Charting Continued
Vaginal - 5 minutes
Oral - 7 minutes
Underarm - 10 minutes
Miscellaneous Symptoms
There is space on your chart to record miscellaneous symptoms commonly associated with ovulation and/or menstruation. Mark down any symptoms such as headache, mood change, abdominal pain (mittelschmerz), breast tenderness, vulva more swollen, change in interest in sex, or any other symptom that you notice that recurs from cycle to cycle.. These symptoms can help in the interpretation of your chart. You may or may not experience them. If you find any symptom recurs regularly at certain times in your cycle, it is worthwhile making a note of it.
Stress and Illness
In times of stress and illness, you may expect your cycle to be affected. Your cycle may be altered by - overwork, moving, illness, change in diet or lifestyle, holidays, starting or stopping a job, or emotional conflicts. Some ways in which your cycle may be affected are: delayed ovulation which makes the overall length of the cycle longer; dry cycles in which there is no mucus; limited mucus cycles in which the mucus pattern is shorter than usual or there is little or no mucus. This is the body's protective mechanism against pregnancy in times of stress or illness. If you are experiencing stress or illness it is especially important to do your observations regularly and accurately, chart carefully, and if in doubt consider yourself of peak fertility if your are avoiding or wishing to achieve pregnancy.
Basal Body Temperature
If you are taking your basal body temperature (BBT) plot the reading daily on the graph.
The temperature may be taken either vaginally, orally, or underarm.
Vaginal and Oral temperatures are preferred by most women as they are more convenient to take. However, vaginal and oral temperatures may read falsely high if you have an infection, even a minor infection.
Oral temperatures tend to vary the most with stress and illness, which may make interpreting the temperature curve more difficult.
Underarm temperatures are used in assessing thyroid function, which is an important part of assessing reproductive health. Underarm temperatures will read lower than vaginal or oral temperatures but are considered many to be the most reliable indicator of metabolic temperature.
The BBT is taken first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. If you work shift work the temperature is taken after "your" night of sleep. A minimum of 5 hours rest is needed for an accurate reading. For an accurate picture of the biphasic shift the temperature must be taken at approximately the same time each morning, within one hour. If you normally rise at 8:00 am, an accurate reading can still be made if you take it between 7:00 am and 9:00 am. If the time varies more than 1 hour, still take your temperature and make note of the time it was taken on your chart beside the dot you use to note the temperature of that day.
On the inside bottom of your chart there is a space to mark how the temperature is taken and the time it is usually taken.