Community post

If u O later than ur norm, af will arrive that much later than ur norm. AF follows ovualtion, so the time between O and expected af, doesnt have much more than a day or two variance in either direction. If u were to O on cd26 with a 27 day cycle, u wont bleed on day 28...ur cycle will end up extendimg to 40 days (example numbers used of course). Do u know how long ur luteal phase normally is? Chart temps or use opk's?

I use opks. Had positives for 3 days (CD 17-18-19), so I assumed i o'd on the last day of positive opk, based on my cm and cervix.
I did have kind of the same cycle last month, with a positive opk on CD 16. However, I didnt take any other test after I got that positive. It lasted 27 days, as my other cycles.
I do not always O on the same cd, but my cycles all lasted 27 days.

If I dont ent up pregnant this cycle (fingers crossed), I will begin charting.
I really didnt want to have to temp. :(

Ah ok, gotcha. The thing with opk's, u count from the first positive. So they say 12-48hrs after the first positive is when u may O. Obvs its not a guaranty and we cant really tell if it happened or not when just basing it off of that. So basically, I would count the day after the first positive to be O, for tracking purposes. U dont wanna bother testing after u have a positive becuz it wont tell u anymore than the hormone is still present in ur system. Ive had an 8 day surge but O'd the first day of that surge (I temp), for some reason my body took longer to filter it all out. The surge happens in ur blood first then depending on ur kidney function, it can hit urine around 4hrs later or a day later...it may never hit urine in high enough levels, leaving u to assume u didnt O at all but becuz it was in ur blood, the potential was there. Id assume last cycle was cd17 and this ones cd18. Def consider temping, its a pain in the butt but worth it to not have to guess anymore.

Wow! Thanks a lot for your answer!

I keep my thermometer under my pillow and my phone by the bed. I always thought temping would be some ordeal, but it really hasn't been the burden I always pictured it would be. Of course, I don't have any difficult factors such as shift work or frequently waking at night to contend with, so other situations would add to the headache that comes getting the most accurate reading possible. This was my first cycle temping, though, and I'm really glad I opted to do it as I was able to learn a lot. I wasn't able to nail down a solid ov day as I had a slow rise going into my temp spike, but knowing it was at least one of two days is handy info to have. You may also unlock more of a pattern to your cycles than you realize you have, as well.