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!

@Emmamoo89 yeah I want to trust my body but I’m not sure I can! Fingers crossed for us this month.

@AnotherEllie I’m on day 26 now. I had implantation bleeding with my son, it was like a period so I had no idea I was pregnant!
I didn’t have it on my last pregnancy though.

Shouldn't be too long to wait for 14 dpo then for you @Travellingislife!

Definitely agree with knowing your body too. I knew something wasn't quite right last time even if I didn't care to admit it.

I've read LH tests can sometimes be unreliable too so I think following your own signs is better. I just wish I'd taken more notice of mine before!

Hi ladies - brief update from me, I got a flashing smiley on the clear blue ovu test this morning…. So should ovulate in next few days which I am relieved about. Today is 14 days since spotting , 11 days since full miscarriage bleed. I am therefore thinking my cycle might line up as normal to ovulate around day 14 from the ‘full’ bleed… fascinating stuff this to be honest. Crossing my fingers for you girls - you hear anecdotally which seems a lot that people fall before their next period (my mum being one of them years ago!) so hopefully 🤞💕

@LMM91x that's great! Wishing you lots of luck for the journey ahead!

I am amazed by how the body can reset itself.

And yes, I've seen lots of stories on Mumsnet too of positive stories happening very quickly after.

Fingers crossed!!

@LMM91x great news!! Your hormones have balanced already!

I’ve felt nauseous for 2 days and I’m just waiting for my period to show up, I’ve got a typical “ period belly”. It would be too early for pregnancy symptoms so I can’t be pregnant, even though I will continue to feel hopeful until I get my period.

@AnotherEllie I’ve also heard LH tests can be unreliable but for me they’ve always become darker until I’ve got a positive and then gradually lighter again. They’ve corroborated with my temperature and CM.
My fitness tracker, which is basically like a super natural pregnancy test for me, tells me I’m not pregnant or haven’t ovulated, it’s the complete opposite to what my stats were when I was pregnant. From ovulation to my period the stats have been very different to what they are now.

@Travellingislife that must be confusing!! But it is amazing how these small details and changes can help us understand our bodies.

Tbh, I've got myself confused with BBT and not really sure what it means. I don't think I've done it properly and I think I should start again next month if AF comes and be more consistent. I think I need to ignore it for now - especially as I haven't tracked before so won't recognise trends.

I am 6 or 7 dpo today. I'm getting some crampy twinges but honestly I don't know what's normal and whether I'm just symptom spotting now.

Hopefully we will both be clearer on what's happening in the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure which phase is worse - the waiting or the planning!

@Travellingislife hmmmm yes Imm second guessing everything at the mo 🤣 flashing again today so it shluld be on the way and I think the clearblue picks up a raise in estrogen too not just LH - cos the LH sticks I’ve been doing have gor lighter.. (but i think thats right as they were picking up hcg) what a bloomin minefield!! Really hoping you get your BFP rhis month💕. X

@LMM91x interestingly, I only had the flashy ClearBlue for one day and then it went to solid smiley the next day. This was backed up by the cheap LH sticks too which went very dark on the first solid smiley day so seems to align. My LH test then went very faint 3 days after solid smiley which makes sense. I also did have a small amount of EWCM a couple of days before that. Could you keep up with the basic LH tests and the ClearBlue tests? I found it helpful to do both. Think I'm twitchy though after the MC so wanting to double check everything.

I'm really interested in how it measures Estrogen but I never found much online about how it works!! Xx

@AnotherEllie
yes I’m going to keep up with both I think and see what the next few days bring… hopefully a solid smiley tomorrow and will DTD tonight…. God I have not missed this operation DTD … can really take the spark out! 🙄 and I knowif it doesn’t work - which it has every chance it won’t I am going to have to try so hard not to spiral :( I just feel I won’t be happy again until I’m pregnant which feels so heavy 😞

@LMM91x yeah that's how I feel too. I feel like life is just going to revolve around that until it happens!

I am so nervous of missing ovulation too so in logically I want to DTD every day but it gets a bit much! Will probably try and stress less about it if it takes a while but easier said than done!

@AnotherEllie god doesn’t it just!!! I had planned to last night but passed out in the sofa…… sexy !! 🤣

@AnotherEllie @LMM91x yeah the planning and waiting could do one. Dtd on specific days sucks as well, defo takes the fun out of it.
I feel the same as you guys, like my life will be put on hold until I get pregnant, everything will revolve around it and I won’t be happy until I am pregnant. Puh it feels heavy yes. I know it’s probably the worst I can do and I should just let nature take its course.

I’m in such a foul mood, not sure it’s hormones or the thought of getting my period. I had another smidge of pink when I wiped today, my period has never started like that before but who knows how my body will behave after the miscarriage?

I really hope we all get some good news soon.

I really thought I got my period this morning, it was pink when I wiped, more so than yesterday but it only happened once, now it’s stopped.
I’m starting to freak out as I’m trying to time my work trip so it’s not clashing with my ovulation window. Now I can’t even plan on postponing it for a week as it might not be my period!
I’ve only heard about people having heavier periods after a loss but maybe it’s possible to have a very light one and this is in fact it.
I guess I have to leave it for a few days and see what happens, I’ll need to make a decision on Monday though about my work trip. I hate this stress! I just want to be pregnant 😞

@Travellingislife that sounds so confusing! Poor you. Hope you get certainty one way or another soon.

I think some bleeding can be normal in early pregnancy so I wouldn't rule it out. It is not something I've experienced though so can't comment on what is normal.

Could you do a test before Monday or would you find that too upsetting / stressful?

I have no idea about any of this but do you think that the lack of LH surge might be affecting things too (though maybe it was just the tests)? Maybe your hormones are still re-balancing.

I feel like my period might be coming soon. Not sure if I'm just grumpy as my son has a cough and I barely slept last night but I'm feeling like it's going to be so difficult with planning the next few months. We are in similar shoes in that sense - I actually feel so much more stressed and instead of focusing on taking care of myself, I am obsessing over it. I see others saying they are just going to see how it goes but we don't really have that option as we could potentially keep missing the fertile window for months.

I wish there were more resources on this. The advice is so generic and there should be more detail as experiences vary so hugely. Also wish the NHS was better resourced so it would actually be possible to speak to experts about it and have further testing.

Hopefully in the next two days, things might feel clearer?

@AnotherEllie I think you’re right, my hormones are probably still rebalancing, I really felt like I was ovulating on day 12 ish but I can’t have been, or if I was it didn’t catch. I did a test now and it’s negative, if I ovulated on day 20, which my app suggests, I’m only 9dpo. ( I’ll test on Monday again) When I tested with these cheapies the last time I didn’t get a positive until day 14. I tested on day 11,13 and 14, day 11 and 13 were negative at first but after a few hours they had a faint line! They say you should disregard those results so I wonder if it was just a coincidence. The test on day 14 got positive within 2 mins.

I agree with the lack of resources and information from the NHS. Private is the only way to go if you want answers/ help and it’s expensive! It’s a luxury to be able to go private.
I’ve been waiting for a referral to a gynaecologist for about 7 months now and nothing has happened. Hence me going private.

I hope it’s not your period about to arrive so you don’t have to stress about the ovulation window, it’s exhausting.

I think I’ll have to have a huge shift in mindset now, I need to relax and not obsess about getting pregnant. Not sure how I’m going to do it, meditation maybe helps.

morning ladies - trying to stay positive amongst all this and not fall into a foul mood is near on impossible. I feel so snappy with OH atm, everything he says is wrong. Not fair of me I know.

totally agree about lack of resources, this consumes a lot of peoples lives but they make you just sound ‘common’ - it shouldn’t be brushed off as normal a mc and the whole guidelines about needing to have 3 for any real tests blows my mind - why if you can fix the problem after 1?! I want to be pregnant but also petrified to be to go through it again 😞

my ovulation isn’t going anywhere… i’m around 17 post spotting/start of miscarriage and 13 days post heavy passing of tissue so I know it’s still early!!! Have had flashing for 4 bloody days now and lines on cheapies are actually getting lighter 🙄🙄. BUT pg tests Re negative so maybe now body will ramp up again and i’ll ovulate the next few days…. If nothing else at least I can have a cycle and start fresh from a period knowing where I am… (sort of…?🤣)

hope there are no AFs this weekend !!! xxx

@Travellingislife Yeah I think if you can find ways to relax that would be good but I totally understand wanting to be pregnant so much. I think if I didn't have a toddler, I'd try and get stuck into a new hobby or project but can't do that as I have no energy at the mo and a new job. That's quite a good distraction though. Do you enjoy your work?

My experiences are similar with tests. I didn't test until day 35 with my son as my husband was away but it came up immediately. It took 2 weeks ish with the last period to get anything.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Is there a chance you might have a cycle without ovulating? I have no idea what would happen with a period in that case but I think I read somewhere it can happen.

I read luteal phase varies very little only be a max of 2 days and that its the day of ovulation that varies - do you know how long yours is typically? Not sure if that might offer any insight?

@LMM91x I have been so snappy with my husband and so irritable.

I have private health care overseas previously and I just know there'd have been follow up blood tests, another scan and tailored advice. I've had nothing here. All you get is that you will probably be okay next time! Very frustrating.

Thank heavens for MN! I've learnt so much from here and found others sharing so helpful in making me feel less alone xx

@AnotherEllie you know what, I may actually have had an ovulating cycle! I’ve struggled with ovulation/ periods previously as my body is sensitive to stress. I’ve seen that many women on here have had their first period after about 6 weeks so maybe mine will show up in a few weeks.
My life is so busy so I shouldn’t have any time to think about this but I still do.. I don’t have time for new hobbies etc. I love my job, not the travelling side of it nowadays though to be fair, it was ace before I had a son but now it’s just hard going away, ttc makes it even harder.
Mu luteal phase has only been around 10 days so ovulation on day 20 would mean getting my period tomorrow.. We shall see..
I think I’ve decided to cancel this work trip so I can focus on hitting the ovulation window, it would make me less stressed if I can be at home for at least the next ovulation, then I’ll just take it as it comes for the next ones.

If you ovulate around day 14 and implantation happens 6 days later you would definitely get a positive at 35 days! If you ovulate late, lets say day 20, and implantation occur after 10 days, you might not test positive when you expect to! The body is weird and wonderful 🙂

@AnotherEllie obviously I meant an anovulatory cycle..

@Travellingislife Yeah it is so hard not to think about things - no matter how busy you are. I previously had a role that required me to travel and I loved it but I know I would feel the same as you if my new role required me to do that - it's much harder with kids and even more complicated when TTC. I don't think I will travel regularly for a few years now especially as my husband works away.

I would do the same in your position for sure. It helps you realise what your priorities are - at least it did for me!

You sound really in tune with your body so hopefully things work out for your very soon and you will hit ovulation ASAP.

How long can you be at home before the next trip? Hopefully you have a good chance if it doesn't work out this cycle.

I'm experiencing very mild pregnancy symptoms today so I'm feeling a glimmer of hope. It started very early with my son too at around 3 weeks into my cycle. I may test tomorrow which will be 9dpo. If its negative, I will leave it for a few days before testing again. Its so hard not to invest into the idea but equally you want to be positive.

Hope we all have good news soon!

@AnotherEllie Oh that is exciting! It would be amazing if you get a positive now, I do believe we are more fertile right after a loss.
Fingers crossed for you!

This definitely makes you realise what your priorities are. Looking back in 10 years time and regretting I prioritised work would be an awful feeling.
I’m hoping to be home until the end of March, I may go away for a few days mid Feb but I’ve not confirmed it yet. Hopefully that means I’ll be home for the next two ovulations but of course it all depends on if I’ll have regular cycles.

@AnotherEllie omg I have everything crossed for you!!!

i have a static smiley this morning wahoooo - interestingly 2 weeks exactly since I passed most tissue / heaviest flow! Also had my first negative hcg yesterday so my body was probably waiting for that to clear! …. Here we go 👏🏻👏🏻🥳🥳💕💕

Hi @Travellingislife and @LMM91x, just did a test and it's positive 9dpo. (Though wondering if I maybe ovulated one day earlier making it 10dpo).
I had strong symptoms yesterday and also had some cramping around day 6 which I imagine was implantation- though you can never be sure.

I'm feeling so sick today but I think it's probably the hormone shift rather than HCG. I was very sick during Childbirth too. I'm feeling anxious but trying to remain positive and hopeful.

I hope this gives you hope and I really appreciate the support you've offered the past few weeks💖

Please let me know how you get on.

@AnotherEllie that is amazing news! Sooo happy for you! Now you don’t have to stress about the next ovulation window 😊
You proved that you can get pregnant before your next period, this will give many people hope!

@AnotherEllie YAY!!!! omg the best best news!!!!! Comgratulations wow so exciting ❤️ hopefully I’ll be following your footsteps in the next 10 days!!

hope you’re ok though - I can imagine the emotions are super high xxxxxxx