Starting Temping

[welshgirl21]

I have ordered a basal thermometre and I am going to start charting my temperature - is anyone else doing this?

I have also ordered a Clearblue digital ovulation tester to try and find out when I OV accurately.

 

[emz1200]

Hiya, i'm charting my temp & i think its a good idea but i've been on holiday & apparently that can mess with your temp slighlty but apart from that all is going well.

 

[welshgirl21]

From what I have read I take it at the same time every day and I do it as soon as I wake up, while I am still in bed, is that right?

I was going to take it, then record the temp on Fertility Friend every day, they then do my chart and work out the phases for me.

 

[TheAnie]

After doing a lot of research I decided not to chart my BBT as it was proven to be unreliable. Think of all the various factors for body temperature changes. That, and the main changes you see happen AFTER you've OV'd. So I imagine it would be helpful for a later cycle but not the current one.

I do wish you the best with it though!

 

[welshgirl21]

After doing a lot of research I decided not to chart my BBT as it was proven to be unreliable. Think of all the various factors for body temperature changes. That, and the main changes you see happen AFTER you've OV'd. So I imagine it would be helpful for a later cycle but not the current one.

I do wish you the best with it though!

Thanks for the advice - I might put the thermometre away for a while and just use the digital OV tester at first. I am worried I'm becoming a bit too occupied with it all instead of, as it's only my first cycle, enjoying it and letting it happen.

 

[Cara89]

I temp every morning. I only just started this cycle and so far looking at my chart on FF I am not really seeing much of a pattern or anything... but then again I am no expert on reading charts. Haha. I just figure I will temp for at least a cycle and then go from there. Best of luck, hope whatever you decide to do works && you get your super soon!

 

[taylorxx]

After doing a lot of research I decided not to chart my BBT as it was proven to be unreliable. Think of all the various factors for body temperature changes. That, and the main changes you see happen AFTER you've OV'd. So I imagine it would be helpful for a later cycle but not the current one.

I do wish you the best with it though!

Where's your source? Yes, little things can cause your body temperature to change, like illness, sleeping with mouth open, etc etc. The only thing that would make a big enough difference is if you are sick. The whole point of charting is to confirm when and if you ovulated, it's not going to tell if you if you are about to. Some women get multiple surges of LH, so it's great to chart BBT so I can see when exactly I ovulated.

 

[TheAnie]

After doing a lot of research I decided not to chart my BBT as it was proven to be unreliable. Think of all the various factors for body temperature changes. That, and the main changes you see happen AFTER you've OV'd. So I imagine it would be helpful for a later cycle but not the current one.

I do wish you the best with it though!

Where's your source? Yes, little things can cause your body temperature to change, like illness, sleeping with mouth open, etc etc. The only thing that would make a big enough difference is if you are sick. The whole point of charting is to confirm when and if you ovulated, it's not going to tell if you if you are about to. Some women get multiple surges of LH, so it's great to chart BBT so I can see when exactly I ovulated.

It was a link to a study I found on FF that sealed the deal for me. However, I didn't bookmark the link and so I don't have it to provide for you. I'm not saying don't use BBT if that is what you want to do, I was merely inputting what I'd read and found to be valid in my own experiences.

 

[taylorxx]

I just don't see how it's unreliable. It's helped me along with so many other women figure out when they have ovulated or if they ovulated at all. I found it to be quite accurate. Have you even tried charting?

 

[littlebird28]

A few factors have made BBT completely unreliable for me, but they were all circumstantial and most definitely not the case for every woman. I wake up every few hours and am apparently, a mouth breather (how attractive!). If merely mouth breathing is your only problem, I would recommend doing it vaginally. I've read that that gives the most accurate temperature anyway, but not everyone wants to put something up their hoo-ha immediately upon waking! I've never read that it was unreliable in other instances, however. BBT with OPK's really can't be beat, IMO.

 

[taylorxx]

A few factors have made BBT completely unreliable for me, but they were all circumstantial and most definitely not the case for every woman. I wake up every few hours and am apparently, a mouth breather (how attractive!). If merely mouth breathing is your only problem, I would recommend doing it vaginally. I've read that that gives the most accurate temperature anyway, but not everyone wants to put something up their hoo-ha immediately upon waking! I've never read that it was unreliable in other instances, however. BBT with OPK's really can't be beat, IMO.

Yeah I do it vaginally because I sleep with my mouth open. The only reason as to why I think it would be unreliable is if you are sick with a fever. Everything else does not affect your temperature to where it makes a noticeable difference. I definitely agree on using BBT with OPKs. The past two cycles I have had multiple surges so if I wasn't charting I would be so stressed out and loosing my mind. xx

 

[pinksprinkles]

I highly recommend charting on FF- but use all the tools available, not just tempting. Check you CM and CP, what your opk says, use signs and symptoms everyday, chart your vitamin/meds use, record when you BD, etc. After just a month of doing it all, you understand your own body soooo much better. And maybe some folks will call that "stressing too much", but I adamantly disagree. Even if BBT by itself isn't what works for you, filling out the chart, watching your body change through your cycle, etc is a very empowering activity. I plan to chart even when not TTC, just because I like to know when I'm going to feel down, PMS-y, know if something gets off (uterin/cervical cancer run in my family and my OB/GYN says charting can help catch symptoms early), but mainly because I enjoy participating in my own reproductive process. (Plus, it's nice to be able to warn my OH a couple days ahead of time that this day or that day will definitely be my crankiest day of the month!)

Also, charting is fun!

Just remember to do it at the EXACT same time everyday before moving around! I set an alarm clock for a little before my normal wake-up time so I know I won't wake up early. Then, when my alarm goes off I temp (I've found vaginal is most accurate), then go back to sleep for an hour! Oh, and try to get 5 hours of solid sleep before tempting. However, getting up in the middle of the night to pee never seemed to throw my temps off, so don't worry too much if you have to get up for some reason as long as it's not right before tempting and it's only for a minute or two.

 

[welshgem]

I did buy a BBT and was considering charting a few months ago but I found that I can't trust myself to ensure I chart at the correct time. I'm up at anytime between 6am and 8am in the mornings depending on work and if I have meetings or not and then I like the occasional lie-in on the weekend so I just don't think I'd get reliable readings!

 

[Cara89]

I did buy a BBT and was considering charting a few months ago but I found that I can't trust myself to ensure I chart at the correct time. I'm up at anytime between 6am and 8am in the mornings depending on work and if I have meetings or not and then I like the occasional lie-in on the weekend so I just don't think I'd get reliable readings!

I am the same way when it comes to wake up time. Sometimes I have to work at 530 am, and other times not until 2 pm. My solution? :: I set an alarm for a time that I would still be in bed even those mornings that I work at 530, and I temp then. Most BBT thermometers have a feature where they remember what your temp was. I temp, then put it away until I am awake enough to put the temp/symptoms etc into FF.

 

[taylorxx]

I did buy a BBT and was considering charting a few months ago but I found that I can't trust myself to ensure I chart at the correct time. I'm up at anytime between 6am and 8am in the mornings depending on work and if I have meetings or not and then I like the occasional lie-in on the weekend so I just don't think I'd get reliable readings!

Set an alarm for 6am or whenever. If you don't need to be up until later just go back to sleep. That's what I do I'm up anywhere between 630-8 too.

Also there are BBT converters online which are fairly accurate.

 

[TheAnie]

I just don't see how it's unreliable. It's helped me along with so many other women figure out when they have ovulated or if they ovulated at all. I found it to be quite accurate. Have you even tried charting?

Yes, I have, and I do chart. But I don't chart my temperature. I found other signs to be much more reliable. But again, that is me. That is my own personal experience and I do encourage everyone to do what feels right to them. Really. I'm not really interested in a debate on the merits of BBT as there are plenty of women both TTC and those who have conceived who found BBT helpful, but for those same women there are plenty who did not.

As for the study, I did finally find the link: https://www.lifeissues.net/writers/feh/feh_23basalbodytemp.html

 

[welshgirl21]

Thanks all - I am using fertility friend to log when we bd, my symptoms and I have started checking my CM too. I'm not doing it to stress about conceiving, I just want to understand my body a bit better so I know what each ache, pain etc is and why it's there. I somehow feel this whole process will be easier if I have an understanding of what my body is doing and why.

Really appreciate all the advice from you ladies, I'm learning a lot.

 

[Amethyste]

Gonna start temping as well, i am in my first month trying but i am worried to have a short luteal phase, it really scares me.

 

[taylorxx]

I just don't see how it's unreliable. It's helped me along with so many other women figure out when they have ovulated or if they ovulated at all. I found it to be quite accurate. Have you even tried charting?

Yes, I have, and I do chart. But I don't chart my temperature. I found other signs to be much more reliable. But again, that is me. That is my own personal experience and I do encourage everyone to do what feels right to them. Really. I'm not really interested in a debate on the merits of BBT as there are plenty of women both TTC and those who have conceived who found BBT helpful, but for those same women there are plenty who did not.

As for the study, I did finally find the link: https://www.lifeissues.net/writers/feh/feh_23basalbodytemp.html

I understand. However some women can't go by OPKs and cervical mucus, I know I can't. I get multiple surges and patches of fertile CM throughout my cycle. If I went by that I would have no earthly idea as to when I ovulated. If you're regular, then sure it works. If not, it will be hard to track. I was reading that article and they kept saying how BBT does not predict ovulation. That's true, but it will confirm ovulation. Seeing how estrogen is the cool temperature, and then when you ovulate the progesterone rises, which is the warm temperature and estrogen decreases. OPKs do not always predict ovulation either. They just detect an LH surge, which can even happen right before a period and of course right before ovulation. Some women get a couple throughout their cycle. For example, their body tried to ovulated but failed. Of course there are better ways to confirm ovulation, like an ultrasound. That's a lot of time and money for people, when BBT can do the same. It may be difficult to read at times, but it's free and easy to do. I also don't understand how it can't tell you whether or not you have a short LP? But okay. I wouldn't go around telling people that it is unreliable just because you don't think it's reliable. It is to many women on here and many women have conceived using it. I'm not trying to argue with you at all, because I think it's silly. It says over and over again in that article that BBT is not a reliable way to predict ovulation, which obviously it's not. It changes the day after ovulation. That's why it's good to use both OPKs and BBT

 

[sarahincanada]

I agree taylorxx, Ive just started temping and LOVE that it shows me when Ive ovulated from a clear shift in temps...Im 38 and was worrying if I was ovulating (just because you have an LH surge doesnt mean you actually ovulate) and my chart shows I clearly am. Its very accurate as I get a temp shift after my positive ovulation test. I also like that it 'warns' me my period is coming with a drop in temp the day before. Ive also been able to figure out I have a 14LP from my chart. Many women cannot use other signs, I get creamy cm all through my cycle. So I also feel people should not say temping is unreliable just from online articles.