CM Question

brij2006

For the girls who check CM and are on somewhat regular cycles.  What day in your cycle do you start checking it?

I was thinking to start at CD10 since I O'd on CD15 last time, but I have no clue what to expect how this cycle will go.

Apollo11235

I chart for TTA and have a sticky BIP. I check every day from the end of my period until I've confirmed O.

sgautschi

I check every day (by just looking in my underwear and on the toilet paper) but I've always done that. Weird habit? Lol

abt8113

I don't know about everyone wake, but I check everyday. My CM is pretty obvious though.

BackseatDriver

I would probably just start checking after AF is done if it isn't obvious.

brij2006

Thanks girls.  Mine is very obvious once it gets EW, but up until then it isn't as pronounced.

@apollo11235 When do you start avoiding?  Do you base it on CM (granted I understand your cycles are pretty regular)?  I tried looking back in TCOYF last night, but didn't find a difinitive answer as to which CM to start using other protection at. 

BackseatDriver

Safe Days Using the Mucus Method

Do not have unprotected vaginal intercourse on your unsafe days.

• The days of your period are not safe days, especially during short cycles. The flow can cover the mucus signs.
• In a long cycle, the dry days after your period may be safe.
• Days that are not safe begin two or three days before the first sign of slippery mucus. They last for about three days after slippery mucus peaks. Safe days may begin after peak slippery mucus drops off and is cloudy and tacky again. But the dry days that follow are even safer.

It's best to abstain from unprotected vaginal intercourse for at least one whole cycle before you start to use this method for birth control.

The Two-Day Method

The Two-Day Method is a mucus method. It works best for a woman who is sure she can tell whether or not she has secretions. To use the method, she asks herself two questions:

• Do I have cervical mucus today?
• Did I have cervical mucus yesterday?

If she can answer "no" to both questions, it is considered a safe day for unprotected intercourse.

Women who use this method may have only 12 safe days in each of their cycles.

Effectiveness

Of 100 couples who use the cervical mucus method correctly for one year, 3 will have a pregnancy.

Of 100 couples who use the Two-Day Method correctly for one year, 3–4 will have a pregnancy.

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/fam-cervical-mucus-method-22140.htm

brij2006

Thank you! @backseatdriver

This is going to be weird trying to get the hang of using these cycles for TTA.

Apollo11235

brij2006 said:

Thanks girls.  Mine is very obvious once it gets EW, but up until then it isn't as pronounced.

@apollo11235 When do you start avoiding?  Do you base it on CM (granted I understand your cycles are pretty regular)?  I tried looking back in TCOYF last night, but didn't find a difinitive answer as to which CM to start using other protection at. 

Yes, my cycles are pretty regular. I also have sticky CM pretty much all the time but haven't been able to "officially" establish it as my BIP, so we basically just use condoms from CD6 until 3-4dpo when rules 3 and 4 say I'm safe.

I use the TCOYF rules:

1. CD1-5 are safe as long as you haven't had a cycle shorter than 25 days in the last 12 months (and CD1-3 are safe even if you've had some short cycles); 

2. you are safe after 6pm on a pre-O day where you have no CM at all by 6pm (this is a little more complicated, because if you've had any days of creamy or EWCM, you have to follow the peak day rule below);

3. you are safe after 6pm on the 4th day after your peak day, as long as you are also safe by rule 4 (peak day is the last day of fertile CM);

4. you are safe after 6pm on the day of your third temp above coverline (and they have to be "high enough" - I think at least two have to be .2 degrees above coverline?), as long as you are also safe by rule 3.

I know you've had some anovulatory cycles, so the peak day rule is more important, and you can use it over and over if you gear up to O but don't actually O.

It definitely all sounds complicated at first, but since you've charted for a while, it shouldn't be impossible to get used to. I'm in cycle 13 now and it's not a big deal, I just wish I had dry days for a while pre-O. It basically comes down to avoiding any time you have CM, and if it looks like you O'ed, until you've confirmed and triple-checked.

I hope that my essay has helped! Please feel free to ask more questions or PM me about it any time!