BBT - Can I use a normal digital thermometer?

[expatttc]

Hello ladies,
I'm living out of reach of quite a few of normal supplies! Though I bought an ovulation pack and birth control tests before heading out here (I live and work in the South Pacific), I didn't buy a basal (basil?) thermometer.
Can I still use a normal digital thermometer? What are the differences?
Thanks!

 

[MrsAttard]

Unfortunately no. Normal thermometers only go to the tenth degree, and you'll need one that goes to the hundredth degree bc sometimes the difference from one day to the next is only a couple hundredths of degrees.

 

[Miss_Kate]

It has to be a basal thermometer, regular digitals won't give you an accurate temp for charting.

 

[Butterfly89]

I think mine is basal... Came with a temping chart... And it gives "96.8" type readings. Is that not enough?! From ovulation, mine raised from 96.8 to 97.6 in one day! Is that not accurate?!

 

[Jazavac]

If it's a regular thermometer in Fahrenheits with at least one decimal, you could get by.

 

[taylorxx]

If you can't get a BBT, a regular one may work. Granted it won't be as accurate, but some women can still see a pattern/thermal shift with a regular one.. it's just a bit harder to read. If you can get a BBT, definitely get one. If not I'd still give it a go. Try and be as consistant as possible xx

 

[expatttc]

Thanks for the advice...I'll make do with what I have now, and try to get one on my next travels out of Moresby! Is there a chart or website about when I should take my temp that you would recommend?

 

[SLH]

No, you shouldn't. If I used a normal thermometer I would never know when I ovulate.

 

[taylorxx]

Thanks for the advice...I'll make do with what I have now, and try to get one on my next travels out of Moresby! Is there a chart or website about when I should take my temp that you would recommend?

Switch to a BBT as soon as possible. www.fertilityfriend.com is a great site to chart your temp and is very helpful. All you need to do is pick a time when you usually wake up. Set an alarm and temp at that same time every morning as soon as you wake up (before getting out of bed or even speaking). Record your temp on fertilityfriend. All you need is 3 hours of sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night, it won't effect your temp much if you get another hour of sleep afterwards xx

 

[Jess137]

Yes, definitely use Fertility Friend, it's great. You can keep track of other things too on that, like your CM and CP.

Also, my BBT is only has once decimal point. According to TCOYF that is all you need. The difference is that the BBT takes longer and is way more accurate than a regular thermometer.

 

[expatttc]

Sounds good -- I'll try out fertility friend, thanks!

 

[nevernormal]

A normal thermometer works for me most of the time, though this month's temps have been wacky as a result of hot flashes from clomid and not sleeping well for over half of my cycle so far. I'm usually pretty good at keeping things consistent so I can usually see patterns.

You can use what you have for now to chart and keep track, but do try to get a bbt especially if you're not seeing clear patterns and shifts... If your chart is hard to read a bbt can help smooth things out a bit.