Today I’ll talk a little about temperature charting. I’ve linked above an image of last month’s chart from fertilityfriend. At the top you see the date, the bottom you see the Cycle Day number. I usually end up only paying attention to the Cycle day number. The CM line stands for Cervical Mucus. The Test line shows the many pregnancy tests I took that were all negative. And the Meds Line marks FE on the days I took the femara. You can see a few other things here. The dotted line on Day 4 means I didn’t record a temperature that day. Open circles usually mean that I slept too long. Fertilityfriend gives open circles anytime you enter something that may mean the accuracy of the temperature is off. Sleeping in, getting up too early, and not sleeping well (marking sleep deprivation) are all examples of cases when the temperature accuracy may be questionable. The red crosshairs marks where ovulation most likely occured. I take my temperature as soon as I wake up in the morning before getting out of the bed. This is important. Your body temperature may change once you get up. So to accurately get your basal body temperature, it has to be as soon as you wake up before getting out of the bed.
So, that’s background on what you see. Why does a woman’s temperature change after ovulation? Progesterone in the bloodstream is the key to this chart. Early in a cycle, estrogen is the dominant hormone (this is the follicular phase). After ovulation, the Corpus Luteum (what remains of the follicle after it releases the egg) takes over hormone production causing progesterone to rise, and estrogen declines (also known as the luteal phase). Progesterone will remain high until right before menstruation, where it will drop and estrogen will take back over. If pregnant, the corpus luteum will continue with progesterone production through the first trimester, at which time the placenta takes over.
Progesterone is what causes your temperature to rise. So, temperatures should be relatively low, then right after ovulation, your temperature will rise due to the rise in progesterone. My chart I linked above shows this temperature shift. I’ve found that most anything can affect the BBT. If I wear warmer PJ’s, then my bbt may be slightly higher. If you sleep with your mouth open, it may be off a little bit. And so on. But you can see in the chart I included here, that while it is not perfect, and the conditions weren’t always ideal, you can still see the temperature shift.
Charting is good to see if you are ovulating. But, ovulation is confirmed after the fact, so it is not great for timing things just right. Fertilityfriend won’t confirm ovulation until you have 3 consecutive days of high temperatures. FF will also use the other signs, such as cervical mucus, to determine when you ovulated. It takes all of the information you give it and tries to cross-check everything. There is other charting software out there, I’m sure. You could also do this by hand, but I find it very easy to enter into the website every morning.
I also like to chart because that helps me figure out whether I could be pregnant or not. Last month, when my temp dropped, I had a hint that the cycle probably didn’t work out. When it continued to go down, I pretty much knew that it was over at that point. Also, while a woman may not ovulate on the same day every month, usually her luteal phase is pretty constant. I know if my luteal phase goes beyond 14 days, then something’s up! Most pregnancy tests are reliable at 14 days past ovulation, so it helps with timing when to test as well. So, while I don’t have to chart my temperature according to my RE I continue to do so anyway, because it gives me some extra cross-checking points.
Resources:
ABCs of Basal Body Temperature Charting
When my wife and I started trying to get pregnant, I encouraged her to chart her temperature. She didn’t want to, but reluctantly started. I enter the data in my own Excel spreadsheet to chart (but the site you use looks really cool) it for her. She’s now sold on it. We don’t need pregnancy tests anymore. We know 2 days before her period starts when her temperature drops. We just keep hoping that one of these months it doesn’t drop
Thanks for stopping by!
My RE has told me over and over I don’t have to keep doing it, but I can’t stop! If I do, then I go crazy at the end of the cycle trying to figure out whether it worked or not. Drives me nuts. I realize that right now I’m being monitored very closely through bloodwork and ultrasounds, but I still need that extra check. Why go in for a blood pregnancy test if I know my temp just dropped?
Yeah, I hear you. We took our charts to our first appointment at the fertility specialist. I “loved” the smug tone the nurse used when she said, “THOSE are yours to keep.” NOT. I was thinking to myself, “fine, if y’all don’t believe they’re worth anything in your world, but don’t put me down because we think it’s worthwhile.” But, I could say (and maybe I will) several things about that visit to the doctor.
I was addicted to charting! I loved how it helped me know exactly when I O’d and exactly when I would start my period. I did it from the time I went off the pill until the 1 year mark when we saw the RE. At that point I stopped for 6 months because I knew my cycle like clockwork. After 6 months I knew I would be starting up with the RE soon(we took a break)so I started again. I just stopped in November when we found out about my husband’s MF. I figure I know my cycle so well and there pretty much is zero chance of getting pregnant so why keep putting myself through the getting up at the same time and the constant analysis of Fertility Friend. I say keep doing it if it make you feel better!
I would definitely label it as an addiction. Glad to see I’m not alone. I don’t plan on stopping charting anytime soon. I may take a month off here and there, but that’s all that I plan on doing for now.
And noisedoctor, I just stopped bringing my charts in to the specialist’s office. He would keep them (or at least pretend to until I left the office), but would always reiterate how I don’t have to keep doing it. So I kind of got the impression he wasn’t interested in really seeing them.
More data, viewed in appropriate context, are always good.