...since I've last posted--3 weeks, maybe? I was so discouraged when AF showed up last cycle and I think I just needed a break from thinking about TTC every day.

So, here's my update: although we've been trying for several months, this is only my 2nd full cycle of charting. It's not going so well this time around. The first time, I had a beautiful and predictable BBT line. It didn't show a BFP unfortunately, but at least it looked "right." This time, though, it's confusing me like crazy. FF thinks I O'ed at CD11, but I disagree. My coverline was at 97.1 last month, and my temps haven't even gotten that high this time. So I think I'm still at my pre-ovulation temps, but for goodness sakes, it's getting a little late in the cycle to still wait for the ol' eggie to drop. I didn't use OPKs until late because I (naively) assumed that I would O on CD15 like last time, so I was just watching temps and BDing according to that plan. Silly me. I've had random patches of EWCM that follow no rhyme or reason. I'm so close to my wits' end that I did another HPT, just in case. Thinking maybe, just maybe, I got pg last cycle and AF just showed up as a fluke. BFN, of course.

You ladies have always provided me such great support. Can someone look at my chart and provide any kind of guidance? I need a fresh perspective from someone with more charting experience than I have. (A semi-related question: How long should you TTC before seeking help from a specialist?)

Thanks in advance. to everyone!!!

Hi Sophie! I'm so glad to see you back! I've been thinking about you and hoping that you were okay.

Your chart is confusing! Well, here are my thoughts. I think your coverline should be more like at 96.8 and to me it looks like you may have ovulated on cd 12. On cd 13, your temp was 96.9, which was the highest it had been since your first day of af. The next 2 days, your temps were 97.0 and 96.8 which are at or above what I think your coverline should be. Also, if I am remembering correctly, you had 5 neg opk's which were from about cd 16-cd 20, so I am thinking you started testing too late and missed your surge. (Believe me, I have done the same thing, so I have changed my testing stragedy!) Now here is what I am mostly confused about. You've had EW cm several days since cd 12 and also there have been days that your cp shows you are fertile. I have heard that it is possibe to have fertile cm after ovulation (assuming you ovulated already), but I always thought it would be very minimal (I could be totally wrong about that). Your coverline can fluctuate a bit from cycle to cycle as well as your ovulation day. It's your luteal phase that shouldn't change much. So with all of this being said, maybe the stress you have been going through the last few weeks has affected your cycle pattern. I'm sorry this was so long , but I hope I helped some.

I have read that if you're under age 35 and have no known health/risk factors, that you should wait 12 months before seeking help. If you are over age 35, you should seek help after 6 months.

This is probably not good advice, but when I ovulated early and totally missed my surge, it caused my bd timing to be off, so I wrote off that cycle like it never existed.

You never know, maybe this goofy cycle will be lucky for you!

Good luck and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

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Sheri

hello i am glad that you are back too. i was in the same boat as you..i stopped temping because me temps were not consistant.. and i didnt post for a while since last month cause i was disappointed..good luck i hope everything works out for you...if you think that you might be pg, and the test comes out bfn, go to the docotor they can do a blood test..you never know...

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Allen Grant Starr
September 8, 2006
8:39 pm
8lbs 1oz
20inches

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate all of your support and info. Guess what? After putting in my info from today, FF changed my O day...again! Now they say it's CD 20. Oh, this is so confusing. I did have strep throat last week, so I thought that or the antibiotics could delay ovulation, but I just don't know anymore. THanks again for the support and for welcoming me back. I'll keep you updated.

Are you getting up at the same time to temp every day? And getting atleast 5 hrs of continuous sleep pre temping?
That can make a difference.

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Interesting thought, Michele. I am temping at the exact same time every morning, but my sleeping patterns have varied. I seem to have some weird bout of insomnia lately, so maybe I haven't gotten enough sleep on some days for the BBT to be accurate. Do you know what that would do to my chart? Would it make it impossible to pinpoint ovulation?

Hey Sophie -

Glad to see you are still around. I hope you have read Taking Charge of Your Fertility. If not, do! If you chart for 3-4 months, and have no luck ttc, TCOYF suggests taking your charts to your doc for review - don't wait a whole year!

Stress can delay your o - especially if you have been sick. The antibiotics shouldn't delay o, but illness sure can. Hang in there girl!

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Sorry about the misunderstanding, but I did not mean to wait a year to go see your doc, I thought you were asking about a specialist. You definitely should see your doc and let him/her look at your charts and you should ask your doc any questions you might have. They can also give you advice on ttc and if they feel that there is a problem, they will do tests to confirm it.

I should have been more specific on my first post. What I meant is that if there is a problem and you are looking for other options to conceive, your doc will refer you to a specialist or if you are both healthy and have no problems, then you should seek additional help after a year of trying. You only have just over a 20% chance of conceiving each month and approximately 85% of fertile couples become pregnant within a year. Therefore, you are not considered "infertile" until after a year of trying, unless you were already diagnosed with infertility. Sometimes it just simply takes longer for some couples to conceive and if your bd timing is off for several months, then it could prolong it even more.

I just wanted to clarify everything. I hope FF keeps your O day the same now. It's frustrating when FF keeps changing things and it's hard to obsess over sxs in the 2ww when you don't know exactly when the 2ww is!

Good luck Sophie and lots of to you!

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Sheri