Ovulation, irregular period (old blood) and ovulation testing.
Please be aware there may be some TMI descriptions here :)
Today is the day after my period ended and I have really irregular periods. I'm 34 and since I hit 31 or so, I tend to spot old dark brown flakey blood 5 days or so before my dark "regular" flow. My flow usually lasts about 3 heavy days and then it tapers off. It started very heavy (blood is almost watery with clots) on 9/11,9/12 and 9/13 I had almost nothing, then 9/14 it came back light and finally yesterday it was gone. Was spotting brown since 9/6 on and off till period started with right ovary pain, cramping and swollen breasts.
This is usually normal for me as I get very strong pms symptoms, although this time
I was thinking I may have been pregnant since I felt everything a bit stronger this cycle but then AF came. Hubby and I are ttc #1 and I'm not sure when I ovulated, but I am tracking my periods and going by what the app says are the right times.
I have gone to many different gynos to bring up the topic of my periods and they all say I'm ok no endo, etc. I do have a history of tiny ovarian cysts happening right before ovulation (or around when I feel I may be ovulating) and I know they "come and go". I'm just concerned that my hormones may be low and it's causing my irregular periods and it may make it hard for me to conceive (thyroid is ok and I've never gotten a blood test at a gynos office.).
I just bought a set of ovulation strips and tested them today just to try them out (I know it's probably extremely early). I noticed there was a super super faint line that's hard to capture with a camera.
What does this mean, and around when should I be using these and how often to know when I'm ovulating ?
Thanks so much!!
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