Fertility Monitor - worth it?

[whereismywine]

Im on the hard shoulder of ttc right now due to surgery. But from July we are good to go. Again. Had 16 cycles and no luck. No major reason identified but lots of personal question marks. Anyway, cons wants us to try for another 6 months naturally before moving on. I've done cheapie ov sticks and temping and thought I knew my cycle well and quit with the sticks ages ago but still temped. But a recent scan showed I'd ovd 3-4 days later than temps would suggest on fertility friend. Might a monitor be more accurate? Or are they a waste of money?

Hi Wine as long as you don't have PCOS and have regular cycles the CBFM could help pinpoint ovulation.
I think it's a bit expensive for what it does but you can get some great second hand deals on eBay.
Ive been ttc for 19 months, I used mine for the past couple of months and have had a chemical pregnancy. Still waiting for the all elusive BFP but I feel the CBFM has helped me as my ovulation dates have varied each month.

Good luck

Thanks cupcakes - do you think it helps more than just careful use of ov sticks?

Hi wine seen you over on your 'regular thread', do hope you are doing well.

I don't have advise on the monitor having never used one but I'm interested in the scan v BBT ovulation confirmation. I over rely on BBT shift as a confirmatory marker and have read FF carefully on this. I know that there are other less positive views on the value of the BBT shift outside of FF and your scan suggests that the reliance on temping and FF may be a poor choice (in terms of it being accurate) My reading of the FF site suggests that the shift 'confirms' ovulation, not gives a general indication. I guess if they said 'oh the temp shift could indicate ov within 3 or 4 days or so' is makes it nonsense to chart at all. I think it's kind of a big deal considering so many of us take these charts seriously.
Were you able to talk about the chart at the scan at all?

Hi purple, no because it was just a (fibroid hunting) scan. There were two follicles on the opposite side to where I had ov pains (!) and by her calculations I'd ovd on day 19/20 and ff had pinned at 16. My temps don't always shoot up, they go up gradually which I guess makes it a bit more ambiguous? I hadn't used ov sticks that month though, but it tied in with when I'd seen ewcm. My gp and his wife took 18 months to conceive. He said they charted but, the month it worked, there was no way she could have ovulated when the chart said she had as they thought they'd missed the window. So he wasn't dismissive of it in the usual poo poo way but had lost faith. In honesty, we shag fairly regularly anyway so I think I'm clutching at straws. But I just wondered if this might be a bit more definitive? Also temping makes me mental a lot and I'd quite like a break from it. If I can get one cheap (and sterilise it!) I may well give it a shot.

I got a BFP with a CBM so I would recommend it, having said that I can't tell whether the monitor really made any difference or it would have happened anyway!

A second hand one would be fine as the bit of the wee stick which goes in the monitor is clean, plus would be easy to sterilise. I imagine you could get one secondhand on Ebay and then sell it on a few months later for pretty much what you paid for it, I ended up buying mine from Amazon as i had a voucher. The sticks are quite expensive.

What I liked about the monitor compared with ov sticks is, firstly that it tells you your high days as well as peak days so I think it tells you about your fertility window a couple of days sooner than the ov sticks, and secondly you use it first thing each day with fmu which suited me better than the ov sticks.

HTH, good luck if you decide to get one!

Oh, forgot to say, I may have got a bit sucked in by the fact it was a gadget, so probably biased towards it for no good reason :)

Hey wine, hope you're holding up ok and sending you recovery vibes. I've got a CBFM. I like it, similar to Louisdog, just because i find it reassuring to know i'm in the 'high' part of the month as well as the 'peak' part and helps me panic a bit less about hitting that magic 36 hr window as I know exactly where i am in my cycle. Its not worked as such for me but think there are other things going on anyway. So psychologically I've found it helpful basically.

Just to say thanks for the observations wine it's helpful to know. Bit of a blow to hear the 'temps completely wrong' stories (not the first one I have heard either). I find it so cause temping is what suits me (OPK made me mental, my CM is rubbish and shagging EOD quickly turns into not shagging never again for me).

Hope you feel better very soon and have fun if you get the gadget.

Would this be suitable for someone with no thermal shift? I have been using ovulation sticks but I never get any lines. I have high FSH levels but I do get EWCM.

I've ordered one off eBay ready for my next cycle, mine are long and unsure when I ov for certain so think it will be useful for me, got it for the bargain price of £36! Bought my sticks separately which cost another £20 but still saved on the £99.99 price in boots!

There is some trick to save a stick as well - prob best to look it up to be sure, but basically I think after you get highs and then a peak, the next day it asks for a stick again yet is programmed to always give you a second peak regardless, so people recommended reusing the first peak day stick until it stops asking for sticks, to save money.

wine give it a go if you want to, but my own view is that it doesn't offer anything more than ov sticks/cm checking, i.e. the ability to predict when ov is coming. And if you are having plenty of swi throughout the month anyway, I don't see what it adds. But I am a big fan of feeling like I am "doing something". So if it helps with that side of things then go for it.

I think FF is fairly accurate if you get a clear biphasic pattern, but if you are a slow riser (like me) I can see how it could easily be a day or two out. I'm not sure how accurately the scan could time past ovulation though. Maybe the scan was a couple of days out too? Perhaps on that cycle you actually oved somewhere in the middle, around 17/18 or something?

I'm on my 3rd month of using a CBFM and havent had a peak reading so far only lows and highs.. i've had blood tests at the docs which have indicated im ovulating so ive found it very confusing Although I have read it can take approx 3 months before it starts giving you peak readings.. it has made me more relaxed about knowing were I am in my cycle tho and when we should be SWI

Mine arrived today do will be eBaying all my ov tests and sticking to the monitor if I'm not pg this cycle

i bought one as i'd tried ov sticks and never got a smiley face and couldn't be doing with the "which line is darker?" on the cheaper brands.

I wanted to feel i was doing as much as possible to help our chances.. Got peaks in first month and used it for 6 months showing i do have a reg cycle. i'm not pregnant and not using CBFM anymore, but it did help me understand that my cycle is regular.....

If you can spare the £ I'd give it a go.....