My temperature chart looked like mountains because it was a chart

I held my phone sideways, hoping the graph would become obvious in landscape mode. It still looked like mountains. I could persuade myself there was a shift, then zoom in and lose it.

The app encouraged more interpretation than I could support. I had taken some temperatures late, missed others, and slept differently on travel days. Instead of correcting the chart until it told a cleaner story, I added notes about how each measurement was taken.

At my GP appointment I said, “I have been recording this, but I do not know what conclusions it supports.” I showed the chart alongside basic cycle dates. That sentence felt vulnerable; I had spent weeks treating careful tracking as evidence that I should understand it.

We discussed what information was useful for the question I had and what the app could not establish. I asked whether continuing would help, how to record disruptions, and when a measurement required professional interpretation.

I still like data. The neat line appeals to the part of me that wants uncertainty to become visible and manageable. But a graph is not more truthful because it is colourful. Now the chart includes gaps, late readings and travel. It looks less impressive and more like my actual mornings.