Where for art thou period?

[LifeForRent]

Since I've stopped breast feeding (about 7 months ago) my period has always been around the 22-24th of the month. October, I didn't come on until the 6th of November (so like 14 days late). Me and my dh HAVE had unprotected sex since, around the 3rd December (in correlation to my period) so I expected to come on around the 6th December (due to last month). However, nothing. It is now the 12th. I took a pregnancy test on the 7th (thinking my period was due the 23rd, until I realised it was late last month). Regardless, late period or not, I'm 6 days later than the original later period.

I've googled it and everything has said MENOPAUSE or PCOS. I'm 24, so menopause is unlikely, and I have no symptoms what so ever of PCOS.

So what are the chances that my period has jumped from a 28 day cycle to a 33 (which I'm willing to accept) but now it's jumped to a 40 day cycle according to the calendar. Is it likely I'm pregnant?

Sorry if it doesn't make sense, I'm confusing myself.

I have to confess I'm confused, but it is possible for your cycles to lengthen, all sorts of things affect your fertility. If you're periods are consistently a week later than you expect then you need to adjust your "fertile" period in your head esp if having unprotected sex and don't want to get pregnant. You ovulate 14 days before your period comes.

Prob no help at all! sorry!

Yes, my period was 10 days late last time, my query being, will it be 10 days late this time? I should've been on the 6th Dec (as I was on the 6th Nov) however, because it was 10 days late in Nov, does it make sense for it to be 10 days late this month and therefore make me due on the 16th?

I just did another test and it was negative. What on earth is my body doing?

LifeforRent cycles do vary. In answer to your second post, if your last period was 10 days late then you do need to adjust when you expect the subsequent one - your body doesn't know what day the calendar says! 16th sounds more sensible.

Basically it is "normal" to have a cycle that is 21-35 days in length with less than about 4 days length variation each month. Mine for example are usually around 22-26 days long.

Your cycle is made up of 2 parts:
-The pre ovulatory part which can vary in length.
-The post ovulatory part (luteal phase) which usually varies by no more than 1 day for each woman. This is typically 10-16 days (mine is 9-10 days).
You count cycle days from the first day of your period (day 1).

So when your cycle changes length it will be because ovulation has occurred late or not at all. Ovulation can be delayed by stress, illness, travel etc and this can make your period appear late when it isn't really (e.g. I normally ovulate on day 13/14 and bleed 10 days later giving a 23-24 day cycle. I have ovulated as late as day 30 after a pregnancy loss so had a much longer cycle of 38 days that month. I have ovulated on day 19 in a perfectly normal cycle and hence had a 29 day cycle too... so variation is normal)

Sometimes you will not ovulate at all. This is perfectly normal too, most women have approx one anovulatory cycle per year. If that happens your cycle length may be out that month too.

If you are concerned then make a note of your cycle lengths for a few months and see what sort of pattern emerges.

Thanks for that break down ,it helped me figure things out a little...my mother kindly informed me that early menopause as young as 19 is common in the women in my family, and as I'm 24 I'm starting to panic a little...!
However I'll await until the 16th before getting anything checked out.

Can you get pregnant even if you're not ovulating or do you have to be ovulating?

Ok, biology part 1: another name for an egg is an ovum. In order to get pregnant a sperm must fertilise an egg. Therefore, getting pregnant if you don't ovulate (ie don't produce an egg) is impossible.

This is how the pill works. It fools the body in to thinking it's pregnant (because you take progesterone). Therefore, the production of an egg isn't triggered so you can't get pregnant.

It sounds like your body is still getting used to you not being pregnant any more. It is common for cycles to take 12 months to settle down after pregnancy. You may well have a mixture of short or very long cycles.

If you're concerned make an appointment with your family planning nurse (through your surgery).

I hope that helps.

When I stopped taking the pill when ttc DS, my cycles were anything from 27-41 days. It was really annoying!

My "ovulation" bit should be between the 30th-6th of every month apparently. My point is...to GET pregnant do I have to have sex on these 7 days...or will any point throughout the month work? (believe it or not I have a masters degree...just not in biology).

Also will my ovulation week change now my period has moved around?

If I WANT to get pregnant, when is the most likely part of the month for that happen...during ovulation?

Biology part 2: :) the egg will generally be viable for 24 hours but sperm can live up to 5 days. You therefore need to be careful in the run up to ovulation and immediately after it.

It is possible to use hormone testing kits (sometimes with taking your temp every day) to identify when you ovulate. But then if you've had sex in the five days before that it's risky and too late to do anything about it anyway.

Ovulation can move around as Spilthetea says. The (usually) fixed period of your cycle is the bit after ovulation. The bit before can vary by weeks.