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Hi everyone,
I have been ttc for very very long time now. Finally, I have decided to do the whole charting thing. (Don't ask me why, but I thought it was too much work so I never did it). I went to the pharmacy and got a digital thermometer. It beeps when it reaches the temperatue. I read on the FF site that it needs to be BBT thermometer. :confused: On the box it says it's a fever therometer. Does it really matter? What's the diff? Any tips would be much appreciated thanks! :help:
Minn,
I think the only difference is that a BBT thermometer is more sensitive and is designed to pick up subtle changes in your temp. If the thermometer is digital, it might still be okay to use - how many decimal places does it give the temp to? My O thermo gives two decimal places. If yours does the same, I think it would be fine to use as a BBT thermo.
All the best with temping...
Hi Minn,
I use a digital therm and it works fine for me. Chart your cycle for 3 months and see how you go. I also use O tests as well.
Good Luck
Welcome to BB Minn :hello:
A BBT thermometer shows 2 decimal places, whereas a fever thermometer shows only 1. I've only ever used a fever thermometer & never had any problems with FF.
Hi guys!
Thanks for letting me know. I'll use the one I have and see how I go. I'm going to see my gynae next Fri. Gong to ask him if I should go on clomid as I have been trying or ages now. Had a m/s in April this year and I am getting tired of going the "natural" way. Wish me luck!!
Minn,
What's the prob? Are you O'ing regularly? Clomid is only going to help if you are not O'ing regularly. Has your DH been checked out as well?
How long have you been ttc? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?
All the best w/ the app. Let us know how it goes.
Hi Shellshell,
I have a done few o tests and they negative. But, they can be unreliable. I get o pain sometime. I went to the doc in Jan and had a bunch of blood tests done...and the result is i'm fine. DH is also fine with his :sperm: . Then miracle...BFP in Feb...but m/c in Apr at 6wks.
Had to have D & C done. Have been ttc since May and nothing.
Don't know what to do. I'm just soooo frustrated. I'm going to the gyn and hopefully he can give some direction.
Hey Minn,
You've been TTC same amount of time as us. Is your gynaeo a FS as well? If not, maybe it is time to head to a FS? Have you been checked for Endo, and checked to see if your tubes are clear? Checked for sperm antibodies?
DH's swimmers might "look" fine, but sometimes inside they are not... do you know much about DNA fragmentation in sperm? Is your DH eating a healthy diet high in fruit and veg and taking an antioxidant multivitamin (this helps w/ DNA fragmentation, as does regular sex, since the spermies can get damaged when they stay inside for too long!).
What do you mean by your O tests were negative? You mean they show you weren't O'ing? Do you mean using an ovulation predictor kit? (I think they are crap!! Money-making scam!!) Could you have some form of PCOS? I have PCOS and used to get a period every month but wasn't O'ing - all my bloods (hormone levels) came back normal, except the glucose tolerance test. So for someone who wasn't in the know, they would think nothing much was wrong w/ me (I'm healthy weight as well).
Do you know what exactly you've been tested for?
Maybe if nothing seems wrong, you would be better to head to IVF than something like Clomid.
Keep in touch and all the best!
Hi Shellshell,
Dunno if my gynaeo is a FS as well. He did my D&C. I don't think he is as I had a look at the appt card & doesn't say that he is one.
I had thyroid tests and blood sugar level (fasting) and some other hormone tests done and they were all fine.
You know the worse thing is when we went to the doc all he said was that we since we were only trying for 12 mths, we should not consider any alternatives as it's too early! :( He said 24 mths is an indicator that something is wrong. And he sent us home saying that we should keep having "fun". BFP happened after 13mths ttc.
Now, it been 6 mths after the D&C and nothing. So, hoping to start the ball rolling and get pro-active now. Don't want to wait for 24mths!!
I used OPK and those stupid 2 lines never showed. only the control line. So, now decided to BBT chart thing. I agree with you...OPK seems like a scam.:mad:
Thanks for the info...I hadn't even thought of those things!! DH excersies and is avoiding junk food. But, no multi vits as he doesn't believe in them. Me, i stopped caffeine, tea, coffee, fizzy, anything with preservatives. Even quit tomatoes as I heard they quite acidic and I have scant CF. I'm on Cenovis Pregancy formula atm. Was on Swisse, but stopped because I read that the herbs can affect ttc.
I will speak to doc on Fri and ask all the q's, i have written them down in case i forget. I have feeling he going to get me to go through those BT's ---again! Oh well, have to start somewhere!
I live in Melb. South East suburbs...do you know of a good FS? Where do you live?
Can I ask how old are u?
Will be good to keep in touch!:)
Minn, good luck with the TTC - hope it isnt too much longer and you get your bfp. All the best with a Fertility Specialist /Reproductive Endocrinologist... many of them are 'attached' to IVF clinics, so you may be able to find one that way...
Minn,
I am shocked your gynaeo said 24 months is when it shows there is a prob!!! Most FS's will accept patients after 6 months! But 12 months is generally the norm.
Also wanted to add that I'm sorry to hear about your m/c.
Fasting blood tests miss 80% of glucose abnormalities... and don't show insulin resistance. If they are testing for IR (therefore IR-PCOS), then they need to do a GTT (glucose tolerance test) testing both glucose and insulin response.
I live in the eastern suburbs of Melb. We go to see FS's (we have male factor as well) through Monash IVF, but I am sick of them and we will be moving to different FS's in January this year. There is a thread on one of these boards about awesome FS's in Melb - you might like to check it out. I have booked an app to see Dr Kate Stern (attached to MelbIVF) in Jan... have heard she is excellent! But her waiting list is huge! Am having to wait over 3 months to get an app. Melb IVF also offers some great counselling... Monash is hard to get in for counselling (at least in my experience), but Melb is very easy and they are very accomodating (at least for me).
I'm 24 and DH is 23 (at least for another few days!!). We started ttc at 22... had no idea it would be this hard!!
Also, there is a thread on immunology factors on another board - I think an IVF board - you may be interested in checking that out. Unfortunately, from reading the first few posts on the board, there doesn't seem to be many doctors who do the testing - and not one in Vic.
All the best... hope things work out for you!
Hi Shellshell,
Thanks so much for all info. Will def ask the doc about GTT. Also, wanting to see Dr Stern as I think her rooms are in Dande and thats closer to my side.
When you say "male factor" do you mean your DH has to go to a FS as well?
btw: what is IR?
Hope this week goes fast...can't wait to see the doc on Fri. Wonder if I should just go a head and make an appt to see Dr Stern and get the referral on Fri...
Insulin Resisitance Minn ;)
Shell IR does not necessarily mean PCOS. My sister has IR and has no signs of PCOS at all, not a single cyst. So while they generally go hand in hand IR isn't always related to PCOS.
Sarah,
Thanks for clearing that up... I know that, and I didn't mean to mislead people, so sorry if I did. Also, you don't need cysts to have PCOS.
I was just trying to emphasise that someone can get a period every month, be healthy weight, have hormone tests done on random days in their cycle and the results appear "normal", but still have PCOS - that's me!! The prob w/ hormone tests is they only show what your hormones are like on one day, or a few days in your cycle, not what they are like on every day in your cycle. If you took them on every day of your cycle, they would show more clearly that you are, or (in my case) are not actually ovulating.
Minn - yes, my DH has fertility probs as well. He has a microdeletion on his Y chromosome, and also chronic pelvic pain syndrome (where his prostate is enlarged and inflamed for no apparent reason) - and both affect his sperm production.
If I would were you, I would just ring up and book an app to see the FS and worry about the referral later.... the waiting time is HUGE! The sooner that appointment is made, the better....
All the best... keep in touch with how things go.
I should also add, to clear up any misunderstanding about PCOS:
You also don't have to have IR to have PCOS. Most women who have PCOS do, but there is also a fair percentage whose PCOS is a result of something else... like an immature pituatry gland, or a history of eating disorders, or chronic stress, or something else that people know very little about.
Thanks Sarah and Shell. :)
I have my period every month, I am healthy (just a teeny underweight - I'm vegetarian but amazingly not aneamic!) and the hormone tests came back normal. But, I'm convinced that I'm not o'ing. I heard that there is a BT that can check wheather you have ovulated or not in a particular month. Is that true? If so I'm gonna ask doc to for that test to be done too.
Shellshell I know how you feel! :hug: This can be very frustrating! Sorry to hear about DH. Hope the treatment is going well.
I gotta go....
Have a great evening! (me -gonna watch the last episode of Grey's Anatomy tonite - I'm such a sucker for these medical dramas!)
Hey Minn,
Hope you enjoyed Grey's Anatomy last night!! (I went out to dinner & movies w/ DH!!)
You can get a "Day 21" BT done... it generally needs to be 7 days after ovulation (hence the "Day 21", but if you don't have a 28 cycle it needs adjusting so it's 7 dpo). It tests your progesterone levels to see if you have O'ed.
I've also had probs w/ being underweight... when I started Metformin (for PCOS), I lost a lot of weight v. quickly and went underweight... and my period stopped for 4.5 months, until I put some of the weight back on again - it took a month after trying to put weight on before O happened, so 1.5 months after trying to gain some weight that I got a period back. I didn't realise how much weight can affect the whole thing...
I actually thought I was still healthy weight and even a GP told me I wasn't too thin to O, but when I went to a dietitian she told me to put some back on to be healthier for conception... and when I did that, O and period came back, so I can just say now that I think the GP was wrong and the dietitian right. The dietitian wants me to have a BMI of 21-22 to be as healthy as possible for conception. Before I had a BMI of 18.5... I think O and P come back at around 19.9 for me, even though 18.5 is supposed to still be enough weight for O not to be affected (my body must just require more fat than the "norm").
Thanks for the :hug: ! :hug: to you as well!
Love,
Shell
Hi Shellshell,
Wow! Amazing how weight can play a big role on all this. I have been underweight all my life. It's in my genes as my mum was the same until she had me! I'm the last one out of 3 children. She is convinced that's going to be the same for me. We'll see.
Didn't get a chance to call Dr Stern's rooms to make an appt. Too busy at work! This week is month end duties :-( Friday come quick! Can't wait now.
Once again thanks for all the info...and hope your ttc will come to an end soon. My fingers are crossed for you. :-)
I am one of the PCOS sufferers that is not IR. I was also as thin as a rake all my teens.
Poppy,
Is naturopathy working for you?
Shell
Well this is the first cycle so this is either the test or the beginning hopefully of changes. My normal state of things is to never know when I am going to get a period and at random times to get massive withdrawal bleeds that last about 3-4 weeks. However since starting naturopathy (Just over a month ago) I have had one period and so far all the signs of getting another pretty soon. I know the first period was because of the FSH injections from my last cancelled cycle but this one that is looming would have to be as a result of the naturopathy. But we still have to see if these slightly tender breasts, bloating and niggly pains and back pain mean a period coming or if it is just good ole PCOS playing tricks again!:
Up side is I feel healthier and I hopefully should lose weight.
Are you thinking of trying naturopathy?
No, not at the moment. Am thinking of it for DH though (he has male factor probs).
I was curious because my SIL has been going to a naturopath to try to regulate her p... and that seems to be going okay - so far on track to work.
I am still (perhaps foolishly) confident that I will be regular (one day) on Metformin + diet + exercise + healthy weight (ie. not too little, not too much)...
It must be v. rare to be IR and u/weight like I was ... so rare my FS (who is a leading specialist in PCOS) *laughed* at the idea that someone who is IR could loose too much weight to O... sorry, mate, appears to have happened to me.
Have they given you any kind of reason as to why your p. aren't regular? There's so little people seem to know about non-IR PCOS.... hope you find something that works.