Cycle 41

I've now completed cycle 41, my seventh Lunaception cycle.

This was our first cycle trying to conceive, and as you can see, it didn't really work out as hoped, though not through the fault of Lunaception, which worked quite beautifully this cycle as I attempted to ovulate a bit earlier than my average 22 days.

From CD1-17, I slept with my eyemask on before switching to my night lighting for CD18-20. I planned on using the night lighting during the weekend, since I tend not to sleep as well without my eye mask, plus it would help with our timing, since the weekdays tend to be quite busy. I was thrilled with my sharp, definite temperature shift and the plentiful eggwhite mucus that accompanied it right on schedule -- ovulation on CD19: mission accomplished!

My luteal phase was definitely out of the ordinary this month. Besides having a horrible cold (and taking Tylenol cold daily for it), I also decided (with the switch to TTC) to cut out all caffeine (cold turkey - yikes!), as well as many of my herbal teas that I often enjoy -- including red raspberry leaf. Add onto that the pre-Christmas stress and work stress, and I guess it's not too big of a surprise that it was kind of wacky this month.

After days of higher-than-usual luteal phase temperatures, on 10DPO I had very, very light spotting. This was quite perplexing for me, since I'm not known to spot often. Then, two days later I had more spotting with cramping -- not at all like my regular cycle day 1. The day after I took a pregnancy test and got a very disappointing negative, but decided to count the previous day (12DPO) as day 1 of a new cycle.

So, on to a new cycle and more Lunaception experimentation! Wish us luck!

Cycle 40

I've now completed cycle 40, my sixth Lunaception cycle.

I've become a huge fan of my eyemask and couldn't imagine going without it now. I was a bit surprised to see eggwhite mucus at 16dpo, and I'm thinking with night lighting earlier, I could have ovulated much earlier than usual.

From CD21-23 I slept with a night light on. I believe I ovulated during that first night, as my temperature was up, but barely over the coverline -- not at all the normal, definite shift I usually get on 1dpo.

Once again, I had a 12 day luteal phase, with a tiny bit of cramping and spotting the day before ovulation. In addition to Lunaception, I had also been drinking raspberry leaf tea, so I had been hoping for a longer luteal phase, but 12 days long is fine as well.

I have been under a lot of stress at work, which I think may have played into my lack of consistency in the luteal phase. Hopefully next month I will have more even, consistent temperatures again.

CYCLE 39

Well, I just finished up cycle 39, my fifth Lunaception cycle.

Throughout the first part of my cycle, I kept my eye mask on. I sleep very well with it on now, and it's become so much of a habit now that I don't really even think about it much. I think that my body has gotten used to these experiments that I put it through. I used to have scattered days of creamy and eggwhite mucus a week, or even sometimes two weeks before I'd actually ovulate... for the past few months, however, I haven't had any of the most fertile mucus until after I'd tried triggering ovulation with the night lighting.

From CD22-24 I slept with my eyemask off and a night light on in the bedroom. I purposely planned this for a weekend, since I know I don't sleep as well during those days. Eggwhite mucus showed up, and -- sure enough -- soon after the three nights of light, I had my temperature shift.

My luteal phase temperatures are still quite even and level when compared with my pre-Lunaception luteal phases. This cycle I had a 12-day luteal phase, which -- although isn't anything to write home about -- is sufficient.

No new observations this month... overall, however, I've been pleased with how cooperative my body has been and with how easy my charts are to interpret.

On to cycle 40!

Comparing the charts...

CYCLE 35 (luteal phase only)
LP - 14 days


CYCLE 36
Light nights CD31-33
Ovulation CD32
Coverline 97.2
LP - 12 days


CYCLE 37
Light nights CD16-18
Ovulation CD20
Coverline 97.2
LP - 15 days


CYCLE 38
Light nights (CD17-19 w/o eye mask) CD26-28 w/night light
Ovulation CD27
Coverline 97.3
LP - 10 days w/ inconsistent darkness


OVERLAID CHARTS:

AN UPDATE SO FAR

Sorry to take so long to update again. As it turns out, my new job is very demanding and very time-consuming, and I haven't had a chance to blog in over a month. From this point on, my updates will probably be fewer and further between, but I hope to keep posting about how Lunaception is changing my cycles.


RECAP -
Lunaception is the theory that light (and the absence of light) affects the menstrual cycle by altering the chemical melatonin -- too much of which has been shown to delay or prevent ovulation.

In order to "use" Lunaception, I've bought an eye mask which I use in my infertile phases both before and after ovulation, as well as a night light which I start using as soon as I want to try to trigger ovulation. So for the first two and a half or three weeks of my cycle, I sleep with my eye mask on to block out all light. Then for 3-5 days I sleep with the eye mask off and the night light on to try to decrease my melatonin levels and trigger ovulation. I've also found that getting enough sunlight, water, and calories during this time is important. Then, after ovulation has occurred, I wear my eye mask again in order to encourage a long, healthy luteal phase. About two weeks after ovulation, my period arrives and we begin again.

I have been using Lunaception for one luteal phase, three full cycles, and another half of a cycle, since May 8, 2008 (five months now). Here are a few things that I have noticed throughout these cycles:

• Early on, I noticed very vivid dreams, which have tapered off over time.
• I have been able to sleep very well with my eye mask on and feel more rested when I wake up.
• My basal body temperatures are much more consistent, with more definite temperature shifts at ovulation (less step or fall-back rises).
• My basal body temperatures were also much lower, with a pre-Lunaception average coverline of 97.7 degrees F lowered to a Lunaception average coverline of 97.3 degrees F.
  
• I have had a longer luteal phase with the two cycles which I was consistent with blocking out all light after ovulation. My pre-Lunaception average was 12.2 days; my Lunaception luteal phases were 14, 12, and 15 days.
• During my first full cycle of Lunaception, ovulation was delayed until CD32 (compared with an average pre-Lunaception ovulation day of CD21.4), when it was finally triggered after my second night of night lighting.
• During my second full cycle, ovulation was triggered on CD20, after three days of night lighting.
• During my third full cycle, ovulation was NOT triggered on the first try with no eye mask but no night lighting, but WAS triggered later on with night lighting on CD27, after the second night of night lighting.
  

Cycle 38 (CD1-25)... Stress, anyone?

Since last cycle, I have:

• moved to a different country
• started a new job, which I am at for 10-12 hrs/day five days a week
• completely changed my sleeping schedule
• started exercising regularly (cardio 5-6x/wk)
• changed my diet
• had two family members pass away

So, I'm not particularly surprised that it's now CD25 and my temps are still sub-97.0. I tried triggering ovulation last week, with no luck... though now I have had a few days with lots of cervical mucus, so I'm going to be trying again starting tonight. Our new home is in the country, so natural lighting streaming in from the open window is not really an option -- it's pretty dark out. I'm going to be trying out a night light and seeing how that goes. Hopefully I'll also be able to spend time outdoors these next few days, which I've not gotten a chance to do in awhile. So... we'll see how this goes.

Finishing Up Cycle 37

So, since my favorite message board is down and due to firewall restrictions (which should be sorted out within a few days) I'm not able to log on to my favorite chat room, I guess I'll post here to let everyone know that yes, I am still alive. I am surviving, my first day of my new job went fairly well (though I don't feel that I got anything done), and AF has not yet arrived, which means that tomorrow, after a 14-day luteal phase, will probably be the first day of cycle 38.

Lunaception observations this cycle...
This cycle was nuts, due to tons of traveling, lots of stress, changing time zones a few times, and a few all-nighters. Through it all, however, Lunaception served me well, as I had a fairly predictable pre-ovulatory phase, a definite shift, and a fairly predictable -- and long! -- luteal phase. I had a lot of similar temperatures, which seemed at least in some part to correspond to the amount of time I spent in natural sunlight. I had tons of eggwhite mucus, and slept very well throughout my cycle. When I tried to trigger ovulation, I ended up ovulating two days after my last night of light, but still earlier than my average.

Cycle pic to be uploaded later!

Day 77 (CD22) - An example of how travel can mess up your temperatures!

So who wants to take some bets about when/if I've ovulated?

CD20 - woke up at 3am (EST) after getting about 4.5 hours of sleep
CD21 - woke up at 6am (CST)
CD22 - woke up at 4am (CST)

All three of these nights were following very long, stressful days, and I've had lots and lots of EWCM throughout, including today (CD22).

Option 1: Completely unadjusted temperatures, no ovulation yet... might have to mark CD21 as disturbed later to get an accurate shift
Option 2: Adjusted temperatures, showing a shift, but no ovulation because of my continuous ewcm
Option 3: Adjusted temperatures & put on "temperatures only" setting, shows ovulation on CD19

#1 #2 #3

Put your votes in now! ;)

Day 71 (CD16)

Well, due to some unforeseen events, I'll be needing to travel from CD18-22, so in order to avoid frustrating temperature disturbances right around ovulation, I decided to start trying to trigger ovulation early.

So, last night I slept with the blinds open and without my eye mask. I didn't feel as rested when I woke up, but my cervix was quite open, and I continued having creamy/wet mucus, so I'm really hoping it works. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Day 69 (CD14)

CD2 - indoors / CD3 - 96.8
CD3 - AM walk / CD4 - 97.1
CD4 - AM boating & PM hiking / CD5 - 97.1
CD5 - indoors / CD6 - 96.8
CD6 - PM walk / CD7 - 97.1
CD7 - indoors / CD8 - 96.8
CD8 - AM walk (obviously wasn't enough sunlight... it was shorter than usual, and overcast... maybe that's why?) / CD9 - 96.8
CD9 - AM walk & PM walk / CD10 - 97.0
CD10 - indoors / CD11 - 97.1 ... there goes my predictable pattern
CD11 - indoors / CD12 - 97.1
CD12 - indoors / CD13 - 96.8
CD13 - indoors / CD14 - 97.0
CD14 - AM walk / CD15 - ???

So... the pattern that I thought I was developing isn't really as cut-and-dry as I had expected. With today's observations, however, I definitely entered the fertile phase of my cycle, which I've found is a whole different ball game anyways. I had a LOT of very creamy cervical mucus today, so I'm hoping my body is preparing itself, as I'm really hoping to trigger ovulation on CD18 (Jul 19, the day after the full moon). So that means two more nights of wearing the eye mask for me!

Day 67 (CD12)

My theory about light during the daytime affecting my morning temps now has a hole in it.

CD10 and 11 were days that I spent basically indoors, without even our normal morning walk. The following mornings, however, were both temperatures of 97.1, which I had previously associated with adequate sunlight during the previous day.

Now, I know a lot of hypothesizing is going into it at this point, but perhaps this means that my body is finally getting used to my Lunaceptive seratonin/melatonin levels? I was also surprised to feel distinctly wet vaginal sensations so early in my cycle (CD11-12), a symptom which I normally don't experience until at least CD14.

Previous cycles with more than one day of wet vaginal sensation as of CD13:
c26 - wet on CD12-14, ovulation on CD18
c25 - wet on CD12-13, ovulation on CD16

Perhaps my body is preparing itself for an earlier-than-normal ovulation!

Day 65 (CD10)

Continued observations through CD10

CD2 - indoors / CD3 - 96.8
CD3 - AM walk / CD4 - 97.1
CD4 - AM boating & PM hiking / CD5 - 97.1
CD5 - indoors / CD6 - 96.8
CD6 - PM walk / CD7 - 97.1
CD7 - indoors / CD8 - 96.8
CD8 - AM walk (obviously wasn't enough sunlight... it was shorter than usual, and overcast... maybe that's why?) / CD9 - 96.8
CD9 - AM walk & PM walk / CD10 - 97.0

Each day that I spent an extended amount of time outdoors, I had a temperature the next morning of 97.0 or 97.1.
Each day that I spent mostly indoors, I had a temperature the next morning of 96.8.

I'm not sure how long this pattern is going to keep up, especially as this morning I had a temperature that was a bit off the pattern. I do find it very interesting, however, and I wonder:

Was I always this sensitive to light? Or am I -- through Lunaception -- training my body to be sensitive to light?

Day 61 (CD6)

My prediction was correct! After spending a day out in the sun on CD4, my temperature on CD5 was over 97.0 degrees!

My current trend over the past four days:
- temps on days where I spent a lot of time outside = both 97.1 degrees
- temps on days where I spent most the day indoors = both 96.8 degrees

We'll see how long this trend continues. Today I spent most of the day indoors, though I did go out for a walk this afternoon, so I'm expecting a temp below 97.0 degrees tomorrow. I also took a short nap this afternoon without my eye mask, so I'm hoping that doesn't mess up my experiment too much. I'll keep you updated!

Day 59 (CD4)

Assumption: Low (under 97.0 degree) temperature on CD3 was caused by an excess of melatonin, produced by lack of light exposure.

Theory: By increasing the exposure to light during the daytime on CD3, I may be able to counteract the excess melatonin and help my body balance out these hormones, resulting in a more normal (over 97.0 degree) temperature on CD4.
Process: I spent about an hour in the sun right away in the morning on CD3, as well as about 45 minutes later on in the morning. Temped again on the morning of CD4 to compare.

Observations: Temperature on CD4 was more normal (over 97.0 degrees).

Further study: On CD4, I spent most of the morning and afternoon out in the sun.

Prediction: Temperatures continuing in normal (over 97.0 degrees) level, perhaps even raising to the 97.3 which it was on CD1 and 2.

Day 58 (CD3)

After two days of "normal" pre-ovulation temps, this morning dropped down again to below 97.0. Since I want to try to ovulate early this cycle, I'm going to see if I can somehow prevent myself from getting such an excess of melatonin that would cause my ovulation to be delayed like it was last cycle. I'm hoping that dark nights combined with spending extra time out in the sun during the daytime (especially morning time) might help create a "balance" that will make it easier for me to trigger ovulation when the time comes. So... we'll see how that works.

Day 56 (CD1 of cycle #37)

When I took my temperature this morning, I immediately flung myself out of bed to the bathroom. After days of temps around 97.9 degrees, today's 97.3 could only mean one thing -- menstruation. Sure enough, within minutes, my period had arrived, and within an hour, the cramps had begun.

I was a bit disappointed at my 12 day luteal phase the past cycle. When I thought more about it, however, I realized that my sleeping patterns had been very inconsistent, and that there were a handful of nights in the luteal phase that I fell asleep on the couch for a few hours before actually going to bed with my eye mask on. Also, on a few nights, I've been waking up without my eye mask on -- looks like it's time to tighten up the velcro again. Hopefully next month I can be more consistent with that to try to get a longer luteal phase again.

Also, it should be noted that my period arrived the day before the new moon.

My plan for this cycle is to try to use light to trigger an earlier-than-normal ovulation on cycle day 18, so that my next period won't arrive at an undesirable time. We'll see how that works.

Day 54 (CD43, 11DPO)

Over the past few days I've been enjoying very consistent basal body temperatures, right around 97.9 degrees.

I've also been enjoying my daily red raspberry leaf tea, and am hoping for a less painful menstrual period later this week because of it. Though the luteal phase is my favorite part of my cycle, and I'd like it to be 14 days again to his cycle, I am looking forward to starting out a fresh, new cycle and seeing what the next part of my Lunaception journey brings.

Day 51 (CD40 - 8DPO)

Though I appreciate the benefits nearly every day, there are some days when I am particularly glad that I use the fertility awareness method of birth control. Today is one of those days.

I am on cycle day 40. If I had no idea about how my body worked, I would think that there was something very wrong with me for not having a 28 day cycle. But because I am aware of my body's natural signs and keep track of my menstrual cycles, I know that this isn't completely abnormal for me.

My average cycle length is 34 days. If I were not using the fertility awareness method, I would likely be freaking out, worrying myself sick, and spending an exorbitant amount of money on home pregnancy tests, cursing them all because, well, if I'm not pregnant, than why isn't my period here yet? I may even turn into one of those women on Yahoo answers asking complete strangers whether or not I was pregnant and panicking about what I was going to do if I actually was.

In reality, however, I do use the fertility awareness method, so I know that my body did not ovulate until CD32 (ten days later than usual). So instead of stressing out, I'm calmly sitting here sipping raspberry leaf tea in preparation for my period which won't be arriving for at least another five days.

It's the little things that make me happy.

Day 49 (CD38 - 6DPO)

Not much to comment today... just enjoying the luteal phase!

Day 47 (CD36 - 4DPO)

Observation: I fell asleep on the couch last night and slept there until 4am (without my eye mask on, and with lights on in the room), before actually crawling into bed (with my eye mask) for another few hours. During both times, I noticed that I had very bizarre dreams, despite the difference in light conditions.

Pondering: I wonder if my temps are going to raise another 0.1 degree and even out at 97.9 for the rest of my cycle like they did during my last luteal phase.

Day 46 (CD35 - 3DPO)

I got my third high temp, which verified ovulation on CD32. Interesting things to note:

- This was my latest ever recorded ovulation. It seems that the extra melatonin produced by sleeping in dark conditions was enough to suppress ovulation.
- This was my lowest ever recorded coverline. It seems that the extra melatonin also lowered my core body temperature.
- Ovulation occurred on the day after my first light night. That, combined with extra sunlight during the daytime seemed to have triggered my ovulation, or at least balanced out my melatonin/seratonin levels enough that I was finally able to ovulate.

Day 45 (CD34)

Finally! My temp this morning was a 97.6, the highest I've seen in quite a long time. Between that and less-fertile mucus and cervix position, I'm fairly confident in a third high temp tomorrow, verifying that I ovulated on CD32, officially my latest ovulation ever.

Last night I did sleep with my eye mask on again, and was glad that I did; I felt quite well-rested in the morning. My plan during this luteal phase is to be sure to get sun every day to hopefully balance out my seratonin/melatonin levels before beginning the next cycle. I'm hoping for a fourteen day luteal phase again, which would put my next menstruation on Friday, July 4th.

Day 44 (CD33 - third night of light)

Though I did sleep a bit better last night, and though I do now have one temperature above the coverline, I do have a few concerns...

• Perhaps this temp shift is just an even-ing out of my temperatures now that my melatonin levels are getting back to normal (and excess melatonin is not causing them to be lowered). If so, how will I distinguish that from ovulation?
• My temp for this morning was barely above the coverline, and -- in fact -- at the same level as the previous days which I had attributed to too much sun. Knowing I didn't get sunburned yesterday, I want to think that this is really an ovulatory shift, but I'm still skeptical.
• My cervical mucus signs today were a bit difficult to interpret. I marked them as creamy, since it was very lotion-like, but it was unlike any creamy mucus I've had before, and in some parts seemed globby like post-ovulatory mucus, but also seemed a bit elastic like fertile-time ewcm. Overall, since it was definitely of less fertile quality than yesterday, I marked it as creamy.
  
• With it being cycle day 33, I don't know what my chances are of ovulating anytime after this if I did not actually ovulate yesterday.
• Since last night was my last light night, and I did not have a temp shift that screamed "Congrats! You ovulated!" I'm a bit uncertain as to what to do tonight -- go without the eye mask for one more night? Or return to my "dark side"?

One reassurance, however, is that either ovulation has happened, or it hasn't. Since it's not a lengthy process (taking as little as 15 minutes - see it here!), it either happened yesterday or it didn't, and nothing I do today can change that. If I do use the eye mask tonight (which is what I'm leaning towards) then I should still get a high temp tomorrow. And that way I'll know if it was a raise induced by a decrease in melatonin, or if it was a genuine shift... well, that along with the mucus dry up and cervical position returning to the infertile stage. So, we're still waiting, but we're remaining optimistic!

Day 43 (CD32 - second night of light)

Last night: Second night with no eye mask. Falling asleep with the additional light was not any easier last night than the night before, and I slept quite restlessly. I'll be very glad to use the eye mask again on Friday night.
This morning: Still no temperature shift. I spent a few hours this morning (between rain showers) out on my balcony trying to soak in as much sun as possible.


I think that I've been producing too much melatonin to ovulate. Perhaps going from our normally-light bedroom to the complete darkness of the eyemask was too drastic of a transition? So, of course, I had to do a bit of research:

The effect of melatonin on reproductive systems can be summarized by saying that it is anti-gonadotropic. In other words, melatonin inhibits the secretion of the gonadotropic hormones luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone from the anterior pituitary. Much of this inhibitory effect seems due to inhibition of gonadotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus, which is necessary for secretion of the anterior pituitary hormones. (link)

That same article states:

In various species including humans, administration of melatonin has been shown to decrease motor activity, induce fatigue and lower body temperature, particularly at high doses.

In my research, I found a couple of other articles as well that also explained that melatonin is probably the cause of my drastic decrease in BBT this cycle (my average coverline is 97.7 - this cycle it is 97.2) (link, link)

So... what I'm going to do about this? Besides trying to get as much daytime sun as possible, I have no idea.

Day 42 (CD31 - first night of light)

Today marks CD31, which has, up until this point, been my latest recorded ovulation ever. With that in mind, last night I experienced my first "light" night of my Lunaception journey.

Going to bed without my eye mask on was a bit weird. I hadn't realized how much I had gotten used to it, and I had to consciously keep my eyes from opening every five seconds to look around. We get a lot of light into our apartment at night, since we are city-dwellers, and since we have so many large windows. Even without a single light bulb on, after my eyes adjusted to the lack of light I could fairly clearly make out everything in the room. With a combination of moonlight and streetlights shining in from the large window beside the bed, I hoped that would be enough to trigger ovulation.

I didn't sleep well at all, which I guess was to be expected. I know I tossed and turned quite a bit, even after I fell asleep (which took longer than usual). In the morning after I took my temperature I was so tired that I rolled back over and slept another two hours... not a very restful sleep. I don't remember having any dreams, either.

Just in case that wasn't enough light, I sat out on our balcony this morning for nearly an hour before it started raining and I had to come in. All day, I've been trying to get as much light as possible -- at least, as is possible while still getting stuff done around the house and while it's raining outside.

Tonight is the full moon, so I'm really hoping for ovulation today or tomorrow. I had all of the classic ovulation signs today -- eggwhite mucus, a wet vaginal sensation, an open, high, and soft cervix, and even a dip in temperatures. This afternoon I thought I may have even felt a twinge from my left ovary (which would be VERY odd, since I never have ovulation pains)... of course, maybe that was just wishful thinking.

I'll keep you updated.

Day 41 (CD30)

It is now CD30 and I still have not ovulated. This does somewhat concern me, since my latest ovulation ever is CD31. So, I just did a bit of quick research about melatonin and delayed or anovulatory cycles. Apparently too much melatonin can cause anovulation. (Great, NOW you tell me)

Melatonin receptors have been found in all male and female sexually responsive tissues, indicating that melatonin has a significant role in normal reproductive capacity. Exogenous melatonin can suppress the release of gonadotropin releasing hormone and lutenizing hormone, leading to anovulation and changes in steroid responsive tissues, especially in higher doses (link)

Abnormally high or pharmacologic concentrations of melatonin in women are associated with altered ovarian function and anovulation. It is believed that the hormone also has antigonadal or antiovulatory effects in humans, as it does in some seasonal and nonseasonal mammalian breeders. (link)

As much as I enjoy the better sleep, I may be getting just a bit too much melatonin, which is suppressing ovulation. So... not wanting an anovulatory cycle, I'm going to go with light for the next few nights... as much light as DH can stand!

Day 40 (CD29)

No ovulation yesterday. I think that if I don't have a definite temp shift tomorrow that I'm going to go without my eye mask for the next three nights to try to trigger ovulation... CD31 was my latest ever ovulation, so I'm getting a bit sick of waiting and anxious about inadvertently turning this into an anovulatory cycle.


Also, I've been talking with some other Lunaceptors recently and one very unexpected side effect that we've all been noticing is very vivid dreams, so I did a bit of research about the link between dreams and darkened sleeping quarters.

As we know, the light/dark during the night effects the production of melatonin (link). It's been noted by others that people who take melatonin pills to help them sleep very often also experience very vivid, bizarre dreams (link). We also know that our most vivid, easily-remembered dreams take place during the REM cycle of sleep, which is enhanced by melatonin (link). So basically, it all comes back to the effects of melatonin on our sleep. I find it so interesting that I think I'm going to include in my chart next cycle the nights that I have vivid dreams.

Day 39 (CD28)

No ovulation yesterday, but things are looking up for today!

CM - I had the mother lode of EWCM today! I'll spare you the graphic details, but let me tell you, I experienced a lot of fertile mucus today -- hoorah! This (along with a lower BBT today - more about that later) has pretty much killed any idea that I ovulated earlier this cycle, but hey -- it may be coming soon!
CP - More fertile than yesterday!
BBT - At first, I was disappointed at my 97.0 this morning. Then, as I started looking at my last week's temps, I'm considering marking both CD23 AND CD27 as disturbed -- both were higher-than-usual temps that took place immediately after a day in the sun where I ended up getting somewhat burnt. I'm not entirely sure of this theory, since I ended up more burnt on CD24 than 22, but had no disturbance in temps that day.

Thoughts? Have you noticed a sunburn/higher BBT correlation?

In other, related news... I was considering trying to go without my eye mask tomorrow night to try to trigger ovulation on the full moon (Wednesday). But with my increased EWCM today, my body may be ovulating on its own anyways, in which case I'll probably just let it do its thing.

Day 38 (CD27)

I might have ovulated yesterday(?)

With a BBT of 97.5 this morning (though it was 1 hr later than usual, so it could be adjusted to 97.3), that puts me for sure over the ridiculously low coverline of 97.0. So, we'll see what tomorrow brings. And, in the world of cervical mucus, I'm still experiencing the same creamy mucus with internal checks, nothing with external.

Which brings me to my next point... after commenting about my lack of mucus to a Lunafriend (since increased ewcm seems to be common among Lunaceptors), I decided to do some digging and found similar lack of mucus on more of my previous cycles than I had expected:

c14 - only one day of ewcm; 3 total wet or lubricative days
c15 - no days of ewcm; 3 total W or L days
c19 - 1 day ewcm; 4 W or L days
c22 - 1 day ewcm; 2 W or L days
c24 - 1 day ewcm; 3 W or L days
c28 - 0 days ewcm; 1 W or L day
c34 - 1 day ewcm; 5 W or L days
c36 (so far) - 0 days ewcm; 4 W or L days

I'm still trying to determine if any conclusions can be drawn from this data. C14-15 were summer of '06, C22 and 24 were spring of '07, and C34 was spring of '08, so perhaps an increase or change in heat/humidity may be the cause? My other theory has to do with diet/water intake, but I really don't have any personal data to back that up. I am, however, going to cut back on my soft drink intake and see if that helps; I know I've been drinking far too much this cycle, and it's very possible there's a correlation there.

Day 36 (CD25)

This is both confusing and annoying. My body is acting as if it's already ovulated -- with a low, firm cervix and drying-up mucus patterns (it was creamy this morning, but some drier sticky/gummy mucus this evening), but my temps are saying "nope, you haven't ovulated yet!"

So, we'll assume that my body tried to ovulate, but then did not, due to:

• travel
• stress
• heat exhaustion
• any combination or all of the above

Day 35 (CD24)

And now I'm just confused.

My cervical mucus and cervix position are both looking quite infertile, but my temp this morning was another super-low one. Possible interpretations:

1. I did not really ovulate on CD22. The high temp on CD23 was brought on by sunburn from the day before.
2. I did ovulate on CD22. The low temp on CD24 was a weird fluke of sorts or part of a very drastic fall-back rise.

And it looks like we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

Day 34 (CD23)

I might have ovulated yesterday! What excitement!

CM - I had creamy mucus again today, even with an external check!
CP - It went WAY back down to pre-o position... low, firm, and slightly open
BBT - One temp above coverline and counting!

Day 33 (CD22)

I didn't ovulate yesterday. I'm now moving out of my "normal, but early" (ovulation on CD18-20) phase and into my "average" (ovulation on CD21-23) phase.

CM - Surprise! More creamy mucus! I actually thought it might be ewcm, since it had a very lubricative sensation, but nothing clear/stretchy/eggwhite-like at all. Oh well... at least it was distinguishable by external checks!
CP - My cervix today was definitely in a ready-to-ovulate position... high, soft, and open!
BBT - This "wave" shape that I'm experiencing has now reached its trough and is beginning to make its way back up towards the crest again... or so it would seem. This also pushed my coverline down another 0.1 degree, though, which puts it at 0.2 degree below any previous coverline. I just hope I have a distinguishable enough temp shift when ovulation occurs so that I'm not second-guessing myself with low post-ovulatory temps.

Sleep observations - Even after only four and a half hours of sleep, I seem to have gotten an accurate temperature reading this morning. Kudos to me. On a related note, I'm really tired now!

Day 32 (CD21)

I didn't ovulate yesterday.

CM - finally, after days of creamy internal mucus, I finally was able to externally observe creamy mucus (thus, marked as creamy/wet instead of creamy/dry)
CP - still firm, but higher -- signs are starting to point to impending ovulation!
BBT - on par with yesterday's. This creates an interesting instance, however, where my coverline has moved down to 97.3, officially the lowest coverline that I have ever had. What are the chances that it's going to stay that low? And do you suppose that's somehow related to Lunaception?

Day 31 (CD20)

So... I didn't ovulate yesterday. Don't you somehow get the feeling you'll be seeing that message on here a lot? I have hope, though... one of my Lunafriends (yes, that's one of you other people who recently started trying Lunaception) recently ovulated on CD22 without any nights of light. So... we keep waiting.

CM - creamy, only after checking internally... same as yesterday
CP - a bit higher again, which is a good sign
BBT - Why oh why does my basal body temperature keep dropping? This is completely bizarre... or, as M. Night Shyamalan would say, "What a twist!" (If you have no idea what that's a reference to, check out this video)

Sleep observations: I woke up early again this morning, though only a half hour earlier than usual. I'm not sure what that means, if anything, especially since I take my temp and then proceed to fall back asleep for another few hours anyways.


For my own curiosity's sake, I checked back in my previous charts to try to find other charts which showed similar pre-ovulation patterns of a sharp, steady drop in temperatures like I'm experiencing this month (currently a drop of 0.7 degrees in 8 days) To my surprise, I found a few that looked somewhat similar.

Cycle 2 - Though a sharper drop than my current one, in this cycle I dropped 0.9 degrees over 7 days, and ovulated a week later.

Cycle 20 - Again, this had another sharp drop in it. In total, it was a drop of 0.7 degrees in only six days, with ovulation five days later.

Cycle 30 - This one had three drops of 0.2 degrees or more... a total drop of 0.9 degrees in six days, with ovulation only two days later.

In each of these, I had a short period of slightly-higher-than-the-dip temps before ovulation actually occurred, and in two of those three months, my cervical mucus pattern did not match up with ovulation. So, it looks like I may have a while to go yet before ovulation, but at least I know... and we all know that knowing is half the battle.

Day 30 (CD19)

Once again... I didn't ovulate yesterday. I've now given up all hope of ovulating closer to the supposed norm, which, in my case, would be earlier than usual. For me:

• "early" = ovulation on CD17 or earlier (has occurred four times)
  
• "normal" = ovulation on CD18-26
• "average" = ovulation on CD21-22
• "late" = ovulation on CD27 or later (has occurred three times)
  

So... now I'm shooting for something in the "normal" or "average" range.

CM - Still looking for this excess cervical mucus that other Lunaceptors (yes, I just made up that word) keep talking about. At this point, I'd be content with any cervical mucus actually discernible from external checks.
CP - Dropped WAY low today... like, "Oh... well HI there, cervix!" kind of low. But, it's still partially open (as always) and of medium firmness.
BBT - Still dropping. It was actually a ridiculously low 96.7 this morning when I woke up at 5, but I adjusted it to account for the earlier waking time. If I were to assume that my CD15 temp were the same as the days before and after, my coverline would actually drop down to 97.4, which falls in the "low" range for me (in fact, my current lowest three coverlines ever are at 97.4). For me:

• "low" coverline = 97.4 or lower (has occurred three times)
  
• "normal" coverline = 97.5-98.0
• "average" coverline = 97.7-97.8
• "high" coverline = 98.1 or higher (has occurred once)
  

Sleep observations: I slept really well last night. I know that I had at least one dream, though I don't recall all the details. I ended up waking up at 5am (when I temped) but was fast asleep again before the 6am alarm.


And for your research pleasure, here's a new study about how the blue light rays from electric lights suppress melatonin.

"In clear, instructive prose, Hansler explains how the blue rays in ordinary lights block melatonin, the hormone which makes sleeping easier and helps prevent cancer. But there is an easy solution to this problem, Hansler suggests. By using such simple things as blue blocking glasses or non-blue light bulbs, melatonin can be maximized. This increased melatonin has many other benefits as well, including ameliorating bipolar disorder, ADHD, SAD and even postpartum depression."

Here's another link with info on what they call "The Blue Light Hazard." Definitely something to think about, considering how melatonin production has been linked to a "regular" menstrual cycle. Could my longer cycles be linked to time spent on the computer or watching TV in the two hours before bedtime?

Since moving to our new apartment (I'll use those, since the change in environment may have been another factor with other cycles) my longest cycles were in November and December, undoubtedly the months that I spent the most time indoors in the evening (since it got dark here so early), and was probably spending many of those hours on my computer or watching movies. Connection?

Day 29 (CD18)

Well, I didn't ovulate yesterday.

CM: creamy, internally only... again. Where's all this excess of eggwhite mucus that people say that they get using Lunaception???
CP: high, medium firmness, partially open... only slightly more fertile in quality than yesterday
BBT: And they keep on dropping. While my temps do sometimes seem to drop a bit before ovulation, I'm not again hitting 97.0, which is quite low for me.

Sleep observations: I slept better last night, only waking up once before the first alarm. We took a walk again today, so we'll see how well I sleep.

Day 28 (CD17)

Well, I didn't ovulate yesterday.

CM: creamy, internal only
CP: high (hey, maybe ovulation is on its way!), firm, partially open
BBT: I changed yesterday's to match closer to what today's is... that makes my second "only one hour off" temp this month which made more sense adjusted.

Sleep observations: I haven't been sleeping as well lately and am starting to realize that it may have more to do with my physical activity throughout the day than Lunaception itself. Right around the same time I started using my eye mask, my husband and I also started making a daily habit of walking 30 minutes to an hour every day. This past four days we haven't been able to get out on our walks, and through those nights I've noticed I've been increasingly more restless, and in the mornings increasingly more tired. We took a nice, long walk today, so I'm interested to see if that improves my sleep.


I also did a bit more study into where my ovulation and period occur in regards to the moon cycles, and I ran across this fantastic moon phase calendar on The Old Farmer's Almanac Website. Not only does it show dates of significant moon phases, but it also documents the percentage of illumination for each day. Fabulous! So, I went back and looked at my ovulation and menstruation dates and made up this more concise chart based on the percentage of illumination on each of those dates:

(click for larger view)

It's an interesting pattern, with ovulation tending to occur at about the same illumination as the menstruation of two cycles previous. This pattern also seems to be the strongest during times when it occurs closest to the New Moon or Full Moon. Now, it could just be a mathematical coincidence based on the fact that the lunar cycles are about 28 days long whereas my cycles are normally about 34 days long, but that kind of math makes my brain hurt. If that pattern were to follow for this cycle, I would ovulate somewhere around the next 60% illumination night, which happens to occur on Tuesday, June 11th, which would for me be CD24. We'll see if that prediction comes true!

I also observed that ovulation and menstruation are both equally as likely to occur during the waxing phase of the moon as during the waning phase (14-16 times each). I have menstruated twice on the new moon, and twice on the full moon; I have ovulated once on the new moon, and twice on the full moon.

Day 27 (CD16)

CD16 is the earliest that I have ever ovulated. Considering I had no cervical mucus at all, and my cervix was in a medium position and was firmer than yesterday, I think it's safe to say that I didn't ovulation today. Part of me was hoping that I would ovulate very early this cycle, because it would be quite drastic and show that the Lunaception had a definite effect on my cycles. So, we move on till tomorrow.

I woke an hour later than usual today, and will probably wait to see tomorrow's temp to see which is more accurate.

Also today, I took a closer look at my previous cycles to see where my menstrual period and my ovulation has lined up with the moon cycles in the past. Though it was hard to see any definite pattern, it did seem apparent that my menstrual period (top graph, in red) seemed to come slightly less often during the full moon than during other times of the month, whereas ovulation (bottom graph, in blue) seemed to come slightly more often during the full moon than during other times of the month. There also seems to be a significant lack of either activity during days 6-7 on either graph, as well as during days 20-21. These are both times when the moon is nearing its quarter-phases. Any significance? I'm not certain.


Overall, I did notice that menstruation seemed to occur much less during the lightest moon phases (the seven days directly surrounding the full moon), and most often during the darkest phases (the seven days directly surrounding the new moon). Very interesting.