Do you get your periods on the same day every month??

concordancia wrote: »

virginiajharris wrote: »

concordancia wrote: »

.
My iron rich blood also stains mine. The only thing I have found to get it back to original is a long soak in oxyclean at the end of each cycle.

Have you tried hydrogen peroxide? It gets mine nice and clean and doesn't have any of the harsh (to cup and vagina) detergents that Oxyclean does.

@vanityy99 I'm sure you'll find most cup users can get a little evangelical about them and are often happy to answer questions, even those you don't ask. 🙂 Personal, I use a Linette cup, because at the time it was one of the few mainstream brands that came in pretty colors (mine is blue) and love it. It only took me a couple days to get used to it and have had no problems since.
https://putacupinit.com is a great resource to start looking at options.

Oxyclean free is basically just hydrogen peroxide once it dissolves. And it is rinsed throughly, then rests for 2-3 weeks, then is rinsed again before insertion. I have super sensitive skin in general, so I am especially careful about what goes in my vagina.

The active ingredient in Oxyclean is Sodium Percarbonate which breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and soda ash when mixed with water. The soda ash (aka "washing soda" or sodium carbonate) is what is irritating because it is so alkaline. Many can also be sensitive to the scent added.

(as an aside, I buy sodium percarbonate in bulk for laundry purposes. Much cheaper than Oxyclean and doesn't have the additives)

To answer the original question: having a variation of up to a week is perfectly normal. If you have never had a 28 day cycle, you are actually like the majority of women. I was considered regular but I would range between 27 and 35 days between periods, the most common being 30 days. 28 days is actually an average for many women, not an actual schedule.

From the age of 18 until about 2 years ago at age 39, the only times I even had my period were when I was on birth control or taking Metformin for PCOS. I even went as long as a year and a half without it in my early twenties. For some reason, right around my 39th birthday it started coming regularly on its own, and it has been pretty much every 4-5 weeks since. The only exception was when I was being treated with antibiotics this summer and missed a month. Weird how things happen like that.

healingnurtrer wrote: »

If you want a LOT more information on this topic... the book "taking charge of your fertility" is a great read. It's probably at your library. There shouldn't be much variation in your luteal phase (from ovulation till period) but there can be variation from the start of your period until you ovulate. And if you don't ovulate in a month that could change things too. Stress, weight loss, lots of other things can affect your cycles.

YES. Knowing your fertile signs is so helpful. My cycle can vary by 1.5 weeks (though generally typical variation in maybe 2-5 days). The bigger variations are usually illness-related, sometimes stress related and I always know when I’ll have a longer or shorter cycle because I know when I ovulate.

I know that I will begin spotting 15 days after ovulation, with full on period beginning 16 post ovulation. I use the Clearblue Easy monitor to test for ovulation (also called the Marquette method of natural family planning). Little monitor tells me I ovulated—even if it’s 5 days earlier or 5 days later than usual—and I know when my period will start. So nice to cut out the guesswork.