My Resolve Is Waning

I think that I'm going to give in. I'm 10-11 days past ovulation and although my chart doesn't look very good, I'm starting to feel pretty anxious to whip out a pregnancy test. My post-ovulation temps look rather similar to my first failed month, so I've no reason to think that this cycle will be any more successful, but I can't help wanting to know for sure. The blue line in the chart below (click the image to see the larger version) shows my temps for my very first cycle, while the green line represents my current cycle. Like that first cycle, my post-ov temps (the ones after the red vertical line) have started a rocky downward trend only a few days after I ovulated.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with the significance of post-ov temps, higher temperatures are indicative of a steady presence of progesterone in a woman's body. After ovulation, the follicle that released an egg (now called the corpus lutuem) starts to produce progesterone, which raises a woman's basal body temperature. If the egg is not fertilized or fails to implant, the corpus luteum dies and the progesterone supply runs out, temps drop, and menstruation begins soon after. But if a fertilized egg does successfully implant, then the corpus luteum gets to live a while longer and continue progesterone production, so temps stay high.

The fact that my temps are not as high as I'd like doesn't mean that all hope is lost. It's not over till the blood starts flowing. But I'm not feeling very enthusiastic about this month either.