Temp spike at ov time but no thermal shift.......?

[DizzyNorthernBird]

Hi,

We've been ttc #1 for six months now with no joy so far (still early days I know)I started temping in February to get a better picture of what my body is doing, but at the time it was mainly because I find it fascinating.

Two out of the four cycles I've seen a clear thermal shift. This month, I had all the signs of impending ovulation, ewcm, cervical changes, and strong lines on opk for several days (but not 100% that any of them were actually positive). On cd18 I had a big temp spike, suggesting I'd ovulated, but since then it's dwindled back to where the cover line should be. I'm now on cd21 and cm dried up yesterday.

Out of the four months I've temped I've seen this happen twice. Last time after the spike my post ov my temps were steady -around about the same as pre ov until a small gradual increase in the few days before AF.

My question is, what might this mean? Anyone ever seen this before?

Pre ovulation, my temps are very steady, I don't get much of the mountain range that I've seen on other charts. The first time this happened I assumed it was a problem with the thermometer, so I bought a new one. My current one detected ovulation last cycle but same problem this month.

Otherwise, I've noticed I've been quite spotty this month on my face and have had a couple of mouth ulcers but otherwise I'm feeling normal.

A bit about me: I'm 35, came off the pill in 2008 having been on it since 1995. I had the implant fitted straight after coming off the pill but had it removed after 9 months as it caused me massive problems with spotting and acne. I've been with DP since 2011 and before ttc we relied on the 'withdrawal' method as contraception. As far as I know, I've never had any symptoms to suggest anything which would cause fertility issues - I never have any unusual cramping or spotting etc. My cycles range from between 31 - 37 days with an average being 34 days. I'm fit and eat healthily (mostly!) and exercise regularly.

Is it normal not to ovulate every month at my age? I know it's normal to skip ov once in a while but twice in four months? I'm wondering if I should ask my gp for tests...but would kind of like an idea of what the problem could be so I can prepare myself.

Thanks!

[DizzyMerry]

Hey dizzy I'm having similar issues as you so have been looking through threads on here for more info and clicked on your thread. My issue is low progesterone which would mean I don't ov every month even though I do get positive opks or almost positive (flashing smiley, faint lines). It seems our bodies gear up for ov but are unable to complete the actual process. Also PCOS or PCO is usually the culprit for no ov. Not saying you have any of these issues but I think it may be wise to see your GP and request for 'day 21' and day 3 blood tests.

[DizzyNorthernBird]

Thanks for the reply dizzym!

I'm going to book an appointment today to get the ball rolling. Do you think I should specifically ask about pcos as I don't think I have any of the symptoms? The thing that worries me about the pre and post ov testing is, what if they test me on a month I have ovulated? Then prog might look ok but doesn't show why it's not happening other months? Or will the post of levels still be low enough to show prog deficiency?

[DizzyNorthernBird]

This is my chart. The gradual temp increase will be my body gearing up to AF. Changed the batteries on the thermometer yesterday in case this was the problem but temps are staying consistently low.

[DizzyMerry]

I see from the post on the other thread that you have booked your appointment, which is great. I think you should ask them about PCOS and PCO, which is the same but without the symptoms. They will do the initial testing and then refer to gynaecology/fertility clinic, which I think is best as you will be seen by a specialist. The hospital will do repeat blood tests and also other tests to find out what's causing the lack of ovulation.

I also think I have a problem with not ov every cycle and the Dr I saw yesterday thinks I do ov but also says that to get an accurate result you should start getting bloods done 7 days from the first day of a pos opk for 3 days in a row to see the progesterone levels. He also said lack of ov is easy to fix.

I'm not a charting expert but I would say it's caused by no rise in progesterone levels. Have you posted in fertility friends forum? There's not much traffic here and there's loads of info and support on there so it may be worth posting your chart and concerns and hopefully someone will be able to provide some info.

I think once you've got your initial test results you will have something to work with.

[Mummyofonesofar]

It may also be worth mentioning to them that you were using the 'withdrawal' method for 4 ish years without any pregnancies. 4 women who perfect the methid will get pregnant every year out of 100 and 27 out of 100 if they don't do it correctly (roughly the same as ttc) so it may be helpful for them to know x