Long cycle driving me crazy....

Has anyone else had or have the problem of a long cycle....about 40-45 days? How do you work out when you are ovulating and is it possible to ovulate just before you get AF?
I would love to know that I am not the only one going through this.

I use to have really long cycles. Up to 7 weeks. I could never tell when/if I was going to ovulate as my CM and cervical position were all over the place. I temp as well and becasue of that was able to know approximately when I ovulated (after the fact), and therefore when I should expect AF.

It is possible to ovulate just before you get AF, but unlikely, and if you do and it happens regularly it means you have a really short luteal phase, and this can cause problems when TTC.

I've always had long and irregular cycles so I can totally sympathize. I bought OPKs (over the internet so not too expensive) to try to predict O. I get EWCM (but not a huge amount) for about 7 days before I get a +ve OPK and then I get AF 13 days after that. I was only Oing about 4 times a year though. I already had a GYN who was also a FS so I went to her and got diagnosed with PCO (not full blown PCOS though). I got put on Clomid to make me O more regularly. 2nd cycle on Clomid we conceived DS.

My advice, see someone now - ideally a FS. From what I gather if you have cycles longer than 35days you most likely have some form of PCO. 28day cycles seem to take forever when TTC let alone 45days! There's plenty of things they can do to help you O that are non-invasive. Clomid for example is tablets for a few days a month - easy ;)

Good luck

Yes - I have suffered from long cycles in the past. From memory they used to be between 41 and 43 days at one point. Long cycles certainly limit the chances of conception, as what happens is the egg reaches its peak diameter around 14 days, and starts to shrink after day 17 - therefore inhibiting the chances of conception if ovulation occurs after this point.
The good news is that long cycles are easily treatable with Natural Medicine - both Naturopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine are very effective at naturally treating the cause of this problem (hormonal imbalance and toxicity). You can contact ANTA (Australian Natural Therapists Association) to find out if there is a registered Naturopath or TCM practitioner in your area who can help you.

Living according to the principles of Natural Medicine is how I was able to conceive my 2 bundles after years of serious health issues, synthetic drugs and recurring operations in the mainstream medical system (see my ticker below!).

Best of luck.
XX

I definitely recommend TCM (acupuncture) for cycle regulation. It's not using drugs as a bandaid fix. Chris Tang from BB fixed my cycle up in one session. Obviously this is not going to happen instantly for everyone, but it has great success with correcting menstural cycles and with fertility and IVF. Good luck!

Thank you girls for your responses, I think I might try the Natural or Chinese Medicine to start with and see how that all goes.
Fingers crossed it won't take too long ;)