My Temperature

A.:

Why are you taking your temperature every day?! Are you charting for ovulation or what?

If you are going to take your temp every day - it needs to be at the same time, etc. then you can get an accurate reading.

My normal body temp is 96.4 as is my oldest son's. My husband and other son? 98.6. So for my son and I - when we have a "normal" temp - it's something.

Unless you are charting for ovulation - there is NO NEED to take your temperature daily. If you are - talk to your Dr about this and find out the root cause - it's almost like a hypochondriac if you are doing it EVERY DAY just because and not for ovulation.

are you taking your temperature every single day at the same time every day? Our hormones play a role in our temps, depending on when ovulation occurs. For me, my temp is always lower on my bleed days. I feel very cold during this time. If you are randomly taking your temp, it could be a variety of reasons: hormones, outside temp, time of day, what type of activity you did before your temperature was taken. Try taking it first thing in the morning just before you get out of bed and monitor it that way. If it continues to be low you like described at the same time every day, then consult your doctor for your concerns.

Temperature varies by person, time of day, what you just did, ect.. All the temps you say you have gotten are in the normal range. I think taking your temp everyday is kind of like weighing yourself every day, it will cause you to worry when there is no need.

Wow. I dont even know what my normal temp is, lol. I guess I'll ask next time I'm at the doc. Ever since I let my neighbor borrow my old fashioned mercury filled thermometer to use for her dog I havent mustered up the courage to put it in my mouth.

To me, a low temp, tiredness, and sometimes feeling like you have a fever screams thyroid. I got mine checked and the Dr. said I was fine. I was really upset, b/c I had all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, and I KNEW something was wrong with me. I began to feel more and more tired and was either burning up or freezing cold. I never felt normal. After two years of this getting worse and worse I went to another Dr. who diagnosed my hypothyroidism, and I'm doing MUCH MUCH better than I was on the one tiny pill I take every day that fixes the imbalance. Unfortunately, the thyroid also affects weight, and now I need to lose 60 lbs. (And I've already lost 40. Yup. I gained 100 lbs before I was finally diagnosed properly.) Maybe it's nothing, but I think you should check out thyroiditis, hypothyroidism, and hyperthyroidism on mayoclinic.com and webmd. You might find something that fits, and you can ask your Dr. about it in Feb.

One note about thyroid issues- I have heard from numerous sources, including my GYN, that sometimes it takes awhile for thyroid issues to be diagnosed. It's like the stars have to all line up just right when testing is done in order to be properly diagnosed. If you really feel that your thyroid is the problem, don't give up. Best wishes for resolving this quickly!

Hi A.,

Honestly the first question I would ask would be what time are you taking your temperature? From your additional response, I see you said in the morning, but exactly when.....right when you wake up (like they do for charting ovulation) or later after you've been up for a while? I'm an Natural Family Planning (fertility awarness) teacher and it's natural for a woman's basal body temperature (waking temperature) to be lower than normal body temperature. The body's temp naturally lowers when at rest and it's this temp (basal body temp) that people who practice NFP take to chart their cycles (for ovulation etc.). The body's temperature will rise about a tenth of a degree for each half hour you're awake until it's at normal body temperature (which obviously can vary from person to person but is generally around 98.6 for most). So if you're taking it right when you wake up, having lower than 98.6 normal body temperatures is completely natural and normal....so no worries there. As an aside...a woman's basal body temp will rise about 4/10th after ovulation has occurred (caused by an increase in the hormone progesterone in the woman's cycle) so that's what NFPers are looking for when they chart temperatures.

Anyhow, the key for me when I review women's cycle charts is looking at the range of temps the woman is experiencing....both on the low end (pre-ovulation) and high end (post-ovulation). Like some have mentioned, extremely low temps in the pre-ovulation "low" temp part of the cycle (generally from the start of your cycle or period to ovulation), can be a sign of a thyroid problem. So if you have been taking your temps when waking and you've been having 95.4-96.7, then those are on the lower side from what I normally see. I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that you have a thyroid problem just yet though, but if the problem continues cycle to cycle and you notice your waking temp remaining in such a low range all the time, then I'd definitely go get it checked to make sure. But if it's just one cycle and just for a short period of time, I wouldn't worry too much yet.....again just if it becomes chronic.

Well hope that helped!
M.

It may be that you have become slightly hypothyroid. The thyroid regulates body temperature. An underactive thyroid can make you feel tired/sluggish.

That's a low temp...is it out of the norm? I guess I'd be curious if you are having any other symptoms of concern to help me better understand what sort of insights might be helpful to you.

I'm thinking you have a reason for concern so I hope whatever is happening gets better soon:) Physical health concerns, particularly when a mystery, can be very emotionally difficult!

I know my response isn't very helpful...I guess more info would be help me better understand your concern.

Unrelated, but I do know of a few friends whose normal body temperature is around 96.7 so they have to tell their doctors during visits because if they have a temperature of 98.8, it's actually a fever. Might sound odd, but it's true!