There are a number of ovulation, or fertility monitors available for purchase over the counter. When I started tracking, which I started probably around month 9, I heard a number of different opinions about which monitor to use. I decided to start with the "cheap" option, which I put in quotations, because at $20-25 per month, it isn't really cheap. I used the Walgreens brand, because I work there, and 20% off sounded good to me. My friend, Shauna, used these when she was trying to get pregnant and recommended using them twice a day (morning and night). The tests are meant to notice a LH surge, which is a hormone that increases about 12 hours prior to ovulation. Doing the test once a day can make you miss the surge in theory if the 12 hours falls between test times. I always "surged" in the morning, so probably once you start to notice a pattern, you can reduce down to once daily. Here's a quick list of likes and dislikes about these tests (beyond the cost component)
* Your fertility is marked by comparing a "test" line on the urine stick versus the "control" line. You can see the line get darker as it gets closer to ovulation time, so even though it isn't exact science, you can see "high fertility" days as well as your "peak" days, which is when the test line becomes the same color or darker than the control line.
* On the flip side, comparing the colors can sometimes be confusing. I had a lot of months where I felt it was the same color/darker for a number of days and others where I wasn't sure if it really did get to the same color. I knew I was ovulating somewhere between day 14 and 16 but was never able to get an exact day.
* It is important to be methodical in your "dipping." The tests give you one plastic cup to use for all of the tests. Just like any standard urine test, you pee in to the cup and then you hold the stick in the urine for 15 seconds. You are not supposed to lift the test side of the stick upwards (so keep it leaning towards the ground or parallel) and then you should interpret the reading about 2 minutes later. Maybe I'm just lazy, but that is a lot to remember in the morning. And peeing on your hand gets old after a while, because what woman can aim straight for that cup?
* Apparently it is weird to show your "pee sticks" to your husband. I would try to show Travis the readings and he sort of just shrank away from them and I don't think really grasped the concept. Or he thought my pee had cooties.
About four months ago, I decided I wanted to try the "premier" fertility monitor, the ClearBlue Easy Fertility Monitor. I was VERY lucky that my friend Melissa had a monitor, which retails at about $200. ClearBlue ofcourse states that you should never share monitors, but if you know someone that has one, borrow it! There are exact instructions on how to reset the monitor for a new user, just make sure you read and reset before the start of your next cycle, because this monitor has you start tracking on day 1 of your cycle. On top of the monitor, there are specific sticks that you buy for the monitor; they cost about $65 for 30 sticks. This isn't so bad after your body gets used to the monitor, because you will only require 10 sticks per month, but at the beginning you usually have to use 20 tests.
I REALLY, REALLY like this monitor. Here is why:
* It tracks your entire cycle, making it easier to remember which day you are on.
* The monitor "interprets" the results for you and gives you a reading of either "low", "high" or "peak" fertility (one bar, two bars or three bars). No deciphering colors! I was able to nail down my ovulation day as day 16 after the first two months.
* The readings lead to an additional benefit, if trying to get your husband on board, because it gives them a very visual display of what is going on with your body. When I started using this monitor, Travis became interested in where I was and was a lot more understanding of the need for scheduled sex. Once he understood this, it made the "scheduling" less of a job and became more enjoyable for the both of us again.
* You only have to pee once a day (you have a 4 hour window) and can pee directly on to the fertility stick for only 3 seconds. Less pee on hands! Also, once you cap the stick and insert in to the monitor, you can go on your way and come back to read the results whenever. The results appear after five minutes, but you can leave the stick in there all day if you wanted to. This is nice for us working women because a lot of times we are fitting these tests in while making lunches, taking the dogs out, putting ourselves together, etc.
Here are a couple pics of the ClearBlue. The first is the display that I got today. You can see the two bars signaling "high" fertility and the cycle day listed. Also there is a pic of the test stick box.
I had one hiccup with the monitor and that was last month. The monitor is supposed to show you about 4 days of high fertility and 2 peak days. Each month, I start off around day 8 or 9 with a "high" reading, which I attribute to the clomid. It stays high through day 15, then day 16 and 17 show peak, day 18 high and then low until I finish out the required tests for the month. Same pattern was happening last month, except for day 16 came and went without a peak. Same on day 17. And then my tests stayed at "high"for the rest of the cycle. There is an apparent "glitch" in the system and if it does not get a peak read then it continues to ask for tests and give high readings until you reset for the next cycle month. If you are using this and this happens, do not waste your time or money when it continues to ask for more urine tests, they won't tell you anything useful. What I read is that this normally occurs for one of the three following reasons:
1. Missing a day or two of testing during your testing window
2. Peeing on the stick for too long (I think this was maybe my problem. I was always worried about not getting enough of a sample, so I often went way over the 3 second mark). ClearBlue recommends switching to a cup collection and then sticking the test in for 15 seconds. If I have another hiccup, I will probably take up this recommendation.
3. The monitor did not detect an LH surge, i.e. you may not have ovulated. This would have completely freaked me out, except I was using another method of ovulation tracking, which I'll explain below.
The other main method for tracking ovulation is to take your basal body temperature. I was recommended this from my acupuncturist so I decided to give it a whirl. I have no idea why I always thought this method seemed stupid, but I did and that is why two years in I had never tracked my temp. So I started tracking about day 12 of this past cycle and I am SO glad that I did. I just bought a standard Vick's oral thermometer and kept it by my bed. The acupuncturist had recommended taking the temp reading before getting out of bed each morning to get the most accurate pattern. My temps read between 97.6 and 97.7 degrees every morning. As I had said above, my monitor did not peak day 16 like expected, but on day 17 I got a spike in my temp to 98.1 degrees. The spikes are supposed to be minimal (I think somewhere between 0.1 to 0.6 degrees). I called my ob-gyn about my mixed readings and they said the temp spike did signal that I had ovulated.
So, the main point with basal body temperature is it will tell you AFTER you have ovulated (about 12 hours after). So, if using this method, it is important to graph out your results to clearly see the spike. From there, your most fertile days will be up to three days prior. This was consistent with my monitor readings, showing high/peak fertility days 14-17. I have decided to continue to track my temps in addition to the urine tests as a back-up. Instead of using a paper chart though, I searched my iphone for basal body temperature apps. There were 19 apps that tracked temps. I am trying OvaGraph, mainly because it was the first free app I saw. Super easy to use, you just set up your cycle length and then record your temps each day. It will show you your readings in list, graph and calender view. Here is a pic of calendar view, my graph still looks weird b/c I only have a few days logged in currently.
You can add some additional data in this app and one of the options reminded me of a third way to track your fertility. I do not do this because I just cannot get over the fact that it is gross! I'm pretty sure this is an immature response, but you know what, everyone has their limits. And mine is testing my cervical mucus. There is a fertility test that your ob-gyn can perform which is more specific, but you can "at home" test the consistency of your cervical mucus by literally reaching on up in to your cervix and examing the mucus yourself. Eww! Your mucus is supposed to thin out around ovulation to help sperm travel up to the uterus. When your mucus appears thinner and can be stretched >2 inches, this means that you are at high/peak fertility. Just for giggles, here is a list of options that you can choose to track your mucus appearance:
* egg white (stretchy and clear)
* watery
* creamy
* sticky
* dry
Just to clarify, I am not poo-poo'ing this method, I just can't bring myself to do it!
In my next post, I'll go in to the other tests that Travis and I have done, because I want to make sure I've covered all of them before what will most likely be a second round at the fertility specialist next month.
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