Method for taking temps -- QUESTION

[cure65roses]

Been using my kids underarm thermometer, and it may be why my temps appear to be so up and down, and probably not that accurate.  How do you all temp and what kind of themometers do you use?  Feel free (PLEASE!) to look at my ov. tracker and look at my temps.  I don't get them at all but then i am new to this.  Comments, anyone?

[paranoidpatty]

See how well brainstorming works?  We created a money maker but we have to find a way to move forward on this.  That's an excellent idea of having the actual probe attached to a box thingie.  The box thingie could be a combination clock/radio alarm and that's how you recharge it.  Don't be surprised if you see this on one of the infomercials real soon.  I can see it now....medhelp members create new gadget for ttc'ers :-)  Why not, people bought that fertility watch that I forget what it monitors but I think it had to do with detecting a surge??  

By the way, I'm on to my 6th day of the exact same BBT reading and the battery is good.  At least it should be easier to detect a shift with these flat temps.  Got my positive OPK yesterday.  And I find that my BBT thermometer detects a few tenths lower than my regular digital.  And when comparing the three I have the BBT is the only one that reads different from all three so I use the regular. Plus it beeps too fast for me and I think that's why it's lower.  Try this trick: put them both in your mouth at the exact same spot (you can do this any time of the day).  Anyway, peek down at them when they beep and note the temps but leave them in your mouth.  Then wait a total of 5 minutes and I bet they will be closer to the same temps!  That's why I don't trust the beeps.  I use the 5 minute mark also.

[vortex1]

I got the BBT recently and I like the memory feature of it, so that I dont have to switch on the light to see what the temp is. DH does not have a problem with the light, but I do since I have irregular sleep pattern. Instead I see it when I am relaxed and next to a computer so that I can put it in the tracker. But I miss the regular one, because this takes almost 3 minutes to get a reading. I find the BBT to be more accurate. But the overall pattern in regular is also good. One cycle I used both thermometer and checked the difference and the BBT is always higher than the regular one.

[AUNTDD]

Wow,  that is a great idea,  I have a bbt.  I have found I really like this one better than the reg digital one.  The only thing I really hate is that it seems to take forever.  And when you really go to pee, it's murder.  I don't have the lighting prob, DH has a flashlight watch he loves to use and takes every chance he can to use it! LOL

[tina1111]

Ooooooohhhh!  I'm all in! I tell you, if someone had it on the market, I'd buy it! It doesn't even have to be an all-in-one type thermometer. It could be a little gadget with a temperature priobe attached. That way you don't have a big, bulky thermometer. I smell a money maker!

[paranoidpatty]

You know what, call me crazy but I really like the idea of this new thermometer we're creating.  Especially the part about giving a special beep when a thermal shift is detected LOL.  So it's rechargeable, has a light up display and detects shifts.  Hmmmm, I think this sounds very convenient (and profitable too).  

How about we add a wake-up alarm inside of it too?  That way it will still go off when we don't have to get up for work and we'll get a valid temp still.  It could also have a USB port on the end so we can plug the temps into FF automatically (alright, that's a bit much LOL).  But hey, those of you thinking this is far-fetched....we have the Internet on cell phones now so anything's possible :-)

[rachjas0623]

The only other difference is that it measeure out further... a regular therm. may say 97.1.. a BBT will say 97.19.  It detects the suttle changes.

[cure65roses]

You all make really good points (about the lighted display problem)

Now i have one more question, when i was at WalMart yest. i looked at thermometers and saw lots of digitals and one said "Basal Fertility Thermometer" but it looked just like the plain digital ones, except it had an ovulation calandar enclosed.  So i'm wandering what is the difference?

[tina1111]

LMAO!!! I have always wanted a lighted display, too!!! I do like that cell phone idea!  I keep both of mine on top of my alarm clock. If it's saturday, I take my temp then stash it under my pillow. Go back to sleep then do the other one when I wake up later.

I had a thermometer that was only a few weeks old start giving me off temps and it turned out to be a battery, too. Turns out a new thermometer is about the same $ as a battery!

Trish, there is our get rich quick idea. Who do we call to patent a bbt thermometer that lights up with the push of a button, is rechargable AND gives a special beep when it detects a thermal shift?!? What a great invention! I'd buy it! Where do we go from here? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Latrice414]

LOL, i think if it had a light then you guz would really have battery issues, i keep mine under the pillow and i keep my cell phone in the bed lol, so i can use the light of the cell phone, i tell you, the things we do ttc:)

[paranoidpatty]

LOL at Tina,

I agree wholeheartedly!  I actually have THREE!  I'm always afraid of waking up one morning and seeing a blank readout.  Oh the horror!!  I'm already second-guessing my battery since I got the same exact temps for 4 days in a row.

But why in the world don't they make thermometers (BBT especially) with a lighted display so you can see it in the dark???  I leave my TV on at night and sometimes it's still not enough light to read the numbers and I don't want to make another movement to turn on the lamp, much less wake up DH :-(  

[tina1111]

I use a basal thermometer from Walgreens. I actually have 2. Don't laugh, I know Trish does, too. I pop one under my tongue the minute I wake up. When it is done, I go tinkle and have the 2nd one in my mouth. I like to see how much the temp rises after moving. Most days it is only .02 higher. I also like to be sure I have a back up temp in case the 1st one is wrong from a battery issue. I take it in the dark and dh is asleep still so I can't turn a light on to see what it is. If I find a bizzare temp, I have the 2nd one to check it against.

Yes, I am a little O.C.D. he he he    But, it never fails. If the battery is going to start dying, it will do it right when you expect the shift. It happened to me once b4.

[Latrice414]

I take my temps but i dont rely on my temps, i have profound cm and my ovulation pains i cant miss them, they hurt. I always use opk two days before the day i assume i will ovulate, and im always right, except this time i was one day off, i assumed the m/c threw my stuff out of sync, so im trying to get bac on track.

I will look at my temps after AF is due just to see if mayb i could be preggo if the temps stay up.  Good luck

[Latrice414]

Im im not mistaken you can take oral, anal and vaginal.  You should take it everyday at the same time, before you get out of bed, i keep mine under my pillow, alarm is set to 5:30am becasue i have to pee at right after that, if you want to do an expeirment, do this.  Take your temp at whatever tiem you take, then take it an hour later, or the next day but get up first to pee then take it, getting up first will affect your temp, taking it at a different time will to. My temp goes up one whole degreee after i get out of bed, and thats only a 30 min difference, our bodies is amazing.  Also when you take your temp you should have at least 5 hours of interrupted sleep, 3 at the minium, i also tried it that way to, reading will be differnt if you take it 3 hours one day then 5 hours the next, i should say it wont be consistent.
So i would pick a time thats good with you and keep it under the pillow so you dont have to move so much, bbt is suppose to be taken while the body is at a RESTING state, again, the body is an amazing piece of work:)  Good luck, like paranoid said, use the opk also.

[paranoidpatty]

LOL, I just check the mouth!!  

Have a great day also!!

[cure65roses]

oh by the way do you check under your arm or in your mouth?  Or, LOL the butt--------just kidding i couldn't resist.  

I really would like to know  thanks

[cure65roses]

Thanks Trish!!  Have a great day!

[paranoidpatty]

I have a regular digital from Walmart ($3.99 I think).  It works fine for me and reads with only one decimal (like 97.5) but that's just what I want because I'd obsess even more with a BBT one.  I do have a BBT thermometer but I like the regular one better.  

Your chart looks kind of hard to tell anything right now.  Sometimes it's good to back up your BBT with OPK's to cross-reference everything. Are you taking your temps at the exact time each morning? Also, do you take it before you talk or get out of bed?  Some people are affected by whether or not they have the air on or if they have an extra blanket on.  So all these things could affect your temps.  

Good luck on temping.  Hang in there, it gets easier and you'll be addicted to temping after a while.

Trish