# Female dopers: do you track your cycle? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860 "2008-01-24T20:34:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/21 "2008-01-24T22:37:19Z")
I could tell you in a general way when my last period was, but only because a) I have my period something like 4-5 times a year, and b) I always manage to have it at the most inconvenient times. Last time I had mine was around the end of December. I suppose I should be keeping track, but they’re so infrequent I guess I don’t see the point. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/22 "2008-01-24T23:12:41Z")
Yes and no. I don’t purposefully track it but it’s kind of hard not to follow the Pill pack - which days are empty, which days are white and which days are pink (placebo). I’ve been on the Pill for like 10 years now. ---
**Author:** ![BrknButterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@BrknButterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrknButterfly)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/23 "2008-01-24T23:15:13Z")
I have been on the pill for just about a year now… before that I always used a calender. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/24 "2008-01-24T23:29:18Z")
Yep, I do. No other birth control, but I am very regular and predictable. I also have five kids, but they were mostly planned and my youngest is over 4. Been doing this for probably 14 years, and it’s worked out well. I actually went on birth control for a couple of weeks last year-I was trying to alter my cycle for a vacation. It altered it, but man, I hated being on birth control. Kinda crabby, but more importantly my libido just bottomed out. Almost non existent. I won’t be doing that again. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/25 "2008-01-24T23:33:20Z")
Nope, I never have. I can tell when it’s coming and it’s always before or after my sister’s. I’m not on birth control and I don’t have to worry about getting pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/26 "2008-01-24T23:36:06Z")
Am I the first man in this thread who actually tracks my wife’s cycle? :o Why, you ask? Me: Hey babe, you look ravishing tonight. Her: Are you hitting me up AGAIN?!?! Me: Hey…you are the most beautiful flower of all in the Springtime Garden of Life… Her: …and you want to adore my beauty and smell my heavenly scent…well…it _might_ be a “danger day”. Me: Well, Danger is my middle… Her: I think you better go get a raincoat… Me: Nope. It’s day 19! (Happy Dance ensues) Her: How do you know that? Me: Remember how you told me that I needed to organize and remember appointments and deadlines and such and got me a pocket calendar? Her: (sheepishly) Uh, yeah. Me: Thanks for the advice, and thanks again for the “ensuing vagina”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/27 "2008-01-24T23:44:22Z")
Used to track it regularly, as was recommended in those little booklets they gave us in fourth grade. A circle around the expected date, an x when it starts. They even recommended tracking it so you’d know when picking your wedding day!Then I was on the pill for years, and I got out of the habit. Then when I was off the pill, I needed to start tracking again, but I mostly forget. Now I’m kicking myself, because I have a bunch of doctor’s appointments coming up that require me to NOT be having my period, and I have to schedule them months in advance, and now my period decided to go rogue this month, so everything is botched up. I think one of my male friends is tracking it for me…he often comments that I should be starting any day soon…he has way TMI! ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/28 "2008-01-24T23:46:26Z")
Nope, can’t. Even after 8 years, my period is still irregular. The only way it’s trackable is when I’m on the pill. I wonder if it’s biological, since my sister seems to be falling into the same pattern (or lack of) as me. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/29 "2008-01-24T23:49:32Z")
No, I’ve never bothered. I can usually tell when it’s about to start, and I can usually remember approximately when the last one was by what it inconvenienced. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/30 "2008-01-24T23:57:17Z")
Yep. Even though I can tell when it’s going to start, I like to know in advance when not to plan a tropical vacation, hot weekend of sex, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df705f/32.png) [@Kalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalypso)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/31 "2008-01-25T00:06:49Z")
[QUOTE=Yeticus Rex] Am I the first man in this thread who actually tracks my wife’s cycle? :o [/QUOTE] My ex BF used to keep track of mine, I thought it was a bit odd. I track mine, I used to have a 24 day cycle but now it’s 26-28. I still put a little 24 on the calendar on the 24th day after I start (and a p on the day I do). When I see the 24 I start paying attention to the signs of imminency, and I warn **Z.R. Test** that we should make like bunnies, as I don’t like to do it during my period as much. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/32 "2008-01-25T01:02:45Z")
Yes, I have tracked them for a few years now. I used to more concerned when the periods were very irregular. Now that they have settled down, I just want to know when to expect them so I can plan things around them (i.e., would I need to bring more sanitary stuff with me if I’ll be on a trip at the time; would I need to reschedule a visit to the day spa, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/33 "2008-01-25T01:18:31Z")
I didn’t track them until I started having problems in my early 20s. As mentioned above, it was so I could accurately describe to my doctor the cycle issue I was having (Going 2-4 months at a time w/o a period due to PCOS in my case). I’m on the pill now, but I don’t get my period automatically when I start the placebo. It shifts where it starts, so I still keep track of it. Last month I started the placebo on a Sunday and got my period on Thursday - just in time for my 4 hour flight to Mexico. :smack: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/34 "2008-01-25T02:43:35Z")
I never did until I had to because of fertility problems, and as soon as they became irrelevant I stopped again. I just sort of get a feeling that they must be due about now, and then they generally arrive. The month I fell pregnant I’d only taken note because I was supposed to have the implant fitted on the first day of my next period, except it never arrived. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/35 "2008-01-25T04:17:48Z")
I never actually tracked them, as in writing anything down, but I always knew mentally when the 28th day was. At the time my cycle was anywhere from 30 to 35 days. Then my husband had a vasectomy. The very next month my period started on the 28th day and that was pretty much where they stayed from then on for several years. They’ve wavered a bit in the past, oh, probably five years, but that’s menopause stuff, I’m pretty sure. I really should start marking the calendar now, since I don’t seem to be keeping mental track anymore. This whole psychological/physical connection seems to be quite strong for me. It does seem to be a bit easier to know when to expect one lately, as the migraine episodes are hormone related. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/36 "2008-01-25T04:29:38Z")
I track mine by when I ovulate. Ovulation is painful for me, a condition known as middleschmertz (sp?). Fourteen days after that day, I know I will start. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/37 "2008-01-25T04:31:47Z")
I’ve never really bothered–I’ve been sterile for most of my adult life and also had an irregular and very long cycle–45+ days usually. Now I’m pretty firmly into perimenopause and it’s either every 20 days or once every two months and it just pisses me off if I keep track. I can’t wait until I’m done with this shit! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Wing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/51bf81/32.png) [@Little\_Wing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Wing)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/38 "2008-01-25T04:34:35Z")
[QUOTE=psycat90] Yes. I always have. I run every 28 days. Like clockwork. About once, maybe twice a year, I am a day or two late. Never early. My periods are short, only 2 or 3 days, and I don’t suffer many of the usual symptoms. I do however suffer from mittelschermz. So painful I’ve considered heading to the emergency room more than once. It also appears as regular as my period does, exactly 2 weeks after the first day of my period. My husband and I take a lot of trips to the city or camping or whatever. It’s nice and easy to just mark my calendar for the next year or two and know if I need to pack my Vinnie’s Tampon Case or not. [/QUOTE] Mittelschermz! Is that what the hell that pain is? I figured it was related to ovulation, given how it would alternate sides. Thankfully I don’t have it every month but I never knew there was a name for the condition. Consider ignorance fought. Too bad I can’t pronounce it. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/39 "2008-01-25T04:56:03Z")
[QUOTE=psycat90] I do however suffer from mittelschermz. So painful I’ve considered heading to the emergency room more than once. It also appears as regular as my period does, exactly 2 weeks after the first day of my period. [/QUOTE] I don’t know how I missed this post, but yes, just like that. My mom took me to the doctor about the pain a few times when I was a teenager, but he had no clue- told her I suffered from “chronic appendicitis”. I felt quite vindicated when I told her after I found out in my early 20s. Mine happens more like 10 days after my period, though, instead of the usual 14. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860/40 "2008-01-25T04:56:53Z")
[QUOTE=Little Wing] Mittelschermz! Is that what the hell that pain is? I figured it was related to ovulation, given how it would alternate sides. Thankfully I don’t have it every month but I never knew there was a name for the condition. Consider ignorance fought. Too bad I can’t pronounce it. 🆒 [/QUOTE] It’s German–“mittel”=middle and “schmerz” = pain. Like all things German, its pronunciation is very cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-do-you-track-your-cycle/434860.md?page=3)