Question about taking BBT

[Azwoman]

Ok, in addition to using OPK's, I am trying to do the BBT also but I have heard mixed things about it. My doc and his Nurse Practioner said you need a restful night's sleep in order for BBT to be accurate and he seems to like the OPK's the best.  Am I supposed to take it the minute I wake up or, when Im up, fixing coffee and getting ready for work? I took it as soon as I woke up this morning, and took it again 30 mins later and there is a 1.5 degree difference! Which temp should I use?  Ive been taking my BBT on and off for the past ten days and, I am supposed to ovulate the next 2-4 days. OPKs are still neg. I started Femara on Day 3 so I should be seeing something. I had lots of discharge (off white, kind of brownish) yesterday. My cycles have been slightly different since being off the pill and I am on Day 12 now. I do have a donor that is on stand by and this is frustrating. I havent ovulated since Oct,, and the BFP OPK came on Day 15 but I started testing on Day 11 just to be safe and I will continue to test. Thank for any input.  

[Risa615]

I agree with happynifer, take it within a few minutes of waking up.  Take it twice in a row and go for the second temp.  I know for myself, once I see temp going up, I know I am going to ovulate and once I am over 98, I did ovulate.  My most recent cycle was only cd 8!  I use a monitor, and it was only on high( the next level is peak), but my temps were telling me I already ovulated and I had it confirmed by a progesterone blood test.  
Risa

[keenie009]

You need to get a least four hours of restful sleep and put your thermometer beside your bed and take it before you get out of bed for more accurate results, moving around will definitely change your bbt.I use opk's as well but I also chart to tell me if I did ovulate and the exact day because sometimes I get positives for two or three days and I like to know exactly what day I did.

[happynifer]

the thing with BBT is that you are looking for trends.  it does not matter what the actual numbers are, but you need to be consistent with how you take your temp and when in order to see a clear temp shift.
i take mine the minute i wake up, before i sit up or get out of bed.  ideally you want to have gotten a full night of sleep, but as someone who switches between working days and overnights, that was not always possible.  I was still able to reliably tell when I ovulated without getting a full night of sleep, but just taking my temp whenever it was i woke up for the day.
the downside to BBT is that it won't tell you if you are about to ovulate, only once you have.  that's why using OPKs together with BBT gives you the complete picture.  The OPK tells you when your LH spike is and therefore that you are likely to ovulate in the next 24-48 hours, the BBT confirms you did ovulate.
good luck!