HELP! What does AF-O mean?
Updated 12-8-17
AF-O means from Aunt Flo (CD Cycle Day 1, the first day of your period - not spotting but bright red flow) through ovulation (usually CD 14, generally speaking it's the day after positive OPK).
UPDATE: While I'm leaving the directions in this post as is because I know in my gut some people are still going to want to use them, I must stress very strongly to everyone that literally ALL the supplements I mention in this thread have NOT WORKED and flaxseed is not even safe so I would heartily suggest avoiding every single one of them!!
For pink - vitex, saw palmetto, peppermint tea, and licorice root for DH have NOT WORKED
For blue - EPO has not worked and may be making opposites; flaxseed has not worked, may be making opposites, and has been fully shown to my satisfaction to be unsafe when pregnant and possibly when TTC. In Scandinavia flaxseed is very popular and it goes under the name "linseed". AVOID flaxseed in anything more than occasional dietary amounts, do NOT take flaxseed or linseed oil as a supplement when swaying. And NEVER EVER EVER eat more than the barest minimum of flaxseed or take flaxseed/linseed oil when pregnant! It may cause developmental delays, it may cause malformation in the genitals of boy babies, it may cause premature labor, and since it is a blood thinner it can cause or contribute to miscarriage and subchorionic hemorrhage. NO FLAXSEED
It's a bit more complicated than that however, because the hormonal supps vitex, saw palmetto, peppermint tea for pink; evening primrose oil and flaxseed for blue, are best stopped the DAY BEFORE ovulation and even then it may take a few days to O after stopping them. If you are doing OPK, you should stop the hormonal supps the day of your positive OPK (if you haven't taken them that day, don't; if you have, don't worry about it, just don't take them the next day.)'
Do not worry that because you have stopped taking these things prior to ovulation, that they are no longer working for you. The hormonal effects of the herbs are long lasting and continue even after you stop.
So, for all intents and purposes, when you read AF-O and you're talking about when to take supplements, it generally means that you start the supplement the first day of your period, CD 1, the first day of bright red spotting, and continue until the day before you EXPECT to ovulate OR the day of your first positive OPK, whichever comes first.
AF-O is really just a kind of a handy abbreviation for all that!!
PS - if you are having your husband use licorice root, it is IMPERATIVE that you have him stop on CD 14 and NOT ovulation day. Licorice root is the most dangerous supplement we use and he needs a nice long break from it every month. Occasionally we mistakently refer to LR as going from AF-O when we really ought to say CD 1-14 so just wanted to state that clearly! :) Don't worry, the effects will stay in his system for a while, even when he is not using it.