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  1. #1
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    atomic sagebrush's Avatar
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    How to check pH for DH and DW

    Update 12-13-17: Over the last 7 years we have seen SO MANY pH opposites, where people with ideal pH got opposites and people who had "bad" pH had successes, both pink to blue and blue to pink, that it has become very difficult for us to rationally believe in pH as a "magic bullet" for swaying. atomic got a boy testing her pH 2-3 times a day, with a pH of 4.5-5 range that never went up till after she was already pregnant. She never tested pH at all and got a girl! pH testing just doesn't work. Fine if you want to try it, just don't get super hung up on it!

    Before you proceed with pH testing, please read the following for a scientific investigation of why pH probably doesn't sway in the ways that the "old school" sway gurus claim - at least not in any reliable way. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...ph-pickle.html

    FOR LADIES - To check your pH you want to check the pH of your cervical mucus. NOT urine or saliva - although you can check these things if you like and are curious, but they do not compare with CM and are also very affected by the foods/beverages you just ate or drank. You cannot tell anything for swaying off of urine or saliva pH.

    The normal pH of vaginal secretions outside of the fertile window are between 4 and 5 to kill off harmful organisms. However, for swaying purposes you want to know what the pH of your cervical mucus is, particularly your pH at/around ovulation - in the fertile window of O-3 or 4 through O Day. Fertile EWCM pH is typically quite a lot higher than vaginal pH because during your infertile days there is a thick plug of mucus blocking the entrance to your vagina so very little CM comes out during your infertile days - if you are testing on your infertile days, your reading will be much lower, but don't get excited or disappointed yet, this reading is largely meaningless (although it can possibly help you to see if your day-to-day acidity is being affected by your diet and supps.)

    As ovulation nears, your cervix softens and this plug dissolves, and if you are very closely monitoring your cervix (which there is NO NEED to do this and I'd prefer you didn't to prevent risks of infection) you can actually kind of notice this happening. Without the plug and with a larger opening in the cervix, the CM (which is now more alkaline and also much more plentiful) begins to flow out and it raises your pH into the 7's which is the healthy pH of both EWCM and semen, at which maximum numbers of both X and Y sperm survive.

    It is a matter of debate http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...ph-pickle.html whether boy sperm really like super high pH and girl sperm like super low pH, or if higher pH sways instead by ensuring more sperm survive to make it to the egg and somehow higher numbers of sperm sway blue while fewer sperm (because less survive in lower pH) sway pink. Either way, the result would be the same - for TTC pink you want less, thicker, and lower pH CM than you normally have and for TTC blue you want more, thinner, and higher pH.

    To know what exactly you are looking/feeling for, please read

    http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...sition-cm.html

    Feel for your cervix and in the middle there will be a dent/hole. Some sites tell you to stick your finger into that hole and pull it open, but this is NOT SAFE and may lead to infection, swelling, or even bleeding (which REALLY screws up your pH!). SERIOUSLY please do not do this!! Instead, just scoop up whatever mucus is present onto the tip of your finger and test that by smearing it onto your pH stick/test strip or digital wand. You may need to wait as long as 10 minutes for the sticks to react but in most instances, you should get a result within 60 seconds (digital will read right away).

    Cervical CM is the most alkaline and as your CM passes through and hangs around inside your vagina, it rises in pH due to the acid secretions of the vagina. You need to know the pH of the mucus as it leaves the cervix, before it gets diluted by the vaginal pH. Take care to avoid cross-contamination as much as you can (there will always be some! don't beat yourself up over it!).

    If you cannot get enough CM to test with, you can try two different strategies to help. You can try taking Robitussin or Mucinex http://genderdreaming.com/forum/ttc-...n-ttc-boy.html which will increase your CM...this is fine for blue swayers at any time of the month because you want more CM as part of your sway, but for pink swayers, you should not take these meds within a week of ovulation, because you want less CM (so really not going to help you know what pH is around ovulation!). The second strategy is to use a Diva or Instead cup or your diaphragm to collect CM. Leave it in for about an hour, remove it and test what is in the cup.

    Be aware that either strategy ~may~ affect pH and make it different than what it really is...if you are at all able, try to rely on what your body is producing naturally.

    Also, it is NORMAL for your pH to vary quite a bit throughout your cycle, rising around ovulation. So if you only test pH early in your cycle, you may think your pH is great (for pink) or terrible (for blue) but it will rise significantly at ovulation. It may be helpful for you to chart the variations in your pH along with your BBT, CM, and cervical position (see link above for more info on that.) Update: We have found no benefit to charting pH because it not only doesn't work, but it also varies wildly by the month and never seems to take on any reliable pattern. Beyond that, charting pH fluctuations makes pink swayers get very control-freaky (which may sway blue) and can make blue swayers feel overwhelmed and defeated (which may sway pink). Testing pH gives you no benefit and may be a very a risk to your sway.

    If, after trying several times over the course of time, your pH sticks/strips do not change color at all (and you have tested them on other things to make sure they're not defective) you may have low ionic strength. Do NOT use the supplements such as copper recommended by some sites as cures for low ionic strength - they can cause you serious harm! You will need a digital tester in that case (if you MUST test pH!) Update - I cannot in good conscience recommend spending a penny on testing pH! If you must test, just use the cheap paper strips! Don't waste money on a digital tester - pH has not been in any way a reliable indicator of whose sways fail and whose succeed!

    FOR OUR HUBBIES - You need a sample of sperm in a glass container or a condom...if you wipe it off skin the pH may be affected. pH ~may~ be higher if the sample is given via intercourse because more of the pre-ejaculate fluid is released, so try it both ways just for fun and see if there's any difference. This might help you with swaying as well, because if your husband's pH really rises with intercourse you can use that info to help you make the right choices for controlling his pH. pH seems to rise over time, so test the sample right away, don't leave it sitting out for very long.
    Last edited by atomic sagebrush; December 13th, 2017 at 10:32 AM.
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  3. #2
    Swaying Advice Coach
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    My husband wouldn't sway AT ALL. I believe that it is first and foremost what the wife does that counts, because in nature most of the males are only around for the conception and then disappear. It makes more sense to me that it is primarily the woman's environment that matters, not the man's, because she's the one who has to take care of the offspring.

    I think what your husband is doing is fine. If he does supps, gives up meat most of the time, and the aspartame, that is better than most guys! Hug him and let him enjoy his beer and coffee, because for swaying, if daddy ain't happy, no one is happy. Our husbands have the ability to make swaying highly stressful and competitive as you try to "make" him do things your way (may sway blue) or relaxed and cooperative (may sway pink) and they even have the ability to get POed and pull the plug on the entire adventure (which has happened to people.)
    !!! Questions?? Check out the NEW and improved Complete Index !!!

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  4. #3
    Dreamer

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    I read on another site that girls are putting the hannah in their vj near the entrance of the cervix. Do you recommend this?
    and IVF/PGD

    Cycle #1 - Antagonist protocol
    AFC=24

    5/30: start stims (187.5 gonal f), 6/2: decrease gonal to 150 add 1 vial menopur , 6/5: add 2nd vial of menopur, 6/6: add ganirelix, 6/9: no meds, do trigger, 6/11: ER 21 retrieved, 13 mature, 13 fertilized, 9 biopsied, 6/16: transferred 1 XX...bfp! Betas: 10dp5dt 283, 12dp5dt 807, 19dp5dt 8762, 7/21: 7w5d HB 155!

  5. #4
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    Thanks for this Atomic x
    Fathers Day baby!


    Busy Mummy of 5 now working from home: www.oz.scentsy.com.au

  6. #5
    Swaying Advice Coach
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chicky View Post
    I read on another site that girls are putting the hannah in their vj near the entrance of the cervix. Do you recommend this?
    I am wary of this because it seems possible that they might contaminate it with the lower pH vaginal secretions rather than getting an accurate reading. But for people who are not terribly concerned with getting the most accurate reading, I think it's fine as long as you take it consistently one way or the other rather than switching between the two. (I would do it that way and have no worries!)
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  7. #6
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    TMI

    Ok so i have been doing PH as well as OPK, BBT and check my CM and cervix positions. i am rubbish at the cervix postioins, CM is fairly easy but my PH was 4 every day all day but as it is getting closer to OV today my CM was getting a little bit more stretchy and it seems that is showing up as a high PH. I know the EWCM is ment to be alkaline to help the little swimmers. So my question is that when i dont have much CM what is testing on the paper is 4-4.5 but when there is lots and it is creamy those areas tend to start turning to about a 5. Obviously if i use sudafed to reduce my CM when we do go for our attemp do you think my body is at the right PH for girls and that the secreations are just slightly higher because thats thier function or do i need to look in to my diet? i was expecting PH to rise (infact hoping for it i like to feel i can control something... bad for girls i know gotta kick that habbit) but with that and no peak in BBT yet i am fretting a little.

  8. #7
    Swaying Advice Coach
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    First of all I don't like Sudafed because it has too many side effects and may not be safe, so you may want to look into antihistamines instead. (they work equally well).

    There is NOTHING bad about pH of 5 at ovulation at all for swaying pink. Personally if I had a pH of 5 I would feel GREAT about swaying just naturally with no jelly or anything (of course you can still use them if you like although they may make it harder to get pregnant.). Normal pH of CM at ovulation is in the 7's, that's to ensure the maximum survival of sperm, so if your pH is 5, creamy, and you dry it up even more with antihistamine, I think you are on target for a great sway.
    Last edited by atomic sagebrush; December 10th, 2011 at 09:21 AM.
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  9. #8
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    BabyCakes's Avatar
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    thanks this is great info

  10. #9
    Dream Vet

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    Wow, you have done alot of researsh AS, you have put in alot of time and effort, thanks for your information xo

  11. #10
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    I'm glad I found this. This kind of answers one of my many questions in my introduction thread.

    Does the pH from the skin affect the CM sample? Meaning, if I take a sample of the CM with one of my fingers, is this going to give me a false reading pH-wise?

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