Anybody know about late ovulation?
I need advice on how to get it back
to normal. I'm trying to get pregnant,
but ovulating between days 18 and 21 of
my cycle! I barely make it 11-12 days after
that before my time starts.

I've been doing acupuncture, and of course,
GTD.... seems to be getting stranger every month.

fem balancing protocol, together with diet and lifestyle

Ok Lola - I'm going to order my Fem Balance tomorrow!
Dr. Nash suggested Dong Quai, and the Fem Balance has that
in there. I just keep getting told to stay away from the stuff,
so I'm a little nervous   I guess I'll just have to stop taking
it once (if ever) I become pregnant.
Thanks again for the advice.

I heard you count the first day of period as one,then when you reach 7 and thru 12 that is the best time to get pregnant.  Of course, this was many years, ago, so maybe there are new ways to determine.  I think it was called rhythm method, some friends of the catholic faith used it, not to get pregnant, (they avoided having sex those days)

Our bodies are more complex than that. You want to have sex around the time of ovulation, or a few days before, if you want to get pregnant (or avoid sex those days if you're aiming to avoid pregnancy, but in that case you need to watch your fertility signs even more carefully.) The "average woman" (who doesn't actually exist) ovulates on day 14 and menstruates on day 28, and is fertile from days 10 -14. Ovulating between days 18 and 21 means that the fertile days (the days where sex could result in pregnancy) wouldn't even start until day 14 or later. And a short luteal phase (time from ovulation to menstruation) means lower fertility- fertilized eggs may not have time to "stick" before menstruation pushes them out. That's really the problem here- the shortened luteal phase, not the late ovulation.

The Rhythm Method doesn't really work, because few women have regular cycles all the time. NFP (natural family planning) and FAM (fertility awarenes method- like NFP but with the option of using barrier methods instead of abstinence during the fertile time) are much more reliable. The woman watches her body for signs of fertility (quality of vaginal secretions, location of cervix, basal body temperature) and avoids or engages in intercourse during those times depending on whether she wants to get pg or not.

I'm not really familiar with protocols to balance out your hormones, although I do understand that this isn't as simple as "timing intercourse."

The ovulation tests in drug stores check for the LH level and they seem to work well for some women. There is also an OV Watch that you place on your wrist. It  checks your sweat for the LH level and tells you when you're ovulating. You can order OV Watch online.

http://www.ovwatch.com/

It doesn't sound like nwiser needs help figuring out when she ovulates- she already knows when that happens, and has clearly figured out that she has a hormonal imbalance. What she needs is advice on how to correct that imbalance.

NWiser, Are you off of wheat and gluten free products? I'm a non-secretor so wheat will mess with my cycle. You're a secretor so you might be okay with wheat but it might be worth a try to eliminate it for awhile and see if that helps. Also, I noticed Nutritional yeast helped me regulate my periods. My mom used brewer's yeast to regulate her cycle many years ago.

Sometimes the LH levels is different than when someone ovulates. The LH test with the OV Watch tells you two days before you ovulate which might make a difference for some women trying to get pregnant. The OV Watch has some great results.

Some women get pregnant easier the two days before they ovulate. The LH surge with OVwatch or home test can predict that.

Thanks for all the help.
I use a Clear Blue Easy monitor. It seems to predict
ovulation pretty well, it's just that ovulation seems
to be getting later and later. Then, 2 times this year
I've gotten BV right before ovulation. I've never had this
before some I'm getting anxious that the rest of my life
will be BV and late ovulation

Sharon - I don't eat too much wheat anymore. My first saliva test
showed me as a non-secretor, and then the blood test at the clinic
determined I was a secretor. I do feel a little different after wheat.
I've been sticking to spelt bread and rice cakes. I do have white lines
in my fingerprints though....

I had a number of miscarriages and my doctor found that I was ovulating late from low progesterone levels.  Progesterone not only helps extend the luteal phase but it is important in getting the pregnancy established and then maintaining it.

Chaste Tree Berry (Vitex) can help extend the luteal phase by increasing progesterone. This herb is also in Fem Balance so that's another reason to order it.  

More info here:  http://www.ovulation-calculator.com/pregnancy/herbs.htm  

Quoted from karen

I had a number of miscarriages and my doctor found that I was ovulating late from low progesterone levels.  Progesterone not only helps extend the luteal phase but it is important in getting the pregnancy established and then maintaining it.

Chaste Tree Berry (Vitex) can help extend the luteal phase by increasing progesterone. This herb is also in Fem Balance so that's another reason to order it.  

More info here:  http://www.ovulation-calculator.com/pregnancy/herbs.htm  

Thanks Karen,
I seem to be making it 11-12 days after ovulation, but I really suspected
a Luteal phase defect too. My doc said progesterone was fine, but I don't
think the test was accurate. Have you personally had luck with the Chaste Tree Berry,
or did you have to use the progesterone cream (I'd rather not if I don't have to)?

I just read from that link that Dong Quai and a few others in FEM Balance
should be avoided before pregnancy?? So FEM Balance would regulate cycles, but
wouldn't be good to try and conceive? I don't know what to do.

why not follow the baby book and all its protocols therein?
buy it tonight, by Tuesday max it will be at your door step

nwiser, I had my miscarriages years ago. It was eight to ten of them - I lost count over the years. But my second and fourth pregnancies I was able to carry full term - a daughter and a son. We still wanted more children and kept trying and right before my last miscarriage my doctor discovered the low progesterone and prescribed it in a suppository. But I still miscarried. This was all pre BTD and I had lots of health issues popping up and so looking back it isn't surprising that it didn't work.

I have used Fem Balance for menopause and at the moment am trying a small amount of progesterone cream - trying to determine if one works better than the other.  

So don't get discouraged reading that. You have a lot going for you by already being on the BTD/GTD.  Stick to the plan and I'm sure things will happen for you.

What type of test did your doctor use to determine your progesterone level? I've heard that saliva tests are more accurate than blood tests. Something you might want to look into.  Also, I don't know for sure but looking back on my situation, I would also suspect low thyroid in my case.  I don't know if you have had yours checked but you could take your underarm temperature first thing in the morning and see if it is low.

By-the-way, you can also plan the gender of your children, if you know your cycle.  We did.
We had boy, girl, boy, girl and then Esther surprised us.  We still don't know how she happened to be! But we love her to death.

To have a girl, conception needs to take place at the beginning of your ovulation cycle.  By the third to fourth day into ovulation a boy can be conceived.  
The science...?
Girl sperms live longer but are slower to move towards the egg.  The boy sperms are much faster but, in fact, have a shorter life span.  The egg is not released from the ovaries until around the middle of your ovulation.
So, by trying to conceive at the beginning, the only sperms that are left will be girl sperms because all of the males would have died off.  By trying to conceive in the middle when the egg has been released the boy sperms will get to the egg before the girls.

I had a cousin who'd had two girls.  She became pregnant again but there seemed to be complications with the baby.  As she began to come to full term they told her that the baby was another girl and severely deformed.  Apparently my cousin had cat sit for someone and in dumping the kitty litter got a worm that began to destroy things necessary for a healthy baby.  Someone more educated than myself might know more about this.
The baby was born with two noses and a few other major problems.  She lived only a few hours before she died.  It was winter and my cousin said that she felt like a horrible mother for leaving her baby sitting in that cold morgue until the ground was warm enough to dig a grave.  She grieved deeply.  
Not much time went by when she desired another child to help replace the one she'd lost but the thought of giving birth to another girl was almost more than she could bear.  She desperately wanted a boy.
She'd heard we had planned the genders of our children so I explained the above concept.  Nine months later they had a boy!  

So it does work for someone other than myself!  You can find the information in a book called "Your Fertility Signals".

Try to use this ovulation calendar tool http://www.ovulationcalendarsoftware.com/ to trace your cycle and find the date of ovulation.

I just wanted to point out this month's newsletter from DNP contains material related to fertility and conception:

http://www.4yourtype.com/2011_newsletter_v8n2.asp#Ann



Also the Eat Right for Your Baby book is on sale this month.

http://www.4yourtype.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ED006

aromatika,
welcome!
tell us your blood type

I used to ovulate a couple of days before I started my period.  It was that way for years.  In fact, before I understood what was really going on, it was the way I knew I was going to start my period very soon--because of the signs of what I later learned was ovulation.  My mom had me try a vitamin supplement called Reliv (which I can't recommend because it's got ingredients most of us should avoid) and the introduction of soy into my diet made a big difference.  I'd never had soy before.  But it's what my body evidently needed to straighten out my hormones.  I went from 7 heavy days to 3 medium days and two light days.  Cramps improved and the ovulation timing changed to where it should be.  I think, if I didn't take that soy-based supplement, I would have had trouble getting pregnant.