Ovulation

[Missy82]

Hi girls,

just wanted to put this question out there...

is there any way to guarantee that you are ovulating?
Ive had all the signs n symptoms, been tracking with OPK and got a + for each of my cycles, just not sure if maybe the effects of the pill are still preventing me from actually getting pregnant. ive been off the pill for 3 cycles now. The first cycle i even felt lots of pressure on my left ovary.. then all of a sudden it relaxed.
But im still curious as to wether its a guarantee or not.

H

[Skyeblue]

Hi missy
Im not sure whether there is a "guarentee" or not, unless you go to the doctors and they can run some tests.
But, a way to be pretty sure is to do charting. You will see your temp drop at O time, and you will see how it happens every month, so you an be pretty sure you are ovulating.
You can also use OPKs, monitor cervical mucus and check cervical position!

[Shanti]

Just a quick question!! silly one i know! So does my temp DROP or RISE when i ovulate?!??! i don't know!!! how much will it change?!?!?! so far i've been getting 36 or 35.8..... last few days. i have CM signs that tell me i am very close to ovulate.... and O pains too! so think i'm only 2 days away

I'm new at temping

[GIDGET]

There is no way to guarantee that you are O'ing. If you are getting regular AF, you can be pretty sure that O is happening pretty regular. Every woman can have a slightly wonky cycle from time to time - it is normal, so there is never any guarantees.

Renstar - Temps drop just before O and rise after O. The temp drop cannot always been seen on a chart because it is a 12 hour drop in temp (up to about 0.3C), whereas temps are taken every 24 hours. A temp rise only confirms that O has taken place and it is common for this to be up to 3 days later. Generally, I find the temp rise to be about 0.5C. Are you using a mercury O basal temp thermometer? I generally found them to be more accurate.

[Shanti]

just using a $10 digital thermometer from woolies. i've been told these will work though.
thanks for the info. i hope i will know when I have O'd!!

[SallyJ]

Gidget I've always found the mercury BBT thermometers to be most accurate.

Ren are you using a thermometer that measures to 2 places? Charting may not work as well without one that only measures to one place. Read the info about charting at FF, it tells you all you need to know. Your temp will dip just before O, then start to rise once O has occurred.

Missy the only way to show you are ovulating (other than with blood tests and constant monitoring ) is to chart your temps for more than a cycle, and this of course is retrospective. I would think if you are getting +ve OPKs though it is pretty likely that you are ovulating.

It is possible for your body to not ovulate properly - this is how simple ovarian cysts are formed. What happens is the follicle swells but does not get released properly from the ovary - it then becomes a simple (fluid filled) cyst. These usually disappear after a while on their own and supposedly are very common. From what I understand though, hormonally you have still ovulated, so your chart will still appear ovulatory.

[satya]

I always used a thermometer that only measured to one decimal but it clearly showed my shifts in temp. The only way you can tell for sure that you O'd is either by having scans done after the fact or by falling pregnant.

[Shanti]

my digital thermometer only shows like 35.8, 36.0 etc only one decimal, i thought that would do the job though?!?!

[Liviam]

My OB always told me that there is only one guarantee that you have o'ed and that is to fall pregnant. All other methods of tracking and watching are a great help though.
Ren I used a thermometer to one decimal point and although it did the job it wasn't as accurate as a thermometer that measures to two decimals points and FF had trouble picking my ovulation dates.

[Shanti]

ok thanks... i might buy another one....that shows 2 decimals, at the CHEMIST??

[SallyJ]

Yes, you can get them at the chemist, they are usually sold as Basal Body Temperature thermometers or as Ovulation Thermometers.

[Shanti]

Thanks Sal.

[Missy82]

Thanks for all the info girls, i shall be paying close attention to my cycle this time, just to make sure.
how long so you have to wait before the doctor will start doing tests in case something is wrong?

[~Kaz~]

Hi Missy,

I am no expert as we are not trying yet and I am still waiting for AF to arrive by itself (first cycle off BCP in a long long while) but I have read that the majority of couples (something like 5 out of 6) will conceive naturally within a 12 month period. I think (unless you have medical problems or a family history of reproductive difficulties) they will let you go for 12 months trying naturally before investigating but I would recommend that you check that with your Dr. It might also depend on how old you and your partner are too as to how long they let you try on your own

[SallyJ]

It depends on your age - most docs say wait 12 months if you're young, however if you've been charting for 6 months and DTD at the right time and can show your charts to your dr, then they will see you then. Over 40 (or is it over 35?) they say 6 months.

Either way, I believe the first thing drs do is ask you to chart if you haven't been, and send DH off for a sperm analysis.

[Cherie]

how long so you have to wait before the doctor will start doing tests in case something is wrong?

Usually 12 months, unless there is a reason why you think something might be wrong (e.g. I was seen after 6 months because I was having 100 day cycles and temperature charting clearly showed that I wasn't ovulating). To most GP's, not falling pregnant wouldn't be a reason to be seen sooner, because it can take up to 12 months for normal, healthy, fertile couples to fall pregnant.

I know the waiting is frustrating though

You can have a CD21 blood test that will indicate whether you have ovulated or not - it tests the level of progesterone in your blood. That, or pregnancy, would be the only foolproof way to guarantee that you were ovulating, but all the other signs are quite reliable indicators, particularly in combination