Can I O without EWCM? New to all this..

[puppies]

I am also confused about charting, but from what I have read on forums and from other people charting with BBT is only good for knowing you have already Ovulated. I am more interested in when I am going to ovulate from each month to the next. So i use the Maybe Baby Saliva test. It was about $60, but it last up to 2 years of re-use. i just put a blob of saliva (when i get up), wait for it to dry and it shows different images in the microscope that tell you when your not fertile, then when your in transition and when you are ovulating. So you can do the BD from transitional to Ovulation. Although I have only just started using it last month, I saw the results just this past weekend. Although like you I had a 26 day cycle. This test told me that I ovulated on day 8 after my period. So I wasnt expecting that to happen so soon. I am not sure if it's because i have just come off the pill or not. But it was definatley showing ovulation. I did it twice just to make sure!

I am sure next month I will ovulate at some other stage of my cycle, but I prefer to know when I am going to ovulate rather than when I did ovulate. Defeats the purpose doesn't it. By then you've missed the boat.

Good luck with it mate.

I read this interesting article though on BBT:
NO - Relying on BBT charts to time your intercourse, and then still failing to conceive, can in itself be responsible for an undue amount of stress. When we tell our patients to throw away their basal thermometers, we take the first big step in reducing some of the pressure involved in their infertility treatment. BBT is a much misunderstood test. Many couples think that they can use their BBT charts to determine the best days on which to have intercourse in order to conceive. They don't realize that a BBT chart is of historical value only. It can indicate,after the fact, that you did ovulate. Over a period of months it can show you whether your ovulation is more or less regular. But what it CANNOT do is predict when ovulation is about to occur. If your goal is to have intercourse, or precisely timed fertility testing, that coincides with ovulation, a basal body temperature chart is NOT an accurate indication of when it will occur.

[Sym]

Thanks, I went to the maybe baby website and read all about it, sounds pretty good because I really want a baby girl this time (already have two sons) and it suggests to BD in the transitional stage, so it would be nice if that worked.

I also read some reviews where people said maybe baby didn't work for them but I suppose different things work for different people. I have been using OPK's with no success and they're gunna get expensive to keep buying, so $60 isn't so bad because like you said, it's reusable. I wonder if you could just use a normal microscope??

[Indadhanu]

Hi sym,

To answer your initial question... yep you can ovulate without EWCM. Some people don't even get the watery CM... its all individual and you should defiantely use a range of signs to help pinpoint ovulation.

My first thought when I read your post was that you have only just had the implanon come out, so with your cycle only being 26 days I would say that most likely has a lot to do with your cycles needing a few months to regulate after coming off the contraception and go back to normal for you. That might also explain the lack of CM.

I jsut wanted to point out also that sometimes OPKs don't work for everyone. There are a lot of posts on here about that, I'll see if I can find some for you and link them back.

I did chart my cycle, though I was having assisted conception treatment and my FS didn't look at my chart until the end of the cycle to see if I had ovulated. Though a lot of woman on here chart alongside other things, and it helps them to pinpoint ovulation (the 'dip' before the rise after ovulation) and help watch their cycle patterns and see if there is anything out of the ordinary happening. If you chart for a few months, you can generally get a feel of what is happening by the way your chart is going. A lot of woman see patterns after a few months, and can tell when they are about to ovulate based on what there chart is doing. But charting can be REALLY stressful, especially in the TWW.

Do you have an account with Ovulation Calendar and Ovulation Chart - FertilityFriend.com That really taught me a lot about the signs to look for, and also checking my cervix position which was a good indicator of ovulation.


ETA: Posts about OPKs...
When to start using OPK's, and why don't they work for everyone?
Negative OPK but still fallen pregnant?