Red Flag Alert

I'm sure all women can relate with what I will be writing about. Actually, ONLY WOMEN can relate with what i'll be writing about. And if the title isn't obvious to you, then I guess you're of a different gender or have been hiding under a rock since birth. (hehe!)

If it's still isn't obvious to you, the topic of this blog is that monthly visit a genetically-true and anatomically-normal woman gets every month. And if you're an OC like me, you'd like to know more or less WHEN you'll be expecting the visitor to arrive every month. It just makes planning your activites easier when you at least have an inkling on when this particular visitor will arrive. And for the longest time, I was manually counting the days of the next visit, which is normally 28 days starting from the first day of your last period. So, for years, since I started getting these visits, I counted...MANUALLY...which is not that hard actually since the only mathematical skill you need to have to do that is to know how to count...and I'd like to believe that I do have that skill. But of course, it would have been easier if someone (or something) does the counting for you.

I don't know why but it's just this year that the thought of searching if there's a tool that does this exact thing crossed my mind. So search I did and Google gave me quite a few hits, ranging from applications that need to be installed to websites that do the exact same thing. This got me thinking: What actually do I need? I needed something that I can update anytime, anywhere...so this rules out the "application that needs to be installed" option seeing as I needed something that I can update even when i'm out traveling the world.Ü So, I picked a website...and it led me to the period counting tool that i've been using for several months now, which is MyMonthlyCycles.com.

I have to admit, I haven't actually been able to fully utilize the entire site seeing as all that matters to me now is their Period Calendar and Menstrual Calculator. But aside from that, they also have a Fertility Calendar, Ovulation Calculator, and Pregnancy Calculator. Definitely, I won't be writing about the latter three functions that I haven't used...so all that I can give insights on are the former two (Period Calendar and Menstrual Calculator). All you ladies out there who would want to use the other functions will have to discover those yourselves...which I think won't be that hard since I easily learned how to use the first two.

So, how does the site work? Well, upon signing-up, you'll have to give them a brief history of when your last period (or last two periods? I can't recall exactly...) occurred so they'll have a basis on calculating the next one. To tag the day where you actually had the first day of your period, all you have to do is click on that specific day while on the Period Calendar screen. It's that simple. You can also view the following information while you're on this screen:

The most helpful information for me is their compuation of the Average Cycle Days...which is 32 Days for me now (a whopping 4 days off of the 28 Days that I used as an average during the Jurassic Era...LOL!) based on the 15 Total Periods that I've actually provided them. This is also the number of days that they use in calculating the day of my next period, which can be done in the Menstrual Calculator screen.

You're given a choice on how to calculate your next period: through the Tracking History or Quick Calculate. I've always used the former since it's easier and all I have to do is click a button and voila, they've calculated the probable start date of my next period in the screen that shows up. You can actually view up to 3 months ahead, which comes in handy if you're planning a vacation in the months to come.

Aside from tracking & calculating, they also provide you with an option of sending you an email alert through the Remind Me screen. The only reminder I have in my account right now is to inform me a day in advance of my calculated next period. I'm sure other reminders can be added as well, depending on what your personal needs are.

In a gist: I'm glad I discovered this site (and have actually recommended it to some of my officemates Ü) and I just wished I discovered it sooner since it would've made my life easier and my calculations would have been more accurate. More power to MyMonthlyCycles and I'm hoping they don't "close shop" (recession diba? LOL!) anytime soon.Ü