Temping and getting a cold

[VioletsMommy]

Hi all. So I don't regularly chart my temp (actually, I'm not entirely sure *how* to do it, whether I can use my regular thermometer, what happens if I forget to do it before I get up in the AM, etc. I forget things a lot) but I was wondering, I've seen a lot of people say temps stay elevated if you're pg, and getting discouraged if they take a dip. What I'm wondering is if I have a cold and my temp is slightly elevated (not over 100) because of that, does it just throw off the whole temping thing, or would it affect it otherwise? I know it's a cold because my mom has it too and she's definitely not pregnant, lol. But as she says, a cold doesn't mean I'm NOT pg, does it? I got a sore throat at about 4 dpo and started having nasal symptoms around 6 dpo. Since I don't chart temps, the only reason I'm even thinking about it whatsoever is that I tried to check if I had a fever the other day and temp was 99.5, but with a crappy ear thermometer that tells me different things half the time anyways - so I know my temps won't tell me anything this month but I'm wondering just in theory how having an elevated temp due to illness would affect the whole thing, in case I decide to start temping if this cycle is not successful. Any thoughts?

 

[Dill]

You need a BBT thermometer -- it reads to another decimal place, so it tracks the minute changes in temperature. You do need to read it immediately upon waking, before you get out of bed or say anything, and with minimal moving around. If you are using a good tracking app like FertilityFriend, you can mark down if you are sick and running a fever (there is a checkbox for that).

Dips are more of a bad thing if you go below coverline, because it signals that AF is on its way. Mid luteal phase, a single day's dip can signal implantation (but that doesn't mean it was successful). A triphasic chart pattern (where you get a third and sustained temperature rise) can signal pregnancy. I personally will usually just experience a general trend of rising temperatures instead of a clear triphasic chart, which is why I am bummed that my temp dipped today instead of continuing it's slow rise.