Monday, August 13, 2007

The plot thickens

Or, perhaps, this post should be titled WTF?

Today is CD 26. More to the point, Thursday, the day I went to see my GP and donated a couple of vials of blood to the cause, was CD 22. About a week before that (on CD 14, if you are counting) as I was waiting for ovulation signs and got, instead, bad thyroid results and a cold, I had to give up on this cycle altogether. After that, I wasn't paying very close attention because there was, you know, no point.

Except that because I find that it is good to know what the next thing I will develop a neurosis about will be, I then proceeded to calculate when I might be able to test in the next cycle, and whether I would be able to test before Yom Kippur. It is the holiest day of a Jewish year, and the day on which we fast. But a number of religious authorities exempt pregnant women from fasting because of the concern about pre-term labor and miscarriage. I did not fast the year I was pregnant with Monkey or last year, when I was pregnant with A. So I wanted to know whether or not I should/could fast on Yom Kippur this year. Reasonable, no? And if both this and next cycles turned out to be the length of the previous one (31 days), I should've been ok to test before the holiday. So here I was-- not paying attention, but paying attention. And thinking, with each passing day, that if I didn't actually ovulate yet, I was less and less likely to get to test before Yom Kippur. But c'mon-- I had to have ovulated, right? Because otherwise this cycle was getting ridiculously long.

So then Dr. B called, and gave us the go-ahead to try again. And that very same day I though I had pre-ovulation symptoms. And then I proceeded to tell myself that it simply can't be, it was my mind screwing with me because we now could try, if this cycle wasn't dead. Which it certainly was, right? It had to be dead because if it wasn't, if the symptoms were real, it would mean a cycle of 37 or 38 days long, and I just never had an ovulatory cycle that long. Or that wildly fluctuating. But since I was going to see my GP the next day, I figured what the hell, and asked for LH and progesterone tests to see what was up.

I got the results today. Hahahahahaha. LH spike last Thursday. On CD 22. So two things-- this cycle is not dead (the cries of "The cycle is dead! Long live the cycle!" are going off in my head), and this cycle is going to be 37 or 38 days long. Crazy, on both counts. But I guess good crazy, under the circumstances.

And now we wait.

9 comments:

Lori said...

Oh gosh, that's great, but now it means the agonizing WAIT!

Never a dull moment with you!

Beruriah said...

Such a planner you are. Could the thyroid issue plus the cold throw your cycle off? But I'm glad you did O this month.

And I hope we'll be sharing a sandwich together secretly on YK this year.

Bon said...

wowsa!

but that's so good. hoping.

Anonymous said...

I ovulate late every time I get sick. Or stressed. Or when I have some reason to REALLY ovulate before day X (like an upcoming IVF cycle).

I could never quite decide if my body was helping ("No no! Wait! It's dangerous out there - germs everywhere. Stay put") or just really screwing with me.

Either way I am glad you have reason to hope again this cycle.

Aurelia said...

Well, you are giving me hope. I don't seem to be doing anything ovulation wise! I'm thinking I must've missed it. But maybe like you, I'm just taking my time.

meg said...

Hey Julia, glad the cycle isn't dead! I started using a fertility monitor, and while my cycle is always pretty regular, it surprised me a few times by coming earlier or later than I thought. I resented spending the $300 on the thing, but I have to say it made me feel a lot better to know that I was ovulating and that my body was giving me signs (that corresponded with what the monitor said). It did help me, but then again I'm a little obsessive and just listening to my body didn't seem enough. You know, that body that I don't trust!

Lides said...

Well, hey now, that's a nice surprise.

Anonymous said...

What a roller coaster, and frustrating to boot.

Why aren't our bodies smarter?? Seriously, we should be able to tell when really important things are occurring in our systems, but we can't.

Best wishes to you, and hang tough.

niobe said...

Wow. I'm amazed. In a very good way.