total and utter confusion about temping

[flymo79]

hello all wise and wonderful ttc buddies
I have started temping and went a whole cycle... is it reliable in terms of picking up ovulation but ONLY after the fact?? I thought I ov'd mid-cycle but it suddenly decided (following a very slight temp rise) that I ovulated on cd23! total shock. Totally missed our cue. Totally gutted!

And what do I look out for, other than the temp rise happening after ovulation (i.e. on some days when I had a slight temp rise it then went back to normal, or below, the next day), you don't seem to be able to actually tell you're ovulating only that you've ovulated
annoying!!

Yeah it's not much use on its own - as you say it can only tell you that you have ovulated after the fact! I suppose if you had very regular periods then after a few cycles you might be able to use the data to predict ovulation.

As pp stated, with regular cycles you can expect to ov on same +/- a day each month.

I liked it because I knew when we could stop having sex that month as I had ov'd otherwise I'm not sure I would have dared stop!

I used fertility friend to track my temps and that doesn't confirm ov until 3 days of sustained higher temps.

Also after a month of orally temping, I switched to vaginal as oral is often inconsistent if you sleep with your mouth open. (And I had a really bad cold and couldn't breathe through my nose!)

Good luck!

Yep, it's great to confirm that you actually ovulated, not if you're ovulating. I had a predictable pattern (always ovulated the day after my first +OPK) so it was helpful for that and I now know my symptoms, so I don't worry about temping anymore. It's a helpful tool when used in conjunction, but it wouldn't have helped by itself I don't think!

It works best at predicting if you also track cm. You should see lots of fertile cm just before ovulation followed by a complete dry up. Your temp will rise to confirm ovulation. If you track all your symptoms you should see your pattern.

ah, ok, thanks all... I dont'think that this month was 'normal' at all, so desperately hoping that I ov a bit more mid-cycle next time round. Will do cm check and opks and will hopefully learn more!

Don't get too hung up on ovulating in the middle of your cycle, it does not matter when you ovulate you just have to have a long enough luteal phase ( nr of days after ovulation ) to be able to conceive. If you temp vaginally that will give you a more accurate picture. The wetter the cm the closer you are to ovulation, but some women also find that they have other symptoms like a pimple that always appears , or sore boobs or even a temperature drop before the rise. Just note down every day what your cm is ( is it sticky, creamy , wet )and you will see a pattern emerge.

Some women are more sensitive to having more sleep ,so if they take their temperature half an hour later than usual they will see a difference, alcohol can make a difference as well . Try and be consistent and take it at the same time every day before doing anything and after at least 3 hours sleep.

If you can get hold of a copy of Toni Weschler's book taking charge of your fertility it is worth read.