Just checked out my "stats" and looks like I've had some readers in Germany, Austrailia, Russia, Ireland and the US. This both baffles and excites me.
As promised I'm picking up in my story at Oct 2011. I had spent the rest of July, Aug and Sept watching my food intake closely and joining the community center gym with my co worker/friend. It was nice to see the scale dropping and my cycle getting regular. In my last appt (July) the dr had told me just because I have a period doesnt mean I'm ovulating. She had drawn me a chart like this one, only my labs had show my FSH and LH were completly the opposite levels than they should be (to low) and my testosterone was way to high.
"FSH and LH are two hormones secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain during the menstrual cycle. Blood levels of these hormones are often tested to determine how your ovaries are functioning. FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) is released when estrogen levels are low. During a regular menstrual cycle, FSH levels begin to rise sharply midcycle, a day or two before ovulation. FSH stimulates the ovary to ripen a follicle, and, with the help of a spike in LH (luteinizing hormone), to release an egg. After that, FSH and LH levels fall off and progesterone levels rise as your uterus prepares for pregnancy or another period."
In simple terms, my eggs were not getting the hormones they needed to grow and be released. Theoretically every month that my cycle got more regular meant my hormones could be balancing out on their own and I would have more potential to ovulate. So this got me curious about the ovulation perdictor kits I'd seen at Target and the calendars I've seen online. I started with this:
The instructions seemed simple enough. I tried it with frustrating results and ended up going back over the instructions just in case I was doing it wrong. Low and behold...the fine print, under limitations of test.
"Certain medical conditions may adversely affect the reliability of this test for predicting ovulation. These include pregnancy, postpartum, post-abortion, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), ovarian cysts, the onset of menopause, and untreated hypothyroidism. Women with medically diagnosed fertility problems should consult their physicians before using this product."
A little disheartened but still determined I continued my web search. I wish I could find the blog today, maybe you will in your own search...but one lady in particular really helped me. She had written about her own experience and made up a chart showing all the pros and cons of each ovulation predictor kit. In the end I chose the Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor, it seemed to fit my needs the best.
- Typically identifies up to 6 fertile days
- Most advanced way of tracking your most fertile days – the only non-invasive method that detects both LH and estrogen hormones
- 100% natural and non-invasive
- Suitable for women with regular and irregular periods
Horray!! Hallelujah!! Finally!! It cost a pretty penny though so I bid for it on ebay and I'm so glad I did.
When you use a typical ovulation calculator online (I confess I love babycenter.com) the results really vary. Most were telling me that I would ovulate on the 11th day of a 28 day cycle. According to my handy dandy monitor I was really ovulating on the 14th day. Thats a pretty cruitial 3 day lapse, basically I was trying to concieve way to early in the month and totally missing my window. If you have tried over a year to get pregnant I really recommend you look into this monitor for piece of mind.
The first time I used the monitor was Sept 2011 and was so relieved to see that it worked! I showed a increase in my estrogen levels at the right time and it picked up on my ovulation. Finally some relief. I used the monitor successfully through Dec 2011. Then all of a sudden my cycle jumped from 28 to 35 days and the monitor stopped detecting signs of hormone flux.
Back to the drawing board....
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