I highly recommend getting Taking Charge of Your Fertility .
For temping, you need a basal body thermometer and you need to temp at the same time every morning.
You do not need to do anything after sex except get up and pee to prevent a UTI. The sperm comes out at 30 mph and goes where it needs to within a few seconds.
After age 35 and 6 months with no success, it’s recommended that you go and see a reproductive specialist.
Don’t Cook Your Balls is a great resource for your man.
by paperina100 2021-12-10
Temping takes some time to learn, but essentially you take your temperature with a basal body thermometer around the same time every morning and record the temps. When you see a shift in temperature of at least 0.4 F that is sustained, then this indicates ovulation has occurred. Once ovulation occurs, your fertile window has closed so temping is great for confirming ovulation, but it won’t help you accurately time sex.
If you’re interested in learning more about temping, Fertility Friend’s charting course is helpful as is reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility.
by paperina100 2021-12-10
I don’t have any experience or knowledge about Marquette, but echo the other response about looking into the sympto-thermal method. It is a fertility awareness method (FAM) that is quite reliable when done correctly. The rhythm/calendar method is not part of FAM and is quite risky as the majority of women don’t have perfect cycles month to month. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great resource.
by paperina100 2019-11-17
I recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility and this post can help you decide how much tracking you want to do. You can start with as little tracking as marking the start and end dates of your period and having sex at least 2-3 times a week or you can go all out and use ovulation strips, checking cervical mucus and temping.
by paperina100 2019-11-17
You’re not crazy and you’re not trying too hard! I got similar responses from my mom and best friend. Tracking works for me because I know a lot about how my body works now and it helps my husband and I hit the right time, as he works the night shift, so like your husband he is gone anywhere from 3-5 nights a week.
Definitely check the sidebar for a lot of great information about temping and OPKs, and I also suggest reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility . Also, join us in the daily chats. You’ll find a lot of support here ��
by paperina100 2019-11-17
Definitely chat with your doctor about an antidepressant that is safe for TTC and pregnancy. Many of us have also found therapy helpful throughout this process.
I highly recommend going off any BC at least a few months before you plan to start trying and begin reading up on how to track your cycles. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great resource.
by paperina100 2019-11-17
Healthy couples, with perfectly timed sex still have at most a 30% chance of conceiving each cycle. About 85% of couples conceive within a year.
Studies have found no long term effects of birth control and the pregnancy rates are the same. source
The sidebar has great information about LH and temping. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also a great resource.
by paperina100 2019-11-17
Your temp should rise the day after ovulation. Three days of higher temperatures confirm ovulation. Definitely check out some charts in the thread the other person posted. The solid red lines show ovulation and you should see how the temps are higher after ovulation than before.
This post may be helpful to help you understand why the temp rise occurs. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also a great resource for temping.
It depends on the person whether their temp drops before their period arrives, the day of or a few days into their period. 18+ days of higher temps with no period usually indicates pregnancy.
by paperina100 2019-11-17
Marali’s advice is spot on!
I recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility
Also, if you want a better idea of what your options are (you can track just CM, or use OPKs and/or temping to pinpoint ovulation) read this post, Choosing Your TTC Adventure .
by bunsie_booshie 2019-08-24
Right it’s crazy! I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility . It was so informational for me and she does a great job explaining how everything works. I had no idea about any of this before January when I started tracking. It’s a shame how the education system fails us in this subject!
by paperina100 2019-08-24
The links above and Taking Charge of Your Fertility
by Sp00kyW0mb 2019-08-24
I recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility and checking out the links in the sidebar. App tracking alone is not going to give you the best prediction of where you are in your cycle or what’s going on. Tracking effectively removes a significant amount of the anxiety because you know when you expect your period and when a test should be accurate.
by IMeantTheOtherMolly 2019-07-21
So this is only sort of tangentially related, but I noticed you said you are "battling with different forms of hormonal birth control," and I wondered how much you've read about natural family planning/fertility awareness? (This book is also a good resource.) It's not for everyone, and I know people take birth control for lots of reasons other than just preventing pregnancy, so it may not even be applicable to you, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to mention in case it helps.
Anyway, hang in there with the weight loss--you've come so far! Be patient with your body :)
by Sp00kyW0mb 2019-07-21
Congratulations on recovery❤️
You are definitely not alone. Bodies are pretty resilient! I began my recovery in the fall of 2016 and the hardest part was the first year. After that my body has healed up better than I could’ve expected. I honestly thought I had broken it forever and carried a lot of guilt and shame. I feel grateful to have my period back and to be ovulating regularly.
I highly recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility! Maybe it’s my ED past but all of the tracking has become somewhat of a calming ritual. I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was the first time my temps confirmed that I ovulated. I hope that it will help you to find some peace and allow you to forgive yourself.
by paperina100 2019-07-21
For 30 day cycles, I would test once a day starting on CD 10. You could ovulate anywhere from CD 12-20. Ideally, you want to be having sex a couple of times during your fertile window.
I recommend trying to have sex at least every other day from CD 12 until you ovulate.
A FRER will give you a fairly conclusive positive or negative about 13-14 days after ovulation.
As a side note: OPKs only help predict ovulation by alerting you to a rise in LH. The only way to confirm ovulation is through temping...the sidebar has more information about this. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also a great resource you may want to check out.
by Sp00kyW0mb 2019-07-21
I have no chill either. If you haven’t already, I would consider temping. That can tell you a lot about whether or not you’re ovulating if you’re itching for answers. My OBGYN was willing to do testing, but being able to temp helped me understand so much more about my body and my cycles. You always have LH in your body but its levels are sometimes suppressed by the rise in other hormones. Have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility? That can help you understand a lot about cycle hormones.
by Sp00kyW0mb 2019-07-21
Since it’s been over 6 months I would say it wouldn’t hurt to talk to your OB but I’ve also seen some women not returning to cycle regularity for up to a year. In the meantime, you could consider temping. This can tell you whether your cycle fluctuations are due to ovulation irregularity or if your luteal phase is still adjusting to normal. I wouldn’t do anything to try to adjust your cycle until you’ve pinpointed the issue. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great resource to help you get to understand your body and your cycle!
by Sp00kyW0mb 2019-07-21
Behold the ultimate TTC manual! I have ovulation symptoms now but they weren’t present (or I didn’t notice them) for several months after stopping birth control. My ovulation pain has also varied since TTC. Some cycles I have none, others I have it before O, others I have it after O...
Also the Wondering Wednesday and Wondering Weekend threads here are an amazing learning resource. There will be one started tomorrow where you can ask any TTC questions and you can also search the search bar to see past threads and glean information there.
by Sp00kyW0mb 2019-07-21
First of all, plug for TCOYF which breaks all of this down in an understandable way. Your individual temps don’t mean anything. You don’t always get the temp rise immediately after but you are looking for a thermal shift. If you’re using FF there’s also a charting course that you might find helpful.
by FRE802 2019-07-21
Based on your BBT chart I don't think you've ovulated yet. When you chart your BBT you're looking for a biphasic pattern in which your temperatures are lower during follicular phase and then higher during your luteal phase after ovulation. The temperature change is caused by a drop in estrogen and a rise in progesterone when you ovulate. The temperature change itself is usually a 0.5 degree Fahrenheit increase over the temperatures of the six prior days, and then the higher temperature needs to be sustained for at least three days. I don't see anything like that in your chart. You also have a high amount of variation in your temperatures on a day-to-day basis, which may be caused by inexperience with temping, or with travel changes, or coming off hormonal birth control, or something else.
There are lots of great resources for learning about temping and the science behind it, which can help you understand and make it easier for you to read your chart. Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler is pretty much the bible for temping, but Fertility Friend also makes a great how-to-temp course that's available for free, online. See here. Definitely also check the sidebar, there's a ton of great info there.
I highly recommend getting Taking Charge of Your Fertility .
For temping, you need a basal body thermometer and you need to temp at the same time every morning.
You do not need to do anything after sex except get up and pee to prevent a UTI. The sperm comes out at 30 mph and goes where it needs to within a few seconds.
After age 35 and 6 months with no success, it’s recommended that you go and see a reproductive specialist.
Don’t Cook Your Balls is a great resource for your man.
Temping takes some time to learn, but essentially you take your temperature with a basal body thermometer around the same time every morning and record the temps. When you see a shift in temperature of at least 0.4 F that is sustained, then this indicates ovulation has occurred. Once ovulation occurs, your fertile window has closed so temping is great for confirming ovulation, but it won’t help you accurately time sex.
If you’re interested in learning more about temping, Fertility Friend’s charting course is helpful as is reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility.
I don’t have any experience or knowledge about Marquette, but echo the other response about looking into the sympto-thermal method. It is a fertility awareness method (FAM) that is quite reliable when done correctly. The rhythm/calendar method is not part of FAM and is quite risky as the majority of women don’t have perfect cycles month to month. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great resource.
I recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility and this post can help you decide how much tracking you want to do. You can start with as little tracking as marking the start and end dates of your period and having sex at least 2-3 times a week or you can go all out and use ovulation strips, checking cervical mucus and temping.
You’re not crazy and you’re not trying too hard! I got similar responses from my mom and best friend. Tracking works for me because I know a lot about how my body works now and it helps my husband and I hit the right time, as he works the night shift, so like your husband he is gone anywhere from 3-5 nights a week.
Definitely check the sidebar for a lot of great information about temping and OPKs, and I also suggest reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility . Also, join us in the daily chats. You’ll find a lot of support here ��
Definitely chat with your doctor about an antidepressant that is safe for TTC and pregnancy. Many of us have also found therapy helpful throughout this process.
I highly recommend going off any BC at least a few months before you plan to start trying and begin reading up on how to track your cycles. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great resource.
Healthy couples, with perfectly timed sex still have at most a 30% chance of conceiving each cycle. About 85% of couples conceive within a year.
Studies have found no long term effects of birth control and the pregnancy rates are the same. source
The sidebar has great information about LH and temping. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also a great resource.
Your temp should rise the day after ovulation. Three days of higher temperatures confirm ovulation. Definitely check out some charts in the thread the other person posted. The solid red lines show ovulation and you should see how the temps are higher after ovulation than before.
This post may be helpful to help you understand why the temp rise occurs. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also a great resource for temping.
It depends on the person whether their temp drops before their period arrives, the day of or a few days into their period. 18+ days of higher temps with no period usually indicates pregnancy.
Marali’s advice is spot on!
I recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility
Also, if you want a better idea of what your options are (you can track just CM, or use OPKs and/or temping to pinpoint ovulation) read this post, Choosing Your TTC Adventure .
Right it’s crazy! I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility . It was so informational for me and she does a great job explaining how everything works. I had no idea about any of this before January when I started tracking. It’s a shame how the education system fails us in this subject!
The links above and Taking Charge of Your Fertility
I recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility and checking out the links in the sidebar. App tracking alone is not going to give you the best prediction of where you are in your cycle or what’s going on. Tracking effectively removes a significant amount of the anxiety because you know when you expect your period and when a test should be accurate.
So this is only sort of tangentially related, but I noticed you said you are "battling with different forms of hormonal birth control," and I wondered how much you've read about natural family planning/fertility awareness? (This book is also a good resource.) It's not for everyone, and I know people take birth control for lots of reasons other than just preventing pregnancy, so it may not even be applicable to you, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to mention in case it helps.
Anyway, hang in there with the weight loss--you've come so far! Be patient with your body :)
Congratulations on recovery❤️
You are definitely not alone. Bodies are pretty resilient! I began my recovery in the fall of 2016 and the hardest part was the first year. After that my body has healed up better than I could’ve expected. I honestly thought I had broken it forever and carried a lot of guilt and shame. I feel grateful to have my period back and to be ovulating regularly.
I highly recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility! Maybe it’s my ED past but all of the tracking has become somewhat of a calming ritual. I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was the first time my temps confirmed that I ovulated. I hope that it will help you to find some peace and allow you to forgive yourself.
For 30 day cycles, I would test once a day starting on CD 10. You could ovulate anywhere from CD 12-20. Ideally, you want to be having sex a couple of times during your fertile window. I recommend trying to have sex at least every other day from CD 12 until you ovulate.
A FRER will give you a fairly conclusive positive or negative about 13-14 days after ovulation.
As a side note: OPKs only help predict ovulation by alerting you to a rise in LH. The only way to confirm ovulation is through temping...the sidebar has more information about this. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also a great resource you may want to check out.
I have no chill either. If you haven’t already, I would consider temping. That can tell you a lot about whether or not you’re ovulating if you’re itching for answers. My OBGYN was willing to do testing, but being able to temp helped me understand so much more about my body and my cycles. You always have LH in your body but its levels are sometimes suppressed by the rise in other hormones. Have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility? That can help you understand a lot about cycle hormones.
Since it’s been over 6 months I would say it wouldn’t hurt to talk to your OB but I’ve also seen some women not returning to cycle regularity for up to a year. In the meantime, you could consider temping. This can tell you whether your cycle fluctuations are due to ovulation irregularity or if your luteal phase is still adjusting to normal. I wouldn’t do anything to try to adjust your cycle until you’ve pinpointed the issue. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great resource to help you get to understand your body and your cycle!
Behold the ultimate TTC manual! I have ovulation symptoms now but they weren’t present (or I didn’t notice them) for several months after stopping birth control. My ovulation pain has also varied since TTC. Some cycles I have none, others I have it before O, others I have it after O...
Also the Wondering Wednesday and Wondering Weekend threads here are an amazing learning resource. There will be one started tomorrow where you can ask any TTC questions and you can also search the search bar to see past threads and glean information there.
First of all, plug for TCOYF which breaks all of this down in an understandable way. Your individual temps don’t mean anything. You don’t always get the temp rise immediately after but you are looking for a thermal shift. If you’re using FF there’s also a charting course that you might find helpful.
Based on your BBT chart I don't think you've ovulated yet. When you chart your BBT you're looking for a biphasic pattern in which your temperatures are lower during follicular phase and then higher during your luteal phase after ovulation. The temperature change is caused by a drop in estrogen and a rise in progesterone when you ovulate. The temperature change itself is usually a 0.5 degree Fahrenheit increase over the temperatures of the six prior days, and then the higher temperature needs to be sustained for at least three days. I don't see anything like that in your chart. You also have a high amount of variation in your temperatures on a day-to-day basis, which may be caused by inexperience with temping, or with travel changes, or coming off hormonal birth control, or something else.
There are lots of great resources for learning about temping and the science behind it, which can help you understand and make it easier for you to read your chart. Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler is pretty much the bible for temping, but Fertility Friend also makes a great how-to-temp course that's available for free, online. See here. Definitely also check the sidebar, there's a ton of great info there.