$29 and $27 opks later

acute emotional upset = ugly red traveling torso blotches. crap.
extreme stress and sadness = delayed ovulation. shit!
I'm fallin' apart here.

I've been testing for a week now for my vanishing LH surge. a detected surge is crucial for my rapidly approaching co-culture appointment. no surge means no co-culture means another delayed IVF means a very grumpy person. there are many things in my life that I cannot rely on and ovulation is not one of them. my cycle is textbook. well it used to be. next test: 4 pm EST. I haven't peed in hours. time to place your bets people.

"...stress can affect the functioning of the hypothalamus — the gland in the brain that regulates your appetite and emotions, as well as the hormones that tell your ovaries to release eggs. If you're stressed out, you may ovulate later in your cycle or
...not at all.

It's important to differentiate between constant and sudden stress. The body often acclimates to constant, everyday stresses, so you'll probably ovulate fairly consistently each cycle. It's sudden stress — a death in the family, an accident, divorce — that can throw your cycle off and interfere with ovulation."

even better.

"All stress is not created equal. Abnormal levels of stress hormones in the system can affect sperm production and prevent or delay ovulation. Harm is done when no time is allowed for recovery after a bout with stress or when one or more stresses happen simultaneously."

fuck.