Ok, so, I’ve been ovulating for well over half my life, almost 2/3 of my life. And I’ve only just recently figured out that these periodic pains I get in my legs are from ovulation.
Last month it was the right side, this month, it’s the left. They alternate, obviously. Why did it take me this many years to figure it out? Because my GYN told me it was nighttime leg restlessness and couldn’t be related to ovulation.
I swear, I can feel that little egg making itself known in there, and it sucks. So, now, I have one week of PMS, one week of menstruation, and a good few days of ovulation and ovulation pains.
Oh, and a question, I never really tried this out, but they say you’ll get cervical mucous (told you the TMI was coming boys) around the time of your ovulation. Does the mucous come immediately before, during or after the ovulation? I mean, is the mucous holding the discharged egg, or what?
The cervical mucus is there to help the sperm reach the egg. It provides a good medium for nutrition and “swimming” IIRC. The egg is far, far away in the fallopian tube at the time.
So, if you used the cervical mucous as an indicator of when to try to conceive, you would have to do the sex-thing a day or two after the mucous?
I’m just wondering why I get the pains and the mucous at the same time. Does the mucous hang around long enough for the egg to come down? If so, is it then being discharged when I finally notice it’s gloopy appearance on my knickers?
I get one week of tender breasts, leg pains and a sore back (even when climbing stairs) a week of crabbiness and then the period which still gives me stomach cramps.
mu•cus "myu-kes\ noun [L, nasal mucus; akin to Gk myxa mucus] (1661)
: a viscid slippery secretion that is usu. rich in mucins and is produced by mucous membranes which it moistens and protects
mu•cous "myu-kes\ adjective [L mucosus, fr. mucus] (1646)
1 : of, relating to, or resembling mucus
2 : secreting or containing mucus
3 : covered with or as if with mucus : slimy
sub1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved.[/sub]
I believe the pain we get when ovulating is called mittlesmertz(sp?) so its a documented medical phenomenon. The mucous makes it easier for the little sperm to creep there way towards The Prize. So, in total, wowmen have about 2 1/2 days a month they don’t feel like pure crap or leak stuff.
LOL, Astroboy,
When I was pregnant and reading up on the delivery etc, my husband begged me not to repeat the word Mucous Plug over and over, it made him queasy.
When/if I get pregnant with #2, I shall just write “MUCOUS PLUG IS ON IT’S WAY” in large letters across the front door.
I can feel myself ovulating too. I didn’t really notice it until last year though. Like you said, one month it’s the right side, one month it’s the left side and my leg cramps the first couple days of my period are awful. Ironically enough, I just started yesterday!
For women who use invitro-fertilization to get pregnant the doctors prescribe a certain kind of gel/cream for her to use the first couple of days after implantation. This gel/cream is kind of like the cervical mucus that women have each month. Don’t know if anyone cares to know that… just thought I’d share!
I can’t say that I have PMS but I tend to get more emotional than usual and stupid things make me tear up. Like last night’s episode of ER… I just felt like bawling when Dr. Greene walked away!! Any other day I wouldn’t have felt that way. Guess that’s a form of PMS.
but, I do. So, I will share. Actually, you can utilize a combination of your resting temperatures (taken in the morning at the same time before you get out of bed with a special thermometer called a basal body temperature thermometer), cervical mucus and cervical position to determine when you are ovulating and since all this information is kept on a chart, it’s called “charting” or “natural family planning” aka NFP.
Some women use charting to determine their ovulation and cycle and plan intercourse accordingly so that they can get pregnant. Others, like myself, take the same information to determine when not to have sex and to not get pregnant.
I probably do sound like a freak, but it is rather fascinating to find out the different clues that you body gives you about your fertility. I’ve actually rather enjoyed deciphering the clues and determining my cycles - rather like a fertile Sherlock Holmes.
But all that information is not answering your questions. First off, I’m surprised to hear you say that it is your legs where you are experiencing pain. Most ovulatory pain occurs in the back near the location of the ovaries themselves. I guess it is possible that if any nerves in the back are being affected, this could translate to leg pain. There is a name for this back pain - middleschmertz - and it is caused by the release of the egg from the ovary.
As far as the mucus goes, you are actually producing mucus during most of your cycle except when menstruating. But “fertile” cervical mucus, which has the consistency of egg whites, is usually more copious and more apparent than the other mucus which is why you probably notice it more. The “egg white” mucus appears just before ovulation and if you were trying to get pregnant, this would be a sign to get busy and have sex.
Back when I was a tender young thing in, I think, middle school, I had the opportunity to learn about middleschmertz. I think it was nice Mr. West who included a sex ed/sex biology unit in science class.
In his discussion of sex biology, he covered the topic of how to determine if one is in the fertile phase of her cycle. We talked about the length of the cycle, when during the cycle the egg was available, basal body temperature, etc. Then, as a historical note, he told us about a technique used over the past century (or longer) in rural Germany.
Every morning, the woman would sit down hard on a plain wooden chair. If she felt a pain in the region of her ovaries - her middle- then she knew she was probably ovulating and could make plans from there. So, I learned that ‘schmertz’ essentially meant pain, and middleschmertz meant pain in your middle associated with ovulation.
