To temp or not to temp... (child mentioned)

Tomerine

I am still feeling very frustrated from yet another lackluster cycle, and am rethinking everything, including/especially temping.  I'm wondering if some of you might chime in here and help me weigh the pros and cons.  

I am wondering if I need to let go of some control, but the researcher/control-freak in me is anxious about letting go of having "data" to obsessively compare from month to month.  I fear that not temping will leave me more anxious, but I worry that doing it every morning is making me more crazy, especially since I'm not especially able to be consistent about the routine of it (DD gets up so freaking early that she often wakes me before I have time to temp and then I have to get out of bed.  I do it after, but it's obviously not ideal).  

Any thoughts?  Any and all opinions are welcome.  Thanks.

carrieandr

I considered only temping until ovulation, but if I ever reach a point where I need to see an RE, I'd like to have that data. But my temping is consistent (no kids). If you think you aren't getting helpful data, it might not be worth doing.

Knottie16743552

Temping makes my anxiety go bonkers. I can't get it right bc I can't sleep well knowing I have to do it...

Sporty1216

I can't temp for the same reason--LO wakes between 5:30 and 6:30 and often in the night too. I tried for a few days and it had me so stressed out that I decided it was hurting more than helping. You could always try taking one month off and see how you feel about it. A one month "hole" in your data wouldn't be terrible, I wouldn't think...?

thistle8677

I want to get rid of the temping too, but like @CarrieandRoy said, I want to be able to provide my charts in the case that I will get a referral to an RE.

jilligan14

Do a lot of RE's even look at charts/temping? My acupuncturist did but I think a lot of "traditional" doctors don't believe in temping (I know one of my doctors scoffed at it).

If your cycles seem pretty regular and you have luck with opk's you can just do that. My cycles are all over the place so I need temping, although it does cause me stress and anxiety as well. But maybe try one cycle without it and see how you feel?

thistle8677

@jilligan14 your acupuncturist is right about some drs dismissing temping as proof of ovulation, namely mine. I haven't even been given a referral and I'm starting to wonder why.

I would love to try acupuncture. I started looking for one.

Goldsgirl9

I am not temping. Neither my OB or the RE we saw were interested with the tracking that I was doing. OPK's can me a little neurotic as it is so I couldn't imagine temping plus my sleep schedule is not consistent in the least. For now, I am trying to cage the control freak inside and just listen to my body and see if it correlates with the OPK's.

happyktmom

@jilligan14, my RE pretty much just laughed at my charting.  He wasn't being a dick either... just felt like he just wanted to see that my cycles are regular, etc.  I explained OPK's were pretty much useless and CM was difficult to check so I depended on BBT.  He just said since I'm Hypothyroid and have PCOS, none of it really mattered. 

@Tomerine,  I pretty much just forget to temp and it's difficult when we go out of town or something - which is pretty much every month.  I'm trying it this month but for what?  Once my temp goes up and indicates O, I'm SOL?  I think if you just hit it with your timing by BDing everyother day the week you usually O, you're fine.  Just my opinion.

Tomerine

Thank you for all of the opinions, ladies. I think a month off might be a good idea. I'm telling myself I'll get to the end of my period without temping and assess from there, but I think I need a little less to obsess about. I'm starting to realize this is less in my control than I'd like to think. I did make an acupuncture appt though. That will help with many, many things.

Thanks again!

emsmama15

@Tomerine, I'm late to the party, but I think you need to do what keeps you sane.  For some people (like me), that IS temping.  For others, it is not.  You have to figure out what works for YOU!  Heck, I sometimes even temp on my medicated, trigger shot cycles, just to see that temp rise after IUI.  That's how crazy and in love with temping I am!  

But seriously, I hope you LOVE LOVE LOVE acupuncture as much as I do.  It's so relaxing and has done wonders for my fertility related anxiety!  Keep us posted!

Tomerine

@emsmama15 thank you! Sometimes I don't know what will best keep me sane- I'm anxious by nature so I tend to fixate. Sometimes I just have to put the thermometer/phone/what-have-you down! I've done acupuncture before and love it, too, but I adore the guy I was going to. For practical reasons (proximity and insurance) I'll be trying someone new. Hoping I like her. Thanks for all of the support and advice to all of you!

thistle8677

@Tomerine I'm with you this month. No temping. Time to change something up. I am looking for an acupuncturist. I'm also going to schedule the sonohysterogram the again.
Best of luck to you!!!

dolphin012

Most of the doctor's that i saw were not very interested. I think they were able to quickly assess that i ovulated regularly and that was not the problem. So if you have temped enough to determine that your cycles are relatively predictable then continuing to temp for this reason would have diminishing returns. 

I find it most useful to know when i have ovulated so we know when we can stop planned BD (it is really helpful for our schedules especially since we are often both not home every night). I am also a research type so the temping is right up my ally. I work a lot with data. Since i am use to approaching data analysis objectively i find that i take the same approach with my bbt charts -- more objective/less emotion. In fact the first cycle i temp'ed, i remember thinking i hope i don't get pregnant this month b/c i need more months of data to fully understand my cycle. Little did i know how much data i would get.....

Go with what helps you the most! Good thing is you can try a month off and go back to it if you decide that is a better approach for you.