# Slowly going mad - the joys of BBT charting!



## SJW2

I'm slowly driving myself mad, thank to the joys of charting BBT and in need of some clear thinking people!

This is only my first full month of charting my BBT. Last month I caught the last half of my cycle and it showed that I ovulated for 11 days. This month I am up to 14 days of ovulation. According to everything I have read ovluation shouldn't vary much from month to month, so was last month abnormal or is this month abnormal. My BBT chart clearly shows a drop before ovulation and then rose up for 4 days. There was then another rise for about 7 days followed by yet another rise for 3 days. I have read that if pregnancy has occured then there is a third shift in temperatures, as I think is being shown on my charts. On day 10 of my cycle I had a HSG. On the day they said that it would not affect my body for the rest of my cycle, but I have read in a few places that it can affect the cycle, so this is adding to my confusion. Am I having a normal cycle or it is askew because of the HSG?

I have spent the last few days trying to convince myself that I might not be pregnant and to hang on as long as possible before doing a test. The not knowing is killing me and slowly driving me mad. I don't want to get too carried away and then end up disappointed if I get a BFN. Tyring to keep calm and stay focused has been really tough. I just wish there was a way to see into the future to know when things would happen, either a period or pregnancy. The not knowing is a nightmare. 

I initially started charting my BBT because I have mild PCOS and my DH has problems as well. I have know idea whether the temps on my chart are usual for PCOS or whether I am just reading too much into them because I am so desperate for a BFP. 

SOrry for the garbled message but I need advice from anyone who has PCOS or who has been charting for a while. Can the length of the ovulation part fo a cycle really vary that much from cycle to cycle? Does PCOS affect how many days of ovulation you have each month? Am I the only one out there driving themselves mad with charting?!

I don't know if anyone can help out there, but it feels much better to get things written down and to help myself not get too carried away.

S


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## rachfenton

Hi SJW2, 

I don't know much about PCOS or HSG affecting your charts, but I did chart my cycle for about a year, and nearly every cycle was different, some monmths I ovulated on day 17, on others day 20, the last on eI charted i ovulated on day 21 and I'm now pregnant.  A book I found really helpful was recommended to me by my acupuncturist, it is 'The Infertility Cure' by Randine Lewis.  It has examples of bbt charts and how PCOS affects them and what you can do about it through chinese medicine and accupuncture.  Even if you don't want to go down the chinese medicine route it still has loads of useful information in it.  Let me know if you do want it and I could send you mine for free!


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## SJW2

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. The books sounds great. How do I PM you to give you my address?

Sarah


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ ©

Hi there 

Although I don't have PCOS and I've not charted my temps for a while now but I used to do it regularly along with noting other symptoms through my cycles.

It's a bit of a myth that everyone ovulates on day 14 and that a luteal phase (from ovulation to period) is always 14 days. Some women may ovulate a little earlier than cd (cycle day) 14 and some much later....and a luteal phase can be anywhere between 10 - 17/18 days and still be classed as normal.

When you say you ovulated for 11 days and then at 14 days this month, do you mean you've noticed that you've ovulated and now you're into the 14th day of your luteal phase ? Actual ovulation happens within a single 24 hour period and once an egg is released it only survives for around 12-24 hours. What are your cycles like normally....how long are they and are they quite erratic because you have PCOS ?

You should notice a slight dip in temperature just before ovulation and then temps rise following ovulation and should remain high until your period (AF) arrives and sometimes may not drop until bleeding actually starts. If you're pg then your temps would remain high and not drop off.

I'm assuming you're taking your temps at exactly the same time every morning, before you get out of bed (or do anything). Are you taking into account any sleepless/restless nights, any medication, any alcohol or illness as all these can effect your temperatures as well and cause some slight dips and rises.

Any procedure that involves your womb/ovaries can upset your cycles a little bit so it may be that the HSG has mucked things up.

The best thing to do is keep charting for a few months and you should then start to notice certain patterns.

A good book is "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler and her website www.tcoyf.com

You may also find this website helpful...

http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/bbt/bbtfaq.html

Whilst OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) can often be unreliable if you have PCOS because you're LH levels tend to be higher, you could try using those alongside charting your temps. These detect the LH surge before ovulation and you'd normally ovulate around 36hrs following a positive OPK (although can be anywhere between 12-48hrs after the surge). These don't guarantee you'll ovulate but at least it can all be used to get a picture of your cycles.

You could also chart your cervical mucus and position too.....all in conjunction should give you an idea of what's happening.

Hope that helps a little bit.... 

Lots of luck  
Natasha

/links


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## SJW2

Thanks for the reply, Natasha.

DH and I are so new to BBT charting that it is hard not to read too much into it. 

The length of my cycles has alway varied greatly, I suspect due to the PCOS, but since going on  a Low GI diet they seem to be coming more regular in length, which is a relief. I just hav to be patient and do a few more cycles worth of charting to get even more of a picture. I am one of these people that can get carried away and start to 'see' things that aren't really there, such as signs of pregnancy or msireading my chart. 

I am working my way through the book you recommended and it is very useful. Somebody on FF is also sendin gme another book that I am hoping will help me make sense of my charts a bit more. 

It is a very stressful thing to be going through, but I am only at the beginnning of my journey so I am sure that as I get used to charting and the other signs that I will become less wound up by it all and hopefully more relaxed. 

S


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## Cigogne04

hello,
I have PCOS too and BBT is the only thing that can tell me if I ovulate or not...as the pee tests always come back positive...even on day5!
I have read in Red an article about a new fertiltiy detective - the duo fertility monitor that actually work for women with PCOS... so tonight I will try to convince my dh that we should by it! (it's quite pricey, but there is a guaranty- if we don't get pregnant we get our money back!)

Are you using pee tests? do they work for you?
How irregular are your cycles?

good luck!


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## kdb

Hi Cigogne - if you don't want to temp manually, do you also check your cervical fluid / cervical mucus (CM)?

That is an excellent and very reliable sign of your fertile days (and non-fertile!).

There is an easy-to-understand explanation on www.fertilityfriend.com

I wouldn't spend £400 on a machine that is essentially just taking your temperature.  Your CM will be more reliable, as temps can be influenced by stress, travel, etc.

If you have a cycle when you have a reasonably good idea of the day you ov, get a progesterone blood test done at your GP seven days later.  The level of progesterone in your blood will confirm ovulation.


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