Personal (tmi) Question...

nda_roxybabe

I know I've seen some of you mention it before but how many of you have irregular cycles? How long was your longest cycle?

shellydiane820

1 month, but it was light.

pooh8402

here. longest 3 months. on BC for regulation. nuvaring rocks.

edit: longest cycle was 3 months. longest period 10 days, but that was back when I was on seasonale. my normal periods with no hormonal regulation were 3-4 days.

alixzafiris

Mine are irregular in the sense that I literally never know which week it'll arrive until I get all crampy the day before - it makes planning trips a pain in the... ovaries? That was bad, sorry Thankfully though, the longest it ever lasts is three days, usually it's two.

JessAndTrav

I'm very irregular. I had mine for an entire summer when I was 17. I would have a 1-2 break from it about once every 3 weeks, and just when I thought it was over, it was back.

It succcccccked.

nda_roxybabe

Ahh sorry girls, I mean how many days between periods?

sucrets4

Before bc (waaaay back in college), I would guess that it was 5-6 weeks or so.  I never wrote it down, but I know that it was never regular or predictable in any way and sucked ass.

shellydiane820

I've gone 9 months....and no I was not pregnant.

alixzafiris

It varies. Sometimes it's 2 and a half to 3 weeks or so between, sometimes it's a few months.

JessAndTrav

I'm the same as shellydiane. Around 9 months, pregnancy was impossible as I was still a member of the v-squad.

I usually lose count between periods. The only way I'll remember this time around is that I had my period the week of the wedding.

nda_roxybabe

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_personal-tmi-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:e1cb4132-4131-42c6-ae7e-a6fdd4f7479aPost:146236af-2f25-4946-b3ca-0b5cd3b53e74">Re: Personal (tmi) Question...</a>:
[QUOTE]I've gone 9 months....and no I was not pregnant.
Posted by shellydiane820[/QUOTE]
Dang!

squirrly

Holy hell. 

Um, you could write the calendar based on my cycle.  It's 30 days, including 5 unfun ones, per cycle.  BCPs adjust it, of course, but the times when I've gone off it resets pretty much immediately. 

JessAndTrav

I would say my 'regular' cycle is something like this:

Get a normal-length period (5-7 days, heavy at first, light around day 3) and skip for somewhere around 4 months. The most I've skipped is 9. Then I usually get the regular duration and flow around 2 months back-to-back, and then I go back to skipping.

Basically, I'm not the girl to ask for a tampon. I don't waste the room in my purse.

Nebb

If im not on the pill I rarely get it, I will go 6 months without and then get it and it will last for 4 days of agony, and then disappear again. I have been on the pill for 10 years now because I cant deal with that crap, every time ive gone off, it was atleast 6 months until I got it again. I guess that doesnt answer your question but I felt like answering about my stupid ovaries anyways.

nda_roxybabe

Ok. When I was on the pill it was all regular but since I've been off (a year and half now) its screwy and like it used to be(pre pill).
For the majority of last year my cycle length was 50ish days. Right now Its been 100 days. As far as I can remember (I didn't keep track in HS because I was still a virgin so I cant be sure) this is the longest I've gone.

Those of you planning on having children, do you have fertility concerns? Have you discussed them with your Dr. if you do?

squirrly

Uh, as I'm the weirdo in this thread - my concern is getting PG while still ON the pill.  I feel certain that if FI WALKS BY me once I'm off, we'll be buying car seats and the like.

pooh8402

I absolutely have fertility concerns. my mom had fertility issues in addition to endometriosis, she was on clomid for a while before she got pregnant with me. my sister has PCOS, and had to go on metformin before she got pregnant. all of us (mom, both of my sisters and I) have irregular periods. I am definitely going to discuss the possibility of PCOS the next time I go to see my gyno.

prob TMI but we're all girls.

Nebb

For sure fertility concerns, but we "dont want" kids (right now), so im indifferent. It is always at the back of my mind though that if I do decide I want them it will probably be incredibly frustrating and disappointing. Im pretty certain if I only get a period naturally once or twice a year, the odds of kids are pretty dismal.

sucrets4

Haha, squirrly!

We all know that the pill MAKES your cycle regular, right? 

sucrets4

pooh - btw, i love the new pic! 

nda_roxybabe

Yes Sucrets That's part of the reason I went of it. I felt (feel) like it may just be a band-aid for an underlying problem.

See, I want kids. I've always wanted kids. I've always had a bad feeling that I'm going to have fertility problems (and my mom just confessed last year she's had the same concerns for me). I've brought this up to my 2 different Gyn's both of them brushed it off and said we'll see when I start ttc and recommended I use BC to regulate things in the mean time.

JessAndTrav

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_personal-tmi-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:e1cb4132-4131-42c6-ae7e-a6fdd4f7479aPost:3c183d9d-ec5b-40cd-b400-8b56e3f6102c">Re: Personal (tmi) Question...</a>:
[QUOTE]Ok. When I was on the pill it was all regular but since I've been off (a year and half now) its screwy and like it used to be(pre pill). For the majority of last year my cycle length was 50ish days. Right now Its been 100 days. As far as I can remember (I didn't keep track in HS because I was still a virgin so I cant be sure) this is the longest I've gone. Those of you planning on having children, do you have fertility concerns? Have you discussed them with your Dr. if you do?
Posted by nda_roxybabe[/QUOTE]

Yes, I went to the doctor when I was 17 after the summer-long period. Which I didn't mention, but it was freakishly heavy the entire time. Almost frighteningly so.

My doctor put me on a low-dosage of the BCP, and I became gloriously regular.

But first, let me rewind. When I was 13, I started my period. About a month later, I got my braces. While I had my braces, my gums started swelling,and my dentist told me to brush more, floss more, etc. I did, and they continued to swell. It wasn't gingivitis or anything, I only had them 10 months or so. We took them off, the swelling did go down a little because of the removal. By this time I was 14.

Giving them time to heal, my dentist just kept watching my gums. The swelling went down a little more, but then just stayed the same. He finally sent me to a periodontist when I was 16 to have the gum tissue removed.

A few months later came the massive period. Now, here's why I tell you THAT story.

Once I got on BC, the swelling in my gums came back. I was like, WHAT THE FUUCK? We just spent $5k on gum surgery. My dentist asked me what medicines I took and when I mention BC, he said, "Ohhhhhhhhh."

Apparently, your hormones are connected to your gums. (It wasn't the braces causing the swelling, it was my changing hormones since I had just started). I went to an endocronoligist and we found that my adrenal glands like to produce a lot of potassium, and potassium and estrogen aren't friends.

They put me on some prescription to balance it, and it worked. But I never went back because my dad never paid the bill and I was embarassed. I'm actually planning on going back really soon, now that I'm insured.

Whew. Sorry for the novel.

I do worry about fertility. I've not done any testing, but the hope is that with the prescription that regulates my adrenal glands, my hormones will be balanced and fertility won't be problematic.

sucrets4

Just making sure. 

It was so nice when I was regular - I was never caught unaware!  I was actually surprised that my first month off bc was exactly 30 days.  That has NEVER happened on its own before, so I guess my body had changed and was ready to get pg?  Because I got ku the next month.

I was worried more because I had been on bc for so long and just didn't know what my body was up to anymore, which is why I looked into charting.  Originally we weren't going to, we were just going to 'see what happens', but the more I looked into it, the more I realized that I really wanted to know what the eff my body was doing.

squirrly

sucrets, I'm regular either way.  30 days on, 28 days off.  The rare occasions I've missed even one pill, I very notice the difference in all the things you would chart (except temp, because I don't do that - I'm just generally self observant/paranoid). 

We're under 4 months out now, so my OH HOLY SHIIT I CAN NOT DEAL WITH THIS-ness is darn near gone.  I don't wanna be PG at the wedding.  But, aside from not drinking, the crisis of it being obvious is pretty much gone. 

sucrets4

Jess - that's interesting that they're effected.  It does make sense, though, since your gums get more sensitive and bleed easier when you're pg.

JessAndTrav

Yeah, my dentist scared the shiit out of me by telling me that in freak-cases, when pg, your gums can grow over your teeth.

Yeah, um, neat. I'm pretty sure I'll keep my periodontist's number on speed dial.

What sucks is that it totally effed my surgery, and I was so pelased with the results!

The swelling wasn't puffy, it's hard. So I just have big gums. I'm fuucking Benjamin Buford Blue. (Not really!)

nda_roxybabe

Jess- that's so odd! Swelling gums= wonky hormones?

Sucrets- I know, you guys got pregnant right away! I keep meaning to get the book but then I'll forget. I was charting my temp and I did it consistently for oever a month and then just stopped for who knows why. I need to start doing it again..

Squirrly- Yea, you're pretty much out of the ZOMGpregnantbelly! danger zone. Even so, not ideal

JessAndTrav

I don't think I'll ever be able to do charting. Like, wtf would be the point? I think that when we start TTC we'll just toss the condoms aside and go at it.

squirrly

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_personal-tmi-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:e1cb4132-4131-42c6-ae7e-a6fdd4f7479aPost:df48c236-88b8-4242-afbf-126645ae78e1">Re: Personal (tmi) Question...</a>:
[QUOTE]Jess- that's so odd! Swelling gums= wonky hormones? Sucrets- I know, you guys got pregnant right away! I keep meaning to get the book but then I'll forget. I was charting my temp and I did it consistently for oever a month and then just stopped for who knows why. I need to start doing it again.. <strong>Squirrly- Yea, you're pretty much out of the ZOMGpregnantbelly! danger zone. Even so, not ideal</strong>
Posted by nda_roxybabe[/QUOTE]

Yeah, exactly.  Even though FI and FMIL would be THRILLED for me to be PG tomorrow.  My mom would flip.  FMIL finds it encouraging that when FI and I go out for seafood, oysters are normally on the menu.  Gah!  Creepy!  Quit thinking about that!

nda_roxybabe

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_personal-tmi-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:e1cb4132-4131-42c6-ae7e-a6fdd4f7479aPost:86b5d80f-0353-4bff-b51a-7187e2e420cd">Re: Personal (tmi) Question...</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't think I'll ever be able to do charting. Like, wtf would be the point? I think that when we start TTC we'll just toss the condoms aside and go at it. ;)
Posted by JessAndTrav[/QUOTE]
I know you'd think this but from What I've heard from Sucrets you really learn a lot and even being irregular you will eventually see some consistencies. The reason I decided to start doing it was to make sure I'm ovulating.

nda_roxybabe

Squirrly- Awkward! My mom gets chocked up anytime she talks about me having kids and how she hopes she is still around (she is only 51!).