Gosh, doctors’ offices make me so nervous. It’s been more than two years since I went for my yearly pap smear and well woman’s exam (I’m ashamed to admit that to you!), so I trekked to the doctor for that exam, plus a whole host of other issues:

1. Fear of not ovulating
2. Pain in my shoulder (that I’ve had for more than a year)
3. Concern about my heart

Luckily, she’s the kind of doctor who believes in yearly physicals, and she sent me down to the lab for a whole host of tests (ranging from cholesterol to thyroid). She also let me convince her to test my iron levels (which … Read More

So, it’s pretty official: I did not ovulate last month.

I started my period last week. I counted backwards 14 days, and I definitely peed on an ovulation test strip that day (and it wasn’t the day I was in the forest in 30-degree weather).

I also had very little discharge last month. Some months, I do get the stretchy, egg-white discharge that Taking Charge of Your Fertility describes. So perhaps I ovulate in some months but not others.

I should stop self-diagnosing. The last time I came up with my own diagnosis I thought I had a tumor in my stomach. I even went to the doctor for it. … Read More