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 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 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?