Really hoping we have some good news soon! Would like 2023 to improve after a horrible first week.

@Travellingislife by the way what does your MyCycle App track?