I have had a very tumultuous relationship with BBT charting. I started religiously charting about 6 months before we even started TTC, so I could learn my body's rhythms and confirm that I was indeed ovulating monthly. Once we officially started TTC and were NOT indeed conceiving, I got frustrated with the whole BBT process and put the thermometer away.
Fast forward to this month, when I started going to a new acupuncture clinic specializing in fertility. They highly encouraged me to start temping again- and as much as it didn't sound too enticing, a part of me was curious to see --post-laparoscopy-- what my temps might look like.
As expected, I am a bit spastic with the whole BBT thing (this may be my Type A personality coming out). I wake up many times on and off in the morning anticipating taking my temperature, so have started allowing this Type A persona to take temps anywhere in the 5am-6:30am window. I will slealthfully reach out for that thermometer in the dark & muffle the beeping sounds from my soundly sleeping BC, then take mental note of the temp & record it upon my normal waking time of 7:45ish. The last couple days I've been so spastic I've mentally recorded two sets of temps- one closer to 5am, another closer to 6:30am (those temps were 98.6/98.9 and 98.5/98.8 respectively- recorded the higher ones on my chart). The general rule of thumb is that your temp slowly increases closer to waking, which is indeed what I've observed.
There is a fabled 2nd temperature shift when pregnancy is achieved, called a "Triphasic Pattern." It is also known to follow the equally fabled "Temperature Dip" that some women claim is a sign of implantation. This month I had a pretty significant temp dip at 9dpo (98.1), followed the next 2 days by higher than ever temps (98.9 and 98.8- today I am 11dpo). I am extremely guarded about reading into this, based on my history of getting excited over patterns or symptoms that never end up meaning pregnancy. The more optimistic & excited I allow myself to get, the harder the fall when AF actually shows up. And yes, for the record, I did take pregnancy tests at 9dpo and again yesterday afternoon at 10dpo (see- SPASTIC!), both BFN. The temp dip that occurred at 9dpo --if it is indeed an indication of implantation --means that from there my body should begin to secrete the pregnancy hormone- hCG- and once enough of that builds up in my system, a pregnancy test would reflect this with a BFP.
One thing that I HAVE been doing differently this month is taking progesterone suppositories post-O. This was a self-diagnosed request, as I tend to spot from 2-3 days or even longer before AF (last month I spotted red blood at 7dpo- which of course I twisted into thinking "it's implantation bleeding!!" Alas, it was just my jerk of a uterus starting to shed its lining early). I was concerned my lining might be starting to shed too early to sustain a pregnancy (for the record my doc was never concerned, but progesterone is one of those things that can't HURT- just help- if indeed there is early shedding, so I figured I had nothing to lose).
One of the things my doc did warn me about is that progesterone can cause delayed periods & pregnancy signs when a woman isn't pregnant. I am 11 dpo now and definitely haven't had the normal pre-AF spotting (though I did spot brown for about 3-4 days after O immediately following my IUI)- though I am not sure if progesterone can cause the triphasic shift? I do know my normal luteal phase is 11-13 days, which means AF *should* come any day- but apparently progesterone can extend that luteal phase even without pregnancy.
So without further adieu, here is my BBT chart: what do YOU think?
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