Gopherhead

Normal daytime body temp is 98.6F-ish. To be considered thyroid healthy body temp measured first thing in the morning on the days following mensturation (day 2-6 during the follicluar phase) should be above 97.8. Your temp at this time will spike shortly after you ovulate; around day 14 on average (but average is very subjective - I usually hit the spike in temp around day 16; my temps go from 98.0 to 98.6 at that time). Because of the spike you want to take your temp before this phase - if you want more detailed info the authority on the subject is Dr. Broda Barnes who used this method and found it more accurate than blood tests when diagnosing thyroid disease.

I've been taking my temp for about 4 years now and I've noticed that my late day temp will be almost a full degree higher than my waking temp; this is much more noticeable after ovulation (in the luteal phase). FWIW, a temp dropping a full degree before you go to bed does not sound normal. I know mine drops a little in the evening before bed, but not that much.

Ear thermometers are not considered accurate for this - bbt taking that is - your best bet is a shake down thermometre that you can get below 96F. You also need to take your morning temp before getting out of bed. You should take it for 10 minutes and you should have been in bed for 3 hours minimum. The time also matters - the longer you sleep in the higher your temp will be. Optimal time/temp is 7:30 am. You should subtract .1F degree for ever hour after 7:30 am. and add .1F for every hour before 7:30 am. you take your temp.

HTH
Nat

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