Information & Links that may be helpful in your TTC journey:

[BC-DKNY]

BBT, OPK and HPT Links & More


Hello: We have gathered some links and written some material that we hope might be helpful in your TTC journey. We have put the links up front for your convenience, followed by information about bbt, opks and hpts.

Here are the links:

This site offers free software to assist in BBT charting:

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/



Other online charting sites:

https://fertility.webmd.com/webmdfe...2_002_0000_0005
http://www.tcoyf.com


Helpful information re OPKs:

http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/opk.html


A Discussion of Cervical Mucus:

http://www.fertilinet.com/Cervical%...20Fertility.htm



Using Robitussin/Guaifenesin to Improve Cervical Mucus:

http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/cm.html



The following is a link to a guidline for HPT's. Brand names and the amount of hCG they're sensitive to:

http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hpt.html



Pregnancy hCG Beta Chart:

http://www.advancedfertility.com/earlypre.htm



There is such a thing as a "false negative" HPT!:

See http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnanc...-twice-967.htm



"Implantation Dip" -- Myth or Reality? Here are two links of interest:

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/Faqs/...ation_dip.html

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/Faqs/...dip_study.html





BBT -- GETTING STARTED

- You may use any thermometer that you're most comfortable with. The key is to use the same thermometer each morning. Digital works well because it takes the guesswork out of reading it accurately. You may take your temperature either orally or vaginally, but whichever you choose, make sure you stay with that method.

- It's important to take your temp at the same time each morning (roughly) before you do ANYTHING, like get out of bed or drink water.

- Ideally, you need to have had a minimum of 3 consecutive hours sleep to get an accurate reading; however don't worry if you are a frequent waker or need to use the bathroom during the night, making it hard to get 3 consecutive hours. If you are consistent in your inconsistency, you will figure out how to interpret your temps even with the disruptions.

- It's not necessary to temp during AF, as these temps are insignificant. You may choose to do so if it's easier for you to keep the routine that way. Also, some women do ovulate really early in their cycles and sometimes AF temsp are useful in determining this early ovulation.

- Some things that can possibly interfere with getting accurate readings: alcohol consumption, illness, erratic sleeping and extreme temperature changes in your room.

- There are adjustments that you can make to your temps should you rise later or earlier than usual. They're 1/10th of a degree per half hour (2/10ths per hour) added and subtracted, for waking up early and late respectively. These adjustments shouldn't exceed 90 minutes in either direction. Beyond 90 minutes they're no longer considered reliable. Some women choose not to adjust and use the actual temp taken, just noting the disruption.

Example: If your regular temping time is 8 am, and you wake up at 7:30 and your temp is 97.4, then you'd record it at 97.5. Had you woken up at 9am with a temp of 97.6, then you'd record it at 97.4. If you're only off by up to 20 minutes in either direction, you can record the actual temp that you get.



When you have O'd, your temp should rise at least 2 tenths of a degree higher than your previous 6 temps.

Example:

cd 9 97.3
cd 10 97.4
cd 11 97.2
cd 12 97.0
cd 13 97.4
cd 14 97.1
cd 15 97.9

If those are your temps, you will have ovulated on cd 14, since your temp on cd 15 is higher than any of your temps for the previous 6 days. You then draw your "coverline" through the temp that is 1 tenth of a degree higher than your highest temp in those preceding 6 days. Here your highest temp pre-O is your 97.4 on cd 13 (and cd 10) and so your coverline is 97.5.

O is considered to have occurred when there has been 3 consecutive days of a rise in your temperatures. Your temps after O should ideally stay above your coverline until AF (or close to it; some people have a temp fall the day before AF, while some have it the day of AF and others don't get a drop until well into AF).

BBT'ing can provide a lot of useful information. It will show a definitive bi-phasic pattern if O'tion is occurring regularly. It can also be helpful in assisting doctors to recognize possible thyroid abnormalities, progesterone deficiencies, etc.

There are many variations to the "normal" BBT chart. Many women will find after temping for several months, that their charts follow a somewhat consistent pattern. Some women will find their temps dip to a monthly low on the day of O, some will have a fall back rise after O, but the important thing to remember is that BBT'ing is a "hindsight" tool. You cannot definitively pinpoint when O will occur, but rather when it has already occurred.

[stacy-ann]

The following information is very useful for couples who are having difficulty with there relationship while going through IF.



Enhancing Your Relationship During Infertility By Sharon Covington, MSW, LCSW-C
Page: 1

Most couples enter the path towards parenthood expecting that it will occur without too much problem. After all, they spend most of their lives trying not to get pregnant and assume that when they consciously start trying, pregnancy will soon be achieved. As the months or even years go by without a baby, and efforts to achieve pregnancy are increased—from intrusive testing to high technology treatments—the path turns into the emotional rollercoaster of infertility.



Infertility can be a real test of a couple’s relationship and shake the foundation of a marriage. It can make a solid relationship stronger and weaken the core of a troubled one. Because infertility is a crisis, it is out of the realm of experience of most couples and thus challenges them to develop new strategies and coping mechanisms to deal with this life crisis. The good news is research has shown that, for most infertile couples, the experience strengthens their marriage by teaching them life-long skills to deal with problems. Since infertility is one of many challenges couples may face in their life together, the skills learned can be adapted to use at other difficult times.



Relationships, like anything you want to grow and thrive, have to be tended to flourish. They are like a garden that must be carefully planted and then receive adequate amounts of nutrients such as sun, water, fertilizer, and cultivation to blossom. If the garden is neglected too long or receives too much of these nutrients, the plants will wither and die. Relationships are also like a bank account—you can’t continue to make withdrawals without depositing something back or you will end up overdrawn. Infertility can be like a “withdrawal,” draining intimacy from your marriage and depleting your emotional resources. It can cause you to neglect your relationship, focusing all energy on the baby quest. In effect, infertility can create a life of its own in a marriage, causing you to lose sight of what brought you together in the first place and what is necessary for a healthy family to grow in the future.



For a marriage to survive the crisis of infertility, couples have to learn to continue to make “deposits” and “tend the garden.” Understanding the ways in which the stress of infertility can strain a relationship, couples must make special efforts to put positive energy into a marriage during this time. If you are an infertile couple, there are steps you can take to enhance your relationship so that it grows and thrives. The following are some suggestions to help you along the way:



Work as a team. No matter who is identified as “the patient,” infertility is a couple problem. Always approach the issues as a team, working together and finding ways to share responsibility regarding treatment. Avoid finger-pointing as nobody ever wins the blame game.



Plan playtime. Since dealing with infertility can feel like a full-time job, it is important to “take time off” by consciously make time for each other. Have regular dates where you can have fun and take a break from infertility. Vacations are also playtime, and having things to look forward that are under your control is positive. Look for ways to put nurturing energies in the relationship, making your partner a priority.



Separate baby-making from love-making. Infertility often puts strain on a couple’s sexual relationship and what was once fun has now become a tedious job. You may want to designate different rooms in your house for your intimate work versus play. Remember the ways you enjoyed sex early in your relationship and find ways to recreate it. Plan romantic encounters at non-fertile times, such as a bubble bath together or giving a massage. Understand that sexual intimacy does not have to mean intercourse and use your imagination to plan recreational sex.



Build a support system. Couples often have an unconscious expectation that their spouse will be able to take care of all their emotional needs. This is a daunting task during infertility and an impossibility for any relationship. Infertility can be an isolating experience and put undue pressure on a partner for providing all emotional support. Support from others can strengthen relationships, especially during times of stress. Encourage friendships for yourself, your spouse, and as a couple. Work towards balance in your support network by having friends both in and out of the infertility world.



Identify individual coping styles under stress. Know your own and your partner's styles for dealing with stress. Learning how to accept differences in the way each of you handles and deals with your feelings can lessen conflicts. Like many things in life, men and women will feel and deal differently with infertility. However, different doesn't mean better or worse; it only means not the same.



Allow breathing room in your relationship. Realize that marriages are fluid and in a constant state of change due to the many external and internal factors in your life, including infertility. During times of stress, try to give each other some space and distance to allow for transition. Understand that couples are seldom at the same place, at the same time, when at treatment crossroads.





Communicate the positives. Often we neglect to communicate our positive feelings to our partner, and all he or she may hear are negatives. Changes in behavior come more from positive reinforcement than from negative. Also, infertility may consume your life and engulf all your conversations. It may be necessary to put limits on the time you talk about infertility to designated periods, such as 20 minutes in the evening, so that it does not overtake all your communication.



Keep a sense of humor. No matter how tough things get, being able to find something humorous about the situation helps to relieve the tension. Laughing together is good for the health of your relationship.



Seek help before problems get too big. Infertility can put terrible strains on relationships and couples need to consider counseling as a resource of support and information to deal with problems. If you find that you are at an impasse or your usual coping strategies aren't working in the relationship, counseling may help. Don't wait until things get critical.



Sharon N. Covington, MSW, LCSW-C is the Director of Psychological Support Services at Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center in Rockville, Maryland

She is the Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.



Phone: 1-888-IVF-0500
Email: sharon.covington@Integramed.com

Website: http://www.shadygrovefertility.com





For more support check out the Emotional Issues Forum on the Website

http://www..org

[AngelaM]

Information from the Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor and answers to FAQ:

Average cost: New from local store $175-$199 for monitor only. New from Ebay $89 - $110 for monitor only. 30-day supply of test sticks new from local store $40-$50. 30-day supply of test sticks new from Ebay $30-$40.

This monitor is an over the counter conception aid that can help you maximize your chances of conceiving your baby better than any other method. The Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor is the most advanced technology available without a prescription. It is the first and only palm-sized electronic system that monitors your personal hormones to provide you with an unmistakable display of your personal level of fertility every day of your cycle. The Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor measures 2 key hormones to more accurately identify more fertile days than any other over the counter method while storing your personalized data for up to six cycles.

*This system is suitable for women whose natural monthly cycle normally lasts between 21 and 42 days.

*If you are considering buying one used from another person, read this first: Once your monitor has been used, it's memory contains information personal to your cycle. It is designed to be used by only one user. However, the monitor can retain data from the last six cycles of use. The data is constantly overwritten as you continue to use the monitor to ensure it has the most up to date information available. If you transfer the monitor to another person, it may take several months for the monitor to adjust to the new person's data. This could result in a delay for the new user peak fertility. When you stop using the monitor, it will retain the last set of information indefinitely. Unipath now offers a Datacard Reading Service. The service provides a printout of your monthly cycle information stored in your monitor. For further information, visit www.clearblueeasy.com. Because your monitor requires test sticks saturated with urine, your monitor should not be transferred to another user. It is impossible for the new user to know if bodily fluids are free from infectious disease. There are no reliable methods to clean or remove infectious disease from the monitor.

*The monitor will display your fertility status using three bars which correspond to three different levels of fertility: Low, High and Peak. The monitor will interpret your fertility based on the Test Stick reading and the information stored in its memory. Low fertility is displayed during the cycle when your fertility hormones are at a low level. If you have intercourse during a low fertility day, it is unlikely (but not impossible) that you will conceive. High fertility is displayed when the monitor detects an increase in your estrogen levels, which occurs as you approach peak fertility. In your first cycle of use, your monitor will need to get to know you. It is possible that you may get more than 5 high fertility days prior to peak in this cycle. The monitor identifies your peak fertility by detecting the surge in LH (which causes ovulation 24 to 36 hours later).

I've been using BBT and OPKs. Does the monitor replace these?
The advantage of the monitor is that, unlike the BBT, it predicts ovulation before it happens. BBT charting can only tell you after ovuation has occurred, which may be too late to take advantage of all your fertile days. Home OPKs detect the LH surge which precedes ovulation by 24-36 hours, thus identifying 1-2 fertile days per month. The monitor more accurately identifies more fertile days than any other method by identifying days of high fertility as well as peak fertility. OPKs would only identify the equivalent of peak fertility days. The monitor counts your days of your cycle for you, tells you which days to test, interprets the tests, displays your fertility levels every day, and develops a personalized understanding of your cycle.

What conditions or medications could interfere with my test result?
*Pregnancy, recently been pregnant, recently stopped breast feeding, recently stopped hormonal contraceptives (i.e., bcps) or have menopausal symptoms.
*Any medications that affect hormone levels including infertility drugs containing HCG or LH.
*Antibiotics containing tetracycline (but not oxytetracycline or doxycycline) may affect performance.
*If you are taking clomiphene (Clomid), consult your physician to see if the monitor is right for you. While using clomid, high fertility may start early in your cycle and you may have more high days because of increased estrogen. The display of peak fertility is primarily dependent on the detection of a significant increase in LH, the LH surge. However, clomid can cause unnaturally high estrogen levels, in some cases the monitor may not show the presence of an LH surge, even when you are ovulating.

What do the blue lines mean on the test stick and can I tell when I'm ovulating by looking at the color or intensity of the lines?
Unlike other home ovulation test sticks that can be read visually by comparing the color intensity of a test line and reference line, the monitor test sticks are designed to be read by the monitor only.

[AngelaM]

Information for the Clearblue Easy Digital Ovulation Test :

Average cost: $35-$40 for a 7-day supply

This OPK works by detecting the increase (surge) in a hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. The LH surge occurs 24-36 hours prior to the release of an egg from your ovaries--a process known as ovulation. You are at your most fertile time on the day your LH surge is detected, and the day after.
This OPK displays a "O" when you no LH surge is detected. And, it displays a when a LH surge is detected. Much easier to read than the traditional line versions.

Can any medication or medical condition affect the result?
*PCOS and taking certain fertility drugs can affect the results. Clomid does not affect the tests.
*Having recently quit bcps does not affect the tests either.

[bmwbrandi2005]

Herbs for Health and TTC

[justawaiting]

Don't tell your dh when you are "ovulating" it can turn some of them off. Hide the TTC stuff and bring out the fancy underthings.
Heather

[dmbucky7]

Originally Posted by BC-DKNY

A Discussion of Cervical Mucus:

http://www.fertilinet.com/Cervical%...20Fertility.htm

I've been trying to view this site but it wont let me. Any suggestions? I was wanting to read a little about cm but can't find anything... TIA for any help!

[BC-Maura]

How about this?

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/HelpC...ity_signs.html

+++++++++++++++++
Maura

[dmbucky7]

Thanks!!

[Choice4]

Originally Posted by justawaiting

Don't tell your dh when you are "ovulating" it can turn some of them off. Hide the TTC stuff and bring out the fancy underthings.
Heather

I agree with you I told my DH I was ovulating , and when we had sex twice the same day he could not come, so no sperm
I would keep my mouth shout next time