NFP during pre-menopause

[veddiemo]

We have been practicing NFP for 10 yrs. Wife is 49 and normally has regular ~ 25 day cycles. I (husband) do the daily temp charting and familiar with the pattern. Like clockwork, wife’s temp rises day 10-13, then levels just above 98 deg for the remainder of the cycle. To avoid conception, we abstain phases 1 & 2 (from the start of period until after temp levels out.) This current cycle her temp is still flat at 97.1 deg and we are at day 17; this has never happened before. Also, mucus is thick/cloudy. Does this mean she’s not ovulating and possibly pre-menopause? If yes, how do we know when to resume marital relations w/o risking conception during this pre-menopause stage? Abstain indefinitely? I mean, she could ovulate at any time now - right? Hope I’m being clear explaining the situation.

 

[theresa]

Is there a CCL teaching couple in your area? You really need to consult with a teacher of NFP to find out what’s going on with your wife’s cycle. I don’t like to give advice without more evidence.

 

[kwitz]

I’m trying to figure out the pre-menopause stuff myself but I did just order a newly released book from the Couple to Couple League on this very topic that I’m looking forward to arriving so I can get any new insights from it. Perhaps this would help you also. I know one thing CCL often suggests is paying more attention to the cervix sign at this stage but I’m not used to using it at all.

Your wife sounds like me in that I had disgustingly regular cycles of 28/29 days for many years so NFP was always pretty easy before this. While I “know” the temp rules, in reality a modified mucous / rhythm method served us well until now. And now when I truly think we have serious reasons to avoid pregnancy, it’s harder to figure out how to do that!

Good luck.

Kris

 

[AuntRia]

This is an old post, but I am desperately searching for some answers.

I have been charting off and on, since age 18 (to predict my irregular cycles) and now at 51, am experiencing confusion with charting.

My temps were always in the low to mid 96’s early in the cycle, rising to about 98 or a little above after ovulation, and near normal when I was pregnant.

I observe the mucus and the cervix and I am baffled by what I am currently seeing.

Right now I am at day 102, and my temps are stuck at about 97.3, which is neither pre ovulatory or post ovulatory for me. My cervix has been soft and open for a couple of weeks or longer, and the mucus is rather thin and sometimes I even have long stretchy mucus. This varies a bit and fluctuates. Some posters have commented that in this stage of fertility, the cervix is the best indicator. What do I look for? Can I be fertile for this long? What is the title of the book which is mentioned?

I have not had a temperature shift that I could identify as ovulation and my temps have not dropped down like when my period would start (96’s), though I did have a very short bleeding/spotting flow.

I am so tired of waiting to have sex again, and my husband even more so.

Anyone have any idea what is going on? What happens to your temps when menopause has finally taken hold?

Thank you so much for reading my long post. I would be so grateful to hear from anyone who has been through this.