How reliable is Fertility Friend?

[MrsSatsuma]

I've been using charting for a few months in a bid to time swi properly due to us both having tiring and stressful jobs! Assuming all data I put in is accurate and I fill everything in properly, how accurate do you think FF's ovulation crosshairs are? Can they ever be way off the mark?

I ask partly because my luteal phases seem to so far vary between 7 and 17 days! Also not sure when to stop trying... Especially this month as have been ill and think I'm coming down with something again... Would appreciate any opinions - thank you!

ARGH. JUst typed long reply and lost it! I'll try again.

FF is just software making a best guess based on statistics, so it's not infallible. That said, it seems to accord with when I think I ovulate.

From everything I have read, a luteal phase is pretty fixed. People trying to lengthen theirs seem to get slow and gradual results, not big changes.

If you wanted to you could post the link to your chart on here to see what some of the experienced charters think might be going on?

Thank you (and sorry you lost your original reply!). I'm just really confused as I thought I'd done all my research but I can't make head nor tail of any of it. My temps seem to be all over the place and even though it says I did, I'm finding it hard to trust I ovulated! Charts are [[http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/343c94 here] if anyone can interpret...

sorry - I meant here

How you taking your temp. Orally or vaginally?

It could be illness throwing it out. The lack of sustained higher temps is definitely odd. I understand it is progesterone that keeps your temp high, so if you have a few months like this, I would go to your GP and try to get a progesterone test done (or go sooner if you have already been trying a while).

Personally, from looking through the chart gallery, I often think FF gets it wrong on the crosshairs.
Have a read through Taking Charge of Your Fertility - this will give you the upper hand on Fertility Friend. Sometimes I change my crosshairs based on what I think/know happened.
Fertility Friend is a useful tool and I use it to keep track of my charts, but it certainly has its flaws.

With your charts I would try taking your temp vaginally maybe. I'd also try ovulation tests - might help you make head or tail of it!

My first months charting my temps were all over the place. It took me a while to work out I wasn't taking it consistently at the back of the mouth. Also sometimes I was having a sip of water (which was almost automatic when i woke up0 whicj was obviously throwing my temp out!

I have been using FF since 2002, and have found it overall good. However, I having looked at your charts I don't think your temps are consistent enough to trust the crosshairs in your case.

I would say as others here, that you might be better temping vaginally.

I find I have to not take the first temp I take (my thermometer takes a while to warm up from room temperature). I either put it in my mouth and leave a minute or two before taking the temp, or take 3 temps in a row. This made a huge difference for me to getting less variation in the temps and more accurate graphs. Also placement is key as the previous poster said, make sure you are always placing it under the tongue on the same side and same position or again you will get variation.

If you think that you have been temping correctly and these are correct temps showing on the graphs, then I would agree that it does not look like ovulatory patterns. However looking at the graphs I think I would be more suspisious of the temping technique before jumping to the conclusion that anything is wrong.

Unlike the pp's I would not add opk's into the mix, as FF always takes these seriously and I never get positive opk until the day of or the day after the temp rise, and rise in progesterone (as confirmed by blood tests), so if I put in opk results into FF it moves or removes my crosshairs from their accurate place. (I just don't get on with opks, I obviously don't metabolise LH in the same way as many, so they don't work for me).

Thanks, that's really helpful! I do temp orally at the moment, which I prefer; I'll try the getting it up to room temperature and if that doesn't work I'll try temping vaginally. I may well have also had water once or twice - hadn't occurred to me that might affect it! I did try OPKs but found it a faff and it didn't really work for me anyway (think I miss the surge... if there is one, that is). I'll take advice from all of you and see what happens - thank you!