BBTemp chart- anyone explain my chart pls ?

[Katie2021]

Hi all

i have pcos so it’s very difficult to know when ovulation as test strips don’t work for people with pcos, so I’ve been giving temping a go this cycle to track ovulation using ovusense.

this is my chart as below but every time it goes up it comes back down 😭 does this mean I likely still haven’t ovulated this cycle?

I’ve been ttc for 1 year now and been of metformin for 3 months to help with ovulation, I have had signs of ovulation EWCM On the 27th august but it’s now the 5th September and this is how my chart is looking ..

Heya, is this ovusense you're using? We have a chat on another thread if you want to join!

I'm no expert but it should confirm when you ovulate, so judging by that, and the fact your temps haven't shifted up, you may not have yet.

I have PCOS and I use OPKs and ovusense to try and work out when it's a real peak and ovulation happens - OPKs arent completely useless for us, you just need to use them in conjunction with BBT to confirm it leads to ovulation.

Is this your first month using ovusense?

@MO22 hi yes it’s ovusense and my first month using it! Thank so much for replying yes please I would love to join, how do I join the other thread what is it called? Xx

yes I still use opks too but when they say positive ovusense doesn’t say ovulation although there may have been a rise in temp it seems to fall back down and doesn’t confirm with my temps, starts to make you feel hopeless doesn’t it xxx

OPKs don’t necessarily not work for everyone with PCOS - it’s more that you’re likely to show a background LH level all month so it may not be as easy to tell you’ve ovulated when they’re high. For me - it’s low level all month but it only goes super positive - I.e. the test trip is much darker than the control strip - when I ovulate. I’ll attach a pic of my progression. You can see it looks close on day 70 but it doesn’t actually go positive until day 75. I also do see the temp rise to confirm. With PCOS it’s a good idea to track with strips, track CM and track temp because it would be rare for all three to give a false positive together. From your temps it doesn’t look like you have ovulated yet.

Completely agree with @CRbear - I got a dark positive OPK at CD 11 this month which is so early for me (and frantically started BD-ing!) but it wasn't a peak, and my real peak came a week later, two days ago at CD18. You can also see temp drop and rise at CD11 that didn't result in ovulation. PCOS can be responsible for multiple attempts at ovulation, and using lots of different way to track is the only way I've felt less hopeless and more in control of my cycle.

That and lots of supplements! I'm on metaformin and also take myo-insotol which I hugely recommend if you aren't yet taking that?

I'll tag you in the ovusense group and you can see my chart there :)

@CRbear thank you for sharing your ovulation strips, I am still using them I think they’ve just confused me this month,

basically yes like you said i do have LH at a medium level all month, this cycle I had a peak dark line on ovulation strip on the 27th August and also had EWCM on 27th & again on 28th august…which was all great signs however, my temp was only a small rise which then fell again (so I assume I didn’t ovulate) if you see 27th on the image below it’s only a slight rise compared to other peoples temps then falls again.

maybe it’s just my body trying.. but failing to ovulate, I just really hope I ovulate this month. I’m on metformin to help me ovulate as I have very irregular periods.

Fingers crossed it happens soon I just feel hopeless at times as we have been ttc 1 year now and I know it could still be a long time before it happens xx

@MO22 hi yes I do still use them, got my dark peak on test strips on 27th august and EWCM on the same day and day after but didn’t get much temp rise and it fell again the next day.

Ive been on 1500mg merformin for 10 weeks and yes also have been taking inositol for 10 weeks too and vitamins, since being on them I have had 1 very long heavy painful period ( this is unusual for me but I hadn’t ovulated for 4 months before hand! So maybe that’s why)

So this is my first cycle since that period and I was hoping to have a normal ovulation this month that’s why ordered an ovusense to help track temps too for the first time so just trying to understand it all and hopefully ovulate this Month 🙏🏻

This cycle me and my husband have decided to dtd every other day to try keep all days covered incase i ovulate again 😂 I’m worried If I miss it I might not get chance for a few months with my cycles being so irregular.

i did have that 1 period since taking metformin/inositol though so it must be helping! How are you finding taking them? Xx

When you say dark - is it definitely darker then the control strip? For me it steals dye from the control so it’s really, realy obviously darker than the control, rather than just dark. Do you have photographs?

@CRbear I don’t have them anymore but this is the photo i sent to my other half on the day, xx

@Katie2021 I am definitely no expert but it looks like your body is trying to ovulate but not quite getting there if you have all the signs - you chart shows those increases in temps but it needs to be a sustained rise, I think 3 over 6 temps need to be rising (the ouvsense app will explain this better than me, it's got all the detail of how they chart it, I read it a lot as I find it quite interesting!).

If you have been trying a year, have you been referred to anyone? Is that how you got the metaformin? I've been on it for years, only came off it when I got pregnant last year (unfortunately had a MC) and am now back on it. It works well for me but I don't think my PCOS is tooo bad, I've always ovulated regularly, just longer cycles and my BMI is normal. I find Myo insotol and metaformin together as very effective at least in making my cycles shorter but everyone is different.

Definitely keep DTD every other day - did you do any blood tests? I did some private ones to check some stuff out, I have a thyroid issue as well which doesn't help, so I would push for tests. I'm on my 9th cycle post MC, so going to ask to be referred soon (if they let me before the 1 year mark!)

@MO22 yes I think your right, I will have a read on the ovusense app I haven’t seen that information! I’ve been referred to gyne by they said they won’t see me until they test the partners swimmers! And the waiting list is around 6 months so still waiting for that before we even get an appointment for me to be seen! Annoying when that probably has nothing to do with it.

i have just been seeing NHS doctor, it’s hard to get the same doctor that’s a problem, for a while I was getting ones who was just telling me to give it 6 more months or trying before they look into it and some even said they don’t give merformin out anymore for pcos ttc, so I asked for a woman doctor just to see if it made a difference! And it seemed to! she just seemed to be much more helpful she put me on metformin straight away after seeing my bloods and scan and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t on it already,

ive got an appointment with her tomorrow as she said she wants me to go for a smear test so she can make sure they’re not missing something (I’m up to date with smear tests but as I had quiet a lot of spotting at one point before my last period so she wants me to have another to be safe)

I’ve had blood test which shown imbalanced androgen levels and had an internal scan which confirmed cysts on ovaries and pcos, all this was just after my MC, which is strange as before hand I would have never have known I had pcos! No symptoms at all until my MC! And nothing has seemed to be the same since.

do you think i should ask for some other kind of test? I’ve got an appointment tomorrow so i could mention it to her then.

what is it your going to be asked to be referred to? I see people with pcos get pregnant by taking something called clomid from the doctor (I’ve never been offered it but just wondered if you have) Xxxx

@Katie2021 we went private for the sperm test (£80) because I didn't want to wait and I knew I was more the issue than DH, but it's still important to check.

I'm going to ask to be referred to fertility clinic where they will do more tests and then hopefully put me on clomid or letrozole - these induce ovulation and they scan you to make sure it's happening and then you DTD based on that confirmation. It feels like that would be really good for you if you are waiting for months for a period. I would ask your doctor tomorrow if she can refer you, someone on the other thread said you could ask if no joy after 6 months of trying with PCOS. How old are you also? I turned 35 in June so will soon be hitting the 6 month mark there too when they will start investigations, i'm going to see if they will do it a bit earlier and call them tomorrow.

So sorry to hear about your MC. Were you ovulating normally and having periods normally before? I had some very dodgy cycles post MC, some very short ones and weird bleeding, but it seems to have finally settled now. Just can't seem to get pregnant despite trying our bloody best!

@MO22 Oh really! I’m definitely going to look into going private for that! Definitely worth it!

I wonder how much it would be to do clomid private? If it would help speed up the process of all the waiting lists might be worth it, I’ll definitely bring that up with my doctor tomorrow and see what she can advise! Thanks so much for explaining I always see people say they clomid helped them and I wondered how it worked!

Im 28, yes I was completely normal as far as I knew before my MC! I was never trying for a baby then though! How typical is that!
basically I got married then fell pregnant right away but unfortunately MC and nothing has been the same since! So frustrating! So since then I’ve only had around 3-4 periods and it was a year ago now. It was only after my period not returning when they sent me for more bloods again and they noticed my androgens were high snd sent me for a scan on my ovaries for pcos xx

aww so sorry to hear you suffered a MC too, literally the most heartbreaking thing to go through 💔 I really hope they send you for clomid treatment! It can be so frustrating and leave you feeling hopeless sometimes! Definitely ring them to try push it through earlier, even try different doctors! If one says no try another it really does make the difference sometimes! Xxx

Can someone explain my ovulation chart please it’s my first month doing it? Which day did I ovulate.

Thank you so much xx