Are the clearblue OV tests worth the money?

[Mammabear31]

As the title says, really. After failing yet another cycle, I am determined to do everything I possibly can this month to get it right. If that means shelling out for CB then so be it; but are they very reliable? I have been using the one step cheapies from Amazon but find they can be a bit vague; especially as I cannot physically do a 4 hour urine hold. Any advice?

[xStefx]

Following this thread as I want to know too :-)

[Hippychic79]

I was using the cheaper ones and wasn't getting a very strong line - don't think i was ovulating. i started having weekly acupuncture for a month or so and then decided to buy clear blue digital opks - which i use as directed (first pee of the morning and start on the cycle day in accordance with my cycle length) - I like them because they give you a definite smiley face when you're ovulating... they work for me.... my issue is getting oh to dtd within the 24-72 hour window - he works loads and doesn't want to start properly trying until later in the year.... :) Hope this helps xxx

[beansbananas]

I found them to be very accurate... only took one go! Previously I had tracked my cycles for a few months using the Ovia app and I was lucky enough to conceive the first time I paid attention to my ovulation dates as predicted by the app. Sadly I lost this baby at 16 weeks, which really messed up my cycles amongst the trauma of the loss. As I appeared to have no consistency to my cycles for a few months, but felt ready to try again; I combined using the ovulation tests with the app. I decided to test one out on the first day I got them, and discovered I was actually in the 48 hour window that day! The app said I had another week to go, so I very nearly missed it. It's not the most romantic way to conceive, but I am now 25 weeks pregnant!

[DesolateWaist]

I can answer as I did clinical trials for Clearblue. I had the clearblue ov predictor, the one where you put the stick in the thing and it tells you if you are oving.
I had one already and then I did the clinical trials alongside my own, so I had two running along side each other, I also used the Internet cheap ones at the same time.
The clearblue is the easiest to use as you can use your first wee of the day, however I found that the cheap ones have just the same results, but with a little more work.

If you want one then buy it used on eBay. You can get the sticks on a regular order on Amazon.

My honest opinion though is that if you have got to the point in this journey where you are starting to think about this then you know your cycle and what you need to do well enough. It's helpful to get to know your cycle but a lot of this is helping you feel that you are actively doing something.

As Voltaire said 'The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.'

Never more true than when trying to conceive.

[RNBrie]

Please don't buy the expensive electronic one. I genuinely believe it's a massive waste of money and the company is just sapping money out of our desperation.

I had one and it was a pain in the arse. It only let's you test once a day and if it gets a high, then it will read high until you get a peak regardless of what the stick says.

I used mine alongside Internet cheapies as I wanted to test twice a day and the results were the same. It took a year to conceive dc2 this way. For dc3 we ditched the sticks and had sex every other day from the day my period ended to when it started again and it took 2 months.

For all three of my dc, my scans dated them further along than I was expecting so I believe I ovulate early in my cycle. The sticks never picked this up so I think we were having sex at the wrong time anyway.

[Mammabear31]

Thanks for all the advice. We've done everything we should - eating right, taking lots of supplements, quit drinking, we don't smoke. We don't exercise but we walk alot and are not overweight. We have sex every other night and to be honest I'm not sure anything else will help now, after 11 failed cycles. Grasping straws, really.

[Hippychic79]

Lovely feedback Beansbananas - massive congrats xxx

[RNBrie]

Crap, 11 failed cycles is where it starts to get really depressing.

I would recommend acupuncture, there is a small amount of research that says it helps but try and get a recommendation rather than just picking someone from Google.

How old are you? Might be worth a trip to the GP as there are blood tests they can offer you to check you're ovulating which they usually offer if you've been trying for a year.

[babymouse]

Used the sticks and liked that they used fmu as opposed to midday. I also used preseed (which may have had something to do with it as well). I got pregnant the first try, but it was chemical so am going to try again.

[Mammabear31]

RNBrie - I've had 2 acupuncture sessions, have another booked next week prior to ovulation. I think I am ovulating, as my cycles are very normal - 26-28 days, normal non painful periods. I've had positive OPK's before, the only thing I don't always get is EWCM. A few years ago I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries but not PCOS, plus I'm wondering if the EMCS i had to have with DS1 has caused any damage.

I'm seeing my GP on Monday about something else but will talk about all of this too, if I have time. Otherwise we will have to wait til March (a year since coil removed).

[DesolateWaist]

As for when to use the internet cheapies. I found that I got a very clear and accurate result from the second pee of the day.
I would have my first thing wee, get washed, dressed etc and then have another wee just before leaving the house. I'd always get good results from that one.

[DesolateWaist]

The other option is tracking your temperature. That can be something of a ball ache though.

[lucylou1234]

i got my BFP on cycle 16 after 1st month using CB digital that came as part of the clearblue trial. Easy to use and easier to interpret (i feel) than the internet cheapie - e.g. is my surge coming or have i just missed it? Me and OH both agreed thats whats worked for us as my cylcles varied from 24 - 35 days. I just pray every day its a sticky bean :)

[INeedNewShoes]

The instruction on the CB tests to test using FMU is almost universally disagreed with by fertility treatments. You should test between the hours of 10am and 6pm and test twice a day. You need to have a good idea of when the start of the surge is.

For anyone using OPKs to time fertility treatment I would say the CB digital are definitely worth the money as they are slightly more reliable than the cheapies. I use the cheapies to test from CD10 to ensure I didn't miss the surge and then add in the CB digital from CD13 (as I usually get the surge on CD14)

I had successful fertility treatment based on a cb digital positive when the cheapie was showing a not-quite positive test line yet.

For slightly less crucial timing the cheapies are probably sufficient.

[INeedNewShoes]

My first paragraph should say 'fertility clinics' not 'fertility treatments'...

[MissMagpie]

I have used the Clear Blue digital opk (the one that costs £20-25 with 10 tests) for two months.

I haven't fallen pregnant but it has shown me when my Peak fertility was which was not the same time in both cycles. I am finding it quite useful as extra information and to see if my CM matches what it says.