Been told not to bother temping!

[candypanda]

Hey guys

I'm on a few groups on facebook for trying to conceive, and quite a few people have criticised those of us who are temping, saying their doctors have told them that they don't recommend it anymore and it doesn't mean you're ovulating and is a waste of time! They say that they are advised to use OPKs.

I am really annoyed if this is true, because temping has been a massive pain in the bum for me with the shifts I work and I have woke myself up at the same time every day to stick with this, if it's a waste of time I am so disappointed!!

I thought it was the opposite way round, and that OPKs are the ones that might not be accurate because you can surge and not ov.

But why would 10+ women be told the same thing??

Thanks guys for any advice worried now! As I don't use OPKs...

 

[Tmb0047]

I think that some doctors just don't like it when a person knows to much about their cycles. I think it makes them feel small or something when someone is knowledgeable about this sort of thing. The doctors they have spoken to must not be fertility doctors because most fertility doctors will recommend to track your BBT for a few months to be sure you are ovulating. The only way it would be a waste of time is if they do bloods to confirm ovulation is occurring.

I personally produce many false positive OPK's in a cycle due to my PCOS and high LH hormones so BBT charting is the only way I know for sure that I did ovulate.

You are definitely not wasting your time!

 

[candypanda]

Thanks so much! I too have PCOS and my OPKs are all over the place, with pretty much near-positives the whole month which never actually turn positive. So I ditched them.

Thank you for the reassurance x

 

[Tmb0047]

I currently temp, use OPK's and check my cervical mucus and cervical position. It's a lot of work but I've gotten to know my body so well and can usually catch ovulation with my stupid long cycles. My OPK's are dark quite often as well but once I saw what a true positive looked like I realized all the others weren't quite positive...just really close!

 

[BeachyFeelin]

I can't believe 10+ women are going to Dr.'s who tell them temping is a waste of time.

Wow.

 

[knobby]

Definitely don't stop temping. I agree with Tmb0047. Many doctors stigmatize people who are proactive in their health and classify you as a hypochondriac or someone who believes everything you read on the internet. When really, you are smart and and care about your health and empower yourself by learning about charting and having a clue about what is going on in your body. They brush off charting because they are not knowledgeable about it. Some doctors don't know how to read BBT charts.

I have had very poor luck with opks. I never get dark positives with the cheap ones, and the only ones that worked for me were the clearblue digital ones that cost an arm and a leg. So I am going to continue temping. If anyone temps for a few cycles you will notice pattern in your charts and see the temp rise after ovulation, the post-ovulation biphasic temp shift, and the dip when AF comes. Those don't happen every cycle by coincidence! Tracking BBT is very reliable.

 

[wantbump]

I have been temping for 2 years. But I am one of those whose doc told her not to temp because it is not a reliable sign of me Oing. And to use OPKs.

So I started using OPKs but I didn't stop temping. Now she believes I O. but my OPKs always match with my temps and it gives me a sense of comfort exactly pinpointing when I O'd. My doctor told me it is a very old method and is not reliable maybe because it is possible to have temp shifts but not really O or get confused by charts. But I like so I do both now.

 

[N27murray]

Just my personal experience......i temped for 13 months and not a single bfp. My first month of no temping or focus on charting I got my very first bfp.

I know its easier said than done but I now believe stressing over charts and temps is what makes conceiving so hard....although I'm still fascinated by charting.... What worked for me was noticing signs of O that happened around expected O time and dtd for FUN and pleasure while keeping it in the back of my mind I may be Oing at that same time.

remember, temping is only good for showing u when you've already ovulated, not when you're about to...

 

[pandi77]

Guess those doctors at the Mayo Clinic don't know what they're talking about lol. I wonder sometimes about old school vs new school thinking on this as far as doctors. My doctor is a reproductive endocrinologist vs an obgyn so maybe that has something to do with her being pro-charting and fertility aware. My obgyn before her wouldn't even test my hormones and just said it will happen when it happens haha.

I used both so I could predict O and then confirm it with charting. It is true that opks can give you positives when your not ovulating. I could copy and paste threads out of here for days with women confused with opk results and is why purely for confirmation purposes charting is best. That being said if you're one of those lucky gals who doesn't have cycle or reproductive issues and not having to do either and end up pregnant is really swell if that works for you...I know I would have never got pregnant had I not educated myself through charting about what was going on with my quirky body lol.

 

[europa59]

Temping was a waste of time for me. I did it for over a year and it never gave me a clear indication as to when I O'd and when I didn't. I have PCOS too but I use the OPKs with a digital backup to confirm ovulation; I never trip the digital unless I'm actually ovulating.

 

[Mississippi03]

I charted for four months. When I just went to the dr she asked me to stop and said it is a waste of time... BUT... She said this because I had temped for long enough that I confirmed I am ovulating every month. After you know that you do ovulate, it is a waste of time. It doesnt tell me anything else, and by the time ive gotten crosshairs it is too late to do anything about. Where as with opks it predicts and we can still dtd and maybe catch the egg. But at the end of the day, my dr said stop doing it all because I dont have control and the stress of trying to control it will prevent it.

I think thats the perspective. 'New school' drs have on temping.. And if you think about it, it makes sense.

 

[wantbump]

Mississippi reading your post and another before I'm thinking of not temping the next month. It is so true what you said - I have been temping for 2 years and I know I o, Ive only been trying for 3 months though but it does stress me out.

 

[Button#]

I'm giving up on temping, I did it last cycle and found I was stressed all month. I do have a cervical abrasion which causes me to start spotting once I've OVd so I do have that reassurance. I also have a toddler so I was always worried how reliable it was if he'd woken me up in the early hours of the morning.

 

[knobby]

Just my personal experience......i temped for 13 months and not a single bfp. My first month of no temping or focus on charting I got my very first bfp.

I know its easier said than done but I now believe stressing over charts and temps is what makes conceiving so hard....although I'm still fascinated by charting.... What worked for me was noticing signs of O that happened around expected O time and dtd for FUN and pleasure while keeping it in the back of my mind I may be Oing at that same time.

remember, temping is only good for showing u when you've already ovulated, not when you're about to...

Temping in itself didn't cause you to not get pregnant.

I charted for four months. When I just went to the dr she asked me to stop and said it is a waste of time... BUT... She said this because I had temped for long enough that I confirmed I am ovulating every month. After you know that you do ovulate, it is a waste of time.

I have irregular cycles that range from 28-55 days long. For me temping is essential not just to know that I ovulated but when, so I know when to expect AF and when to start testing. I have wasted MANY pregnancy tests on a super long cycle when I didn't know when I ovulated.

For me temping gives me reassurance and calmness. I can relax because I know if I have ovulated or not without question.

 

[Mississippi03]

Mississippi reading your post and another before I'm thinking of not temping the next month. It is so true what you said - I have been temping for 2 years and I know I o, Ive only been trying for 3 months though but it does stress me out.

I just found it annoying. I dont want to have to wake up early on weekends lol.. Ive been trying for 7 month. Its nice to know you O... But ive already proven it to myself. Im still keeping track of my opk and cd because my lp have been all over the place but i pretty much always O the day after a pos opk

You can find me on my journal if you ever need some support girl!

 

[Ariannda]

Its not a matter of Dr's not wanting patients to be informed, it's not a matter of knowing too much about your cycles. There are a couple of simple yes and no's

If you have regular cycles, and have had a progesterone draw to confirm ovulation than temping is unnecessary. If you are seeing certain specialists you do not need to temp if there is external monitoring (ie ultrasounds, blood work etc). You may find it helpful, thats totally up to you


If you have irregular cycles temping might or might not be helpful. If you have a known condition where you might not be ovulating on a regular basis than temping may or may not be effective. Also of course if you're on shift work or there are other factors that make temping unreliable it may or may not be useful to you personally

What it comes down to is that sometimes it's helpful and sometimes it's not, thats a personal basis. I never temped, i had regular cycles, always ovulated on time, OPK's worked great. I had two blocked tubes. No amount of sex, temping, theories or anything would get me pregnant until i discovered the real problem

 

[candypanda]

Thanks everyone, I'm not sure what's best for me, because I am post depo and I have endometriosis and PCOS so I would like to check that I am ovulating, because i've only done 2 cycles of temping so far... it does look like I am ovulating though. Maybe this will be my last month of temping.

However, I work for the NHS and do shift work constantly, so I just have to go off when i've had 5 hours of sleep, around 7-8am when I can, luckily i've had no nights for the last 2 cycles.

Definitely can't be bothered with OPKs though. That really does stress me out because I keep comparing pictures. x

 

[knobby]

What it comes down to is that sometimes it's helpful and sometimes it's not, thats a personal basis. I never temped, i had regular cycles, always ovulated on time, OPK's worked great. I had two blocked tubes. No amount of sex, temping, theories or anything would get me pregnant until i discovered the real problem

I don't think anyone temps to get pregnant. That isn't possible because it only shows you ovulated after the fact. We temp to know what is going on in our cycle. My cycle is super irregular. I have ovulated on cd 12 and cd 41... I wouldn't know when to test if I didn't temp.

Temping is also beneficial because it gives some indication on how your progesterone level is doing post ovulation. If you have been charting and are noticing that your post ovulation temps are staying pretty low or your luteal phase is short... then you know to ask your doctor to check your progesterone because you may have a luteal phase defect.

 

[Ariannda]

What it comes down to is that sometimes it's helpful and sometimes it's not, thats a personal basis. I never temped, i had regular cycles, always ovulated on time, OPK's worked great. I had two blocked tubes. No amount of sex, temping, theories or anything would get me pregnant until i discovered the real problem

I don't think anyone temps to get pregnant. That isn't possible because it only shows you ovulated after the fact. We temp to know what is going on in our cycle. My cycle is super irregular. I have ovulated on cd 12 and cd 41... I wouldn't know when to test if I didn't temp.

Temping is also beneficial because it gives some indication on how your progesterone level is doing post ovulation. If you have been charting and are noticing that your post ovulation temps are staying pretty low or your luteal phase is short... then you know to ask your doctor to check your progesterone because you may have a luteal phase defect.

It was simply included. Also i made a distinction with progesterone levels being drawn. I never said people shouldn't temp, there are simply reasons why it works better for some, doesn't work for some and some love it and some hate it. It's all personal perference

 

[pandi77]

I charted for four months. When I just went to the dr she asked me to stop and said it is a waste of time... BUT... She said this because I had temped for long enough that I confirmed I am ovulating every month. After you know that you do ovulate, it is a waste of time. It doesnt tell me anything else, and by the time ive gotten crosshairs it is too late to do anything about. Where as with opks it predicts and we can still dtd and maybe catch the egg. But at the end of the day, my dr said stop doing it all because I dont have control and the stress of trying to control it will prevent it.

I think thats the perspective. 'New school' drs have on temping.. And if you think about it, it makes sense.

It sounds like your doctor is basing her perspective less on new school vs old school and the fact that you don't need to temp personally. Perhaps if it was someone who had issues ovulating she'd be more in favor of it

As I said before if your cycles are mostly normal than that's half the battle and temping may not enhance your ttc journey. For those who need more guidance and aren't blessed to ovulate every cycle it is a tremendous help in understanding our bodies better.