BBT – Just Stop Trying and It Will Happen…

Tag: BBT

Triphasic

Monday, August 13th, 2012. CD28, 10DPO.

Well, as I suspected, FertilityFriend gave me the “triphasic pattern” notification this morning…

For those of you who are not familiar with the term, let me give you a brief tutorial.

When charting your basal body temperature (BBT), an ovulatory chart should show two levels of temperatures: lower pre-ovulatory temps, and higher post-ovulatory temps. You occasionally see a second shift a week or so after ovulation when temps climb higher and stay there, and that is called a triphasic pattern.

FertilityFriend says that while the triphasic pattern can sometimes be seen on non-pregnancy charts, and should not be considered a definite indicator of pregnancy, “This pattern is 179% more frequent on pregnancy charts.”

Soooooooo… Yeah. This is the first time I’ve ever seen something on my chart that looks like a genuine implantation dip, and now a possible triphasic chart…

I’m trying not to freak out, but I feel like this lucky little bit of data showing up on the husband’s birthday is hard not to smile about. 🙂

And, because I know someone will inevitably wonder, I don’t have any test results to report as of yet. I’m still testing out that pesky trigger and while I thought it would be gone today, it wasn’t quite. I expect that if I’m not pregnant, it should be gone tomorrow for sure.

Have a magnificent Monday, friends! 🙂

Update:

As I’ve noticed this post gets a lot of traffic, probably from other women searching to find success stories with triphasic charts. I want to update to let those online-researchers know that yes, this was a BFP cycle for me (this post went up in the morning of 10DPO, and I actually got the first faint BFP that same evening). It was the only triphasic chart I’ve ever had, and not-so-coincidentally, the only BFP chart, as well.

Now, for what it’s worth, this BFP cycle did end in miscarriage, but that was no doubt due to factors outside of my body temperature. If you’re searching for triphasic chart success stories, you’ve found one!

Good luck!

August 13, 2012 14 Comments Short URL10dpo, BBT, FertilityFriend, implantation dip, triphasicCDaily

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The Flats

Wednesday, August 8th, 2012. CD23, 5DPO.

Soooooo… this is strange.

I have had weird, flat temperatures for the past four mornings.

Is something wrong with my thermometer?

Is something wrong with ME?

Anyone out there seen anything like this before?

My typical LP temps are up around this range normally, but they never just hang out at one spot like this. Especially not for days at a time.

So odd.

Other than this, and my boobs feeling like giant, painful bouncy-houses, nothing new here.

I’m still working on testing out the trigger, and will update once that bad boy starts to fade. Which might be daaaaaaays from now, because my stupid body holds onto stupid triggers for a stupid-long time.

Happy Hump Day, friends! 🙂

August 8, 2012 4 Comments Short URLBBT, flat temps, luteal phase, TWWCDaily

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36 Hours + 20 Questions = Crazy Person

July 24th, 2011. CD16.

It’s official. The thirty-six hour period after which I gave myself that wretched trigger shot has passed. At some point in the past few days, I must have ovulated. I’m in the Two Week Wait.

…Let the insanity begin.

...So this is what you get when you type "crazy" into Google Image Search... Hmm.

Oh, and just to drive home the whole “insanity” thing, let me wax philosophical about my chart for a minute. …To be fair, it may be more than a minute, so get out now while you still can.

So, three days ago, the morning of my CD13 ultrasound, my BBT dipped pretty darn low. I also had some gorgeous-looking EWCM that day, and the day before as well. On CD14, my temp went up… Not extraordinarily high or anything, but still. Up. I had a teeny bit of EWCM early that morning, and then nothing thereafter. This was also the day I triggered, after my little freak-out and subsequent conversation with Dr. Fran’s office.

Confused? I’d be surprised if you weren’t. (Obscure Harry Potter reference. Hah.)

Allow me to create a timeline (of insanity), followed by a screenshot of the aforementioned chart:

Wednesday, July 20th, CD12 – Lovely amount of EWCM, better quality than I ever recall seeing in past cycles. Temp is normal/average. Do the Dirty this evening.

Thursday, July 21st, CD13 – More EWCM; nice. Temp dips to lowest point in cycle thus far. Ultrasound shows 16mm follicle on the right side. Plan is to DTD Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and trigger Saturday. Afternoon OPK is negative.

Friday, July 22nd, CD14 – Teeny bit of EWCM in the morning, nothing the rest of the day. Temp rises. FMU comes up with positive OPK. Freak out and call Dr. Fran, who tells me to trigger this evening instead. Ovidrel shot of death, 8pm. DTD a bit later in the evening.

Saturday, July 23rd, CD15 – CM is pretty much nonexistent at this point. Temp rises yet again. FMU comes up with positive OPK. Attempt to DTD this evening, but a combination of heat, exhaustion, and a general feeling of unwell on the part of the husband make the outcome… umm… less than spectacular. No check-mark for today. Oops.

Sunday, July 24th, CD15 – What CM? Temp maintains same level as yesterday; still high-ish, but no rise. FMU comes up with positive OPK… Getting tired of that smug little smiley face. Woke up the husband to DTD this morning, after which he rolled over and went back to sleep while I propped up my hips and Facebooked from bed. Classy.

See what I mean?

Alright, so aside from thinking I’m batshit crazy, does anyone have any ideas about this? I am tempted to believe that I may have surged on my own on the day of my CD13 ultrasound, but I suppose there’s no way to know for sure since no bloodwork was done on that day.

If that was the case, would triggering after or during ovulation have any negative impact on the cycle?

Is a 16mm follicle mature enough?

How will the doc adjust my treatment in the next cycle to ensure that I have ample time to mature my follies further?

Soooo many questions. I guess this is why my RE doesn’t give out her email address.

Ugh.

July 24, 2011 8 Comments Short URLBBT, crazy, Femara, Ovidrel, ovulation, two week wait, TWWCDaily, TTC

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Misinformed…?

July 1st, 2011. CD30, 17DPO… Maybe?

So, I’m beginning to think that maybe Dr. Fran and the ultrasound tech were perhaps mistaken about my so-called “early ovulation”. I plugged in a manual override on FertilityFriend back when they told me they suspected I had ovulated, and since then I’ve been moving along as if I’d already passed that OV date.

My temp surged yesterday, and stayed up higher than it’s been all cycle again today. I’ve also had the weird rubber cement-y CM the past few days as well, which I guess could be classified as eggwhite.

I removed the override from CD13 today, just to see what happens if my temp stays up tomorrow. I have a pretty good feeling that FF will confirm what I already think.

Tell me what you think about this chart:

Oh, and because I thought the doc couldn’t possibly be wrong about my ovulation status, the husband and I have been a little lax on the baby-making the past two weeks.

And by lax, I mean dry spell.

Sahara.

We tried to sneak in a little encounter last night, but everything in me tells me it was too late to catch that egg. If there even was an egg.

I’m just ready to call this month quits and move along to my first Femara cycle–with monitoring.

Ugh.

Sometimes I wish I was ignorant, and maybe this wouldn’t be so hard…

July 1, 2011 2 Comments Short URLBBT, ovulation, TTCCDaily

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One Line.

June 30th, 2011. CD29, 16DPO.

So, it was another BFN this morning. Not that I’m surprised or anything, but my temp had made quite a jump, and so of course I had to have the following conversation with myself on the way to the bathroom to POAS:

Don’t get your hopes up, Tracy. Just because your temp rose this late in your cycle doesn’t necessarily mean you’re pregnant. It’s probably just a fluke. We can always blame it on the husband leaving the window open. Just don’t set yourself up for disappointment… again.

And wouldn’t you know it? My subconscious was right, as usual. That one bright blue line stared at me from the bathroom counter, mocking me, daring me to pee on something else for a similar result.

I did not take the dare. I’m realistic. I know when to throw in the towel, and for today, this is enough.

Oh, one more thing. I’ve had this song stuck in my head since I woke up, and I feel like it’s appropriate. Enjoy.

June 30, 2011 4 Comments Short URLBBT, BFN, BSBCDaily

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28 Days

June 29th, 2011. CD28, 15DPO.

Well, my so-called “normal cycle” has reached day 28, and according to Dr. Fran’s initial analysis, that means I’m 15 days past ovulation. I’m still not entirely sure I believe that, but there’s nothing I can do until Aunt Flo arrives to confirm that this cycle was unsuccessful.

If she arrives. …Trying to stay positive.

I felt like crap for a few days, and now I feel mostly normal again. No real signs of imminent blood loss, and I have managed to get control of that whole “eating my feelings” thing.

The only strange thing going on right now is a weird cervical mucus issue I’ve been noticing for three-ish days. Normally at this time in my cycle, I’d be having creamy to sticky CM, which is what I have the majority of the time… Except for random bouts of something that I can only accurately describe as having the consistency of rubber cement.

I mean, it’s sticky, yes. It’s also clear and stretchy. It falls somewhere between sticky and eggwhite, only I can’t imagine that any normal human sperm could swim though something of that thickness.

No other issues though. Definitely not an infection, bacterial, or yeast issue. I guess my vagina just has the sniffles.

Hmm… could I somehow make this into an early pregnancy symptom?

I guess I’m just grasping at straws at this point. My temp took a small dive this morning, so I am anticipating a visit from that old bat, Flo. Just in case, I have packed my purse full of period paraphernalia (say that five times fast!), including a pregnancy test which Dr. Fran told me I will need to take to be certain I’m not pregnant before she will call in a Femara prescription for me.

I hope today is the day something happens. I’d really like to get this show on the road!

June 29, 2011 3 Comments Short URLBBT, cervical mucusCDaily

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Down, Down, Down…

June 24th, 2011. CD23, 10DPO.

…Is where my temperature is headed. Boo for temp drops!

I woke up this morning five minutes before my alarm, which is always depressing as hell. Took my temp, and realized that it had taken a complete nosedive. Put my feet on the floor and instantly felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Made it to the couch, where I now type this, with a cup of tea, trying to fight off the nausea.

I get the feeling Aunt Flo is on her way into town. Ugh.

June 24, 2011 7 Comments Short URLaunt flo, BBTCDaily

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Unexpected

June 17th, 2011. CD16, 3DPO…?

So yesterday at this time, I was settling in to the thought that I had about a week’s wait before ovulation.

Today, apparently, I am firmly in the Two Week Wait.

Crazy, right? I know!

I went to my chart on Fertility Friend and checked out when I had my temp rise, which lined up exactly with the time frame the ultrasound tech told me she thought I had ovulated–two to three days ago. So, I did what any obsessive TTC-er would do; I manually overrode the system and placed my ovulation date.

I feel like such a cheater! And a slouch! Not only did I not know I ovulated, even if I had been using OPK’s to test, I probably wouldn’t have started using them until after the day I actually ovulated anyway! And forget about Sexy Timing! We probably would have started yesterday, had I not received the unexpected news about my premature ovulation. Thankfully, there was one little “encounter” a few days ago that made it onto the chart before the egg-drop, or I would have to chalk this month up to a total waste before it even got off the ground.

What is my body trying to do to me??

June 17, 2011 6 Comments Short URLBBT, fertility, humor, infertility, ovulation, RE, reproductive endocrinologist, TTC, two week wait, TWW, ultrasoundCDaily

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Lazy Days of Summer

June 2nd, 2011. CD34.

Well, it’s been a hectic week, but I’m still alive.

…Still haven’t ovulated, but alive nonetheless. I wonder if the stress of preparing for our trip to my brother-in-law’s wedding in Knoxville, or the “traveler’s illness” I tend to get had anything to do with my delayed ovulation. I just hope something happens soon, because a thirty-four day cycle is not what I had in mind for this month, and it shows no signs of being over any time soon.

Just for kicks, I peed on a stick this morning. No surprise, but it was negative. I figured maybe since I was too busy thinking about traveling and all the preparation going into the trip, maybe I’d gotten knocked up somehow when I wasn’t paying attention.

Nope, no such luck. I guess the RE will just have to see me in fifteen short days after all.

I wish I had some kind of interesting news to report, but alas, I have none. On the weight-gain front, I’d managed to put on about four pounds before our trip, but my anxiety with traveling and the stress I put on myself caused me to eat poorly and not as much as I should have, so I think I undid a lot of what I’d gained. I’m still holding strong though, and managed to force down an enormous breakfast today. I’ll get there…

I spent a lot of time over the weekend with a lot of girls I’d never met, which was interesting. Everyone was super-nice, and I had a lot of great conversations with people who had heard through the grapevine that the husband and I were having some trouble in the reproduction department. Let’s just say that at one point at the wedding reception after-party, lots of drinks were flowing, and lots of painful stories of other people’s reproductive troubles were too. It was pretty uncomfortable, but in a way I appreciated hearing that I’m not the only one with a broken oven.

I just wish I’d been drinking too, and maybe it wouldn’t have been so awkward sitting in a hot tub with women I’d known for an hour talking about miscarriages and IVF. Next time I’ll remember to keep a flask in my bikini.

All in all though, the whole trip was a success. I had fun with friends and family, the drama was kept in check, and my mind was so far off from TTC that I forgot entirely to temp the whole time I was away. Oops!

Now that it’s back to reality, I can see that this summer is going to be one of the busiest in recent memory. Lots of events, lots of appointments and testing, lots of decisions, and from what I am starting to gather, lots of work-related stress. More on that another day…

For now, here are a few pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

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June 2, 2011 7 Comments Short URLBBT, fertility, infertility, ovulation, photos, stress, TTC, weddingCDaily

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Busy Birds n’ Bees

May 23rd, 2011. CD24.

It’s been a crazy couple of days around here, buzzing around trying to get ready for this trip out of town, frantically packing (and re-packing… (and then unpacking again because it’s too freaking early to pack)), and generally stressing out about things beyond my control.

Oh, and then the whole “trying to create life” thing too. Yeah, it’s been busy day and night.

May 23, 2011 4 Comments Short URLBBT, fertility, infertility, knoxville, LP, luteal phase, ovulation, TTC, two week wait, TWW, vacation, weddingCDaily