To Temp or Not to Temp??

Ladies I have been charting CM, AF, and using OPK's in addition to some other tricks. I have not been temping but if things don't work out this month I am wondering if I should start. My OB said that temping isn't helpful because it only shows O after it already happens and temps. can vary for many different reasons during the month. What do you ladies think?

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

That was something I was not too keen on, temping. However, I hear it is useful to temp so I am going to buy one tomorrow. I also just ordered preseed too, it can't hurt right?
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

I didnt want to temp either but was asked to by my RE. I assume it was to be able to identify any problems in my cycle and to make sure that I was ovulating. It is/was a very useful tool for me in various ways.

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

I started temping the cycle that i got pregnant. To be honest - I thought it was a PITA!!!! I would automatically reach for the thermometer whenever i woke up - even if it was 3 am - and the beeping would wake my husband up. Eventually he took the thermometer away and would only give it to me when the alarm went off. I hated being so preoccupied with it but i wanted to do it for one month to make sure that my temps were in line with the OPKs. If I hadn't gotten pregnant that month, I would have stopped and just used the OPKs. I find them to be very accurate and it gives you a little advance warning - unlike temps.

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

This was my first cycle temping....even though it didn't get to the point where I could see a pattern....it did help me confirm that I ovulated and BD at the right time...also showed me that I actually ovulated 3 days after I got a positive OPK. And I continued to temp just to give me peace of mind that I am still pregnant.

So even though I tried a couple of times in the past and gave up because I thought it was a pain in the A$$.....it actually is not bad at all..I wake up ...temp..write it down and go back to sleep.

Good Luck

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

I am pro-temping with OPKs because it gave me a BFP. I'm really surprised your doctor said it's not helpful . It's very helpful, esp god forbid there's an issue. You wouldn't need to go through the emotional rollercoaster of trying for a year like OBGYNs say - temping can pinpoint issues within a few cycles.

Good luck whatever you decide


ETA: I should say that I have extremely long and irregular cycles (the BFP cycle was 48 days ) so temping was the only way I could determine where I was at any given time. Without it, it is highly unlikely I would have randomly BD'd at the exactly right time.

Message edited 7/17/2007 9:32:49 AM.

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

I had not done it for the fist 6 cycles we were really trying because it seemed like too much work. But this cycle I was getting confused cause I didn't think I had ovulated and it allowed me to see that I did in fact ovulate much later then I normally would have. It also showed me that I ovulated the day of my + OPK instead of the day after which I thought was the case. And now it gives me something to obsess over everyday!!

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

Thanks for your input ladies. If this month doesn't work out I might give temping a try mainly to look for any abnormal hormonal shifts.

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

ive been temping for a month too and it confuses me because some days my temps are real high and then they go down low, its like im all over the place! i wish i understood better. i like using the fertility monitor better. at least it tells me what to do when

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

This is my 3rd month temping. I originally started becasue after going off the pill my cycles were really wacky and I just wanted to have a CLUE when my AF might show up. Now that I've done it for three months, I see patterns. And now that we are TTC, it's helpful to have an idea about when I'll ovulate. I also just started using OPKs this month and that, along with temping, helped tremendously. Hopefully it will be a BFP month.

One of the other reasons I started temping, aside from wanting to know when AF was coming, was that I wanted to have info. to show the doctor in case we did have any trouble. Now, if things don't work out within the next year, I can go to a doctor with all this information and I don't have to "waste time" temping later....

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

It will help you understand your cycle, which in the long run (if you have a long run) can help you get pregnant.
When I came off BC I was temping so I could know around what day of my cycle I was O'ing.
Unfortunately I stopped O'ing, now I am temping because I am on meds to hopefully make me O again and temping is a good indicator of that.

Re: To Temp or Not to Temp??

I completely disagree with your OB about it not being helpful. Yes, it shows O after the fact - but it is the confirmation that it did actually happen. An OPK can only predict O, but can't tell you for sure that you did. Temping gives you a clear signal that there is a problem, or no problem with O.

My temps varied while I was temping, if I had an alcoholic beverage (which I did during AF) it would cause my temp to go up by at least .4, and my irregular sleep patterns were clearly indicated in my temps. Despite this (and other fluctuations) combined with OPKs I got clear dates of O and a BFP.