What did I do wrong with the BBT?

It's very difficult to track ovulation via the BBT and as you see, an OPK is much more realiable. Also, with an OPK, it tells you that you will ovulate within a day, so that intercourse at the time of a positive OPK can provide the sperm to be available when the egg ovulates, unlike a BBT that tells you that you've already have ovulated and there's no more egg that month available to fertilize. Where people go wrong with the BBT is that in order for it to be accurate, you MUST have a thermometer next to your bedside just when you wake up and before doing anything else is the only time to take your temperature. Otherwise, you may get false readings and not have an accurate BBT.

It can be really confusing at first, BUT Actually, It's not difficult to track ovulation with BBT's if you know what you are doing. I suggest getting the book, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler. It's amazing, it'll teach you to be a pro at charting! GOOD LUCK!

I also recommend the TCOYF book. This book talks about some of the problems with OPKs. For example, your LH can surge in preparation for ovulation, but detecting the surge (with a positive OPK) does not necessarily mean that you ovulated. You can get your progesterone levels checked after your positive OPK to see if you did in fact ovulate. Good luck!

PS - You must have a bbt thermometer when charting. They are more accurate than regular thermometers. I used a regular old digital thermometer when I first started charting, and I could take my temperature two times within a couple minutes and there would be a half degree difference. You need more precision when charting, as the difference between pre and post ovulation temperatures is about a half degree.

Wanting -

I too have been very frustrated with the whole BBT thing (my temperature never spikes, in fact I'm always below normal even during the day). About a month ago I finally started doing OPKs as well and was able to detect ovulation when I couldn't detect it with the BBT. I'd be inclined to listen to the Doctor giving advice on this website since that's what they're here for. And remember that one thing doesn't always work for EVERYONE, so if OPKs are more reliable for you, go with that. I was very happy to see your post along with Dr. Q's response b/c I was having the same question! Good luck!