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OPKs and charting post-miscarriage
eemabird
Posts: 74
Hello. First, I want to say again how much I appreciate the support I received on this board after my miscarriage in June. It's definitely been rough going for me, and I am still pretty overwhelmingly sad. Some days are better than others.
One thing that is driving me crazy is feeling like my body is completely foreign to me. In addition to feeling like a fat blob (though my wife assures me I've lost the few pounds I'd gained in those 12 pregnancy weeks), I charted for over a year before even trying to get pregnant and knew my cycle like the back of my hand, so the unpredictable bleeding, not knowing when I'll ovulate or get a real period, etc., is really frustrating for me.
I've been trying to combat this by just getting back in the charting saddle even though I don't know when we'll be trying again (my doc said I only had to wait for one regular cycle, but I'm not sure if I'll be ready). My temps have finally fallen to what's within my pre-O normal range, so I decided to start using OPKs to see if I can pinpoint ovulation and today I got a near-positive.
Then it occurred to me that my hormones could still be all sorts of screwed up and that OPKs might not be reliable at this point. I've heard that women who are pregnant can still get positive OPKs because of the structural similarity of HCG and LH. Could I still have so much HCG in my system as to get a false positive OPK reading, or do you think I can trust the stick?
For the record, I'm 14 days post-D&C with no pregnancy symptoms and pre-O range temps. My follow-up appointment isn't for a few weeks because of my traveling schedule and my doctor's, so I don't know what the bloodwork looks like.
On a related note, for those of you who have been through it, when your cycle returned, was it completely different or did it go back to a familiar rhythm?
One thing that is driving me crazy is feeling like my body is completely foreign to me. In addition to feeling like a fat blob (though my wife assures me I've lost the few pounds I'd gained in those 12 pregnancy weeks), I charted for over a year before even trying to get pregnant and knew my cycle like the back of my hand, so the unpredictable bleeding, not knowing when I'll ovulate or get a real period, etc., is really frustrating for me.
I've been trying to combat this by just getting back in the charting saddle even though I don't know when we'll be trying again (my doc said I only had to wait for one regular cycle, but I'm not sure if I'll be ready). My temps have finally fallen to what's within my pre-O normal range, so I decided to start using OPKs to see if I can pinpoint ovulation and today I got a near-positive.
Then it occurred to me that my hormones could still be all sorts of screwed up and that OPKs might not be reliable at this point. I've heard that women who are pregnant can still get positive OPKs because of the structural similarity of HCG and LH. Could I still have so much HCG in my system as to get a false positive OPK reading, or do you think I can trust the stick?
For the record, I'm 14 days post-D&C with no pregnancy symptoms and pre-O range temps. My follow-up appointment isn't for a few weeks because of my traveling schedule and my doctor's, so I don't know what the bloodwork looks like.
On a related note, for those of you who have been through it, when your cycle returned, was it completely different or did it go back to a familiar rhythm?
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After the mc, we were told to wait for one normal cycle and then try again if we were ready. We didn't use opks until that cycle happened, but when we did use them they seemed very much in line with my wife's pre-mc tests. They must have been accurate, because we conceived our daughter during that cycle! Best of luck to you whenever you are ready to try again. Take the time you need to heal.
As for OPKs, I tested out with pregnancy tests to be sure that I was down to zero. This probably took about three weeks. My first two cycles post mc were not anything at all approaching normal. I was so frustrated. I think at about for months I felt like I was truly back on target. I had charted for five YEARS before ttc, simply because we started with H when we were ttc for E, and I never stopped. But suddenly all of that info went flying out the window and I was so pissed.
We are six months post mc and haven't yet ttc. We're planning to soon.
I totally hear you on absolutely everything you're saying. That was me exactly.