SFlower
03-06-2007, 05:28 AM
I quit Birth Controll Pill mid January and now trying to master FAM (natural Fertility Awareness Method). I'm pretty happy with my mucus indications but not too sure about cervix and completely confused about my temperature. I wasn't expecting for everything to be normal on a first month off but I was sort of hoping it would be clearer this month.
Maybe I'm doing it wrong? - but my temperature looks pretty irratic and I can't see any significant rise in it, where my mucus is telling me it's highly fertile. :confused:
Ok, so I don't wake up every morning at the exact hour to measure it but I always wake up pretty much at the same time and first thing I do is measure my temperature. What's the problem?
Please post your experiences on FAM, I would really like to use this method but so far I can't really rely on it. :dizzy:
Maybe I'm doing it wrong? - but my temperature looks pretty irratic and I can't see any significant rise in it, where my mucus is telling me it's highly fertile. :confused:
Ok, so I don't wake up every morning at the exact hour to measure it but I always wake up pretty much at the same time and first thing I do is measure my temperature. What's the problem?
Please post your experiences on FAM, I would really like to use this method but so far I can't really rely on it. :dizzy:
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livinTX
03-06-2007, 12:33 PM
I have had a good experience on FAM. I'm on my 9th cycle using it.
For it to work best, you need to temp. at the same time daily...set an alarm clock if need be. It means waking up to temp. at 6 AM on the weekends, but that's OK, I just go back to sleep afterwards.
Some women who breathe through their mouths at night have more erratic temps. If that is the case for you, you might try temping vaginally. I use vaginal temping and the temperatures are more stable than my oral temperatures.
Also, if this is your first cycle off the pill, the temps. are likely to be more erratic and higher at times--mine definitely were. If you haven't ovulated yet, you will likely have more erratic temps. with more fluctuations too. My ovulation was delayed by about a week this cycle due to minor illness, and during the first 2 weeks of my cycle, my temps. got really jumpy, more up & down fluctuation than usual. Some women have anovulatory cycles or long cycles right off the pill and those tend to have more fluctuation in temperatures than ovulatory cycles.
Also, the first month off BCPs, your cervical mucus might not align exactly with your temperatures. You may have several patches of fertile CM as your body tries to ovulate but just doesn't quite make it. The body can gear up to ovulate and then back down. I'm assuming you haven't had a period yet off the pill?
Every woman is different, but most women find that when they start getting consistent temperatures near or above 98 degrees, those are post-ovulation temperatures. For me, it's a dead giveaway pretty much--3 days of temps. above 98 degrees and cervical mucus drying up indicates ovulation.
It took me a couple cycles to really feel comfortable with charting, but now it's like 2nd nature to me. Good luck!
Also, I see you are in the UK...if temping in Celsius is making your chart difficult to read, you might try buying a basal thermometer that reads in Fahrenheit. It might be difficult to find one there but maybe online somewhere. Fahrenheit degrees fluctuate more than Celsius so you can see bigger jumps on your chart when you graph and I think for beginners, it could make identifying ovulation easier.
For it to work best, you need to temp. at the same time daily...set an alarm clock if need be. It means waking up to temp. at 6 AM on the weekends, but that's OK, I just go back to sleep afterwards.
Some women who breathe through their mouths at night have more erratic temps. If that is the case for you, you might try temping vaginally. I use vaginal temping and the temperatures are more stable than my oral temperatures.
Also, if this is your first cycle off the pill, the temps. are likely to be more erratic and higher at times--mine definitely were. If you haven't ovulated yet, you will likely have more erratic temps. with more fluctuations too. My ovulation was delayed by about a week this cycle due to minor illness, and during the first 2 weeks of my cycle, my temps. got really jumpy, more up & down fluctuation than usual. Some women have anovulatory cycles or long cycles right off the pill and those tend to have more fluctuation in temperatures than ovulatory cycles.
Also, the first month off BCPs, your cervical mucus might not align exactly with your temperatures. You may have several patches of fertile CM as your body tries to ovulate but just doesn't quite make it. The body can gear up to ovulate and then back down. I'm assuming you haven't had a period yet off the pill?
Every woman is different, but most women find that when they start getting consistent temperatures near or above 98 degrees, those are post-ovulation temperatures. For me, it's a dead giveaway pretty much--3 days of temps. above 98 degrees and cervical mucus drying up indicates ovulation.
It took me a couple cycles to really feel comfortable with charting, but now it's like 2nd nature to me. Good luck!
Also, I see you are in the UK...if temping in Celsius is making your chart difficult to read, you might try buying a basal thermometer that reads in Fahrenheit. It might be difficult to find one there but maybe online somewhere. Fahrenheit degrees fluctuate more than Celsius so you can see bigger jumps on your chart when you graph and I think for beginners, it could make identifying ovulation easier.
SFlower
03-06-2007, 02:12 PM
Thank you for your reply!
I had my first true period already. The thing is, I will work shifts soon and that means getting up at 3 AM twice a week... Don't know what I'll do then. Will probably try to master mucus + cervix indications? Would that work without temperature or is Temp very important? :confused:
I had my first true period already. The thing is, I will work shifts soon and that means getting up at 3 AM twice a week... Don't know what I'll do then. Will probably try to master mucus + cervix indications? Would that work without temperature or is Temp very important? :confused:
livinTX
03-06-2007, 02:30 PM
Without temperature, CM and cervix positions can give you clues, but I wouldn't rely on it solely as a form of birth control. CM and your cervix can indicate that you are about to ovulate, but your body can back down from ovulating too and the only way to confirm ovulation is with the temperature shift. In that case, you'd probably be better off sticking with barrier methods like condoms, diaphragms, sponges...or you could look into getting a copper IUD if you don't want children in the next 5 years or so...
vintagegirl
03-06-2007, 03:19 PM
cin....when you say that the body can "back down from ovulating"...would that be happening if your CM was stretchy (like egg white?)...or does seeing that mean you truly ovulated and a backing down of ovulation DIDN'T occur? I'm curious, because now I'm having some weird cycles where it appears I am 100% ovulating......depressed, huge libido, the CM.....but then the period will not come for another MONTH! So what happened there.....?
SFlower, I have never used temp.....strictly CM.....and for the past 16 years, only allowed the signifigant other to ejaculate if it was no further than 3 days after the end of my period--as sperm could live an additional 3 days more inside the body. At the end of the cylce, it was condoms with the withdrawal method. I would not have sex AT ALL during the middle of my cycle. I have to say, I've had some very wonderful, understanding men in my life and no oops babies. However, I used to have clockwork cycles as well....now that this is changing at 36, I am considering BCP.
SFlower, I have never used temp.....strictly CM.....and for the past 16 years, only allowed the signifigant other to ejaculate if it was no further than 3 days after the end of my period--as sperm could live an additional 3 days more inside the body. At the end of the cylce, it was condoms with the withdrawal method. I would not have sex AT ALL during the middle of my cycle. I have to say, I've had some very wonderful, understanding men in my life and no oops babies. However, I used to have clockwork cycles as well....now that this is changing at 36, I am considering BCP.
livinTX
03-06-2007, 05:40 PM
vintage,
It is possible to get eggwhite CM, a high soft cervix, even positive OPKs (for women TTC), and then the body backs down from ovulating and doesn't quite make it. Then, in the same cycle, you will have another patch of fertile CM, cervix high soft open and you could ovulate or back down again...it can repeat several times. The only way to confirm ovulation (other than an ultrasound at the time, which is the most accurate way I believe), is to get the sustained thermal shift.
Some women do avoid pregnancy through the Billings method, I think that's what it's called, the method where you just monitor CM and possibly cervix positions and don't temp. But temping with monitoring CM and the cervix gives me the added reassurance, that yes, indeed, I did ovulate during that last patch of fertile CM. Still, if you've used Billings successfully for all these years without pregnancy, it seems to work for you particularly if you weren't having sex at all in the middle of your cycle when you would have been most fertile. I use condoms from CD 5 until ovulation is confirmed (condoms with withdrawal when I have EWCM) and then no condoms from 3 days past ovulation until my period.
It is possible to get eggwhite CM, a high soft cervix, even positive OPKs (for women TTC), and then the body backs down from ovulating and doesn't quite make it. Then, in the same cycle, you will have another patch of fertile CM, cervix high soft open and you could ovulate or back down again...it can repeat several times. The only way to confirm ovulation (other than an ultrasound at the time, which is the most accurate way I believe), is to get the sustained thermal shift.
Some women do avoid pregnancy through the Billings method, I think that's what it's called, the method where you just monitor CM and possibly cervix positions and don't temp. But temping with monitoring CM and the cervix gives me the added reassurance, that yes, indeed, I did ovulate during that last patch of fertile CM. Still, if you've used Billings successfully for all these years without pregnancy, it seems to work for you particularly if you weren't having sex at all in the middle of your cycle when you would have been most fertile. I use condoms from CD 5 until ovulation is confirmed (condoms with withdrawal when I have EWCM) and then no condoms from 3 days past ovulation until my period.