6. "Double Peak"
a) When experiencing stress or illness be watchful for a "Double Peak"
When a woman is under stress or is ill her body may delay ovulation in an attempt to conserve her biological energy to deal with the stress or illness. Thus ovulation may be delayed. If this delay occurs close to the time of ovulation a woman may notice that her mucus appears—drys up—and then reappears. Cervical mucus may build up to a Peak Day and yet ovulation is delayed, and a woman knows she has not ovulated because she sees a return of cervical mucus and the development of another Peak Day. If she is also taking her BBT she will notice that there is no BBT Shift accompanying the Peak Day. Once the stress or illness is relieved ovulation follows and the mucus drys up until the next cycle. If she has ovulated she will experience a true menstruation within 10-16 days, with no other appearance of mucus.
After Peak Day, before assuming yourself to be post-ovulatory ask yourself whether or not during the pre-ovulatory phase:
- Was there stress or illness in the cycle prior to the peak?
- Was there anything unusual in the mucus pattern build up?
- Did you start or stop medications (vitamins, homeopaths, medical prescriptions and over the counter drugs)?
- Has cervical mucus returned?
Asking yourself these four questions helps you determine with certainty that you have ovulated. You may only experience a "Double Peak" cycle once or twice in 12 cycles. For some women this is a normal pattern. Regardless of when it happens it is always manageable, because the presence or absence of mucus is your guide.
b) If your temperature has not shifted after experiencing peak, then be watchful for a "Double Peak".
Even though you may have experienced a mucus pattern that lead to a Peak Day, ovulation is only confirmed by a BBT SHIFT of three normal high temperatures or a true menstruation following Peak-Day 10 to 16 days later. With time and experience women do begin to be confident that ovulation has occurred through other symptoms as discussed earlier, such as mittelschmerz. If Peak Day arrives and your BBT Shift does not occur, and you have been under stress or have been ill ask yourself the above 4 questions .