Calling all Temping and Charting Guru's

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mcodea88

Hi! Charting is quite a big process but I can say I'm fairly good at it. So...

1) I temp orally at 6am every day. I think ppl switch to vaginally if they feel their oral temps are too rocky. Honestly mine can be Ricky but it doesn't matter as much as analyzing the shift and the two phases of temping.

2) I try to pee everything out right before I go to sleep so that I don't wake up before 6am. But sometimes I still wake up early. My answer is, if you wake but don't get up or move, don't temp until you're supposed to. If you wake and get up or are up for a bit, temp then, and then again at your scheduled time.

3) The spike in temp reads this... .2 degrees higher than the last 6 temps. FF will help you find the right day you ovulated by putting crosshairs on O day. My temps start off that little... .2 or .3 degrees. In the end at its highest it can be .4, .5 or more. I have just come back to this forum and stopped charting in November but will be back at it in January.

4) I have two dogs. A Jack Russell named Marcel and a rescue shepherd mix named Lola.

I hope this answers all of your questions but I'll check back if you need more specifics.

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wannabmama23

I temp orally, I'm a little in insistent on timing and sometimes haven't had the full four hours of continuous sleep and my temps can be a little rocky...but I can still see a shift and it seems like it matches up with other "symptoms" so it seems to be working. My shift varies a bit, too, but with the bbt a .4 shift is pretty big, you'll see!

@mcodea88‌ I really want a jack Russell, i haven't had a small dog in while but really want one I have two rescue catahoulas, they are the greatest boys, full of character and energy, but the snuggliest 70lb dogs I've ever seen!

emsmama15

HI!  I also temp orally - my temps are rocky pre-O, but I get a definite shift.  My shift is at least 0.5 degrees, but often more when all is said and done (pre-O, my temps can be in the 96 range and post-O they are always in the mid/high 97 range).  I do not always temp at the same time.  I temp when I wake up in the 5-6am range after 2-3 hours of sleep.  I get up to go to the bathroom, my daughter cries, I just wake up - I'm just not a sound enough sleeper to be really rigid about it but it works for me.  The first time around, I set my alarm to get up at the same time every day.  I've gotten lax this time around.  I'm also monitored with ultrasound so I don't really HAVE to temp.  You'll have to play around with it and see what works.

My question - your post sounds an awful lot like you're doing this through an OB.  Are you under the care of a RE or an OBGYN?  The CD21 labs are a tip-off.  They should be done 7 DPO - which it sounds like they're not for you.  If you ovulate later, you should get the labs later.  If you're taking Femara, you should really see a RE.  They will do ultrasounds to tell if everything is going okay.  They can also give you a trigger shot to make you ovulate if you have mature follicles.  

This is only my experience, but OBGYNs tend to think anything over 30 days is an anovulatory cycle.  I went in for my RE referral on day 50 of my cycle and I knew I'd ovulated 6 days prior (OPK and temping).  The OBGYN (who is no longer my OBGYN) told me I hadn't ovulated and we needed to do Provera to start a cycle.  I knew I'd get my period (or a BFP) in 6 days, so I told her I'd prefer to just wait it out.  She told me to start the Provera in 7 days when I didn't get my period.  Ugh.  I love my OBGYN now, even more so because when I said I wanted to TTC again, she sent me right back to my RE.  Good luck, but if you're not seeing a RE, I'd get a referral!!  

Edited to add: sorry for the book!

vh2014

I temp at the same time every morning regardless... but I am also one of those "bad" people that temp if they wake up early or sleep in or whatever... the temp I record is the temp at the same time every day. I do put the other temps in my notes so I can go back and look at the differences if something happens... but most people do NOT recommend that you do that because it gets confusing.  I am a "all the data I can get" type so in it goes. 

I can't tell you what happens when I O yet.. still working that out.   When I was on Provera it was a significant shift. All of the charts I have stalked have a pretty significant shift that is visible but as PP have said, FF figures that out for you. 

I have had long surges too (3-4 days)... it just hasn't resulted in actual O yet.  My idiot OBGYN tried to tell me I was post menopausal but after educating myself this is probably not the case.  Post menopause will increase your LH levels over those required to test positive on an OPK, but they stay that way.  I test negative for multiple days afterwards so that's not the case for me. He was also basing my FSH number on a twenty something.  I am headed to an RE on the 15th.  OBGYNs are schooled in delivering babies and working on keeping that area healthy... REs actually understand the hormonal system that gets you pregnant and keeps that in balance.  I can't remember where I read it but I seem to remember reading that OBGYNs have a 9 week rotation in reproductive endocrinology and REs have a 2 year residency in it.  So that says a lot.

For initital chart stalking- there's a game on FF so you can see how well you do looking at real charts with their opinion. I find it really fun and a great way to educate myself. 

Pets- none but I have plants.  

Nikolie93

Already good advice given, I'm just in here to say I just started temping and I actually like it! It's nice to know what's going on.

Oh, and to also say I have a maltese named Gracie (6 years old) and a kitty Osiris (5 months old)

I am so going to start a pet thread one of these days so we can all show off our furbabies

mcodea88

Also @Hopingfor2‌ , for OPK, it finally started working for me when I tested twice daily at 10am and 8pm. If your surge is short and you only test once, say at FMU, you may miss it every cycle. The 10-8 method worked like a charmer for me. Another thing, for my first month charting I started late... CD19 to be specific. I just thought it would give me some time to practice temping every day before I had to start really paying attention. AND, I didn't O until CD39 anyway. I'm super irregular which makes charting so helpful.

flyliceandcoffee

I generally temp close to the same time everyday (orally) but I'm a really light sleeper so I toss and turn all night long. I figure as long as I don't get out of bed, or it's a really quick out of bed to go to the bathroom, I just use the one temp from when I'm actually getting up. I think once you get started you'll find a rhythm that works for you.

As for the temp shift, I'm probably not the best person to answer that, but when I see a shift, it's usually a jump of about .3-.4 degrees initially and then it tends to go up over the next few days. 

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mcodea88

@Hopingfor2‌ my sister bypassed the insurance situation with an RE by having her OB refer her for "Irregular periods". It worked. Just a thought.

emsmama15

I would do the best you can with your regular sleep situation and see how it looks. We can only do what works for our lives and sleep habits / tendencies. In answer to your question, I do use a trigger shot. My last two cycles have been Femara CD 3-7, ultrasound on CD 10, (mini stim with Menopur last cycle because my follicles kind of fizzled out), repeat ultrasound on day 12 and then trigger. The ultrasounds let me know what's going on in there. My biggest concerns if I had no monitoring would be cysts from the meds or too many follicles leading to higher order multiples. @mcodea88 has a good thought. Maybe you could get some coverage that way. OR, would you OB be willing to do some ultrasounds? Just a few thoughts. Your OB could also order the testing (HSG and SA for husband) if you haven't done them. Good luck. (Sorry for long paragraph. I'm on iPad).

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MelissaMiso

I was temping orally but then my OB/GYN said to not bother because it is not very accurate and hasn't seen patients have much success with it. MY RE hasn't even mentioned temping. I'm kind of relieved bc some mornings waiting for the thermometer to beep before my morning pee was torture. haha

We have three pets: 2 rabbits named Sherman and Beatrix ("Trixy") and a shepherd/husky/smaller dog mutt named Boddington.

C_Girlie

I temp vaginally. They say you need at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep & try to temp around the same time daily. I also use FF & I love it.

I have a Norfolk Terrier (Stockton)

vh2014

@hopingfour2‌ Provera is synthetic progesterone. It's supposed to bring on a period in long cycles. It acts like progesterone and then you have a withdrawal bleed. It didn't work for me. ..but lots of ?s about the competency of my obgyn so he may not have prescribed it right or. ...who knows.

emsmama15

@hopingfour2‌ - I'm having a repeat HSG this Monday. I had a c-section so it's possible there could be scar tissue, I guess. Also, endometriosis could cause tubal blockage. I'm hoping for a second HSG cycle baby (my first was too)!

Nikolie93

hopingfour2 said:

@Nikolie93 I just looked up Maltese and holy cow what adorable dogs. Do you let her hair grow long or cut it?

I keep her cut short.. So much cuter that way! She also gets all emo and depressed if her hair gets too long. Silly dog lol

I forgot to start the furbaby thread on Friday... Maybe this week so we can share all our little ones

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vh2014

@hopingfour2 yes, Provera is different and should not be used if you are pregnant. It is used to trick your body into restarting a cycle.

vh2014

Ps-Yay for temping and knowing what is going on. I find it very empowering!

emsmama15

@hopingfour2‌ - Your excitement over temping makes me smile! It's fun, right? HSG was all clear! Yay!

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