BBT

[socgirl]

Ok..so this is a little confusing.  I just started charting my bbt temps.  My period this month was very strange...i'm not even sure when day 1 was...on cd28 i had one bright red spot of blood when wiping, then  nothing really until cd 32..again it was one bright spot of red..then a very light flow for 1 day or so and nothing at all.  I didn't take a hpt because i don't want to waste money...it seems that what i had may be too heavy or bright to me implantation.  Anyway, i really wish i started charting my temps earlier, then i would know if i was pregnant.  But i've been charting my temps and they seem to be to high.  What would an average temp be if i were pregnant?  My bbt temp is about 98 degrees steadily. is that an average temp for pre-ovulation?  I didn't chart my temps when i thought i may have started my period because i was sick and had a fever for a few days anyway and figured it wasn't reliable.  I don't have any symptoms of being pregnant other than the frequent headaches and being really tired..like falling asleep at my desk at work, though i got plenty of sleep the night before. I may take an hpt anyway, just to be sure, but does anyone know about the temps?  Everything i read says that bbt's of 98 is typical after ovulation and during pregnancy.  Thoughts anyone?  thanks and sorry this is so long..i'm just very confused and don't want to waste money on an hpt.

[socgirl]

My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for 8 months.  I am 29 yrs. old and am not overly concerned yet.  We have decided that if I am not pregnant by June/July, I will visit my doctor and ask for a referral to a fertility specialist.  Thanks for the advice Re: BBT charting and the use of OPK's.  I will definitely keep that in mind.

[Shayne Plosker, MD]

Dear socgirl - I agree with Heather5 and Diane 1003. If you are going to do BBTs, it is the trend that counts. On average, a woman's basal temperature increases by around 0.4C-0.5C from the follicular phase (before ovulation) to the luteal phase (after ovulation). There is no absolute number that tells someone if they have ovulated. As you have experienced, one needs to have regular periods in order for the temperature charting to be meaningful, unless the temperature charting is being done to see if someone who usually does not have regular periods is responding to a drug such as clomid and starting to ovulate. I am not a big fan of temperature charting for a couple of reasons: 1) they are not a pleasant way to start the day 2) by the time you know for sure that your temperature as gone up, it is too late for the sperm to fertilize the egg. If anything, I would lean towards urine ovulation prediction testing, since this test predicts that ovulation is about to occur in the next 1-2  days. The most fertile time is two days before, one day before, and the day of ovulation. By one day after ovulation, you are no longer fertile. Thus, I believe that urine ovulation prediction testing is more helpful, and less stressful, than temperature charting. Having said all of this, how long have you been trying to get pregnant for? If more than a year (or if your are older than age 35 more than 6 months) then I would recommend seeing a fertility specialist for evaluation. Whether temp charts or urine OPK testing is used, neither will help an infertile couple to get pregnant in most instances, and are not necessary to help a fertile couple conceive.

[Heather5]

Yeah, BBTs vary a lot from person to person, so it's hard to say unless you have pre-o temps to compare your post-o temps to. In general, most women will see temperatures between 96 and 98 before ovulation and between 97 and 99 after.

:-)

[Diane1003]

Unfortunatley you really can't compare actual temperatures of your chart against others - it's more looking at patterns and trends.  My BBT was 97.1-96.8ish before pregnancy/before ovulation.  It would often be 97.4/5 though too.  It went as high as 98.3 with one of my miscarriages.  Try visiting 'fertilityfriend.com' - you can use their charting program for free (or pay for a VIP membership if you want to - I never did) and also see a lot of Q and A they have.  I ended up hating charting my BBT b/c it was really all over the place.  I also was using ovulation prediction kits - those work too.  Good luck!