Copyright: Copyright ©1997-99 LifeCycle Software, LLC


Contents
Natural Pregnancy Achievement & Avoidance

LifeCycle Fertility Predictor is an innovation in family planning.  It uses a scientifically proven method of fertility prediction known as the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning for reliable, drug-free pregnancy achievement and avoidance.  By simply taking a daily temperature for about two weeks out of every month and recording the start of each menstrual period, a woman can accurately predict her actual day of ovulation as well as the narrow band of fertile time around that day.  LifeCycle provides true birth CONTROL, as it provides the tools for pregnancy achievement and avoidance without the use of drugs or hormones.

"It's all about fertility… naturally."

Contents

What's New in Version 2.x?

LifeCycle continues to lead the field… see what's new.

Quick Start

For those who "never read the manual" -- read this!

A Primer on Natural Family Planning

What it is, what it's not; the science behind it; the signs of fertility.

Using LifeCycle

Putting this program to work for you.

Hints for Improving the Accuracy of LifeCycle's Fertility Prediction

LifeCycle's not predicting ovulation?  Things to check…

Achieving Pregnancy

How to improve your odds of getting pregnant and selecting the sex of your child.

Quick Reference

An overview of phases and symptoms with answers to "what should I being doing now?"

Getting Help

Help from this manual and the Internet.

Purchase Information

Registering your copy of LifeCycle; ordering a basal thermometer. (You can order it directly over the Internet by clicking here.)

A Note for TCOYF Readers

For those who have read the book, you might want to review this section to help clarify differences in terminology between the book and our software.

Legal Stuff

LifeCycle's limited warranty and license agreement -- things that even those who do read the manual never read (but should).

Contacting LifeCycle Software, LLC

Visit us on the web at http://www.lifecyclesoft.com – LifeCycle customers get free upgrades to the latest version, so check frequently!

General inquiries should be addressed to info@lifecyclesoft.com.

LifeCycle comes with free e-mail support – if you can't find an answer within this help file, questions should be addressed to support@lifecyclesoft.com.

Our mailing address and fax number:

LifeCycle Software, LLC

402 Dunham Massie Drive

Hampton, VA  23669  USA

Fax: 757-851-3793

Copyright Notice

All information contained in this help documentation is copyright ©1997-1999 LifeCycle Software, LLC and may not be copied, faxed, e-mailed, reprinted, digitized, etc. (you get the picture) other than for personal use, without the express written consent of LifeCycle Software, LLC.  The following names are trademarks of LifeCycle Software, LLC: LifeCycle Fertility Predictor™ and the stylized logo; Fertility Advisor™; Pregnancy Forecaster™.  The following is a service mark of LifeCycle Software, LLC: "It's all about fertility… naturally."

LifeCycle Fertility Predictor may not be decompiled, reverse engineered, hacked, whacked, or peeled like a banana without violating some hefty international laws – so don't do it.  All program algorithms are the sole property of LifeCycle Software, LLC.


A Primer on Natural Family Planning

What is Natural Family Planning?

In Short:  Natural Family Planning is a natural method of birth control and pregnancy achievement that requires no drugs or hormones.  It relies on symptoms of the body to predict a woman's fertile period and suggests abstaining from sexual relations during that time (about one week each cycle).  Because of its ability to accurately predict the date of ovulation, it is also effective at helping couples achieve pregnancy.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a scientific and medically based method of birth control that relies on symptoms / signs from a woman's body indicating when she is fertile.  It is not, and never has been, the "rhythm" or "calendar rhythm" method.

NFP provides a natural form of birth control that is up to 99% method-effective, a method- effectiveness equal to that of birth control pills and superior to that of condoms, with none of the harmful side effects typically associated with strong hormones found in "the Pill" or chemicals frequently found in condoms today (nonoxyl-9 comes to mind).  It may also be used by couples seeking pregnancy as it accurately predicts times of highest fertility.

An important note about LifeCycle's effectiveness

Couples have manually practiced NFP for years.  While it is not exceptionally difficult to learn, it does require attending classes and/or reading a textbook on the subject, something that many do not have the time or inclination to do.  It requires the manual charting and interpretation of symptoms, something that many do not have the stamina to continue after the initial stages.  NFP also employs a number of different rules of interpretation, which can be confusing.  Errors in interpretation contribute to reducing the method-effectiveness from 99% to a use-effectiveness of less then 90%.

Enter LifeCycle Fertility Predictor, delivering the benefits of NFP to the masses without the long learning curve, the evening classes, and the manual charting.  LifeCycle also improves the use-effectiveness of NFP, as it is not prone to misinterpretation of rules and it analyzes each group of symptoms in all the myriad ways within a second or two.  All you need is a computer, a thermometer, and a willingness to practice.

Next: How NFP Works

Jump Ahead: The Clues to Fertility


The Third Clue - Temperature
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

The Third Clue - Temperature Changes

An important note about temperature taking

In Short:  Your temperature rises and falls in a consistent pattern.  Ovulation causes your temperature to remain elevated for a week or two.  NFP looks for this rise to determine when infertility resumes.

Temperature, or more accurately, basal body temperature, is another one of the body's components subject to regular cycles.  "Basal" body temperature simply means the temperature of your body at rest.   Your body temperature is not a consistent 98.6° F as most people think.  The 98.6° figure is the body's normal base high temperature during waking hours.  After going to sleep at night, your body temperature gradually drops, reaching its lowest point in the early morning.  As you get closer to your waking hours, your metabolism picks up again, raising your body temperature ever so gradually, and the cycle is repeated.  The scale of the drop and rise of body temperature differs from person to person, but all people experience it to some degree or another (no pun intended).

When a woman ovulates, the shell containing the ovum ruptures, releasing the egg and the hormone progesterone into the body.  The presence of this hormone has several effects, for our purposes not the least of which is the raising of the basal body temperature.  This increase in temperature is significant and detectable, as it typically is about 0.4° Fahrenheit (0.2° Celsius).  To detect this change, you will need a basal thermometer, available from most pharmacies or from LifeCycle directly (see the Table of Contents for a link to ordering a thermometer).  A standard fever thermometer is not accurate enough for our purposes here, as even a change of 0.1° F (0.05° C) is of importance.  Therefore, an important step for the practice of NFP is to get a basal thermometer.

The temperature symptom gives us a great clue in hindsight as to when ovulation occurred.  It is very effective in helping couples conceive, as if there is a statistically significant temperature rise compared with previous temperature readings, there is a good chance that ovulation has JUST taken place.  For couples who are trying to avoid pregnancy, it is even better, as it tells us when that fertility window is about to be shut.

Next:  The Fourth Clue -- The Cervix

Previous:  The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus

Jump Ahead:  Putting it all Together

Related Topic:  Using LifeCycle, Temperature Interpretation & Entry


importance of regular temperature taking
The Importance of Regular Temperature Taking

It is extremely important that you take your temperature at a regular time every day, preferably first thing in the morning upon waking.  This is because the rhythm that governs temperature causes it to rise throughout the morning, around 0.1° F (0.05° C) every 30 minutes.  If you take it at odd times, LifeCycle will record a "disturbance" and will ignore the temperatures with odd clock times in your calculations.  The net effect will be an inability to accurately predict ovulation and the lengthening of your interpreted fertile period.  If you're avoiding pregnancy, this means more abstinence.  So take those temperatures at a regular time each required day!

While you may set your regular time at any time during the day, the first part of the morning (upon waking) is strongly recommended.  This is because your body has not yet been influenced by physical activity or exertion, food or drink, or the stresses of daily life.  There is less chance for false rises on such a schedule.


The Second Clue - Cervical Mucus
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus

In Short: Mucus is secreted by the woman's body prior to ovulation to improve the sperms' chances for survival and reaching the ovum.  Due to the timing of its secretion, it can be used to interpret the onset of fertility.  The complete absence of mucus is a strong indicator of infertility.

Cervical mucus is an important sign of fertility in Natural Family Planning.  The woman's body begins to secrete estrogen shortly after menstruation, which causes glands around the cervix to secrete mucus.  As ovulation approaches, the amount of estrogen builds, causing the body to secrete even more mucus.  The increased levels of estrogen also make the mucus stretchy and clear.

As the level of estrogen builds, another hormone, called lutein, is released.  Lutein causes the ovaries to release the ovum.  The estrogen levels decrease somewhat after ovulation, causing the mucus to dry up.  This drying up process normally starts on or just after the day of ovulation.

Mucus has several purposes in the area of human reproduction.  First, it performs a lubricating function during sexual relations.  Secondly, but more importantly, it provides a friendly environment for the survival of sperm after sexual relations have taken place.  Without this environment, sperm would live no longer than several hours and would be literally stopped dead in their tracks, unable to move, unable to fertilize the waiting ovum.  With mucus, sperm are provided with both nutrients and a vehicle for movement and may live up to five days in such an environment.  Therefore, in addition to providing a pathway to the ovum, mucus widens the fertility window beyond the day-long life-span of the average ovum and hours-long life-span of the average sperm.  Sexual relations taking place several days prior to ovulation may still result in conception due to the increased viability of the sperm in the mucus environment.

Mucus is therefore a positive sign that fertility is increasing and may be used as such in Natural Family Planning.  It should be noted here that you do NOT need to track mucus to effectively practice NFP with LifeCycle.  It provides one major advantage to those that use it:  it reduces the length of the interpreted fertile period, thereby decreasing the days of abstinence for pregnancy avoiders.  For pregnancy achievers, it provides an excellent pre-ovulation indicator, whereas temperature alone can only predict ovulation after the fact.

Next:  The Third Clue -- Temperature Changes

Previous:  The First Clue -- Menstruation

Jump Ahead:  The Fourth Clue -- Cervix Characteristics

Related Topic:  Using LifeCycle, Mucus Interpretation & Entry


How NFP Works
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

How NFP Works

In Short:  NFP successfully predicts a woman's fertile period by relying on a few tell-tale symptoms: menstruation, cervical mucus, body temperature, and characteristics of the cervix. Once the fertile period starts, NFP users refrain from sexual relations until it's over to avoid pregnancy.

Natural Family Planning works by analyzing just a few symptoms in the woman's body.  In a nutshell, a woman's fertility cycle operates according to a predictable rhythm with specific symptoms / signs indicating where in the cycle she is.  An obvious example is menstruation.  Less obvious, but just as trustworthy, are changes in body temperature and the quality of lubricating mucus found around the cervix.  The position and texture of the cervix is also indicative of fertility, but it is much harder to interpret and is not used in the sympto-thermal method other than as a backup to the symptoms of temperature and mucus
.
The woman's body is fertile for only about 1 to 2 days each month, but due to the longer life-span of the man's sperm, the "window of fertility" is expanded to about 5 to 7 days.  Under optimum conditions, sperm may live in the uterus for a maximum of 5 days, although 2-3 days is more common.  The goal, therefore, is to predict when this "window" will occur.  If our goal is pregnancy avoidance, then we simply abstain from sexual relations during this time.  If the goal is pregnancy achievement, then intercourse on these days of fertility is advised.  Fortunately, the body gives us a few clues to determining this window.

Graphically, the fertility cycle and its clues can be viewed like this:

As you can see, the cycle is broken into three phases of fertility:  Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3.  Phases 1 and 3 are infertile, Phase 2 is fertile.  The key to NFP is determining as accurately as possible the start and end dates of the fertile period, Phase 2.  That's where the clues come into play...

Next: The Clues to Fertility

Previous: What is Natural Family Planning?

Jump Ahead: The First Clue - Menstruation


clues to fertility, overview
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

The Clues to Fertility

In Short:  Menstruation, mucus, body temperature are the primary clues to determining fertility.   You can successfully use NFP with just two of these: menstruation and temperature.

There are a number of different clues to determining where a woman is in her fertility cycle, which phase of fertility she is in.  LifeCycle utilizes three primary ones: menstruation (menses), mucus, and basal body temperature.  There is a fourth that some users of NFP use as a backup to the first three: the cervix.  (LifeCycle permits you to track the position and texture of the cervix, but it is informational only and not used in any calculations.)

Click here to review the graph of the fertility cycle and phases

To effectively practice natural family planning, you need only keep track of two of the four listed above: menstruation and temperature.  Indeed, these two symptoms are required for LifeCycle to function properly.  Mucus provides an added bonus in that it defines periods of fertility more accurately than temperature alone.  Combined, temperature and mucus help you maximize the length of Phases 1 and 3, the interpreted infertile period during your cycle, thereby decreasing the number of days of abstinence in Phase 2.

For more information on each of the symptoms, click on the links below:

The First Clue -- Menstruation

The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus

The Third Clue -- Temperature Changes

The Fourth Clue -- Cervix Characteristics

Each symptom by itself is important.  More important, however, is the relationship between them.  Natural Family Planning uses these relationships to more accurately define the fertile period.

Next : Putting it all Together

Previous:  How NFP Works


Recording Your Menses Sign
Interpreting Your Symptoms

Recording Menstruation (Menses)

An important note about spotting

In Short:  Menstruation is a positive sign of the start of a new cycle.  LifeCycle uses it to define the end of Phase 3 infertility from the previous cycle and the start of Phase 1 infertility for the next cycle.  You must record the start of each "period" by recording "menses" on your calendar for LifeCycle to predict fertility correctly.


The First Clue - Menstruation
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

The First Clue -- Menstruation

An important note about spotting

In Short:  Menstruation, or menses, marks the beginning of a new cycle and its onset is a positive sign of Phase 1 infertility.  In many cases, NFP relies on the accurate recording of the menstruation start date to properly compute the arrival of the Phase 2 fertile period.

While many people regard menstruation as the start of a new cycle, as does this software program, it is actually the end of the previous cycle.  Why do we say this?

Menstruation is the process of shedding the endometrium that had built up during the previous menstrual cycle.  Therefore, it truly is the end of the previous cycle.  Because it is so easy to identify, however, it has become symbolic of the start of another "period" and is used as such in LifeCycle, as well.

The endometrium is a lining of tissue on the walls of the uterus that builds up prior to ovulation in anticipation of the implantation of a fertilized egg.  If the egg is not fertilized, it does not implant and roughly two weeks later (more or less) the built-up tissue is let go as the body will build it up again in preparation for the next ovulation.

Contrary to popular myth, when a woman has her period, she is not truly bleeding, although it may appear as such.  There is no loss of blood other than what had already been built up in the endometrium.

Next:  The Second Clue - Cervical Mucus

Previous:  The Clues to Fertility

Jump Ahead:  The Third Clue -- Temperature Changes

Related Topic:  Using LifeCycle, Daily Symptom Entry, Mucus


Spotting
An Important Note About Spotting

Spotting is the appearance of blood at a time in the menstrual cycle other than during true menstruation.  It is normally found in longer cycles and is caused by the shedding of the top layers of the endometrium.  With longer cycles, the endometrium builds up more than normal and it is these excess layers which are shed.  It is not very common, but becomes more so during the pre-menopause years.

LifeCycle has been designed to be aware of the possibility of this event.  If you record the start of menses at a time other than what would be normally expected, LifeCycle will ask you to confirm whether it is truly the start of a new cycle or if it might be spotting.  In most cases where LifeCycle reports this possibility, the user will find that it is actually spotting and not the start of a new cycle.


The Fourth Clue -- Cervix Characteristics
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

The Fourth Clue -- Cervix Characteristics

In Short:  The cervix is the muscular opening of the uterus.  With the approach of ovulation it becomes softer, opens, and raises its position relative to the uterus.  At infertile times it is low, closed and firm.  Currently, LifeCycle does not make use of this symptom in calculating fertility, but users may track it for cross-reference purposes.  Use of this symptom is discouraged because of the necessity of making an internal observation.

The opening of the uterus is a thick muscle known as the cervix.  As ovulation approaches, the same hormones that cause mucus to be secreted also cause changes in the position, texture, and opening of the cervix.

During infertile periods (Phase 1 and 3), the cervix is low, firm and closed (during Phase 3, it is closed tightly).  It is so low that it is fairly easy to reach for observation purposes.  As fertility increases, the cervix rises in position, becomes softer, and starts to open.  At peak fertility, the opening of the cervix is about 15 mm wide.

These changes make it easier for sperm to reach the ovum -- if the cervix didn't open, conception wouldn't take place.  If the cervix didn't close tightly after ovulation, the uterus and fertilized egg could become infected.  The cervix has to open somewhat at menstruation to allow the endometrium to be shed.

The cervix is the most difficult symptom to observe and typically requires several months of practice observation before it can be used in the manual method of NFP.  It is also recommended that cervix observations be cross-checked with temperature changes before determining fertility.

In addition, some doctors do not recommend using this symptom because of the necessity of making an internal observation, which could result in the scratching of the walls of the vagina and causing a subsequent infection.

For these reasons, we have opted not to include it in the calculations made by LifeCycle.

Next:  Putting it all Together

Previous:  The Third Clue -- Temperature Changes

Related Topic:  Using LifeCycle, Cervix Interpretation & Entry


Fertility Cycle Graph


Putting it all Together
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

Putting it all Together

In Short:  NFP works by determining the date limits for periods of fertility and infertility.  Setting the start date of one phase automatically determines the end date of the previous phase.  The start date for Phase 1 infertility is set based upon menstruation.  Phase 2 fertility is set based upon the presence of mucus or using a formula based upon shortest historical cycle length.  Phase 3 is set based upon temperature changes alone or a combination of temperature and mucus changes.

In understanding how NFP predicts fertility, it's helpful to review the fertility cycle again:

Obviously, there is no real need to set the end date for any particular phase, as it is automatically set when you set the start date for the next phase.  NFP uses the symptoms of menstruation, mucus, and temperature to set these start dates.

Determining the Start of Phase 1 Infertility

Setting the start date of Phase 1 is easy -- it's the first day of menstruation.  Phase 1 is said to be infertile, but as you get near the end of it, it becomes slightly more fertile.  This is due to its proximity to ovulation and the fact that it's pre-ovulation sexual relations that most frequently result in pregnancy.   The ovum only survives about 24 hours on its own, so sexual relations which take place 24 hours after ovulation don't normally result in conception.  However, sexual relations as many as 5 days in advance of ovulation may result in conception.

For this reason, it is very important to set the start of Phase 2 fertility accurately.

Determining the Start of Phase 2 Fertility

If you recall from our discussion of the clues to fertility, mucus is a positive sign of fertility.  This means that the start of the fertile period, Phase 2, is set on the first day ANY mucus appears.  This is because mucus allows sperm to live up to 5 days, which means that ovulation doesn't have to occur just after sexual relations for a woman to conceive a child.  On the other hand, absent mucus, sexual relations do not normally result in conception (we say "normally" because even though it's highly unlikely, anything is possible!)  Therefore, NFP treats the start of fertility, Phase 2, as being the first day mucus is present.

What if you're not tracking mucus and have decided to use menstruation and basal body temperature as your only symptoms?  Or what if you normally do use mucus but for whatever reason, you fail to do so in the current cycle?  NFP has a means for determining the start of Phase 2 without mucus, but it tends to be more conservative, increasing your interpreted fertile period and days of abstinence, as a result.

In such cases, you can compute the start of Phase 2 using the following formula (this is also referred to as the Shortest Cycle Rule):

Start of Phase 2 = Shortest Cycle Length - 20

The shortest cycle is calculated from the last 24-30 cycles on record.  For pregnancy avoiders, the formula requires that you have a cycle history of at least 6 cycles of using NFP.  If you do not yet have a cycle history of at least 6 cycles, NFP dictates setting the start of Phase 2 on day 7 of your cycle. If you are a pregnancy achiever, LifeCycle may vary this rule and use an average cycle length, instead (because achieving pregnancy is by its nature less conservative than avoiding it, LifeCycle can use much more "loose" estimates for the fertile period for pregnancy achievers).

It goes beyond the discussion here, but cycles that are outside the norm due to short luteal phases are not included.  The luteal phase is the time in days between ovulation and the next menstruation, and for any woman, there is not much variation in its length (LifeCycle automatically excludes cycles that are statistically outside of the normal range due to short luteal phases).

If you have average cycle lengths of less than 26 days, adjustments are made to this calculation.  If your shortest cycle was 23, 24 or 25 days, then day 6 is set as the start of Phase 2.  If you have cycles that are 22 days or less in length, then day 4 is set as the start of Phase 2.  This is based upon scientific surveys showing a surprise pregnancy rate of less than .5% when these days are used as the start of Phase 2 (that rate is better than the Pill!)

Couples who have a serious reason for avoiding pregnancy should be more conservative in their approach.  They should track their mucus symptom, but for determining the start of Phase 2 they should use the shortest cycle length formula.  However, if mucus appears before the day specified by the formula, they should consider themselves in Phase 2 (LifeCycle handles this automatically based upon preferences specified in the "Calculations" tab on the "Properties" window.

A note about mucus changes as ovulation approaches -- pregnancy achievers should read this!

Phase 2 continues through ovulation and ends at the start of Phase 3.

Determining the Start of Phase 3 Infertility

The start date for Phase 3 infertility can be set based on temperature changes alone, or better yet, based on a combination of temperature changes and changes in mucus characteristics.

NFP requires there to be a significant upward shift in basal body temperatures for at least three consecutive days over the previous six days.  All temperatures must be valid, meaning late rising, sickness, physical exertion, etc. did not disturb the readings.  This again points to the value of taking your temperature the FIRST thing in the morning, as there is less chance that these readings will be disturbed.  (NOTE: If you are using temperature alone, NFP requires four days of significant rise.)

What determines whether a rise is significant?  NFP employs a number of rules for determining whether this condition has been met.

Temperature rises are categorized in the following manner:

Full Thermal Shift:  Requires three successive days with temperatures at least 0.4° F (0.2° C) higher than the high temperature of the six preceding days.

Strong Thermal Shift:  Requires three successive days with temperatures at least 0.2° F (0.1° C) higher than the high temperature of the six preceding days.  The last temperature must be at least 0.4° F (0.2° C) higher.

Overall Thermal Shift:  Requires three temperatures that are at least 0.1° F (0.05° C) higher than the high temperature of the six preceding days.  They must be rising, generally, with at least one of them 0.4° F (0.2° C) higher than the high of the preceding six.

Click on any of the rules to see a description of how they work:

Rule 1 -- Combined strong temperature and mucus symptoms

Rule 2 -- Strong temperature symptom, weaker mucus symptom

Rule 3 -- Strong mucus symptom, weaker temperature symptom

Rule 4 -- Combined "average" temperature and mucus symptoms

Rule 5 -- Temperature symptom by itself

For couples who have a serious reason to avoid pregnancy, Rule 1 should be the only method used for determining the start of Phase 3 infertility.  (LifeCycle handles this automatically based upon user preference settings.)

Once in Phase 3, you are infertile through Phase 1, so  you may elect to stop observing your temperature and mucus symptoms until menstruation starts.  Both observations should be resumed in Phase 1 right after days of heavy menstrual flow have subsided.  LifeCycle will remind you when you should start observing them again.

A Final Note on Mucus

Many may find the idea of observing their mucus sign to be, well, less than exciting.  It does, however, provide a wealth of information regarding fertility and has a MAJOR advantage for those that use it:  It more accurately defines the period of Phase 2 fertility than cycle history or temperature alone.

If you are avoiding pregnancy, this means that your interpreted fertile period will be shorter, reducing the number of days of abstinence from sexual relations.  On the front end, the start of Phase 2 is delayed until the appearance of mucus, which is typically at a later cycle day than that given by the shortest cycle formula discussed previously.  At the back end, the end of Phase 2 and the start of Phase 3 comes at least a day earlier, due to the necessity of adding an extra day of thermal shift when using the temperature-only rule (Rule 5).

For those trying to achieve pregnancy, mucus is invaluable because changes in it represent positive signs of increasing fertility.  LifeCycle will alert you to this, as well.

Whether or not you decide to use the mucus symptom combined with temperature changes or temperature alone, you can be confident that natural family planning is an effective method of birth control - - without the drugs, without the hormones, NATURALLY!

Previous:  The Clues to Fertility

NOTE:  This is the end of the Primer, click the "Contents" button at the top to return to the beginning.


mucus changes as ovulation approaches
A Note about Mucus Changes as Ovulation Approaches

Mucus first appears during Phase 2 and changes in quantity, color and consistency as ovulation becomes imminent.  The most useful changes are those of wetness, consistency and color.  The "less fertile" type of mucus is typically tacky and opaque, the "more fertile" type is wet, stretchy, slippery, and clear.

Armed with this knowledge, pregnancy achievers can be fairly certain when their chances for conception are highest.  Just after ovulation, the hormone progesterone is released and estrogen levels drop, causing mucus to begin "drying up" -- it goes from the more fertile to the less fertile type.  The first day of this change, fertility and conception chances are still high.  Within a day, the conception chances drop considerably, so sexual relations are advised through this period if you are trying to achieve pregnancy.


determining the start of phase 3, Rule 1

Rule 1 -- Combined strong temperature and mucus symptoms

With this rule, both the temperature change and the mucus change are strong indicators of being in Phase 3.

Rule 1 requires a full thermal shift accompanied by four days or more of drying up. Mucus is said to be "drying up" when it goes from the more fertile to the less fertile type. Therefore, with this rule, you need at least four days of less fertile mucus.


determining the start of phase 3, Rule 2

Rule 2 --  Strong temperature symptom, weaker mucus symptom

With this rule, the temperature change is obvious, but the mucus change lags by a day.

Rule 2 requires a full thermal shift accompanied by two days of mucus drying up. Mucus is said to be "drying up" when it goes from the more fertile to the less fertile type. Therefore, with this rule, you need at least two days of less fertile mucus.


determining the start of phase 3, Rule 3

Rule 3 -- Strong mucus symptom, weaker temperature symptom

With this rule, the mucus change is a stronger indicator of being in Phase 3 than the temperature rise.

Rule 3 requires four days of drying up with at least three days of overall thermal shift. Mucus is said to be "drying up" when it goes from the more fertile to the less fertile type. Therefore, with this rule, you need at least four days of less fertile mucus.


determining the start of phase 3, Rule 4

Rule 4 -- Combined "average" temperature and mucus symptoms

With this rule, there is a fairly strong indication of being in Phase 3 from both temperature and mucus changes.

Rule 4 requires a strong thermal shift accompanied by three days of mucus drying up. Mucus is said to be "drying up" when it goes from the more fertile to the less fertile type. Therefore, with this rule, you need at least three days of less fertile mucus.


determining the start of phase 3, Rule 5

Rule 5 -- Temperature symptom by itself

With this rule, there is a strong indication of being in Phase 3 from temperature alone.  This is the only rule used when you elect not to use the mucus symptom or if you forget to record the mucus symptom during the necessary days in Phase 2.  Due to the lack of the mucus crosscheck, an extra day of thermal shift is required under this rule.

Rule 5 requires FOUR days of rising temperatures above the high temperature of the previous six days, with the last three being at least 0.4° F (0.2° C) higher.


Primer
A Primer on Natural Family Planning

Primer Contents

The Primer is made up of the sections that follow.  If you want a good overview of how natural family planning (NFP) works, start with the first and follow it through to the end.  If you do not currently know a lot about the cycle of fertility, you will find the Primer informative and interesting.

Each section begins with a brief overview, followed by a detailed discussion of the topic.

1. What is Natural Family Planning?

2. How NFP Works

3. The Clues to Fertility

The First Clue -- Menstruation

The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus

The Third Clue -- Temperature Changes

The Fourth Clue -- Cervix Characteristics

4. Putting it all Together


Using LifeCycle

Usage Contents

LifeCycle has been designed to be easy-to-use with a calendar-based screen for entering your symptoms and analyzing your fertility at a glance.  Click on any of the topics below for detailed information on using the software.

1.    Overview

2.    Setting Preferences

3    	Using the Calendar

4.    Entering Daily Symptoms

5.    The Fertility Advisor

6.    Fertility Calculations

7.    Using the Chart

8.    Pregnancy Forecaster

9.    Printing Reports

10.  Overriding LifeCycle

11.  Getting Help

12.  Housekeeping

13.  Database Repair & Recovery

14.  Menu Commands


Usage Overview
Using LifeCycle

Overview

In Short:  To use LifeCycle, you should familiarize yourself with six primary windows:  Preferences, Calendar, Symptom Chart, Fertility Advisor, and Pregnancy Forecaster.  The Preferences window is used to set usage options.  The Calendar window is used to access daily symptom entry and review where you are in your fertility cycle.  The Symptom window is used to enter and review your daily symptoms and notes.  The Chart provides a visual review of your fertility symptoms.  The Fertility Advisor provides detailed information about your current fertility and which symptoms you should be recording.  The Pregnancy Forecaster shows the relative probability of getting pregnant and predicted gender for each coitus day in a cycle.  It also calculates the due date if LifeCycle determines you are pregnant.  There are additional windows for performing housekeeping functions, overriding LifeCycle's calculations, printing reports, and getting help via Internet e-mail.

Preferences Window

The Preferences window is accessed by selecting "File" from the main menu  bar and clicking on "Preferences".  There are multiple options in this window organized like tabbed folders.  There are tabs for setting User Information, Calculation Options, Color Options, Icon Options, History Information, and Internet Options.

Click here to jump to detailed information on the Preferences window

Calendar Window

The Calendar is the default window loaded by LifeCycle when you start the program.  It is used to review your fertility status, scroll to specific dates, and perform daily symptom entry.  You may move around the calendar by clicking on a specific date or using the arrow keys on your keyboard.  You may move forward or back a month at a time by clicking on the arrows on either side of the month or by using the Page Up and Page Down keys on your keyboard.  You may move forward and back by year by clicking on the arrows on either side of the year.  To open the Daily Symptom Entry window for a day, double-click a day, press <CTRL><E>, or click the "Symptoms" button in the button bar.

Click here to jump to detailed information on the Calendar window

Symptom Window

The Symptom window is accessed from both the Calendar and the Chart by clicking the Symptoms button in the button bar, right clicking a day, or pressing <CTRL><E>.  It may also be accessed from the Calendar by simply double-clicking a day.  This window is used to enter and review all of the symptom and event information for a day.  This includes basal body temperature observations, time of temperature reading, whether your temperature reading was disturbed or not, whether menses or spotting took place, mucus and cervix symptoms, whether you engaged in coitus, and miscellaneous notes for the day.

Click here to jump to detailed information on the Symptom window

Chart Window

Clicking on the Chart button in the button bar accesses the Chart window.  The Chart provides a graph of temperatures in the current cycle, as well as the symptoms for each day in the cycle when you select them with a right-click.  The temperature graph is color-coded to reflect the phase for each cycle day.  Experienced practitioners of the sympto-thermal method of NFP will recognize this format -- in fact, it has been included for their benefit (manual practitioners of NFP use a chart similar to this one to determine where they are in their cycle, so this gives experienced users a method to quickly verify LifeCycle's accuracy).

Click here to jump to detailed information on the Chart window

The Fertility Advisor™

The Fertility Advisor provides detailed information for each cycle day: the current day's fertility prediction, symptoms you should be recording, and what is happening in your body on that day.  You can have it displayed after every calculation and at startup, so you always know what is going on and what you should be doing.

Click here to jump to detailed information on the Fertility Advisor

The Pregnancy Forecaster™

The Pregnancy Forecaster estimates the relative probability of getting pregnant on any day in your cycle where coitus occurred.  It also will provide an educated guess as to the gender of the child should you conceive on any of those days.  If LifeCycle determines that you are pregnant, you can update the Pregnancy Forecaster with a confirmation of this fact and it will predict your due date using the calculated ovulation date for that cycle.  You can also record the gender of your child and e-mail the results to LifeCycle for our review.

Click here to jump to detailed information on the Pregnancy Forecaster

Additional Windows

LifeCycle provides additional windows that enable you to perform housekeeping and utility functions such as backing up your data, archiving old cycles, repairing files damaged by unexpected shutdowns, and recalculating your entire database. There are windows and functions that enable you to override LifeCycle's calculations, print reports and request assistance directly from LifeCycle Software via Internet e-mail.

Click here to go back to the Using LifeCycle table of contents page


Preferences window
Using LifeCycle

Preferences Window

In Short:  The Preferences window is one of the most important windows in LifeCycle because it is here that you set your calculation and ovulation options, enter existing cycle history (if applicable), and set up access to Internet assistance.  You may also adjust your color schemes and Calendar icons using this window.

You reach the Preferences window by selecting "File" from the main menu bar and then selecting "Preferences" from the available items in the drop-down list.  The Preferences window has a number of different functions, all accessible by clicking on each of the folder-like tabs that run across the top.  A brief discussion of each of the tabs follows, further details on all of the options within each tabbed folder can be found by following the links within each topic.

User Info

This folder contains some basic options for using LifeCycle.  You can enter your name, Internet e-mail address and mail server so you can access the Internet Assistance function within the Help menu. You may also set your preferences for animating LifeCycle's icons, displaying the Fertility Advisor after a calculation and displaying cycle day details in the Calendar.

Click here for detailed information on the User Info tab

Calculations

The Calculations options folder is an essential component in setting up LifeCycle according to your preferences.  From this folder you indicate which symptoms you will use in your day-to-day use and set the various options that are associated with each.

Click here for detailed information on the Calculations tab

Ovulation

This tab lets you access options for displaying and calculating ovulation.  You can elect to show and base ovulation on LifeCycle's calculation or an ovulation predictor kit's calculation.  You may optionally display all possible ovulation days in the calendar as well (these are days where one or more of your symptoms could be indicative of ovulation, but it is not definitive).

Click here for detailed information on the Ovulation tab

Color

The Color options folder is used to change the default colors in both the calendar and the chart.  Colors are assigned to the phases of fertility by dragging and dropping.

Click here for detailed information on the Color tab

Icons

The Icons options folder is used to change the icons that display for the following events: menses, coitus (sexual relations), and ovulation.  You can change them by either dragging and dropping or right-clicking.  A number of the icons are animated – if you wish to change the animation settings, see the "User Info" tab.

Click here for detailed information on the Icons tab

History

The History folder displays summary information for the accumulated cycle history, including any user-entered pre-LifeCycle history.  LifeCycle uses these figures in some of the calculations.

Click here for detailed information on the History tab

Click here to return to Using LifeCycle contents


symptom entry window
Using LifeCycle

Symptom Window Overview

In Short:  The Symptom window is used to enter and review all cycle-related information on a day-to-day basis.  From the Calendar, you can enter temperature, time of reading, menses, spotting, coitus (sexual relations), disturbance events.  You can also record the results of an ovulation predictor kit.  There are options for recording mucus, cervix signs, and any notes for the day.  The Fertility Advisor text for the most recently calculated day is available for review.  This window is also used to view the symptoms on the currently selected day in the Chart, as well.

Click on an area below for detailed information on it:

If you select "Symptoms" from the Chart, you will see this at the bottom of the Symptom window, instead of the "Cancel" and "OK" buttons:

Opening the Symptom Entry Window

You can select the Symptom Entry window by clicking the appropriate button in the button bar, or by clicking "Edit" in the menu and then selecting "Edit Symptoms".  This can also be done by pressing <CTRL><E> together.

You can also right-click any day in the calendar or chart to bring up a pop-up menu to access the Symptom Entry window.

Recording Temperature

You should take your temperature at the same time every day, preferably upon waking.  You record your temperature and the time it was taken by using the spin buttons or by entering them directly into the appropriate boxes.  The time will initially set itself to the default waking time you set in the "Preferences" window under the "Calculations" tab.  If sickness, physical exertion, hangover, or any other external factor affected your temperature, check the "Disturbance" box.

Your body temperature rises in a predictable pattern starting early in the morning and throughout the rest of the day.  Because of this, LifeCycle will automatically record a disturbance for any temperature taken more than 20 minutes before or after your normal waking time.  If you are a pregnancy achiever and have the "Fix disturbance" option set to "Prompt" or "Auto", then LifeCycle will adjust your disturbed temperature to what it might have been had you taken it at your normal waking time.  In order for it to do this, you must take your temperature within 90 minutes of your normal time.  (The "Fix disturbance" option is also found under the "Calculations" tab of the "Preferences" window).

Recording Menstruation, Spotting, and Coitus

If you are menstruating, check the "Menses" box.  If you engage in sexual relations, check the "Coitus" box.

Spotting is sometimes referred to as "breakthrough bleeding" because it typically occurs mid-cycle and appears similar to menses.  It differs from menses in color, quantity and duration.  It is typically brownish, light in quantity, and short in duration.  It is more prevalent in long cycles, as it occurs when the endometrium builds up to the point that the top layers cannot be maintained and are sloughed off.  It may also occur around ovulation, so it may be interpreted as a sign of high fertility.

If you record menses earlier than expected, LifeCycle will warn you that it might be spotting and ask you to confirm it.  You should check the "Spotting" box on your own if you recognize it.

Ovulation/LH Test Results

You can record the results of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK) test here.  OPKs are sometimes referred to as "LH tests" as they detect the presence of luteinizing hormone.  When a test is positive, ovulation is expected to occur within 12-36 hours.

A note about changes to/from Daylight Savings Time

Return to Using LifeCycle Contents

Related Topic:  Using LifeCycle, Temperature Interpretation & Entry


chart window
Using LifeCycle

The Chart

In Short:  The Chart is provided as a quick means for evaluating an entire cycle graphically.  Indeed, in the manual method of Natural Family Planning, charting is the primary means of analyzing your fertility.

Click on an area below to learn more about it:

Overview

The chart displays a line graph of your daily temperatures during a cycle.  It also displays simple summary information for the selected day, represented by the vertical red line, in the information boxes below the chart.  You can move from day to day by clicking, or by using the arrow keys on your keyboard.  The line colors indicate your fertility phase (in this case, blue indicates phase 1 and 3 infertility, red indicates phase 2 fertility).  These colors can be changed in the "Preferences" window under the "Color" tab.  The ovulation day is highlighted by displaying the cycle day in red, blue or orange.  Red is used for LifeCycle's calculation, blue is reserved for the ovulation predictor kit's (OPK) calculation, and orange indicates that both LifeCycle and the OPK predicted the same day.

Displaying Details

You can click a day and press the Symptoms button to bring up the Symptom Entry window, displaying all cycle details for that day.  Alternatively, you can right-click a day and bring up a pop-up menu to access the same information (as seen above).  You can also bring up the Fertility Advisor information for each day, as well.

Printing the Chart

To print a detailed version of the chart, select the "Print" button.  You may then select a range of cycles to print, preview before printing, and you can even save the Chart to a bitmap file for sharing with others via e-mail (this was designed for those of you who participate in fertility chats, message boards, and e-mail listservs).  NOTE:  If you decide to share the chart by saving it to a file, it is recommended that you "zip" it up before posting or e-mailing, as it is very large in its uncompressed form.

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


calendar window
Using LifeCycle

The Calendar Window

In Short:  The Calendar window provides access to most of the major functions within LifeCycle.  You move through it using the navigation keys on your keyboard or with the mouse.  Double-click or right-click a day, press <CTRL><E>, or press the Symptoms button to bring up the Symptom Entry window.

Click on an area in the Calendar to learn more about it:

The Calendar window is the primary screen used in LifeCycle.  From this screen you can access the Symptom Entry window, as well as graphically see where you have recorded menses, spotting, coitus, ovulation test results, and disturbances.  LifeCycle also calculates your current cycle, current cycle day, current fertility phase, and likely day of ovulation, displaying each of these graphically in the Calendar.  When ovulation is definitively calculated, LifeCycle displays the method used to calculate it in the top right corner of the day ("LifeCycle", "OPK", "Both", or "Override").  Possible ovulation days are displayed using the normal ovulation icon with a question mark superimposed over it.  The Calendar days appear in the following manner:

NOTE:  Your color scheme might be different due to your settings under the "Color" tab in the "Preferences" window.  The cycle day details shown above may also be hidden based upon your settings in the User Info tab within Preferences.

Moving in the Calendar

Navigating around the calendar is very easy.  You may move from day-to- day by simply pointing and clicking the mouse or using the arrow keys on your keyboard.  You may move from month-to-month using the Page Up / Page Down keys on your keyboard or clicking the arrows to the left and right of the month at the top of the calendar.  You may move from year to year by clicking the arrows on either side of the year at the top of the calendar.  You may also "find" a day by pressing <CTRL><F> together and entering a specific calendar date to go to.  You can also reach this option in the menu by selecting "Edit" and then "Find Day..."

Loading the Symptom Entry Window

To display the Symptom Entry window, simply double-click the day you wish to edit.  If the desired day is already selected (it will have beveled edges and be a different shade than the days next to it), you may also press <CTRL><E> or click the "Symptoms" button in the button bar to bring up the window.  It is from this window that you enter all symptom information for the day.  You can also right-click any day and select the Symptom Entry window tab that you desire from the pop-up menu that appears.

Jump to Symptom Entry Window Overview

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


Preferences, History
Using LifeCycle

Preferences -- History

In Short:  From here you can review select information regarding your cycle history.  You may also add and/or edit your pre-LifeCycle history here.  History is important because it influences calculations for Phase 2 and for accurately predicting a birth date when pregnancy is achieved.

Click on an option to learn more about it, click on a tab to move to another topic.

The only column used in calculations is the last one, titled "Within Last 30 Cycles."  The other three columns help determine the values for this column.  You may not edit this column directly, as it is derived from your cycle history prior to and while using LifeCycle.  You may edit your prior history by clicking the "Edit Prior" button (see below).  LifeCycle automatically "edits" the other columns by calculating their values based upon your use of the software.

Edit Prior

Clicking this button brings up a window that allows you to enter/edit your cycle history prior to using this software.  You must enter your cycle start date, its duration, and its luteal phase length (if known).

Go to details on entering prior history

Return to Preferences Window help


Preferences, Color
Using LifeCycle

Preferences -- Color

In Short:  Calendar and Chart colors are changed by dragging and dropping within this function.

Click on an option to learn more about it, click on a tab to move to another topic.

Changing Calendar and Chart Colors

You can change the colors LifeCycle uses to display Phases 1, 2, and 3 by simply dragging a color from the middle section to one of the "target" rectangles for the Calendar or Chart.  You must make sure your mouse is over the rectangle when you release your mouse button, otherwise the color will not change.

Return to Preferences Window help


Preferences, Icons
Using LifeCycle

Preferences -- Icons

In Short:  You may change the default icons LifeCycle uses for menses, coitus (sexual relations), and ovulation.  The registered version allows you to import your own icons for these options.

Click on an option to learn more about it, click on a tab to move to another topic.

Changing your Icon Preferences

To change an icon, you can click and drag any of the icons in the "Selections" area to the associated "Target", releasing the mouse button when you drag the selection over the target.  You may also right-click a selection to replace the target with it.  If you prefer to use your own icons you can press the buttons on the right to select them.

A Note About Animated Icons

Two of the coitus icons may be animated: he smiley face or the heart.  The first ovulation icon with the egg in the nest may also be animated.  While you can't change the default icon for a positive ovulation prediction kit test, it too, may be animated.  The animation settings are found on the "User Info" tab.

Return to Preferences Window help


Preferences, User Info
Using LifeCycle

Preferences -- User Info

In Short:  This folder contains user information that is used in registering your software, in printing reports, and in sending Internet e-mail to LifeCycle Support.

Click on an option to learn more about it, click on a tab to move to another topic.

Internet Mail Options

You should set your own mail server name and e-mail address in order to use the Internet Assistance option from the Help menu.  If you don't know your mail server, then check the setup of your e-mail program – typically they list an "SMTP" server name.  Copy that name into the Mail (SMTP) Server box above.  If you have trouble sending mail using the Internet Assistance function, try increasing the Winsock Wait Time.

Miscellaneous Options

Most of these options are self-explanatory.  You can click on each one for more details.  Note that it is possible to turn off icon animation separately for ovulation and the other animated icons (coitus has 2 animations – a smiley face that looks around and a beating heart; a positive OPK test has a single animation – a beaker with a bubbling liquid).

Return to Preferences Window help


Preferences, Calculations
Using LifeCycle

Preferences -- Calculations

In Short:  The Calculations folder is one of the most important areas of LifeCycle, particularly for the new user.  It is here that all options are set for how the symptoms will be used in determining your fertility.

Click on an option to learn more about it, click on a tab to move to another topic.

Symptoms to Use

If you are just using temperature, select the "Temp Only" option.  If you are using temperature and mucus, select that option.  If you are trying to achieve pregnancy, you should use both symptoms.

Temperature Options

Select the appropriate temperature scale.  If you begin using one scale and then change to another, LifeCycle will convert your temperatures.  This may cause rounding errors and calculation differences upon recalculation.

"Shaving" is also referred to by some as "the rule of thumb" – checking this box tells LifeCycle to ignore up to two false high temperatures when it is trying to calculate for a thermal shift.  If you are a pregnancy achiever, you should leave this option checked (turned "on").  If you are an avoider, you should also leave it checked unless your NFP instructor tells you otherwise.

"Default time" is typically your normal waking time and the time you take your temperature.  In order for fertility prediction to work, you must take your temperature within 20 minutes of the same time everyday.  Taking it outside of this 20-minute period creates a "disturbance" - it forces LifeCycle to ignore the temperature on this day (unless you have the next option set to "Prompt" or "Auto")

"Fix disturbance", when set to "Prompt" or "Auto" tells LifeCycle to make corrections for temperatures disturbed by early or late rising.  It will only do this within 90 minutes of your normal waking time.  LifeCycle uses an estimate of 0.1° F or 0.05° C for each half-hour that the time differs from your normal time.  If you know from experience that your incremental temperature differs from this estimate and you are familiar with editing text files, click here to learn how to adjust it.

Mucus Options

If you are tracking mucus, you will probably want to check the "External" box.  LifeCycle Software does not recommend using "Internal" mucus observations due to the necessity of inserting a finger into the vagina to reach the cervix – it is included because a number of people who practice NFP do use this symptom already. If either box is unchecked, LifeCycle will automatically mark that symptom as "Not Recorded" in the Symptom Entry window.

If "Use Last Dry Day Rule" is checked, LifeCycle will wait until the appearance of mucus before calculating the start of Phase 2 fertility.  If you are a pregnancy avoider, you must have at least 6 complete cycles of history before using this rule.  Using the Last Dry Day Rule requires that you begin tracking your mucus symptom while in Phase 1.  LifeCycle will alert you via the Fertility Advisor when this observation should begin.  If you fail to record mucus or if you are unable to use the Last Dry Day Rule because you're an avoider without enough history, LifeCycle will use the Shortest Cycle Rule to calculate the start of Phase 2.

Return to Preferences Window help


Preferences, entering prior history
Using LifeCycle

Preferences -- Editing Prior History

In Short:  Enter cycle start dates, lengths, and luteal phase lengths for all cycles you have on record prior to using LifeCycle.

Add

Click this button to add a new entry.  The cursor will move to the Cycle Date box, enter a date in m/d/yy or m/d/yyyy format.  Tab to the Length box, enter a value, then tab to the Luteal Length box and enter a value for that, if you have one.  When finished, click the "Save" button to keep your entry, or "Cancel" to discard it.

Edit

If you need to change an existing entry, highlight it in the table by clicking it (it will turn yellow), then click "Edit".  You can change the Length or Luteal Length boxes.  If you need to change the Cycle Date, you'll have to delete the entry and re-enter it.  NOTE: This button becomes "Save" when in Add or Edit mode.

Save

When in Add or Edit mode, the "Edit" button becomes "Save".  Click this button to save the current entry into the table.

Delete

If you need to delete an existing entry, highlight it in the table by clicking it (it will turn yellow), then click "Delete".  This is permanent!  NOTE:  This button becomes "Cancel" when in Add or Edit mode.

Cancel

When in Add or Edit mode, the "Delete" button becomes "Cancel".  Click this button to cancel adding a new record or editing an existing record.

Close

Closes the editing window and returns you to the Preferences -- History tab.

Return to Preferences -- History help

Return to Preferences Window help


Daylight Savings Time, impact on temperature
An important note about changes to / from Daylight Savings Time

Due to the importance of recording your temperature symptom at a consistent time from day-to-day while in Phase 2, changes to and from Daylight Savings Time can have a negative impact on LifeCycle's ability to interpret your fertility.  To get around this, LifeCycle has been designed to recognize when DST changes could occur during Phase 2 and warn you of the impending change.

It is recommended that you slowly adjust your time of entry in advance of the change.  LifeCycle will give you a warning several days ahead of time and it is recommended that you follow this pattern of adjustment:

Spring, from Standard Time to Daylight Savings Time ("spring forward"):
Friday:   	normal time
Saturday:	20 minutes earlier than normal time
Add one hour for DST before going to bed Saturday night...
Sunday:	20 minutes after normal time
Monday:	normal time

Fall, from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time ("fall back"):
Friday:   	normal time
Saturday:	20 minutes after normal time
Subtract one hour for ST before going to bed Saturday night...
Sunday:	20 minutes earlier than normal time
Monday:	normal time


daily symptom entry, events
Using LifeCycle

Event Interpretation & Entry

An important note about spotting

In Short:  Use this section of the Symptom Entry window to record menstruation, spotting, sexual relations OPK test results, and disturbances.

Entering Events

The following options are available for recording events:

Recording events is straightforward.  If menses occurs, check the "Menses" box; if it's spotting, select "Spotting".  If you engage in sexual relations, check the "Coitus" box.  If sickness, fever, physical exertion have affected your temperature reading, hangover, etc. then check the "Disturbance" box.  NOTE:  LifeCycle automatically checks this box for late temperature readings.

You may also record the results of an ovulation test.

Return to Symptom Entry Window Overview

Related Topic:  Primer, The First Clue -- Menstruation


daily symptom entry, mucus
Using LifeCycle

Symptom Window Overview

In Short:  The Symptom window is used to enter and review all cycle-related information on a day-to-day basis.  From the Calendar, you can enter temperature, time of reading, menses, coitus (sexual relations), and disturbance events.  There are options for recording mucus, cervix signs, and any notes for the day.  This window is also used to view the symptoms on the currently selected day in the Chart, as well.

Click on an area below for detailed information on it:

External or Internal?

Many new users of Natural Family Planning will ask the question, "Should I use external, internal or both observations in tracking the mucus symptom?"  Our answer is an unequivocal "external."

The reason for this is the possibility of causing a bacterial or fungal infection with the internal observation.  The internal method requires that you insert your finger up into your vagina towards the cervix, in which case the possibility exists for scratching the soft lining of the vagina with your fingernail and transferring germs from under your nail.  In addition, many will find the thought of performing internal observations, well, "gross."

External observations alone have been proven to be extremely reliable in the sympto-thermal method of NFP.  In fact, the Billings Ovulation Method (BOM) of NFP, which relies on mucus alone in determining fertility, does not even use internal observations.

We have elected to include the option for internal observations for the benefit of those practitioners who are currently using them in their cycles.  Everyone else can ignore this option.

Observing  and Interpreting the Mucus Symptom

New users of Natural Family Planning will require some practice in observing the mucus symptom before being able to use it properly.  Because of this, if you have less than six cycles in your recorded cycle history, LifeCycle will not allow you to use the Last Dry Day Rule for determining the start of Phase 2.  It will allow you to use mucus in combination with temperature to determine the start of Phase 3, however.  After a short time of practice, most women have no trouble at all interpreting their mucus symptom well enough to use it for determining the start of Phase 2.

The mucus symptom's value as a sign of fertility is found more in its qualitative characteristics of relative dryness/wetness, stretchiness, and color than in its quantitative characteristic of volume.  Therefore, LifeCycle ignores the quantity of mucus and the qualitative characteristics are used.

Observations are made throughout the day, normally at time of urination, and are recorded in LifeCycle at the end of the day.  If there are a combination of more fertile and less fertile symptoms during the day, then you should record those which indicated more fertile mucus (slippery, stretchy, clear or blood-stained).

To make an observation after urination, wipe yourself with white, unscented toilet paper.  If the toilet paper glides across your labia with feelings of lubrication, you have mucus present.  If the sensation of wiping was "slippery" you will note it as such; if there were no feelings of lubrication, then you would record "dry" and be done with the observation.  Anything in between dry and slippery should be recorded as "not dry."

If you record "not dry" or "slippery" then you should take the observation a bit further and check both the stretchiness and color of the mucus.  Inspect the toilet paper and tap it with your finger.  Does the mucus stick to it and stretch or is it tacky?  If it's "tacky" you will record it as such.  Otherwise, look at how far you can make it stretch.  If you can get at least a 1/2-inch of stretch out of it, then record "more stretchy".  If not, record it simply as "less stretchy".

Now check the color when you stretch it.  Is it cloudy, clear or blood-stained?  Record the appropriate color.

Less fertile mucus is typically recorded as "not dry", "tacky" or "less stretchy", and "cloudy".  More fertile mucus is typically "slippery", "more stretchy", and either "clear" or "blood-stained"

If your Calculation preferences are set so that LifeCycle is using Temperature-only, the "Not recorded" box will automatically be checked.  If you make an entry for a day and leave the mucus symptom blank, LifeCycle will automatically check the "Not recorded" box after closing the Symptom Entry window.  If the "Not recorded" box is checked, LifeCycle will not use the mucus symptom in the fertility calculations, regardless of your Calculation preferences.  Therefore, after menstruation and throughout Phase 2 you should always record a day as being "Dry" when you determine that there is no mucus -- in no case should you leave the symptom area blank.  After entering Phase 3 you may elect not to record this symptom, if you wish.

Return to Symptom Entry Overview

Related Topic:  Primer, The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus


daily symptom entry, cervix
Using LifeCycle

Symptom Window Overview

In Short:  The Symptom window is used to enter and review all cycle-related information on a day-to-day basis.  From the Calendar, you can enter temperature, time of reading, menses, coitus (sexual relations), and disturbance events.  There are options for recording mucus, cervix signs, and any notes for the day.  This window is also used to view the symptoms on the currently selected day in the Chart, as well.

Click on an area below for detailed information on it:

A Note about the Cervix Symptom

Tracking the cervix sign is not recommended because it requires a physical inspection of the interior of the vagina and the risk of transferring infection is too great for the limited benefit provided by this sign.  LifeCycle has included this option primarily for those existing practitioners of NFP whom are using this symptom to cross-check that of external mucus and temperature.  It is informational-only, as LifeCycle does not use the symptom in any calculations.  It almost always corresponds with the mucus symptom, and since the external mucus sign is much easier (and safer) to interpret, we recommend it's use in place of the cervix sign.  Nevertheless, you may record your observations if you are so inclined.

NOTE: LifeCycle automatically checks the "Not recorded" box for you -- if you wish to track this symptom, you must first un-check it before recording the various characteristics.

Related Topic:  Primer, The Fourth Clue -- The Cervix


calculating fertility
Using LifeCycle

Fertility Calculations

In Short:  After you enter information in the Symptom Entry window and click "OK", LifeCycle will calculate your current level of fertility.  If you adjust a previous day in your cycle, LifeCycle will re-calculate all cycle days from that point on.

Calculations in Phase 1

After menstruation in Phase 1, LifeCycle will warn you in advance as to when it's time to start taking your temperature and make your mucus observations again.

Regardless of your preference settings for Calculations, any appearance of mucus automatically puts you in Phase 2.  If you have a history of six or more cycles and have enabled the "Last Dry Day Rule", LifeCycle waits for the appearance of mucus before setting Phase 2.  Otherwise, LifeCycle uses the Shortest Cycle Rule for setting the start of Phase 2.  In all cases where the cycle history is less than six complete cycles, LifeCycle sets the start of Phase 2 on cycle day 7.

Related Topic:

Primer, The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus

Calculations in Phase 2

Once the Phase 2 fertile period has started, LifeCycle will perform calculations after each daily entry using temperature alone or a combination of the temperature and mucus symptoms.  If your goal is to pregnancy achievement, LifeCycle will also predict your days of highest fertility and inform you of them within the Fertility Advisor.  If you have indicated a gender preference in the Preferences window, LifeCycle will also highlight which days are more conducive to having a child of your choice.  (This is not an exact science, LifeCycle does NOT guarantee any specific results).

Related Topics:

The Science Behind Predicting Gender

Primer, The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus

Primer, The Third Clue -- Temperature Changes

Calculations in Phase 3

LifeCycle waits for the appearance of menses before ending Phase 3 and starting Phase 1 of the next cycle.  It also compares the length of the current cycle with the average cycle length.  If the current cycle is outside of the normal cycle length variation, it will keep you apprised of the possibility of missing the menstrual sign and being in a fertile period.

LifeCycle will also continue to monitor the temperature symptom to determine if you might be pregnant.  If it determines that you are pregnant, it will give you a better approximation of your due date than that given by your doctor (this is because LifeCycle knows your likely day of ovulation, while your doctor will base his/her estimate on the start date of your last menstruation).

Related Topics:

Primer, The First Clue -- Menstruation

Pregnancy Forecaster

Summary

LifeCycle depends upon three primary symptoms to calculate your current level of fertility:  menstruation, mucus, and basal temperature.  It will automatically calculate your fertility immediately after you perform your daily symptom entry.  It will also remind you within the Fertility Advisor when you should start taking your temperature and observing your mucus symptom.  It will let you know when you can stop recording these symptoms in Phase 3 (if your goal is pregnancy avoidance).

Related Topic:

Primer, Putting it all Together

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


Fertility

This is the fertility for the selected day in the Chart.


Cycle Date Range

This displays the date range of the currently selected cycle.


Name

Enter your name as you wish it to appear on all reports and Internet e-mail to LifeCycle Support.


Birthdate

Enter your birthdate in m/d/yyyy format.  This is used on some reports.


Address, City, State/Province, Zip/Postal Code

Enter your mailing address.  This information is attached to any e-mail you send to LifeCycle Support in case we need to physically mail something to you.


Registration No.

Enter the number you receive from LifeCycle when you register your software.  Enter it EXACTLY as it is given to you.  This number identifies you uniquely, without it, LifeCycle is reduced to shareware with certain features disabled and with a 2-cycle limit.


Password

This is your own password for LifeCycle, if you wish to use it.  When you make an entry here, a box will ask you to reconfirm your new password.  If you forget your password, it takes an act of Congress to get it back, so don't forget it!


Show Fertility Advisor After Calculations

If this box is checked, the Fertility Advisor will be displayed after every calculation.  The Fertility Advisor provides a detailed analysis of your fertility at every point in your cycle.


Animate Icons

When checked, LifeCycle will animate two of the coitus icons (the smiley face and the heart), a positive ovulation predictor kit test result (bubbling fluid in the beaker), and possible ovulation days (a flashing question mark superimposed over an ovulation icon).


OK Button

Accepts all changes made in Preferences and closes the Preferences window.


Cancel Button

Cancels all changes made to Preferences and closes the Preferences window.


Help Button

Displays topic-specific help.


Temperature Only

If you select this option, LifeCycle ignores the mucus symptom in calculating Phase 3.  NOTE: Mucus is NEVER ignored in setting Phase 2.


Temperature & Mucus

Setting this option makes sure that LifeCycle uses the mucus symptom in all calculations.  NOTE:  If you have this option set and fail to enter any mucus sign, LifeCycle runs as if Temperature Only were set, instead.  If there is no mucus present, be sure to indicate that with a "Dry" reading.


Allow Temperature Shaving

Shaving is the process of ignoring up to two false high temperatures when calculating whether a thermal shift has taken place.  The thermal shift is the primary indication of the start of Phase 3 infertility.  If LifeCycle does shave any temperatures, it will alert you to this in the "Calculation Notes" for the first day of Phase 3.  This box is checked, normally.


Default Time

This is the normal time you take your temperature.  Due to the incremental rise and fall of body temperature during the day, you must take your temperature within 20 minutes of the same time everyday.  This is the reference point for that rule.  To change this time in hourly increments, click the spin buttons to the left; to change the time in minute increments, click the spin buttons to the right.


External

Checking this option indicates that you wish to track external mucus.  Leaving it unchecked causes LifeCycle to automatically fill in "Not recorded" for this symptom when you make your daily entry (you can always override it).  For most women using the mucus symptom, this will be checked.


Internal

Checking this option indicates that you wish to track internal mucus at the cervix.  Most women will not want to do this.  In fact, some doctors do not recommend it as such a self-inspection can result in infection if you scratch the interior with your fingernail.  Some also find that the interior of the vagina is almost always moist, so it becomes more difficult to distinguish this symptom.  It has been included primarily for the benefit of those NFP practitioners who are already using it.  For most women using the mucus symptom, this box will remain unchecked.


Use Last Dry Day Rule

Checking this option will cause LifeCycle to wait until mucus first appears in Phase 1 before setting Phase 2.  If you have this box checked and DO NOT specifically indicate a day as being "dry," then LifeCycle will use the Shortest Cycle Rule to set Phase 1.

NOTE: Whether or not you check this box, the appearance of mucus in Phase 1 is always indicative of the start of the fertile period for pregnancy avoiders and will be treated as such by LifeCycle.


Achieve Pregnancy

Setting this option causes LifeCycle to predict not just the start of the fertile and infertile periods, but also the days of highest fertility.


Avoid Pregnancy

Setting this option causes LifeCycle to predict the start of the fertile and infertile periods without any additional emphasis on days of highest fertility.


Normal

This is the default for most pregnancy avoiders and unless you have a serious reason to avoid pregnancy, you should leave it "on".  (LifeCycle is still highly effective with this turned on.)  Pregnancy achievers should select "Liberal".


Conservative

Setting this option causes LifeCycle to disable the "Last Dry Day Rule" option and add a day of insulation at each end of the Phase 2 fertility calculation.  Do not check this box unless you have a DIRE need to avoid pregnancy.  Setting this option increases the number of days of abstinence by at least 2 for pregnancy avoiders.


Use Pre-Menopause Adjustments

This is disabled in the beta and shareware versions.  This option enables calculation variations frequently required by women who are nearing menopause.


Calendar Colors

The color used to represent phases in the Calendar. To change it, select one of the colors from the center and drag it to this target.  Release the mouse button when the mouse cursor is over the phase.  NOTE: The cursor itself (not just the outline) must be over the Phase before releasing.


Restore Defaults

Clicking this button returns the phases to their default colors.


Source Colors

Click and drag these colors to the phase targets in order to change the Calendar and Chart phase colors.


Number of Charted Cycles

LifeCycle tracks this because a minimum of 6 cycles is required for using the Shortest Cycle Rule and for using the mucus symptom in determining the start of Phase 2.


Shortest Cycle Rule

This rule is used to determine the start day for Phase 2.  Here's how it is calculated:

Start of Phase 2 = Shortest Cycle Length - 20

Cycles shortened by shorter than normal luteal phases are excluded from this calculation. If you are a pregnancy achiever, LifeCycle may vary this rule and use an average cycle length, instead (because achieving pregnancy is by its nature less conservative than avoiding it, LifeCycle can use much more "loose" estimates for the fertile period for pregnancy achievers).  It is further modified by using your average luteal phase length in the calculation.  For achievers, it is calculated like this:

Start of Phase 2 = Shortest or Average Cycle Length – (Average Luteal Phase + 5)


Luteal Phase

The luteal phase is the period between ovulation and the next menstruation.  There is not much variation in the length of this period; fluctuations in cycle length are normally attributed to the changes in the length of the pre-ovulation period.

NOTE: For pregnancy achievement, a fertilized egg normally requires 10 days from conception to achieve implantation.  Luteal phase lengths of less than 10 days can prevent implantation and thus may be indicative of a fertility problem, as a result.


Average Cycle Length

This is the average length of recorded cycles.  It is not used in calculations, it's for your own reference purposes.


Shortest Cycle Length

 Used in Shortest Cycle Rule for determining the start of Phase 2 under the "Temperature Only" method and when no mucus symptom is entered under the "Temperature and Mucus" method.


Longest Cycle Length

This is the longest cycle length of recorded cycles.  It is not used in calculations, it's for your own reference purposes.


Average Luteal Phase Length

The average luteal phase length is the average time between ovulation and your next menstruation of all recorded, completed cycles.  LifeCycle uses it in the statistical analysis of shortest cycle length and other fertility calculations.  Cycles where the luteal phase is unusually short are excluded from the calculation of Phase 2 using the Shortest Cycle Rule.

NOTE: For pregnancy achievement, a fertilized egg normally requires 10 days from conception to achieve implantation.  Luteal phase lengths of less than 10 days can prevent implantation and thus may be indicative of a fertility problem, as a result.


Edit Prior Button

Clicking this button brings up a window that allows you to enter/edit your cycle history prior to using this software.  You must enter your cycle start date, its duration, and its luteal phase length (if known).


Mail (SMTP) Server

This is the name for your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) mail server.  SMTP stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol" and some ISP's refer to their server by this acronym.  You can get the name from your e-mail program (in the setup area) or from your provider.

LifeCycle requires this information if you wish to use the Internet Support feature in the Help menu.


E-mail Address

This is your Internet address, typically in the format:

username@somewhere.net

If you don't know this, you probably aren't on the Internet!


User Name

This is the name you use for logging on to your mail server.  Again, you can find this in your e-mail program in the setup area or from your Internet provider.  It is frequently the same as your Internet login for your primary e-mail address.


Secure Internet Transactions

LifeCycle's on-line registration employs five separate encryption algorithms in a single transaction and changes the encryption keys after every transaction.  This is much more secure than any face-to-face credit transaction you will engage in.  In how many restaurants have  you given your credit card number to a stranger who walks off to make the charge, then returns for you to sign the receipt.  How secure was that?  This is not meant to make you paranoid about using a credit card in a restaurant or store, just to dispel the myth of the Internet being an insecure environment for such transactions.

Still concerned?  No problem, you can fax or mail your order, as well.  You can use the order form enclosed with this help file or the on-line registration wizard.


Icon Target

These are the icons that LifeCycle will use to display menses, coitus, and ovulation events in your calendar.  Select an icon by either right-clicking it from the "source" box, or by dragging it to a target.


Icon Selections

These are the standard icon selections that come with LifeCycle.  Select one by clicking and dragging it to a target. This changes the icons LifeCycle uses for menses, coitus, and ovulation in the Calendar window.


Custom Selections Buttons

Click one of these buttons to browse for additional icons to use in place of the ones available here.


Graph Temperatures

This is the temperature axis for the graph.


Date

This is the date that corresponds to the cycle day selected above.


Cycle Day

This is the selected cycle day.


Cycle

This displays the cycle number for the currently selected chart.  You may display another cycle's chart by clicking the spin buttons.  You may also go to a specific cycle by clicking "Edit" in the menu and "Find Day..." from the available choices.  If the day exists in your cycle history, LifeCycle will display the cycle where it is found.


Print Button

Prints the currently displayed chart.


Close

Closes the Chart window.


Getting Help

Introduction

In Short:  On-line help is available directly from this Windows help file.  Personal assistance is available via Internet e-mail.

Windows Help

This help file is an extensive resource for both using LifeCycle and learning about the sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning.  It is recommended that you review the NFP Primer so that you understand the basics of how LifeCycle calculates your fertility.

LifeCycle has been designed to be very easy-to-use and is well documented within this Windows help file.  You should be able to find answers to most questions on its use here.

Click here to go the Primer on NFP

Click here to go to help on Using LifeCycle

Database Repair & Recovery

LifeCycle provides features to assist you in automatically fixing any database errors that may crop up.  If you run into a problem, this is the first place to go.  There are a number of options that you may try, including sending the data to LifeCycle for review by our support team.

Click here to go to help on Database Repair & Recovery

Internet Assistance

LifeCycle users who have access to an Internet account may get personalized assistance via e-mail.  You must first record your name, e-mail address, and mail server information in the "User Info" tab of the Preferences window. After setting these preferences, you may send a request for assistance by selecting "Help" from the menu bar and choosing "Internet Assistance..." from the available selections.

You can send us Internet e-mail using your own e-mail program.  Click here to contact us in this manner, or click here to go to our website.

Click here for an overview of the Internet Assistance window

Click here for detailed information on the Preferences -- User Info tab

Return to Contents


Internet Assistance
Getting Help

Internet Assistance

In Short:  Personal assistance is available if you have a direct connection to the Internet.  Your Internet connection must be active for this feature to work.

You can send LifeCycle Software a request for assistance by using this handy e-mail form.  Just fill out the subject and message lines, make sure you're connected to the Internet, and press "Send".  If you have detailed questions about your cycle, check the box in the lower left corner to send a copy of your most recent cycle information to LifeCycle's support staff.

You should make sure that your e-mail address is set appropriately in the User Info tab of the Preferences window prior to using this feature.  If LifeCycle "times out" while trying to send mail and you are connected to the Internet, try increasing the value of the Winsock Max Wait Time within the same Preferences window.

Return to Help Introduction


LifeCycle Internet Assistance

This screen provides a means for you to send a request for help via Internet e-mail.  Click on any of the boxes to find out what they are used for.


To

This is filled in automatically by LifeCycle.  It is the support address for LifeCycle Software, LLC.  It cannot be edited directly.


From

This is your e-mail address and it is derived from the Preferences window under the "Internet" tab.  This is the address that a reply will be sent to, so make sure it's correct.  This is also used to send you a copy of all e-mail you send to LifeCycle, in case you wish to keep a log of it.  You cannot edit the address directly but may change it in the Preferences window.


Subject

Enter the subject of your e-mail here (this is meant to be brief, save the detail for the "message" area).  This is not a required field but it is recommended that you use it for your recipient's benefit.


Message

Type the contents of  your message here.  Be as descriptive as possible.  If you are reporting a program "bug", please make sure you can replicate the error and describe EXACTLY what causes it, in the order that it occurs.


Attach Cycle Data

Check this box if you wish to attach your symptom data to your e-mail (this is extremely helpful if you are asking a question regarding the calculation of your fertility phase).


Cycle Number to Attach

If you checked the "Attach Cycle Data" box then this will be initially filled with your most recent cycle.  If you need to change the cycle, click the spin buttons to the right of the cycle number.  When you send your e-mail, LifeCycle will attach a copy of the symptom data from this cycle for review by LifeCycle Software Support.


Cancel Button

This cancels sending the e-mail and closes the Internet Assistance window.  NOTE:  You will lose all editing done in the Message area, so if you need to save the note, highlight it and press <CTRL>+C to copy.  You can then paste it to another application using <CTRL>+V.


Send Button

This sends the current e-mail message and attached cycle data (if any) to LifeCycle Software Support.  If you are not currently connected to the Internet, you will receive an error message.  The status bar at the bottom of the window will display the progress of the send process.


Status Bar

This displays the progress of your send operation when you press the "Send" button.


Calendar Month

This is the current month for the Calendar window.  You may change the month by clicking the arrows to the left and right of it, or by pressing <Page Up> and <Page Down> on your keyboard.  When you change it, LifeCycle will load any fertility information it finds during that month and display it in the Calendar.


Calendar Year

This is the current year for the Calendar window.  You may change the year by clicking the arrows to the left and right of it.  You may go to a specific date in the past or future by pressing <CTRL>+F or by selecting "Edit" in the menu and "Find Day..." from the list of choices.


Calendar Days

LifeCycle displays the current phase of fertility by using the colors set in the Preferences window so you know instantly whether you are currently fertile or infertile.  It also displays icons representing menstruation, coitus (sexual relations), ovulation, spotting, and ovulation test results on each day where appropriate.  The upper right corner of each day contains the cycle number, the cycle day, and the phase number.  Therefore "1-22-3" means that this is the 22nd day of the first cycle and you are in Phase 3 on that day.

The current day appears "sunken"-- it is a different shade  and has beveled edges when compared to the days around it.  To enter/edit symptoms on that day, double-click the day, press<CTRL><E>, right-click it, or click the "Symptoms" button in the button bar.  To move to another day, single-click it or use your arrow keys on the keyboard.


Temperature

This is the basal body temperature recorded on the currently selected day in the Calendar or Chart.  During entry, it can be entered directly using the keyboard or by using the spin buttons.  You may enter in either Fahrenheit or Celsius degrees, but you must set your preferred scale in the Preferences window under the "Calculations" tab.


Event Options

This section is for recording daily events such as menstruation / spotting, coitus (sexual relations), ovulation predictor kit test results, and disturbances. Disturbances are defined as anything that may affect the accuracy of a temperature reading, such as late time of reading, fever, sickness, or hangover.


Area

Select either internal or external mucus from this drop-down box to indicate which method of mucus observation you wish to make.  NOTE: Internal mucus observations are not recommended.


Cervix Options

This section is used for recording your daily cervix symptom.  This symptom is not currently used in the calculation of fertility, and as such, it is "informational-only."  It has been included because some existing practitioners of the manual method of NFP use it for cross-checking their other symptoms.  Its use is not recommended for beginners and others who are not already using it, primarily due to the chance of infecting yourself with bacteria from under your fingernail should you scratch yourself while making the observation.

Jump to Cervix Interpretation & Entry


Daily Notes Entry

This section is used for recording miscellaneous information related to your cycle.  Things like ovulation pain ("mittelschmertz"), the onset of the flu or a cold, menstrual cramps, etc. is noted here.  These notes are "informational-only" and by their nature cannot be used directly in the calculation of fertility, but they do provide some cross-checking functions for you (such as mittelschmertz).


Cancel Button

This cancels all symptom entry / editing and closes the Symptom Entry window without saving your data or recalculating your fertility.  Use this if you make a mistake and want to start over.


OK Button

This accepts all symptom entry / editing and closes the Symptom Entry window.  If you have entered new information or edited existing information, LifeCycle will recalculate your current fertility phase after closing this window.


Time

This is the time at which your basal body temperature was recorded on the currently selected day.  You must set your default time of entry in the Preferences window under the "Calculations" tab, and then take your temperature within 20 minutes of the same time every day.  If your time of entry exceeds this 20-minute limit, LifeCycle will automatically record a disturbance on that day.  (This is because body temperature rises on it's own over the course of the day, up to 0.1° F / 0.05° C every half-hour, which can skew the results).

Pregnancy achievers can have LifeCycle automatically adjust temperatures taken outside of the 20-minute timeframe by setting the "Fix Disturb" option on the "Calculations" tab to "Prompt" or "Auto".


menu commands
Using LifeCycle

Menu Commands

Click on one of the menu commands to learn more about it:

File

Edit

Reports

Window

Help


menu commands, file
Using LifeCycle

Menu Commands -- File

The following options are available from the File menu:

Housekeeping

Housekeeping options include: compacting and repairing the database, recalculating all cycles, backing up your database, and archiving old cycles.

Click here for details on Housekeeping options

Preferences

This option brings up the Preferences window and allows you to change information about yourself, your calculation and ovulation preferences, your calendar colors and icons, and your cycle history.

Click here for help on setting Preferences

Print Setup

This option allows you to change the default Windows printer for printing LifeCycle reports.

Exit

This closes LifeCycle.

Return to Menu Command help


Using LifeCycle

Menu Commands -- File / Housekeeping

The following options are available within the Housekeeping menu:

Backup

This option assists you in backing up your LifeCycle data to either a floppy disk or your hard drive.  It is recommended that you do this on a weekly basis, at a minimum.

Archive History

This option moves old historical records to a separate file.  It is recommended that you perform this function yearly, at a minimum.  If you find your calculation process taking longer than expected, archiving your data should improve the speed.

Recalculate All

This option will recalculate your ENTIRE cycle history.  This is not normally necessary but may be required after losing power unexpectedly.  This may take some time if you have a lot of cycles in your history.

Compact Database

This option will reduce the size of your LifeCycle data file by removing deleted records (yeah, this doesn't make much sense, but that's the way computers work).

Repair Database

This option will repair a LifeCycle data file that has been damaged by unexpected termination caused by power outages, Windows errors, etc.  This is ALWAYS recommended immediately after such an event, although LifeCycle will normally run this automatically upon restart.

Return to File Menu Command Help


menu commands, edit
Using LifeCycle

Menu Commands -- Edit

The following options are available from the Edit menu:

Enter Symptoms

This option is available when the Calendar or Chart is the active window.  Selecting it brings up the Symptom window.  You may also use <CTRL><E> from the keyboard to open it.

Click here to go to the Symptom window

Delete Symptoms

This option is available when the Calendar is the active window.  Selecting it deletes the symptoms for the Calendar day currently highlighted.  You may also use <SHIFT><DEL> from the keyboard to access this option.

Find Day

This option is available in both the Calendar and the Chart windows.  Selecting it brings up a pop-up window that lets you go to a specific day in the Calendar or Chart.

Override Calculations

This option allows you to override LifeCycle's calculations for the start of phase 2 fertility and the ovulation date in each cycle.  Overriding the ovulation date subsequently changes LifeCycle's calculation for the start of phase 3 infertility and the luteal phase length.  You may also adjust the override preferences for calculating ovulation and luteal phase length (using LifeCycle's calculation or that dictated by an ovulation predictor kit).

Click here to go to the Override screen help

Recalculate Fertility

This option is only visible if you've set your "Auto Recalc" option to "Manual".  If no recalculation is necessary, it will be grayed out.  You can also recalculate by pressing the [F9] key.

Click here to go to the Calculation Preferences window

Return to Menu Command help


menu commands, reports
Using LifeCycle

Menu Commands -- Reports

The following reports are available:

Chart

Select this option to print a chart for each cycle in a specified range, one cycle to a page.  Checking the "grayscale" option on this screen will cause LifeCycle to print the chart in black, gray and white (as best it can).  If you have a color printer, uncheck this option.

Detail

Select this option to print a detailed history of a range of cycles in tabular format.  This report includes all symptoms, events, cycle numbers, cycle days, and phases for each day in the report.  It also includes any Daily Notes or Calculation Notes recorded on these days.  This report can be useful on your first visit to the ob/gyn if you are pregnant.

Summary

Select this option to print a summarized history of a range of cycles in tabular format.  For each cycle included, this reports lists the cycle start and end dates, probable ovulation date, cycle length, luteal phase length, phase start dates.  This report also includes the average, minimum and maximum cycle lengths, and the average luteal length within the last 30 cycles.

Coitus

Select this option to print a list of all dates during a range of cycles where you engaged in intercourse.  For each day, this report lists the phase of fertility, the predicted gender should you successfully conceive, and the overall likelihood of getting pregnant.

Bedside Log

Select this option to print an entry form to keep by your bedside for offline recording of your symptoms.  You can record your daily temperature and mucus symptoms, as well as menses, coitus, and disturbance events.  There's also a column to record any miscellaneous notes for the day.  After recording the data, you should then enter it into LifeCycle at some point during the day.

Go to Menu Command help

Go to Using LifeCycle contents


menu commands, help
Using LifeCycle

Menu Commands -- Help

These options are available within the Help menu:

Contents

This option brings up LifeCycle Help Contents.  Pressing <F1> while in LifeCycle will bring up help information specific to the area of LifeCycle that you are in.  This is also referred to as "context-sensitive" help.

Search For Help On...

This option lets you search for a particular help topic or a key phrase that relates to a help topic that you are interested in.

Internet Assistance

This option brings up a window for you to send e-mail to LifeCycle Software Support.  You have the option of attaching a copy of your cycle, as well.  You must be connected to your Internet provider for this option to work.

Click here for information on using Internet Assistance

Special…

This brings up a sub-menu for accessing the Database Repair & Recovery window and for reloading LifeCycle's original startup windows (you might want to reload them if you forgot to record your shortest and longest cycle when you first began using the software).

Click here for information on Database Repair & Recovery

Display / Enter Registration Codes

This option brings up your registration keys and permits you to print them along with registration instructions.

About LifeCycle

Selecting this option brings up a copyright notice.

Return to Menu Command help


menu commands, window
Using LifeCycle

Menu Commands -- Window

The following options are available in this menu:

Cascade

This rearranges multiple windows so they stack themselves offset one behind the other.

Tile Horizontal

This rearranges multiple windows so they stack themselves one above the other.

Tile Vertical

This rearranges multiple windows so they sit side by side.

Arrange Icons

If you have any windows minimized to icons, selecting this option rearranges them so that they align themselves along the bottom and to the left of the main LifeCycle window.  If you seem to have "lost" an icon, selecting this option will bring it back into view.

Calendar

Opens the Calendar.  You can also use <CTRL><L> to access the Calendar form the keyboard.

Chart

Opens the Chart.  You can also use <CTRL><R> to access the Chart from the keyboard.

Fertility Advisor

Opens the Fertility Advisor Forecaster.  You can also use <CTRL><A> to access the Advisor from the keyboard.

Pregnancy Forecaster

Opens the Pregnancy Forecaster.  You can also use <CTRL><N> to access the Forecaster from the keyboard.

Return to Menu Command help


Quick Start

Using LifeCycle in 15 Minutes or Less

In Short:  LifeCycle is "ready to roll" for most users when you first start it.  You MUST set your default time of temperature reading in the Preferences window if it's different than 7:00 AM.

How LifeCycle Works

LifeCycle is based upon a scientific method of fertility prediction, Natural Family Planning (NFP), which relies on a few telltale symptoms in a woman's body to determine her current fertility level.  For the sake of this Quick Start, you will be concerned with just two of them:  menstruation and body temperature.

Using these symptoms, Natural Family Planning methods can predict with 97 - 99% accuracy when a woman is infertile.  By restricting your sexual relations (referred to as "coitus" within LifeCycle to throw off any snooping kids) to these infertile periods, you are able to prevent pregnancy.  NFP can also accurately predict when a woman is fertile, although to a lesser degree of reliability.  Lower reliability is not a problem for pregnancy achievement, it just means that you must engage in relations more frequently.

NOTE: Method-effectiveness for NFP as a method of birth control is 97-99%, use-effectiveness is 90%.

If you take the time to read the rest of this help file, you can find out how to define the fertile and infertile periods more accurately by using the mucus symptom.  This is a must for anyone using LifeCycle to achieve pregnancy!  For those avoiding pregnancy, using the mucus symptom reduces the number of days of sexual abstinence considerably.

An important note about LifeCycle's effectiveness

A Word of Wisdom...

After zipping through this section and beginning your use of LifeCycle, it would be best if you spent some time reading the Primer on Natural Family Planning and the Using LifeCycle sections of this help file.  In the long run, it will mean better cycle interpretation, which will certainly translate to less abstinence!

Step 1:  Getting Ready

Step 2:  Recording Your Symptoms

Step 3:  The Ball's in Your Court

Return to Contents


Quick Start

Step 1: Getting Ready

Record Your Name

If you did not record your name upon your initial registration of LifeCycle, go into the Preferences window (select File | Preferences from the menu) and set it in the User Info tab.  This information is used in any questions you send LifeCycle through the Internet Assistance function.

Click here for detailed information on the User Info tab

Set Your Default Time

For LifeCycle to interpret your fertility correctly, you must record your temperature within 20 minutes of the same time everyday.  LifeCycle comes with the time of this reading set to 7:00 a.m.  If you are going to take it at a different time, go into the Preferences window and set it accordingly in the Calculations tab.  (If you set it correctly upon your initial registration, you can skip this option).

NOTE:  It is HIGHLY recommended that you take your temperature immediately upon rising in the morning.

Click here for detailed information on the Calculations tab

Buy a Basal Thermometer

In order to record your daily temperature symptom, you MUST purchase a "basal" thermometer.  A basal thermometer is more accurate than the normal "fever" thermometer and this kind of accuracy is necessary for fertility interpretation.  You can buy one from most pharmacies for $7-16, depending upon the type.  If at all possible, buy the digital variety (Becton-Dickinson produces a good, inexpensive, digital basal thermometer).  The digital thermometer significantly reduces the time required to get an accurate temperature reading compared to the mercury-type.

If you cannot find a basal thermometer locally, click on the link below for information on ordering one from LifeCycle Software, LLC (and forget about getting started in 15 minutes or less!).

Click here for information on ordering a basal thermometer

NOTE:  Basal thermometers are more "delicate" than fever thermometers -- do NOT rinse them in hot water, cold water is fine  (this is unnecessary anyway, since mouth-borne bacteria die within a few hours of exposure to air).

After buying your thermometer and setting your name and time of entry in the Preferences window, you are ready to record your symptoms.

Step 2: Recording Your Symptoms

Return to Quick Start overview


Quick Start

Step 2:  Recording Your Symptoms

Using the Symptom Window

When you start LifeCycle, the Calendar window is presented.  If your computer's system date is set correctly, LifeCycle should be on the current day.  If not, go to it using your mouse or arrow keys.  When you have the correct day selected, double-click it to bring up the Symptom window (you can also press <CTRL><E>, right click for a pop-up menu, or select the appropriate option in the button bar to bring it up, as well).  Here is what the Symptom window and its options look like:

Menstruation

So that it knows where to start your first cycle, you MUST begin your usage of LifeCycle with menstruation.  This is recorded as "menses" in the Symptom window.  Check the "menses" box to indicate menstruation.

If you are not beginning your use of LifeCycle on a menstruation day, you may optionally record the start of the current cycle on the appropriate day in the past (if known, do NOT guess).  However, depending upon how many days it has been since the start of the cycle, LifeCycle may not be able to calculate fertility until the next menstruation.

Temperature

Take your temperature with a basal thermometer upon waking (this should take less than one minute if using a digital thermometer, about five minutes if using a mercury thermometer).  Record the time and temperature reading on the Bedside Log if necessary.  A digital basal thermometer will show your last recorded temperature when you first turn it on, a mercury basal thermometer will "hold" your temperature until shaken down, so you don't have to record the temperature on paper or in LifeCycle as soon as you take it, but writing it down is always a good idea.  The Bedside Log can be printed by selecting it from the "Reports" menu.

Remember to record your temperature in LifeCycle at some point during the day.

Other Events

If you engage in sexual relations on this day, check the "coitus" box.  If your temperature has been disturbed by sickness, physical exertion, hangover, etc., check the "disturbance" box.  You may also record spotting and the results of an ovulation predictor kit on this screen.  If you wish to record miscellaneous notes regarding your cycle, you may do so by clicking the Notes tab and recording them there.

Step 3:  The Ball's in Your Court

Return to Quick Start overview


Quick Start

Step 3:  The Ball's in Your Court

Pressing "OK" after recording your symptoms in the Symptom window causes LifeCycle to calculate your current level of fertility and display it in the Calendar window.  If you've recorded coitus or a disturbance, it will display that information in the Calendar, as well.

Fertility Notations

The Calendar displays your phase of fertility in two ways: as a background color and in the string of numbers at the upper right hand corner of the current day.  There are three phases in every cycle:

Phase 1: Infertile (pre-ovulation)

Phase 2: Fertile (pre- and post-ovulation)

Phase 3: Infertile (post-ovulation, pre-menstruation)

The colors displayed for each phase are determined in the Preferences window under the Colors tab (the default setting displays Phase 1 and 3 infertility as blue, Phase 2 fertility as red).  The last number in the string at the top right corner is the phase calculated on that day.  Here is an example:

The Ball's in Your Court...

If you are avoiding pregnancy (the default setting for LifeCycle), then abstain from sexual relations when LifeCycle shows that you are in Phase 2.  While in Phase 1 and 3, you are infertile and can engage in relations without fear of pregnancy.

If you are trying to get pregnant, LifeCycle will alert you to days of increasing fertility.  Obviously, you should engage in relations as soon as possible when LifeCycle notes this.

That's all there is to it!  Now go back and read the Primer!

Return to Quick Start overview


A Note for Catholics

LifeCycle and the Church's Teaching on Birth Control

In Short:  The Roman Catholic Church teaches that artificial methods of birth control are morally wrong.  Natural family planning, which LifeCycle uses, is a morally acceptable alternative to artificial contraceptives according to the Church.

The Church's Position

Prior to the 1930's, all major Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions opposed artificial methods of birth control (which was primarily the condom at the time).  Today, it is the Catholic, Orthodox Jew, and Muslim who are bound by the teaching that artificial methods of contraception are morally wrong.

In 1967, Pope Paul VI wrote an encyclical, "Humanae Vitae" (Latin for "Of Human Life"),  which defined the Church's position on artificial contraception, and more importantly, the reasoning behind it.  As has already been stated, Paul VI reiterated the Church's position that artificial contraception is morally wrong.  Many disagreed, advancing the notion that artificial contraception and natural family planning have the same goal, hence they are morally equal.

The Moral Difference

The position that artificial contraception and natural family planning are moral equals, while seemingly logical, is wrong.  The difference can be found in the intent AND the actions of the couples practicing each method.

Regarding intent, the Church maintains that it is intrinsically moral for a couple to avoid pregnancy at certain times.  Each sexual act does not have to result in the birth of children (indeed, that is impossible), but it must be open to the possibility.  The purpose of Christian marriage is the procreation of children, as is the natural sex act.  Therefore, couples that uses family planning methods to avoid children altogether are acting in a "contraceptive" manner, regardless of method.  Those who use natural family planning to space the birth of their children are not acting "contraceptively" but prudently.

With this understanding, why then not allow artificial contraceptives for prudent family planning?  The Church maintains that such use is immoral because of the actions required to reach the intent ("the end never justifies the means...")  Humane Vitae teaches that contraceptive actions are intrinsically disordered.

The use of artificial contraceptives reduces the human sexual act to not merely being non-procreative, but anti-procreative.  Couples using this method choose to have sexual relations at any time AND to render such relations infertile -- there is no possibility of life resulting from their act (in their minds, anyway, as everyone knows that abstinence is the only 100% effective birth control method).  The intent of the couple is anti-procreative, as evidenced by the use of a contraceptive.  Additionally, it has been proven that in some cases the most popular form of birth control, "the Pill," acts not only to block ovulation but to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg-- it acts as an abortificient.  This is another moral issue that many Pill-takers are not even aware of.

The use of natural family planning methods requires an act of will on the part of its practitioners -- abstinence -- and is always "open" to the possibility of life.  Furthermore, the contraceptive mentality is less likely to rear its head among NFP practitioners, as the act of abstinence requires a conscious effort to live morally, thereby strengthening the whole moral fabric of one's life.

LifeCycle and Church Teaching

LifeCycle Software uses the Sympto-Thermal Method of natural family planning.  This method of family planning is approved for use by Catholics -- indeed, the Catholic Church promotes its use among the faithful.  By using LifeCycle, you are living within the bounds of Catholic teaching found in Humanae Vitae, for every conjugal act is open to the possibility of life and your "contraception" consists of an act of abstinence.

Contraceptives and Catholics Today

There are many, many Catholics who practice artificial methods of birth control today, some with the "approval" of their local priest.  Rarely does a Catholic hear a homily on the sinfulness of artificial contraceptives, despite the clear, unambiguous teaching of the Church in this area.  It is not the goal of LifeCycle to make anyone feel guilty -- our goal is to provide Catholics with a realistic, EFFECTIVE alternative to artificial contraceptives so that they may live in harmony with Church teaching.

"And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."   (Matthew 16:18-20)

Return to Contents


purchasing LifeCycle, overview
Purchase Information

Registering LifeCycle Fertility Predictor, Ordering a Thermometer

You may register LifeCycle or order a basal thermometer directly from LifeCycle Software, LLC via secure Internet transaction, postal mail, or fax.

Purchasing LifeCycle

If you are using a shareware version of LifeCycle, you must purchase your copy after the initial 30-day trial period to continue using it.  LifeCycle costs only $39.95.

Basal Thermometer

If you can't find a basal thermometer at your local pharmacy, you may order one from us.  A B-D digital thermometer is $18.95, a non-digital Ovulindex basal thermometer is $12.95.

Internet order instructions

Postal mail / fax order instructions

LifeCycle order form (mail / fax orders only)

Return to Contents


Legal Stuff
LifeCycle Legal Stuff

Limited Warranty and License Agreement

An important note about LifeCycle's effectiveness

This is a legal agreement between you and LifeCycle Software, LLC (a Virginia company).  Your consent to this agreement was required prior to completing the installation of LifeCycle.  Use of this software constitutes your agreement to be bound to the terms of this license agreement.  If you do not agree to the terms of this agreement and are currently using it, then you must discontinue its use immediately.  All users of this application must install the software from the original executable installation file and must register their use with LifeCycle Software, LLC.

LIMITED WARRANTY

LIMITED WARRANTY.  LifeCycle Software, LLC (hereafter referred to as "LifeCycle") offers no guarantees or warranties regarding the fitness of LifeCycle Fertility Predictor ("SOFTWARE") for any purpose, including both pregnancy avoidance and achievement.  Users of this program understand that human reproduction is subject to variables outside of the control of the SOFTWARE, including the user's own motivation to practice Natural Family Planning correctly.

LifeCycle does warrant that the SOFTWARE will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying written materials for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of receipt.  Any implied warranties on the SOFTWARE are limited to ninety (90) days.  Some states/jurisdictions do not allow limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

CUSTOMER REMEDIES.  LifeCycle's and its suppliers' entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at LifeCycle's option, either (a) return of the price paid, or (b) repair or replacement of the SOFTWARE that does not meet LifeCycle's Limited Warranty and which is returned to LifeCycle with a copy of your receipt.  This Limited Warranty is void if failure of the SOFTWARE has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication.  Any replacement SOFTWARE will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer.

NO OTHER WARRANTIES.  To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, LifeCycle and its suppliers disclaim all other warranties, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with regard to the SOFTWARE and the accompanying written materials.  This limited warranty gives you specific legal rights.  You may have others that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES:  To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall LifeCycle or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever (including without limitation, damages for unplanned pregnancy or inability to get pregnant) arising out of the use of or inability to use this SOFTWARE, even if LifeCycle has been advised of the possibility of such damages.  Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.

LIFECYCLE SOFTWARE LICENSE

1. GRANT OF LICENSE.  This License Agreement permits you to use one copy of the accompanying LifeCycle Software, LLC ("LifeCycle") software program ("SOFTWARE") on a single computer.  The SOFTWARE is in "use" on a computer when it is loaded into temporary memory (RAM) or installed in permanent memory (hard disk, CD-ROM, portable disk, or other storage device) of that computer.

2. COPYRIGHT.  The SOFTWARE is owned by LifeCycle or its suppliers and is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions.  This SOFTWARE is "Shareware" which means that users may try it for a limited period of time before buying it.  Unregistered shareware copies of the SOFTWARE may be freely distributed via diskette, CD-ROM, BBS, Internet web site, or Internet FTP as long as the SOFTWARE is distributed with the original installation file without a registration key.  Registered copies of the SOFTWARE may NOT be distributed.  Therefore, you must treat registered SOFTWARE like any other copyrighted material except that you may either (a) make one copy of the SOFTWARE solely for backup or archival purposes, or (b) transfer the SOFTWARE to a single hard disk provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes.  In NO case may you copy written materials accompanying the SOFTWARE.

3. OTHER RESTRICTIONS.  You may not rent or lease the SOFTWARE, but you may transfer the SOFTWARE and accompanying written materials on a permanent basis provided you retain no copies and the recipient agrees to the terms of this Agreement.  You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the SOFTWARE.  If the SOFTWARE is an update or has been updated, any transfer must include the most recent update and all prior versions.

This agreement is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA.


order form
Purchase Information

LifeCycle Order Form

Print this out for postal or fax orders.  If ordering the software only, diskettes or CDs will not be mailed.  Shipping charges apply only to thermometer orders.  International orders must provide payment in US funds drawn on US banks.

SHIPPING INFORMATION

Name: ________________________________________________

Mailing Address: _____________________________________

City, State, Zip: ____________________________________

E-mail: ______________________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________________

PURCHASE INFORMATION

Product                  Qty   x   Price  =  Extension
------------------------------------------------------

LifeCycle Registration   ____      39.95     _________

Basal Thermometers:

     B-D Digital         ____      18.95     _________

Ovulindex Mercury	  ____      12.95     _________

                                Subtotal     _________

         VA residents add 4.5% sales tax     _________

               US /Canada Shipping charge         4.95

                (thermometer orders only)

            International Shipping charge         9.95

                (thermometer orders only)

                                   Total     _________

PAYMENT INFORMATION

   Circle one: Visa / MasterCard / Check / Money Order
      (Note: Fax orders must include credit card)

Name on Card: ________________________________________

Credit Card Number: __________________________________

Expiration Date: _____________________________________

Signature: ___________________________________________

MAIL / FAX TO:

LifeCycle Software, LLC
402 Dunham Massie Drive
Hampton, VA  23669
fax: 757-851-3973

Thank you!

Return to Ordering Instructions


purchasing LifeCycle, by Internet
Purchase Information

From the Web Site

You may purchase LifeCycle using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) data encryption directly from our website using Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit cards.  You will be charged $39.95.  Upon successful registration, you will be taken to a web page that contains two registration keys and instructions for converting this copy of LifeCycle to a full working version.  LifeCycle does not send out a CD or diskettes, the software is delivered electronically.  There is no need to keep a backup of the software, as you can always download the latest version from the website.  (Our standing policy is to allow all registered users to upgrade to the latest version for FREE).  The website contains instructions for creating your own backup diskettes, if you want them.

When you click the "Purchase" button from the trial notification screen you will be taken to the registration screen.  If you click the "Go to Order Page" button LifeCycle will automatically load our website order form into your web browser.

After registration, you can copy and paste the two keys that you were given into the boxes labeled "Key 1" and "Key 2".  When you press "OK", you will be fully registered.

You can print your keys and additional registration instructions by clicking the appropriate button.  This can be useful if you need to re-install in the future.

Purchasing by Fax or Mail

If you prefer to fax or mail your order, you can click the "Fax/Mail Order" button and LifeCycle will launch this help file and take you to the order form so you can print it (you can also click the link at the bottom of this page to go there).  Details for faxing or mailing are as follows:

LifeCycle Software, LLC

402 Dunham Massie Drive

Hampton, VA  23669  USA

Fax: 757-851-3793

All mail orders must include funds drawn on a US bank.  If you include an e-mail address with your order, we will e-mail you your two registration keys and directions for enabling your software.  Again, please note that we do not mail CD's or diskettes.  If you would like to create your own, please visit the following page at our website for full instructions:

http://www.lifecyclesoft.com/backup.htm

Still concerned about purchasing over the Internet?  Consider this...

Click here for postal / fax orders

Return to Ordering Instructions


purchasing LifeCycle, by mail / fax
Purchase Information

Postal Mail / Fax Ordering Instructions

Send LifeCycle Software, LLC a printed copy of the order form in this help file with your method of payment to:

          LifeCycle Software, LLC
          402 Dunham Massie Drive
          Hampton, VA  23669

          fax: 757-851-3961

If you include an e-mail address, we will confirm your order via Internet e-mail upon receipt.   If you are registering your software, this confirmation will include your registration number to unlock LifeCycle.  Diskettes will NOT be mailed, as LifeCycle is delivered exclusively using the Internet.  Our website has instructions for making your own diskettes, click the following web address for more details:

http://www.lifecyclesoft.com/backup.htm

Registration orders placed without an e-mail address will normally be delivered within 2 weeks of receipt.

PLEASE NOTE: Virginia residents will be charged sales tax.

Click here for LifeCycle order form

Return to Ordering Instructions


OK Button

Closes this window and saves default settings.


LifeCycle Software

Default Settings

This screen is used to establish your initial preferences for LifeCycle's calculations.  The description below explains what each of the options is used for and how you might want to set them.

Personal Data

Record your name and address information in this area.  This information is used on some reports.  Your e-mail address is required if you plan on using the Internet Assistance function within LifeCycle.

Calculation Options

Under the calculation options, pay particular attention to the "Symptoms to Use".  If you are trying to achieve pregnancy, you should plan on using both temperature and mucus.  If you are avoiding pregnancy, it is advised that you use both but you can get by with temperature alone.  (Using both reduces the days of abstinence during your cycle!)  The "Temperature Options" are VERY important, so make sure you select the correct scale.  The "Waking Time" is the time at which you will record your temperature each morning, normally the first thing upon rising.  You will need to take it within 20 minutes of the specified time, so set it appropriately.  Record the "Shortest" and "Longest" cycles in recent memory in the length box.  If you don't know these figures, you can leave them blank, or if you are a pregnancy achiever, enter your average cycle length in both.

Other Options

Setting your "Pregnancy Goal" option will determine how LifeCycle advises you as well as change the sensitivity of the fertility calculations.  You can further impact this sensitivity by changing the rules settings.  In a nutshell:  If you are trying to achieve pregnancy, set the "Rule" as "Liberal"; if you are avoiding pregnancy, set it as "Normal"; and if you have a DIRE need to avoid pregnancy, set it as "Conservative".

With the exception of the shortest and longest cycles, all of these fields may be changed later by clicking on "File" in LifeCycle and selecting "Preferences".


Temperature & Mucus

Setting this option makes sure that LifeCycle uses the mucus symptom in all calculations.


Pregnancy Gender Preference

This feature is only available in the registered version.  With a gender preference selected, LifeCycle will alert you to the best time for coitus in order to increase the likelihood of having a child of that gender.  THIS IS NOT A GUARANTEE and users should understand that it simply increases your CHANCES of having a child of a specific gender.  This capability is not "magic" but is based upon scientific data on the viability and motility of "male" and "female" sperm in relation to the actual day of ovulation.


Display Calendar Details

Turned on, this option causes LifeCycle to display the details of each cycle day in the top right corner of each day in the calendar.  The details are displayed like this: "4-12-2", where "4" is the cycle number, "12" is the cycle day, and "2" is the phase on that particular day.  With this option turned off, LifeCycle does not display any details.


Ignore Daylight Savings Time

Checking this box causes LifeCycle to ignore changes to and from Daylight Savings Time.  If you live in an area of the world that doesn't adhere to Daylight Savings Time or that doesn't use the generally accepted DST start and end dates, check this box.  All other users should leave this box unchecked.  For more information on such changes, click on the link below.

Click here for more information on Daylight Savings Time changes


Quick Reference, Phases
Quick Reference

Phases Explained

Phases are simply a designation for a particular period of relative fertility or infertility during a woman's menstrual cycle.  They are structured around the day of ovulation, and there are three phases in each cycle.

Phase 1, Pre-ovulation Infertile Period

Phase 1 begins with the first day of menstruation during your cycle.  It is considered an infertile period due to the rarity of pregnancies arising from coitus during this time frame.  Recall that sperm live a maximum of five days (one to three days is far more common), so any relations that occur more than five days prior to ovulation will not normally result in pregnancy.

Phase 2, Fertile Period

Phase 2 begins with the first appearance of mucus if you are using this symptom.  If not, LifeCycle uses a more conservative statistical analysis of your cycles for computing the start of this phase.  Your fertility increases as ovulation approaches.  Two to three days after ovulation, you are completely infertile and Phase 3 begins.

Phase 3, Post-ovulation Infertile Period

Phase 3 begins with the drying up of mucus and the rising of your basal body temperature after ovulation has occurred.  It lasts until the beginning of the next cycle (the start of your next menstrual period) at which point you are back in Phase 1 again.

Quick Reference, When to Record Symptoms

Return to Quick Reference


Quick Reference

Phases and Symptoms -- What Do I Do Now?

In Short:  Phases are simply time periods of fertility and infertility.  The need to record the various symptoms differs based upon the phase you are currently in.

Whether you are simply using the two symptoms of menstruation and temperature alone in your fertility analysis, or the complete three of menstruation, temperature and mucus , the need to record an individual symptom varies based upon the "phase" you are in.

Phases are segments of a single cycle, each phase designating pre-ovulation infertility, fertility, or post-ovulation infertility.  You need not track all symptoms at all times.  This section provides an overview of what each phase is and what symptoms you should record during each.

Click here for an overview of each phase

Click here for an overview of when symptoms should be recorded

Click here to return to Contents


Quick Reference, Symptoms
Quick Reference

When to Record Symptoms

In order to practice Natural Family Planning in the most effective manner and to reduce the number of days of abstinence in a given cycle, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

Phase 1 Symptoms

Menses:  At a minimum, you should record the first day of menstruation, as this marks the beginning of your cycle.

Temperature:  LifeCycle will alert you to when it's time to start recording your daily temperature within the Fertility Advisor.

Mucus:  If you are extending the length of Phase 1 infertility by using the Last Dry Day Rule, then you should record the mucus symptom EVERYDAY during Phase 1 after the heavy discharge days of menstruation.  Even if there is no mucus, you should record that as "Dry."

Phase 2 Symptoms

Temperature:  You should record your basal temperature EVERYDAY during Phase 2.

Mucus:  If you are using the mucus symptom, then you should record it EVERYDAY.  If there is no mucus, you should record that as "Dry".

Phase 3 Symptoms

Menses:  You should record this when it occurs, as it marks the beginning of the next cycle (and the return of Phase 1).

Temperature:  You can stop recording this until your next cycle if you are avoiding pregnancy.  If pregnancy achievement is your goal, you should continue to take your temperature, as LifeCycle will alert you to the possibility of being pregnant based upon this information.

Mucus:  There shouldn't be any mucus present during Phase 3, or it should be drying up.

In summary, once in Phase 3, you may stop recording all symptoms until the start of your next cycle.

Return to Quick Reference

Return to Contents


LifeCycle Effectiveness

LifeCycle is warranted to accurately perform calculations according to the Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Family Planning ("STM-NFP"), however, the user understands that STM-NFP is not 100% effective.  The effectiveness of ALL methods of birth control is dependent to a great degree on the actions of the user and STM-NFP is no exception.  The only 100% effective method of birth control is total abstinence.  In addition, the user must understand and accept that there are no 100% effective methods of pregnancy achievement, either.  Gender selection offers NO guarantees or stated effectiveness AT ALL.

Historical use-effectiveness of STM-NFP as a primary method of birth control is about 90%.

Use of this software constitutes acceptance to the terms of LifeCycle's warranty and license agreement.  Please click on the link below for full details on these agreements.

LifeCycle's Limited Warranty and License Agreement


LifeCycle Effectiveness popup
LifeCycle Effectiveness

LifeCycle is warranted to accurately perform calculations according to the Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Family Planning ("STM-NFP"), however, the user understands that STM-NFP is not 100% effective.  The effectiveness of ALL methods of birth control is dependent to a great degree on the actions of the user and STM-NFP is no exception.  The only 100% effective method of birth control is total abstinence.  In addition, the user must understand and accept that there are no 100% effective methods of pregnancy achievement, either.  Gender selection offers NO guarantees or stated effectiveness AT ALL.

Historical use-effectiveness of STM-NFP as a primary method of birth control is about 90%.


Pregnancy Forecaster

Predicting Your Delivery Date and the Sex of the Child

In Short:  LifeCycle will let you know when it's likely that you are pregnant and if confirmed, will predict your delivery date more accurately than your doctor and will attempt to predict the gender of your baby.   Gender selection and prediction is NOT guaranteed and LifeCycle makes no assurances of and/or statements to its effectiveness.

Click on an area below to learn more about it:

Coitus History

This lists all of the dates that you engaged in relations during the currently selected cycle.  It also lists whether you were fertile or infertile, and if fertile, the relative pregnancy probability of getting pregnant on that day.  It also ventures a guess as to the gender of the child should you conceive on that particular day.

Results

This is where you update LifeCycle with your pregnancy status.  If LifeCycle predicts that you are pregnant, it will display this information in a bright yellow box below the "Results" area.  When you update "Results" with "Pregnant", LifeCycle will predict your due date and child's gender – click the "Forecast" tab to see this.

Go to Achieving Pregnancy section

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


Cycle

The Pregnancy Forecaster opens with the most current cycle, use the spin buttons to change to another cycle.


Cycle Date

This box contains the date range of the currently selected cycle.


Ovulation Date

If ovulation has already occurred during this cycle, this box will contain the estimated date of ovulation based upon your temperature and mucus symptoms.


Pregnancy Goal

This is the value of your pregnancy goal from the Preferences -- Calculations tab.  It will be "Achieve", "Avoid", or "Both".  LifeCycle records "Both" when you change your pregnancy goal at some point during a cycle.


Gender Preference

This is the sex preference you recorded for your child in the Preferences -- Calculations tab.  Possible values are "Boy", "Girl", "None", or "Both".  Gender selection and prediction is NOT guaranteed and LifeCycle makes no assurances of and/or statements to its effectiveness.


Pregnant

LifeCycle will alert you to the possibility of being pregnant, check this box to confirm that you are pregnant based upon a doctor's evaluation or pregnancy test kit.  Checking this box enables LifeCycle to predict the due date and gender of your child.


Not Pregnant

LifeCycle will alert you to the possibility of being pregnant, check this box to confirm that you are NOT pregnant based upon a doctor's evaluation or pregnancy test kit.  LifeCycle will automatically check this box once your menstrual period has started for a subsequent cycle.  You may not edit this box for any previous cycles.


Help

Displays this topic-specific help (no kidding, eh?)


Close

Saves all changes made to the Pregnancy Forecaster and closes the window.


Coitus History

The Coitus History tab lists all of the days in the currently selected cycle on which you had intercourse.  It includes your predicted fertility, predicted gender and probability of getting pregnant on each day, as well.  Gender selection and prediction is NOT guaranteed and LifeCycle makes no assurances of and/or statements to its effectiveness.


houskeeping, archiving cycles
Housekeeping Functions

Archiving Data

Click on an area to learn more about it:

Archiving removes old cycle data and stores it in a separate database file.  This file may then be copied to a floppy disk and deleted from your hard drive.  Archived cycles may NOT be edited, but may be loaded for review.

Archiving old cycles will reduce the size of your cycle database so that it may backed-up on a single floppy disk.

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


Due Date

LifeCycle will forecast the due date based upon your ovulation date.  This is more accurate than a doctor's typical method of using the date of your last period.  NOTE:  You must check "Pregnant" in the "Update" area in order for LifeCycle to make this forecast.


Probable Delivery

This is the probable date range for your delivery based upon the projected due date.  75% of deliveries will fall within this range.


Predicted Gender

This is the predicted gender of your child based upon the timing of coitus around your ovulation date.  In some cases, LifeCycle will not be able to predict this because you had relations on many different days prior to ovulation.

Gender selection and prediction is NOT guaranteed and LifeCycle Software makes no assurances of and/or statements to its effectiveness.


Event

This is where you record the resolution of your pregnancy.  You may fill it in "free-form" or select from the list: Full-term Birth, Premature Birth, or Miscarriage.


Date

Record the actual date of the resolution of your pregnancy (delivery or miscarriage) in m/d/yyyy format.


Gender

Record whether you had a boy or a girl.


Notes

Record any miscellaneous notes here.


E-mail

Clicking this button will enable you to send the results of your pregnancy to LifeCycle Software, LLC via Internet e-mail for analysis of the software's effectiveness in achieving pregnancy and predicting the sex of the child.  NOTE:  All personal information will be kept strictly confidential.


Achieving Pregnancy

How to Get Pregnant and Potentially Increase Your Odds of Gender Selection

In Short:  Due to its ability to predict increases in fertility and the day of ovulation, LifeCycle can assist you in achieving pregnancy.  Because the sex of the child is influenced by the timing of relations around the day of ovulation, LifeCycle may also help you increase your odds of having a child of a particular gender.  Gender selection and prediction is NOT guaranteed and LifeCycle makes no assurances of and/or statements to its effectiveness.

Getting Pregnant

First, you must understand that it is not particularly easy to get pregnant.  In fact, the likelihood of getting pregnant in any given cycle assuming you engage in relations on each of the most fertile days of that cycle is only about 35%.  Statistically speaking, that means that you are likely to conceive within 3 cycles of trying, as long as you know the most fertile days of each cycle.  For people who are "winging it", the average time to conceive is 6 cycles.  (These averages assume neither partner has fertility problems.)  Practicing fertility awareness significantly reduces the time it takes to conceive a child. For couples who experience difficulty conceiving it is invaluable, as it shows not only the most likely fertile days, but also highlights potential fertility problems, as well.

By setting your pregnancy goal in the Calculations tab of the Preferences window to "Achieve", LifeCycle will alert you to increases in fertility during Phase 2 of your cycle so that you may time relations to coincide with days of highest fertility.  You should engage in relations frequently during Phase 2 to increase your odds of pregnancy, particularly on those days where LifeCycle notes high fertility.

If your partner has a low sperm count, it is advisable to engage in relations on alternate days during Phase 2, and only on those days of high fertility.

For maximum effectiveness in determining these days of highest fertility, you should use the mucus symptom in addition to basal body temperature.

NOTE: All fertility problems should be addressed by a medical professional.  Always follow your doctor's advice.

Gender Selection

If you wish to increase your odds of having a child of a specific gender, you should specify this in the Calculations tab of the Preferences window.  You should then engage in relations during Phase 2 ONLY when LifeCycle tells you to do so.

If your goal is a female child, you MUST use the mucus symptom in addition to basal body temperature.  You should use the mucus symptom for a male child, as well, but it is not mandatory.

How Gender Selection Might Work

Gender selection is not exact, but it may increase your odds of having a child of a specific gender.  LifeCycle relies on the fact that sperm carrying the X-chromosome ("female" sperm) swim more slowly but survive significantly longer than their Y-chromosome ("male" sperm) counterparts.  Using this information, if you know the day of ovulation or can predict its impending arrival, then you can time sexual intercourse to potentially increase the concentration of either gender of sperm.  For instance, if you have intercourse several days prior to ovulation and stop at least a day in advance of it, when ovulation finally does occur most of the surviving sperm would be expected to be X-chromosomed.  If you delay intercourse until the day of ovulation, then Y-chromosomed sperm are expected to reach the ovum first since they swim more quickly than the X-chromosomed sperm.

There are some scientists who claim that improving gender selection odds is impossible.  However, there was a study done in Africa where the participants were able to pre-select a male child 94% of the time and a female child 89% of the time by timing relations around the day of ovulation.  While obviously not an exact science, LifeCycle Software, LLC is interested in determining whether this method of gender selection works on a large scale.  If you do get pregnant and have specified a gender preference, please e-mail us the results via the "Results" tab within the Pregnancy Forecaster.

Related Topics:

Pregnancy Forecaster

Preferences -- Calculation Options


Pregnancy Forecaster

Predicting Your Delivery Date and the Sex of the Child

In Short:  LifeCycle will let you know when it's likely that you are pregnant and if confirmed, will predict your delivery date more accurately than your doctor and will attempt to predict the gender of your baby.  Gender selection and prediction is NOT guaranteed and LifeCycle makes no assurances of and/or statements to its effectiveness.

Click on an area below to learn more about it:

Forecast

When you update the "Results" area by clicking "Pregnant", LifeCycle will predict the due date, probable delivery range, and predicted gender of your child.  If no ovulation date has been calculated, LifeCycle will use Naegele's Rule to determine the due date.  If it has predicted an ovulation date for this cycle, it will use a more accurate calculation for your due date.

Approximately 75% of births will fall within the "Probable Delivery" range.

If LifeCycle records "Either" for the predicted gender, this is because you engaged in relations on some days where a girl was possible and some where a boy was possible (or on a day where both were possible).

Go to Achieving Pregnancy section

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


Pregnancy Forecaster

Predicting Your Delivery Date and the Sex of the Child

In Short:  LifeCycle will let you know when it's likely that you are pregnant and if confirmed, will predict your delivery date more accurately than your doctor and will attempt to predict the gender of your baby.  Gender selection and prediction is NOT guaranteed and LifeCycle makes no assurances of and/or statements to its effectiveness.

Click on an area below to learn more about it:

Birth Info

This tab is used to record the results of your pregnancy.  It is used primarily to notify LifeCycle Software, LLC so we may evaluate the effectiveness of the gender prediction features of the product.  If you do get pregnant using LifeCycle, we would love to hear from you!  All information will be kept strictly confidential.

After filling all the appropriate fields in, make sure you are connected to the Internet and then press the "E-mail" button.

Go to Achieving Pregnancy section

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


Cycle Day

This is the number of the selected day in the Calendar or Chart, relative to cycle you are editing.


Fertility

If you are viewing the symptoms for an existing day in the Calendar or Chart, this box will indicate the fertility on that day.  If you are entering symptoms for a new day in the Calendar, this box will indicate that fertility has not yet been calculated.


Phase

If you are viewing the symptoms for an existing day in the Calendar or Chart, this box will indicate the phase of fertility on that day.  If you are entering symptoms for a new day in the Calendar, this box will contain "?", indicating that fertility has not yet been calculated.


Temperature Not Recorded

This check box indicates that basal body temperature was not recorded on the currently selected day.


Menses

This box is checked on days where menstruation occurs.  You may also check this box to indicate spotting during the middle of your cycle.


Coitus

This box is checked for each day you engage in intercourse.


Disturbance

You should check this box to indicate that your temperature has been "disturbed" by late rising, sickness, hangover, etc.  If checked, LifeCycle will ignore the temperature on this day during the fertility calculation.  LifeCycle automatically checks this box if your time of temperature taking differs from your normal time by more than 20 minutes.


Events Not Recorded

Check this box to indicate that no observation was made on this day for menses, coitus, or a disturbance.  Should you skip days during your cycle, LifeCycle automatically checks this box for the missed days.  NOTE: If no menses, coitus or disturbance occurred on the selected day, leave this box unchecked.  (This box has no impact on any fertility calculation).


Go Forward / Go Back

This is only found when accessing the Symptom window from the Chart.  Pressing the left arrow will move back one day in the Chart, pressing the right arrow will move forward a day.


Close Button

This button appears when accessing the Symptom window from the Chart.  Press it to close the Symptom window and return to the Chart.


Position Options

The relative position of the cervix is recorded here.


Feel

The relative softness or hardness of the cervix is recorded here.


Opening

The relative opening of the cervix is recorded here.


Not Recorded

If checked, this indicates that the cervix symptom was not recorded.  LifeCycle automatically checks this box, you must uncheck it if you wish to record the cervix symptom.


Not Recorded

This box is automatically checked if no mucus observation is recorded.  NOTE:  If using the mucus symptom, you MUST record "Dry" on days during phase 2 where no mucus is present, otherwise LifeCycle can only assume that you failed to make an observation on that day.  LifeCycle will then ignore the mucus symptom completely during the fertility calculation.


Wetness Characteristics

Record the relative wetness or dryness of your mucus in this area.  This is somewhat of an "art", but you may wish to use the guidelines provided below the Symptom window to assist you.


Stretchiness Characteristics

Record the relative stretchiness of your mucus in this area.  This is somewhat of an "art", but you may wish to use the guidelines provided below the Symptom window to assist you.


Color Characteristics

Record the relative color of your mucus in this area.  This is somewhat of an "art", but you may wish to use the guidelines provided below the Symptom window to assist you.


Calculation Notes

LifeCycle automatically records notes during the fertility calculation and displays them here.


symptom entry window
Using LifeCycle

Symptom Window Overview

In Short:  The Symptom window is used to enter and review all cycle-related information on a day-to-day basis.  From the Calendar, you can enter temperature, time of reading, menses, coitus (sexual relations), OPK test results, and disturbance events.  There are options for recording mucus, cervix signs, and any notes for the day.  This window is also used to view the symptoms on the currently selected day in the Chart, as well.

Click on an area below for detailed information on it:

Daily Notes

You can enter any information you would like to record here.  This information will print on the Detail Report.

Calculation Notes

LifeCycle automatically records information relating to its calculation of fertility and ovulation here.  This information is included on the Detail Report, as well.


housekeeping, backing up
Housekeeping Functions

Backing Up Cycles

Click on an area below to learn more about it.  Full instructions for backing up and restoring data can be found below the graphic.

Backing Up Your Data

You should backup your cycle data regularly and at least occasionally save the backup file on a floppy diskette.  The importance of saving a backup on a floppy diskette cannot be overstated… Computers crash and hard disks do malfunction!  Save your backup on a floppy!  If the backup file becomes too large to fit on a single floppy disk, you can reduce the size of the backup file by first archiving old data by using the Archive function (click the "Archive" tab in the graphic above to learn more about this option).

Steps for backing up:

1)	To backup you cycle data, you must first specify a filename to save the cycle data to.  A good practice is to enter the day of the week, so that on Monday you would save it to "Mon.lcb", on Tuesday you would save it as "Tue.lcb", etc.  This way, you always have the last 7 days of data saved.  If one of the files is corrupt, you can always go back a day or two. If you don't backup your files daily, you might name each backup "Week1", "Week2", "Week3", "Week4", and "Week5" during a given month.  The next month you would overwrite these files with new data.  How you decide to name your files is up to you, but type the filename in the "Filename" box.

2)	Select the drive and directory you wish to save the backup file in, if it's different from the one displayed.  If you are backing up weekly or monthly, then you should probably save the data to a floppy diskette. To do this, click the down arrow on the "Drives" box and select the "A:" drive.

3)	Click the "Backup" button.  Your backup is done.

Backing Up Your Registration Information:

You should also save this file to a floppy and put the diskette away for safekeeping:

register.ini

You can find it in the main LifeCycle directory, typically C:\Program Files\LifeCycle.  This file contains your registration keys and can be used to automatically convert a trial version to the full version if you need to reinstall the software in the future.  If you need to move LifeCycle to a new computer or re-install it, after running the program installation, just copy the register.ini file to the LifeCycle directory on the new computer (again, probably C:\Program Files\LifeCycle).  Then copy the latest backup file to the same directory and rename it "LifeCyc.mdb".  You may need to delete an existing copy of LifeCyc.mdb first.

Backup Options

You can specify whether you want LifeCycle to remind you to backup your database, and if so, how often.

Restoring Your Data

Restoring data might be necessary if you need to re-install LifeCycle after a system crash, if your current cycle data is corrupt, or if you really messed things up with a recalculation, etc.  LifeCycle automatically creates a second backup of your existing database before the restore process occurs, and stores this secondary backup in a sub-directory called "OldData".  This is done to provide you with a means to recover your original database if you perform this function in error.

Steps for restoring:

1)	First select the location of the file containing the cycle data you wish to restore. If the file is located on a floppy diskette, you must first select the "A:" drive by clicking the down arrow next to the "Drives" box, and clicking the appropriate option.  Make sure the diskette is in the drive before you do this.  If the file is in a different directory, select the appropriate directory.

2)	Select the file from the list below the File Name box.  Clicking it will automatically fill the File Name box with the appropriate file.

3)	Click the "Restore" button.  The current data will be saved to a new backup file as specified above and the backup file data will be made current.

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


housekeeping, general
Housekeeping Functions

General Utilities

Click on an area to learn more about it:

Maintenance Functions

Selecting "Compact Database" will reduce the size of your data file, especially if you have deleted many records in the past.  It doesn't make a lot of sense, but when you delete information from a computer, it doesn't physically remove it, it just deletes the index entry, leaving much of the data in the file.  Compacting causes these deleted entries to be completely removed and frees up the space they were occupying.

Selecting "Repair Database" will cause LifeCycle to attempt to rebuild a data file that has been corrupted by unexpected termination.  If your data seems out of order for any reason, try repairing it.

Recalculation

Selecting "Recalculate All" will cause LifeCycle to recalculate fertility for all active cycles.  If you have changed your calculation preferences since first starting your use of LifeCycle, this will cause LifeCycle to recalculate using the latest preference settings.  This may alter your calculations from their previous state.

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


File Name

If you are backing up or archiving cycles, enter the name of the file you wish to create.  If you are loading an existing archive, enter the name of the file to be loaded.


Directory

For backing up or archiving history, select the directory where you want to store the file.  If you are loading an archive, select the source directory where the file is located.


List Files of Type

If you wish to change the file types listed in the file list box, select a new type from this drop-down box.


File List Box

This box displays a list of all files matching the criteria specified in the "List Files of Type" drop-down box.


Drives List

Select the drive you wish to work with from this list.


Archive All Before Cycle

All cycles before the cycle listed in this box will be archived.  You may enter the cycle number directly or use the spin buttons.


Archive Button

After selecting the file name to create and specifying which cycles to archive, press this button to begin the archive process.


Load Archive Button

After selecting an archive file to load, press this button to load the archived cycles.  NOTE:  You cannot change archived data.


Close Button

Click this button to close the Housekeeping window.


Help Button

Click this button to load this help (no kidding, eh?)


Backup Button

Click this button to initiate the backup process.


Restore Button

Click this button to restore a backup selected in the file name box.


Compact Database Button

Click this button to compact the database.  This reduces the size of the database and may improve performance.


Repair Database Button

Click this button to repair the database if LifeCycle data seems to be out of order.  LifeCycle will do this automatically after abnormal program termination.  You may run this option at any time.


Recalculate All Button

Click this button to recalculate daily fertility for all existing cycles in the database.  NOTE: If you change your calculation options, LifeCycle will use the new options upon recalculation, so this could change previously reported fertility predictions.


Fahrenheit / Celsius Scale

Use these options to set your temperature scale.  This scale impacts the fertility calculations.


Gender Preference

Select the gender preference for pregnancy achievement (if any).  If you select one, LifeCycle will alert you to prime conception times for a child of that sex.  If you select both, LifeCycle will alert you for both sexes during your fertile period.  If you leave both options unselected, LifeCycle will not alert you for gender selection during your fertile period.

NOTE: Gender selection is not guaranteed and following these instructions may result in a child of either gender.


Display Calendar Details

Checking this option causes LifeCycle to display the cycle number, cycle day and phase of fertility in the top right corner of each day in the Calendar.


Chart Cycle Days

These are the numbered cycle days in the current cycle.  If LifeCycle predicted ovulation or you have overridden it and recorded ovulation yourself, the day of ovulation will be red.  If the results of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK) indicate ovulation, the day will be blue.  If LifeCycle and the OPK predict ovulation on the same day, the day will be orange.


Temperature Graph

This area is where LifeCycle plots the temperatures for each day in your cycle.  Temperatures are represented as dots on the graph, with lines connecting each temperature.  The colors represent the phase you are in on each day, and these colors are set in the Color section of the Preferences window.

You may select a day by clicking on it.  The red vertical line indicates which day is selected.  You can right-click a day to bring up a floating menu that will let you open the Symptoms window for that day.


winsock wait time
Winsock Max Wait Time

This is the time (in seconds) that LifeCycle will wait for a response from your Winsock connection before timing out.  The minimum value for this field is 10 seconds, the maximum is 180 seconds.  If LifeCycle reports a timeout error while trying to send mail while you are connected to the Internet, try increasing the value of this field.


Related Topic:  Using LifeCycle, Temperature Interpretation & Entry
Using LifeCycle

Temperature Interpretation & Entry

In Short: You should record your temperature at the same time every day, preferably upon rising in the morning.  LifeCycle requires that your temperature be recorded no more than an hour before or 20 minutes after your default time.  If the time of entry falls outside of this range, LifeCycle will automatically record a disturbance for this particular day.

Basal body temperature is a very important sign in analyzing fertility. The Fertility Advisor will alert you to the day that you should begin taking your temperature as well as when you may stop.  Normally, it will suggest that you begin taking your temperature during phase 1 infertility and throughout phase 2 fertility.  If your goal is pregnancy avoidance, it will tell you that you can stop recording your temperature during phase 3 infertility.  If your goal is pregnancy achievement, it will suggest that you continue taking your temperature throughout phase 3 so that it can predict whether you are pregnant or not.

You have two thermometer options for recording your basal body temperature:  digital and analog (mercury-type).  The digital variety has the advantage of taking less than a minute to record your temperature; the mercury-type requires at least three minutes and is more easily broken.

Whichever thermometer you use, keep it by your bedside and take your temperature at the same time every day upon rising.  Take it before exercising, showering, smoking, drinking any beverages, etc.  These activities may alter your temperature and this could prevent LifeCycle from analyzing your fertility correctly.

Place the thermometer under the tongue and try to keep it in the same place.  If you are using a digital thermometer, it will likely beep every now and then while it's "working".  When it's finished, most digital thermometers will beep a number of times in succession.

If using a mercury-type thermometer, shake it down prior to using it.  Place it under your tongue for 3-5 minutes.

Regardless of the thermometer used, when finished, take it out and put it down, you can record the temperature later because mercury thermometers "hold" the last temperature taken until shaken down, and digital thermometers normally hold their temperatures until cleared (check the instructions with yours).  Alternatively, you can print out the "Bedside Log" from the "Reports" menu and keep it by your bed.  This log provides a place to record your temperature, menses, mucus, coitus, etc. for each day in the current cycle.  This lets you record your data right away and then transfer it to LifeCycle later.

You must record your temperature no more than 20 minutes before or after the same time every day.  If the time falls outside of this range, LifeCycle will automatically record a disturbance for this day, unless you've set the "Fix disturbance" option under "Calculations" tab of the "Preferences" window to "Auto" or "Prompt".  (A disturbance tells LifeCycle to ignore this temperature when doing calculations.  You may record a disturbance for other reasons such as fever, sickness, hangover, etc – anything which may disrupt your normal basal temperature).

Return to Using LifeCycle contents


Using LifeCycle:  The Fertility Advisor
Using LifeCycle

The Fertility Advisor

In Short:  The Fertility Advisor explains three things about your fertility to you: 1) Where you are in your cycle; 2) What symptoms you should be recording at any point in time; and 3) What is taking place in your body at any point in time in your cycle.

Click on an area below to learn more about it:

The Fertility Advisor will alert you to changes in your fertility by way of the meter at the top right of the window.  Please note that the fertility meter attempts to determine fertility based upon a number of factors: temperature, mucus, cycle day, and historical cycle information.  Therefore, it may fluctuate in the relative level of fertility and between increasing and decreasing.  This is not an exact interpretation, it is an approximation.

You can also browse days in your calendar and chart with the arrows that appear at the bottom left of the window.

Return to Using LifeCycle Contents


popFAMeter
Fertility Meter

LifeCycle analyzes your fertility symptoms each day and makes a prediction as to whether you are fertile or infertile.  If you are fertile, it will attempt to calculate whether your fertility is low, moderate or high and whether it is increasing or decreasing.  These measurements are not exact but are educated guesses based upon an overall interpretation of the symptoms you have recorded.


popLiberal
Liberal

Setting this value causes LifeCycle to use less rigid rules when predicting ovulation and the start of Phase 3 infertility.  This can only be used by pregnancy achievers.  If you are a pregnancy achiever, then you probably will want to have it checked.


popGender
Boy / Girl

Sets your gender preference for LifeCycle's gender selection prediction.

NOTE: Gender selection is not guaranteed and following these instructions may result in a child of either gender.


popMucusNag
Mucus Nag

Check this box to have LifeCycle nag you about tracking mucus during your cycle.


popFAGoal
Pregnancy Goal

This is your current pregnancy goal based upon your Calculation settings in the Preferences window.  NOTE:  If you change your goal at some point during your use of LifeCycle and then bring up the Fertility Advisor for a day in the past, this is still your current pregnancy goal.


popFAGenPref
Gender Preference

This is your current gender preference based upon your Calculation settings in the Preferences window.  If your goal is pregnancy avoidance, this box will be labeled "N/A". NOTE:  If you change your preference at some point during your use of LifeCycle and then bring up the Fertility Advisor for a day in the past, this is still your current gender preference.

NOTE: Gender selection is not guaranteed and following these instructions may result in a child of either gender.


popFANotes
Advice Box

LifeCycle presents three pieces of information in the this box:

1)	Your current fertility prediction and what it is based upon.

2)	The symptoms you should be recording at any point in your cycle.

3)	An analysis of what is taking place in your body. (This assumes you experience normal fertility cycles.  This is NOT medical advice!)


popFAGoDate
Date Scroller

You can scroll from one date to another using the arrow buttons that appear to the left and right of the date box.  This lets you review your fertility in detail from both the Calendar and the Chart by moving from one day to another simply and quickly.


popFAShowCalc
Show After Calculations

If this box is checked, the Fertility Advisor will display after every calculation.


popFAShowStart
Show At Startup

If this box is checked, the Fertility Advisor will display every time you start LifeCycle.


popFAOK
OK Button

Press this button to close the Fertility Advisor (no kidding, eh?)


What's New in Version 2.0
What's New in Version 2.x?

LifeCycle continues to lead the fertility software field in ease-of-use, graphics, help documentation, calculation accuracy, and pregnancy achievement.  Version 2.x has been specifically optimized for pregnancy achievers, with many new additions.  Here is a list of some of the changes you will find:

CHANGES IN VERSION 2.1:

Automatic Database Repair & Recovery

LifeCycle uses a database to store your symptom, ovulation, and pregnancy data.  Databases can be quirky – particularly if your system crashes or if you accidentally power your system off while the program is still running.  LifeCycle 2.1 simplifies the maintenance of your data and insulates you from having to deal with it.  If you get a database error, LifeCycle now provides routines that allow you to repair the error, or if that doesn't work, recover using a backup of your data created after your most recent entry or calculation.  LifeCycle automatically creates backups of your data and keeps the last 10 copies in a hidden directory in case you need to recover using one of them.  And if recovery doesn't work, you can simply e-mail the LifeCycle support team from within the Repair & Recovery window and your database and error log will automatically be attached for review by our support staff.

Click here for more information on Database Repair & Recovery

Ovulation and Luteal Phase Calculations

Since version 2.0 was released, LifeCycle has provided the ability for you to record ovulation predictor kit (OPK) test results and use positive test results in the calculation of ovulation and your luteal phase length.  You have also had the option to disregard these positive results and use LifeCycle's symptom-based calculation, instead.

Version 2.1 has introduced a subtle change that will go largely unnoticed by most:  if you record positive OPK results and your preference is to use LifeCycle's symptom-based calculation, LifeCycle will continue to use the positive OPK results if LifeCycle is unable to calculate ovulation using symptom-based data.  While this is subtle, it is important, because it shields you from having to pay extreme attention to how your preferences are set.  We really do try to make this the easiest-to-use program around.

Graphics, Graphics, Graphics!

LifeCycle is the most fun-to-use program of its kind for a number of reasons, but our excellent graphics rate high on the list.  When LifeCycle enters into a recalculation, you are no longer forced to stare at that old, boring, standard Windows-style progress bar.  You now have the option to use the "ThermoMeter" (get it?).  We think you'll like it and it is so apropos.

Support for International Time Settings

Thanks go to our many European users for suggesting this little fix.  Prior versions of LifeCycle created much difficulty for them in the way it handled differences between a.m. and p.m. times.  We should point out that some of these difficulties were inflicted upon us all by the Windows 95, 98, and NT operating systems but we overcame it in version 2.1.  Now all times are converted to the 24-hour format after entry.  This does not slight American users – you can still enter the beloved 12-hour format with an a.m. or p.m. after it, LifeCycle will just convert it for you and display it appropriately.

CHANGES IN VERSION 2.0

New Icons and Animation

The icons have been enhanced and a number of them have been animated.  You can select the icons by clicking "File" in the menu, then selecting "Preferences" from the list of options.  You can then specify which ones you want to use by clicking the "Icons" tab and making your choices there.  If you wish to turn on/off animation, click the "User Info" tab and check the appropriate options at the bottom of the window.

Click here for more information on changing Icon Preferences

Support for Ovulation Predictor Kit Test Results

You can now record the results of ovulation tests and use these results to calculate ovulation and fertility, if you wish.  This does not just display the results of a test on the calendar; it also allows such results to override LifeCycle's calculation of ovulation and fertility.  These results are printed on the Detail Report and Chart.

Click here for more information on changing Ovulation Preferences

Override LifeCycle's Calculations

You asked for it, you got it!  If you know that you ovulated on a specific date or feel that LifeCycle's interpretation is in error, you may override calculations for ovulation, luteal phase length, the start of phase 2 fertility and phase 3 infertility.  You NFP & fertility awareness pros are back in control!

Click here for more information on the Override window

See All Days Where Ovulation Might Have Occurred

All possible ovulation days may now be displayed on the calendar, so you know instantly whether ovulation might have occurred.  If LifeCycle detects that ovulation is possible, but it is not definitive, it displays the following icon:

You may animate it with a flashing question mark, as well.

More Liberal Interpretations of Fertility for Pregnancy Achievers

If you record mucus early in your cycle but it is unlikely that you are fertile, LifeCycle will now alert you of this fact and allow you to suppress the transition to Phase 2 fertility.  This is especially helpful for women who are new to fertility awareness and are just learning to discern the differences between their mucus characteristics.

If your symptoms are not indicative of ovulation and you are a pregnancy achiever, LifeCycle will now alert you when you are infertile based upon your cycle history.   Please note that pregnancy avoiders cannot use these features due to the liberal nature of their interpretation.

Automatic Adjustment of Disturbed Temperatures

In previous versions if you recorded your temperature more than 20 minutes before or after your normal waking time, LifeCycle automatically recorded a disturbance and then ignored this temperature in fertility calculations.  You now have the option to have LifeCycle automatically adjust temperatures disturbed in this manner to what they might have been had they been taken at the normal time.  This feature is found within the "Preferences" window, under the "Calculations" tab.

Due to the liberal nature of this feature, it can only be used by pregnancy achievers.

Fertility Advisor Information is Now Available at Symptom Entry

The most significant feature of LifeCycle, in our opinion, has been and continues to be the Fertility Advisor™.   For each day, it tells you where you are in your cycle, what symptoms you should be recording, and what is going on in your body.  Because this information is extremely useful when you are recording your daily symptoms, the text from the Fertility Advisor has been added to a tab on the "Symptom Entry" window.  You can instantly view Advisor information without closing the Entry window!

Manual / Auto Recalculation Options

Ever want to go back and adjust the symptoms for a few days in an old cycle?  In previous versions, you had to wait for LifeCycle to recalculate after each change before you could go on to make the next one.  You now have the option to go to the "Calculation" tab within "Preferences", set the "Recalculation Mode" to "Manual", make all necessary changes, and recalculate once when finished.  Incidentally, even when you have to wait, recalculation is a good thing – most fertility software packages don't change their interpretation after the initial entry.  LifeCycle constantly re-evaluates your fertility based upon changes in your symptoms.

Enhanced Internet Assistance

Ever send us an e-mail only to be told that we need your database file in order to evaluate your question?  Well, no more hunting for that information, you can attach your cycle data to your e-mail directly within LifeCycle's Internet Assistance option with a click of the mouse.

Click here for more information on Internet Assistance

Less Nagging!

Tired of being reminded to backup your database file?  You can now turn off such reminders or change the frequency of them. You can change the nagging function either under the "Backup" tab of the "Housekeeping" window or under the "User Info" tab of the "Preferences" window.  The frequency must be adjusted within the "Housekeeping" function.

Click here for more information on Housekeeping, Backing Up

Click here for more information on Preferences, User Info

Click here to return to Contents


Overriding LifeCycle's Calculations
Using LifeCycle

Override Calculations

In Short:  The Override Calculations screen allows you to modify LifeCycle's various calculations during a cycle.  Your changes are then used in calculating fertility, ovulation, and luteal phase length.  You may also elect to exclude cycles from inclusion in your statistical information.

Click an area on the screen to learn more about it:

Overriding a Calculated Field

If the field you wish to modify has "Calculate" and "Override" buttons next to it, you can change it.  Simply click the "Override" button and then change the value you wish to modify.  Note that the Phase 3 Start Date, Luteal Phase Length, and Cycle Length are calculated fields and cannot be modified directly.  To change the Phase 3 Start Date or Luteal Phase Length, you must modify the Ovulation Date. Also note that Luteal Phase Length and Cycle Length cannot be calculated until a cycle is completed.

Exclude from Calculations

LifeCycle will automatically determine whether a cycle should be excluded from calculations.  Why does it do this?  If it determines that the ovulation date or luteal phase length might be either in error or outside the "norm", it will exclude the cycle so that it doesn't impact future calculations.  For example, cycles which are shorter than normal due to a shortened luteal phase length are excluded from the "Shortest Cycle Rule" calculation.  Also, any cycle where pregnancy is predicted by LifeCycle will automatically be excluded due to the exceptionally long luteal phase length that results.  (Average luteal phase length is used in Fertility Awareness in a number of areas.  Unusually long luteal phase lengths unnaturally skew these calculations, so they are excluded).

You may elect to exclude various cycles if you feel LifeCycle's ovulation calculation is in error or if you are under fertility treatment that might skew LifeCycle's calculation (such as taking Clomid or a progesterone supplement).  Ask your doctor if you have questions about this.

Understanding Ovulation/Fertility Calculation Options

This calculation for the currently selected cycle was originally determined based upon your settings under the "Ovulation" tab in the "Preferences" window at the time the cycle was recorded.  LifeCycle predicts ovulation and fertility based upon the symptoms of temperature and mucus.  You may optionally record the results of ovulation predictor kits (OPK's record the presence of luteinizing hormone) and display the ovulation date predicted by these results.  You may even have these results override LifeCycle's symptom-based calculation.  You may wish to do this if your symptoms weren't clearly indicative of ovulation in a given cycle (such as if LifeCycle used a "special case" or a "temperature-only" rule in it's prediction) and you did record a positive OPK test in that cycle.

LifeCycle will always attempt to calculate ovulation, even if your preferences are for an OPK override.  If no positive OPK test results are recorded, LifeCycle will use it's own prediction in the calculation of the Ovulation Date, the Phase 3 Start Date and the Luteal Phase Length.  However, if positive OPK results are recorded and your preference is for an OPK override, LifeCycle will use the ovulation date predicted by the OPK test results in calculating all of these values, instead.  Because LifeCycle will always attempt to calculate ovulation, it is generally good practice to use the OPK override if you are recording the results of OPK tests.

Summary Cycle Notes

Even though these notes don't currently print anywhere, you may wish to record general cycle information here (such as notes from discussions with your doctor or health care advisor).  A future release will include these notes in the Summary Report.

Remove All Data

Be very careful with this option!  (LifeCycle won't let you do this without automatically backing up the database first, so it's not as severe a warning as it sounds.)

This option allows you to completely remove all existing data and start fresh.  You will have no cycle history, no current cycle information, nothing!  Why would you want to do this?  If you were using LifeCycle, got pregnant, started breastfeeding, and then came back to using the software, you would probably want to start over again, as your historical cycle information may not be as useful after such a long time.  Or if you just started using LifeCycle and realized you entered a lot of wrong information, you might want to begin again.

If you select this option, LifeCycle will automatically backup your old cycle data, so you won't really lose anything.  If you do this in error, you can even reload your old data by going to the "Housekeeping" window, selecting the "Backup" tab, selecting the appropriate file from the file list box, and then clicking "Restore".  Click here to go to the Housekeeping – Backup screen for more details on restoring a backup.


Luteal Phase Length

The luteal phase length is the post-ovulation length of your cycle, and is measured as the number of days between ovulation and the start of your next cycle.  There is normally not a lot of variation in the length of this period.  If your luteal phase is less than 10 days and you are trying to get pregnant, you should probably see a fertility specialist.  If your luteal length begins to exceed 18 days in a given cycle, there is a high probability that you are pregnant (or that ovulation was miscalculated).


Changing incremental temperature "fix"
Using LifeCycle

Changing Incremental Temperature "Fix" for Disturbances

Because basal body temperature rises predictably starting early in the morning, LifeCycle can automatically adjust temperatures that have been disturbed by early or late rising so that they can be used in your fertility calculation.  It does this by using an average incremental temperature change of 0.1° F or 0.05° C for each half-hour that your temperature is "disturbed".  These are average changes for the population at large, so your actual incremental change might be different.  If you know that your incremental change is different from the average and you are comfortable with editing text files, you can adjust the population average to match your own.

You do this by editing the file "lifecyc.ini" in your LifeCycle directory, and changing the value under [Preferences] for the DisturbAdjF or DisturbAdjC key.  If you have any reservations about editing the file, then do NOT make this change.

For instance, if your temperature scale is Fahrenheit, and you know your temperature goes up by about .2° every half hour, then edit the ".1" after the key DisturbAdjF so it looks like this

[Preferences]

….other settings are here, do NOT edit them…

DisturbAdjF=.2

DisturbAdjC=.05

If your temperature scale is Celsius, you would edit the line DisturbAdjC=.05.  After making the change, save the file and restart LifeCycle.  LifeCycle will now use the new adjustment figure.

Click here to return to the Calculations Preferences window


Hints for Improving the Accuracy of LifeCycle's Fertility Prediction

If LifeCycle Says You're Fertile All the Time…

LifeCycle predicts the start of Phase 2 fertility based upon a series of algorithms.  For pregnancy achievers and pregnancy avoiders who have at least 6 cycles of history, the most accurate method is the Last Dry Day Rule.  To confirm that you are using this rule, you should select "File" in the menu, then select "Preferences" from the menu list, then select the "Calculations" tab from the Preferences window.  Look under "Mucus Options" and make sure the option for this rule is checked.

The Last Dry Day Rule essentially states that Phase 1 infertility ends with the appearance of mucus (hence the name "Last Dry Day"…)  This is because without mucus, sperm has virtually no chance of reaching an ovum, as mucus provides both nutrients for extending sperm life and a medium for sperm to travel.  Without it, the sperm are stopped "dead" in their tracks.

For LifeCycle to use the Last Dry Day Rule, you must record your mucus symptom during Phase 1 when LifeCycle suggests it (the Fertility Advisor will alert you when you should begin recording mucus symptoms).  If you have no mucus you must record it as "Dry".  Failure to record anything on each day that you should be recording mucus will cause LifeCycle to resort to a less accurate method of determining the start of your fertile period.  If you want LifeCycle to remind you when you've left mucus unrecorded as you enter your daily symptoms, make sure the "Nag me about mucus!" option is checked.

NOTE: Some women will notice mucus early in their cycle.  Previous versions of LifeCycle would have automatically recorded the start of Phase 2 fertility in these situations.  Version 2.0 corrected this problem for pregnancy achievers – LifeCycle now notifies you when it is unlikely that early mucus is indicative of fertility and allow you to remain in Phase 1.  Due to this more liberal interpretation of fertility signs, pregnancy achievers cannot use (and will not see) this feature.

Without mucus symptoms, or for pregnancy avoiders who have less than 6 cycles of history, LifeCycle must use the Shortest Cycle Rule.  This is sometimes more conservative than the Last Dry Day Rule (for pregnancy avoiders, it is always more conservative).

The "pure" Shortest Cycle Rule uses the shortest of your last 30 cycles and subtracts 20 days from it to determine the start of Phase 2 fertility.  This is not some arbitrary calculation – it is based upon the fact that the average luteal phase length (the time from ovulation to the start of your next period) is 14 days.  It is possible to get pregnant by having relations 5 days prior to ovulation, so with another day added for padding… 14 + 5 + 1 = 20 days.

This calculation is too conservative for pregnancy achievers, who are obviously unconcerned with "unintended pregnancy" – it is an oxymoron.  Since getting pregnant is the goal, and high fertility truly doesn't begin until later than dictated by the Shortest Cycle Rule, the rule is modified for achievers by (sometimes) using an average cycle length, the average luteal phase length, and 5 days of potential fertility prior to ovulation.  For achievers, it is calculated like this:

Start of Phase 2 = Shortest or Average Cycle Length – (Average Luteal Length + 5)

Because the Shortest Cycle Rule uses historical cycle length, you must have some history for it to work correctly.  If this is your first cycle and you didn't record your shortest cycle on the default screen when you first started using LifeCycle, then LifeCycle will use the horrid 28-day "average" cycle length instead (what else can it do?).  This is fine if your cycles are close to the average – if not, then LifeCycle's interpretation is going to be in error for the first cycle.  If you have at least one complete cycle recorded, LifeCycle will use YOUR averages, not the 28-day average, and all should be fine.

If this is your first cycle and you forgot to record your shortest cycle (or didn't recall it) at the time you started using LifeCycle, you can still do so.  Click "File" in the menu, select the "Preferences" option, then select the "History" tab on the Preferences window.   Then click the "Edit Prior" button and here's what you will see:

You can add a new cycle to Prior History by clicking the "Add" button, recording a date (even if you don't know it -- make one up!), and recording what you believe to be your shortest or even average cycle length.  If you do not know the associated luteal phase length, leave it blank.

After entering the length, you will need to click a "Save" button that appears, and then click "Close".  Then close the Preferences window.  By the way, the date will display in the international format in the table, regardless of your PC's settings, don't worry about it.  Now you will need to recalculate your cycle information – do this by clicking "File", then "Housekeeping" and then the "Recalculate All" button under the "General" tab of the Housekeeping window.

If LifeCycle Isn't Predicting Ovulation…

Many women see a temperature spike on their chart and think, "see, I've ovulated…"  Yet in some cases LifeCycle refuses to definitively calculate for ovulation.  Why?

LifeCycle's algorithms are based upon the scientifically derived observations of sympto-thermal natural family planning (STM-NFP).  To be completely clear, STM-NFP does NOT attempt to define ovulation precisely, its goal is to determine the start and end of a woman's fertile phase.  Precise ovulation detection is only possible using very expensive medical gear that essentially "watches" the ovaries for the exact moment of ovulation.  All other methods look for symptoms that seem to indicate that ovulation is approaching and others that indicate it has occurred, LifeCycle included. STM-NFP has some very specific rules for determining that ovulation has occurred and you are infertile, and it is these rules that LifeCycle uses in it's calculations, or variations of them, in the case of pregnancy achievers.   (To see the various rules, click the "Index" button above and type in the word "rules", then browse the results from the list).

LifeCycle makes an educated guess as to the date of ovulation based upon its calculation of the onset of Phase 3 infertility.  If your symptoms don't match one of the rules, LifeCycle cannot predict ovulation definitively!

What prevents LifeCycle from calculating ovulation?

1)	A lack of data.  You can correct this by recording your temperature and mucus symptoms for as long as LifeCycle suggests it (it does this with the Fertility Advisor – you ALWAYS know what it expects you to be recording).  If you are inconsistent in your data entry and are a pregnancy achiever, then make sure your "Rule" preference under the "Calculation" tab of the Preferences window is set to "Liberal".  If you take your temperatures regularly, then you can leave it at "Normal".

2)	Disturbed temperatures around ovulation.  If you have many disturbed temperatures close to ovulation, LifeCycle must ignore this information in its calculation algorithms, unless you tell it otherwise.  If your temperature is disturbed by sickness or something else outside of your control, there is not much you can do about it.  If, however, your temperature is disturbed by late or early rising (inconsistent data recording), you can do something about it – take your temperature at the same time every day or if you are a pregnancy achiever, have LifeCycle automatically fix those temperatures that are disturbed in this manner.  To do the latter, click "File" in the menu, select the "Preferences" option, and make sure "Fix disturb" is set either to "Prompt" or "Auto".  Like this:

3)	An unusual cycle.  Not all cycles are perfectly correlated with a temperature rise and drying up mucus pattern.  Like everything in nature, sometimes symptoms are outside the norm for no apparent reason.  Accept the fact that these cycles will appear, occasionally.  Stress, diet, and medications are additional factors that can impact your fertility cycle in ways that make it difficult for LifeCycle to interpret your symptoms definitively.

4)	Potential fertility problems.  Sometimes an inability to predict ovulation isn't the result of bad data – sometimes it is indicative of fertility problems that should be addressed by a medical professional.  LifeCycle has been instrumental in helping couples identify these problems early on so that the women could be treated before they became major problems.  It can help identify male infertility, as well.  If LifeCycle consistently pinpoints ovulation and you are unable to achieve pregnancy through an extended period of time (over 6 months), you might consider having your mate's sperm count checked.

If LifeCycle's Fertility Meter Is Inconsistent…

If the fertility meter within the Fertility Advisor alternates between high and low or increasing and decreasing fertility, it's because the data is inconsistent.  The fertility meter is not an exact tool directly connected to your body – it is making its interpretations based upon the information you provide it in the form of temperature and mucus observations.

Mucus is the most important factor in determining whether your fertility is high or low and whether it's increasing or decreasing.  If you record a more fertile mucus (wet, stretchy and clear or blood-stained) and then record a less fertile type (not wet, tacky, and cloudy), LifeCycle is going to show that fertility is decreasing.  If you then record the more fertile type again the next day, then it's going to show fertility going back up again.  It's not making mistakes, it's making its interpretation based upon the information provided.

Without mucus, LifeCycle will use temperature and cycle length information to make these interpretations.  While there may be less variation in the fertility meter using these factors, it will also be less accurate.

Return to Contents


Fix Disturbances

If you record a temperature over 20 minutes before or after your normal time, LifeCycle will record a disturbance for it, normally.  However, LifeCycle can adjust temperatures disturbed in this manner, and these options determine if so, how it will be done.

"Prompt" means that LifeCycle will warn you after you've recorded a time outside of the expected range and ask if you would like to have the associated temperature adjusted and the disturbance removed.  This is the normal setting.

"Auto" means that LifeCycle will not warn you after you've recorded a time outside the expected range – it will automatically make adjustments to the temperature and remove the disturbance.

"Never" means that LifeCycle will not adjust temperatures that have been disturbed by late or early recording times.  This is the only option available for pregnancy avoiders.


Recalculation Mode

When set to "Manual", LifeCycle will not begin a recalculation until you either press [F9], click "Edit" and "Recalculate Fertility" in the menu, or change the recalculation mode back to "Auto" from a "Manual" setting.  This is particularly useful when you are going back in cycle history to make changes to some of your symptom information.  If you have several days to edit, you can change the Recalculation Mode to "Manual", make all of your changes, and then press [F9] to have LifeCycle recalculate fertility.  If it were set to "Auto", you would have to wait for LifeCycle to finish its recalculation after every change.

When set to "Auto", LifeCycle recalculates after every entry, if necessary.  This is the normal setting.


Animate Ovulation

When checked, LifeCycle will animate the first ovulation icon (the egg sitting sideways in the nest cracks open and becomes a little chick).


Backup Reminder

When checked, LifeCycle will alert you at startup when you've exceeded the recommended number of days between database backups.  If left unchecked, LifeCycle will not warn you.


Display LifeCycle Icon
Display LifeCycle Calculation Only

When selected, LifeCycle will ONLY display the ovulation icon for any day where it has calculated for ovulation, and will not use the results of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK).  By default, you must then have "Use LifeCycle's ovulation calculation" selected under "Calculate Ovulation & Luteal Phase".


Preferences, Ovulation
Using LifeCycle

Preferences -- Ovulation

In Short:  This tab lets you specify how to display ovulation and possible ovulation days, and whether to override LifeCycle's calculation with that from an ovulation predictor kit (OPK).

Click on an option to learn more about it, click on a tab to move to another topic:

Displaying Ovulation Icons

LifeCycle normally displays an ovulation icon when it or the results of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK) predicts it.  You may optionally exclude either LifeCycle's or the OPK's display of ovulation.

What are "Possible" Ovulation Days?

LifeCycle attempts to predict the day of ovulation using the symptoms of temperature and mucus.  On some days, one or both of the symptoms may be consistent with ovulation but LifeCycle may be unable to predict it definitively when using the symptoms over a period of several days.  LifeCycle will record these as "possible" ovulation days and display them in the calendar using the normal ovulation icon with a question mark superimposed over it (this will flash if your preferences allow animated icons).

Understanding Ovulation/Fertility Calculation Options

LifeCycle predicts ovulation and fertility based upon the symptoms of temperature and mucus.  You may optionally record the results of ovulation predictor kits and display the ovulation date predicted by these results.  You may even have these results override LifeCycle's symptom-based calculation.  You may wish to do this if your symptoms weren't clearly indicative of ovulation in a given cycle (such as if LifeCycle used a "special case" or a "temperature-only" rule in it's prediction) and you did record a positive OPK test in that cycle.

LifeCycle will always attempt to calculate ovulation, even if your preferences are for an OPK override.  If no positive OPK test results are recorded, LifeCycle will use it's own prediction in the calculation of the Ovulation Date, the Phase 3 Start Date and the Luteal Phase Length.  However, if positive OPK results are recorded and your preference is for an OPK override, LifeCycle will use the ovulation date predicted by the OPK test results in calculating all of these values, instead.  Because LifeCycle will always attempt to calculate ovulation, it is generally good practice to use the OPK override if you are recording the results of OPK tests.

Changing the "Calculate Ovulation & Luteal Phase" option only affects the current cycle.  If you wish to change this setting for prior cycles, you must do so by clicking "Edit" in the menu, and then selecting  "Override Calculations".  You must then select the cycle you wish to edit and change the appropriate field.

Return to Preferences Window help


Display OPK/LH Calculation Only

When selected, LifeCycle will ONLY display the ovulation icon for any day where positive ovulation predictor kit test results calculated for ovulation, and will not use its own analysis.  By default, you must then have "Use OPK/LH ovulation calculation" selected under "Calculate Ovulation & Luteal Phase".


Display Both

When selected, LifeCycle will display ovulation icons for both its own calculations and those of ovulation predictor kits, regardless of which one is used to definitively calculate for ovulation and luteal phase length.  This is the normal setting for LifeCycle.


Display All Possible Ovulation Days

When checked, LifeCycle will display days where ovulation was deemed possible, but wasn't definitive.  These days are distinguished from definitive calculations by a question mark super-imposed over the normal ovulation icon.  This is normally checked.


Calculate using LifeCycle's Analysis
Use LifeCycle Ovulation Calculation

When selected, LifeCycle will always use its own analysis over that of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK) when defining ovulation for reports and in calculating luteal phase lengths.  Because LifeCycle will use its own analysis if no positive OPK test results are recorded anyway, this is normally not selected.  Scroll down the page and read Understanding Ovulation/Fertility Calculation Options if this is unclear.


Use OPK/LH Ovulation Calculation

When selected, LifeCycle will always use the positive results of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK) over its own analysis when defining ovulation for reports and in calculating luteal phase lengths.  Because LifeCycle will use its own analysis if no positive OPK test results are recorded anyway, this is normally selected.  Scroll down the page and read Understanding Ovulation/Fertility Calculation Options if this is unclear.


Backup Reminder

When checked, LifeCycle will remind you to backup your database file after the interval specified.  For example, if the interval is set to 7 days, it will remind you to backup starting on day 7 and will continue reminding you each day after day 7 until you backup, or until you turn off the reminder option.


daily symptom entry, advisor
Using LifeCycle

Symptom Window Overview

In Short:  The Symptom window is used to enter and review all cycle-related information on a day-to-day basis.  From the Calendar, you can enter temperature, time of reading, menses, coitus (sexual relations), and disturbance events.  There are options for recording mucus, cervix signs, and any notes for the day.  This window is also used to view the symptoms on the currently selected day in the Chart, as well.

Click on an area below for detailed information on it:

Fertility Advisor

The Fertility Advisor text from the most recently calculated day is displayed when you select the "Advisor" tab.  If the current day has not yet been calculated, this displays the text from the previous day.  If it has been calculated, then it uses the information from the current day.

Return to Symptom Entry Overview

Related Topic:  Primer, The Second Clue -- Cervical Mucus


Advisor Text

This is the text from the Fertility Advisor for the most recently calculated day.  You cannot edit this text but you can copy it.


Shortest Cycle

Enter the length of your shortest cycle in recent memory (no more than 2 years ago or so).  If you don't know it and you're a pregnancy avoider, you should leave it blank.  If you're a pregnancy achiever and don't know it, enter your average cycle length.


Longest Cycle

Enter the length of your longest cycle in recent memory (no more than 2 years ago or so).  If you don't know it and you're a pregnancy avoider, you should leave it blank.  If you're a pregnancy achiever and don't know it, enter your average cycle length.


Spotting

Check this box if you experience spotting (also known as "breakthrough bleeding").  Spotting is the appearance of typically small amounts of blood near the mid-point of your cycle.  It can be caused by an endometrium that has thickened to the point that the top layers are sloughed off well in advance of menstruation.  It is normally distinguished from true menstruation by its timing, quantity, and duration (it's early, less, and short).


Ovulation Test

Enter the results of an ovulation predictor kit test here.  OPKs detect "luteinizing hormone" and are sometimes referred to as "LH tests".  When an ovulation test is positive and luteinizing hormone is detected, ovulation normally occurs within 12-36 hours.


Floating Symptoms Menu
Floating Menu

Right-clicking a day in the Chart (or Calendar, for that matter) will bring up a floating menu that provides access to the Symptom Entry window and Fertility Advisor for that particular day.  Clicking one of the Symptom menu items will open the Symptom Entry window to the tab for that item.


NewTopic 1
Cycle

Click the spin buttons to select the cycle to edit.


Cycle Date Range

The start and end dates (if finished) for the currently selected cycle are displayed here.


Calculate Button
Calculate / Override Buttons

If the "Calculate" button is selected (pushed in) for any of the fields on this screen, it indicates that LifeCycle will calculate for that field.  If you had previously overridden a value and want to revert back to using LifeCycle's calculation, you can reset it by clicking this button.

If the "Override" button is selected, it indicates that LifeCycle will use your entered value for that field instead of it's own calculation.  When overridden, LifeCycle will use that value on all reports and screens, and it will not change it when it performs a recalculation.


Phase 2 Override
Phase 2 Start Date

This is the start date for Phase 2 pre-ovulation fertility.


Ovulation Date

This is the date of ovulation as calculated by LifeCycle.  Changing this date will also change the start date for Phase 3 post-ovulation infertility, as well as the luteal phase length (once the cycle is completed).


Phase 3 Start Date

This is the start date of Phase 3 post-ovulation infertility.  It cannot be edited directly – it is calculated by adding 3 days to the ovulation date.


Phase 3 Rule

This is the rule that was used to calculate for Phase 3 post-ovulation infertility (it is blank when you have overridden the ovulation date).


Luteal Phase Length

This is the length of time from ovulation to the start of your next period.  You cannot edit this directly, it is calculated using your ovulation date and the end date of the selected cycle.  To change it, you must change the ovulation date.  NOTE: For pregnancy achievement, a fertilized egg normally requires 10 days from conception to achieve implantation.  Luteal phase lengths of less than 10 days can prevent implantation and thus may be indicative of a fertility problem, as a result.


Cycle Length

This is the length of the selected cycle.  It cannot be changed directly, as it is calculated using the start and end dates of the cycle.


Ovulation / Fertility Calculation

If "LifeCycle takes precedence" is selected, then ovulation, luteal phase length, and post-ovulation infertility will be defined by LifeCycle's calculation.

If "OPK/LH takes precedence" is selected, then ovulation, luteal phase length, and post-ovulation infertility will be defined by the positive result of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK), if it exists.  If not, then LifeCycle will use its own calculation results for these values.


Notes
Summary Cycle Notes

This is a free-form text entry area for you to record general information regarding the selected cycle.  For example, if you override a calculated value, you might want to include some notes as to why you did so.  In the example here, the user recorded some comments made to her by her doctor.


Remove All Data

Clicking this button will clear all existing data from your LifeCycle database so you can start over.  For more details on this option, scroll down the page.


Cancel Button

Clicking this button will cancel any changes made to the selected cycle and will close the Override window.  It will not cancel changes made to cycles edited prior to this one. If changes were made to any cycle, then LifeCycle will advise you that it must recalculate beginning with the earliest cycle edited.  Please let it finish before doing anything else on your computer.


OK Button

Clicking this button will accept changes made to the selected cycle (if any) and will close the Override window.  If changes were made to any cycle, then LifeCycle will advise you that it must recalculate beginning with the earliest cycle edited.  Please let it finish before doing anything else on your computer.


Information Area

This box will contain information regarding the field being edited.


Exclude from Calculations

If "Yes" then LifeCycle ignores the selected cycle in its statistical calculations (such as for average luteal length).  If "No", the LifeCycle will include the cycle in all statistical calculations.  If LifeCycle excludes a cycle, it will open a text box to the right explaining why the cycle was excluded.


Chart Colors

The color used to represent phases in the Chart. To change it, select one of the colors from the center and drag it to this target.  Release the mouse button when the mouse cursor is over the phase.  NOTE: The cursor itself (not just the outline) must be over the Phase before releasing.


Naegele's Rule

This is the method most physicians use to determine your due date.  It is calculated like this:

Due Date = Date of Last Period + 7 days + 9 months

This rule is accurate when you ovulate on the 14th day of your cycle.


Database Repair & Recovery
Using LifeCycle

Database Repair & Recovery

In Short:  From this window you can repair a damaged database file, recover from a backup that LifeCycle automatically creates, reset your database so that it contains nothing, or request assistance directly from LifeCycle's support team.

You can reach this window by clicking "Help" in the menu, then select "Special…", then select "Database Repair & Recovery".  It will also come up automatically when you experience a serious error.

Instructions Tab

The instructions tab explains each step to attempt should you need to fix a corrupt database file.  The yellow box in the bottom corner of the window always tells you which step you should attempt next.

Repair Tab

Clicking this tab will reveal a single button along with instructions explaining how to repair a corrupted database.  This type of repair normally fixes a database that returned the error "No current record".  After repairing, you should exit LifeCycle, reboot your computer, and then restart LifeCycle.  Upon restarting, LifeCycle will recalculate all cycles, so please be patient.  PLEASE NOTE:  If you have recorded pregnancy information in the Pregnancy Forecaster, you will need to update it again, as this process erases those results.

Recover Tab

Clicking this tab will reveal a list of recovery files and the date/time they were created, up to 10 files long.  After each successful entry/calculation, LifeCycle creates these files by making a copy of your database into a hidden directory.  By so doing, you always have up to 10 "good" backups of your LifeCycle data.  If you haven't made at least 10 entries, you will probably have less than 10 files listed.

To recover your data, you should click the most recent file, usually listed as "File 1", and then click the "Recover" button.  If the recovery is successful, LifeCycle will tell you so and will then try to reopen the new database upon exit and restarting.

Reset Tab

Clicking this tab will reveal a single button that lets you delete your existing database file and start over with nothing in it.  It doesn't actually delete it, it moves the file to a sub-directory of the LifeCycle program directory called "Olddata" and renames it.  This step is not recommended if you have done any substantial amount of data entry.

Request Tab

Clicking this tab will reveal a small e-mail form that lets you request assistance from LifeCycle's support team.  Assuming you are already connected to the Internet, when you click the "Send" button LifeCycle will send a copy of your database, any existing error logs, your preferences file, and any additional message you record.  It will also send a copy of the e-mail (without the file attachments) to you for your records.

Return to help on Using LifeCycle


TCOYF
Clarifying Terminology Between LifeCycle and TCOYF

For the uninitiated, "TCOYF" is an acronym for an incredibly popular and exceptional book titled Taking Charge of Your Fertility, by Toni Weschler, MPH.  We strongly recommend this book for its complete and easy-to-follow analysis of natural family planning / fertility awareness.

Whether you are trying to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy, this book can be very helpful.  You should be able to find it at your local bookstore or on the Internet at Amazon.com.  You can click this link to be taken to Amazon's description of it:

Taking Charge of Your Fertility at Amazon.com

We have found that many LifeCycle users have also read this book and would like some clarification regarding differing terminology.  Here are some of the terms you might encounter in TCOYF and how they correspond to LifeCycle's:

Coverline:  The definition from TCOYF's glossary is "a line used to help delineate pre- and post-ovulatory temperatures on a fertility chart" (TCOYF, p. 352).  It is drawn 1/10th of a Fahrenheit degree above the highest of the pre-ovulatory temperatures.  LifeCycle uses the term "Pre-shift Baseline", or "PSB" to indicate the highest of the pre-ovulatory temperatures.  So in LifeCycle:

Coverline = PSB + 0.1 °F

or

Coverline = PSB + 0.2 °C

Cervical Fluid:  TCOYF refers to cervical mucus as cervical fluid, to make it a more universally acceptable term.  LifeCycle continues to use the term medical term "mucus", but they are one and the same.

Types of Cervical Mucus: The differences between TCOYF's and LifeCycle's descriptions are noted below.

Sticky: This is the least fertile mucus.  LifeCycle's equivalents are Not Dry, Tacky, and/or Cloudy.

Creamy: This is considered more fertile than sticky.  LifeCycle's equivalents are Not Dry, Less Stretchy, and/or Cloudy.

Eggwhite: This is considered the most fertile type of mucus. LifeCycle's equivalents are Slippery, More Stretchy, Clear and/or Blood-stained (please note that "Blood-stained" is not the same as menses, but indicates spotting in your cervical mucus).

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