Newbie- Does charting/temping work with very long irregular cycles?

mrs.lizzieb

I'm new to charting and temping, and I'm wondering if charting will be beneficial to me.  I have super irregular cycles- some lasting 60 days, some 90, my last cycle was 130 days!  With temping, you don't really figure out when you o'd until after the fact when your temp spikes?  So, by this time wouldn't it be too late to conceive?  I haven't had AF since Sept, and I started charting last week.  My temp seems to be always about 96.5 in the morning.  Yesterday evening I got a opk +, this morning it was opk -, and this morning my temp was 96.8.  Sadly, my DH didn't get back from work til really late and I was asleep so we didn't have sex until this morning.  Did we probably miss the "window"?  If your cycles are different every month, how is temping helpful if you don't know when you o'd till after it happens?

 

lmj8284

You are correct in that you don't know that you've O'd until after the fact with temping.  But you should also be charting CM and using OPK's to help you determine when O is getting close.  Are you using fertility friend?  You should put a link to your chart in your siggy.

Teffie

Charting is great for people with irregular cycles, for sure! Your body might be showing you a particlar pattern you might not notice otherwise! I would definitely suggest starting to chart your CM, it will help you see when you are about to O. Lots of other ladies on here use OPK's as well. Some even use their cervical position.

 I'd suggest starting an account on Fertility Friend (click someones ticker to sign up) and checking out the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility". Charting has really offered me some peace of mind when it comes to my longer cycles. Good luck!

sapphire1983

These are really great questions. I would pick up a copy of Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It's a super helpful book.

Charting is very beneficial if you have wacky cycles. It will help you figure out what's going on. Yes, the temp shift doesn't tell you that you O'ed until after the fact but if you're charting your CM you'll know when it's coming. Once you see EWCM it's pretty obvious. Charting will also tell you if you're Oing at all, which is also helpful.

Good luck! 

mrs.lizzieb

I've been using FF, and my chart is kind of screwy looking.  I haven't had AF for a long time, so technically I'm not starting on CD1.  I have no idea when my next AF will be, so I didn't want to wait.  After about a week of temping, it's made most of my temps as open circles?  Not sure what's going on there...  I've been checking CM too, and it seems like I don't quite have a pattern for that either.  It's been a little watery/EWCM for the last couple weeks, so I'm kind of confused... 

lmj8284

mrs.lizzieb:

I've been using FF, and my chart is kind of screwy looking.  I haven't had AF for a long time, so technically I'm not starting on CD1.  I have no idea when my next AF will be, so I didn't want to wait.  After about a week of temping, it's made most of my temps as open circles?  Not sure what's going on there...  I've been checking CM too, and it seems like I don't quite have a pattern for that either.  It's been a little watery/EWCM for the last couple weeks, so I'm kind of confused... 

Are you temping at the same time every morning before you get out of bed and do anything?  I'm not sure why else you would be getting open circles.  Maybe check your settings and your default time?

mrs.lizzieb

Are you temping at the same time every morning before you get out of bed and do anything?  I'm not sure why else you would be getting open circles.  Maybe check your settings and your default time?

 I'm temping around 5:30am each morning (which is when my DS wakes up).  One night a couple days ago, he woke at 2:30am, so that day was off, but generally it's around 5:30-6am.  I'll check my settings, thanks for your help everyone!