Duofertility? Anyone tried it?

[Iloveberries]

I've been knocking round these boards for the past 15 months ttc #2 and have read it all (manuka honey,Cbfm,smep,tcoyf,temping,pregnacare,giving up booze)

I have managed to get pregnant but unfortunately ended in ectopic and tube removal so we're now back at square one although obviously worse as I'm a tube down :(. :(

I am now lookingz into buying the duofertility monitor from boots...it's £500 so not cheap but you get your money back if you're not pregnant within the yr and I feel I need to be doing something rather than just bonking away every month legs open, fingers crossed style.

Anyone tried it? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks in advance.

My very honest thought is don't.

I'm going to be very blunt here and I apologise if I upset you or anyone else.

Now I've been TTCing for about 16 months now and am at the point where I am monitoring every single twinge, change in CM and change in temp but I know deep down that all this is doing is giving me a feeling of control.
For all the weeing on things and monitors I use, nothing is going to make that sperm meet that egg and make it stick other than sex. Well timed sex yes, but just sex.

All the Duofertility do-dah does is tell you to have sex. It isn't going to make his sperm stronger or your egg better. I'm sure that given the situation that you know damned well when you ovulate and you have made sure that you are having sex at the right time each cycle.

It will give you the feeling that you are doing something, that you are somehow in control. But it cannot make it happen.
I'm sure it works well but all it does is tell you to have sex. You can do that by yourself.

As I said, I'm sorry for being to blunt but I hate to see these companies preying on our longing desire to conceive.

I have to agree with pipbin. Am a similar length of time to you two (sucks, huh...) and agree that it couldn't help. Incidentally I expect they ask you questions and we might not qualify for the guarantee.

The only thing that it might do is help you relax, if you're stressing about timing (I do, I worry that the cbfm is wrong, so keep going all month, making it a but pointless...)

We are trying to improve things, rather than worry about timing. Various vitamins, acupuncture, etc. I have no idea if it'll work, but want to do all I can before ivf, if it comes to that (we are unexplained, possibly mild male factor. Nhs have said to just keep trying, or consider iui or ivf, though the Nhs won't fund ivf till 3 year!)

You have a child, and did get pg again, so with all the sympathy and empathy for you, I'd say don't get it. We are all so vulnerable and just want a solution, just keep that in mind.

Good luck to both of you!

Thanks for the opinions ladies. pipbin you didn't upset me so don't worry about that!

I totally see your points and that is where I was but I guess knowing that I a, valid for this 'money back offer' (and I am, even with one tube!) makes me tempted. If it doesn't help then I haven't lost anything and if I do get pg then yes it could have happened anyway but I wouldn't care if I was £500 lighter....

I'm having a call with them later to ask some questions so I'll see what they say. My main question is that if I know I am doing it at the right time anyway (Cbfm, cm) what extra does the duofertility do?

I agree the marketing does prey on our vulnerabilities though. Their 'what chance do you have this month?' quiz gave me a big fat 0! :(

Well I spoke to a woman on their team and I am DEFINITELY not doing it.

It's basically no better that using a Cbfm and a thermometer..... It predicts 6 fertile days and then confirms ovulation After the temp shift.

The are some amazing success stories out there but if like most of us long time ttc-ers you know your cycle then I wouldn't bother. (plus the 'fertility expert' was a bit rude and couldn't really answer lots of my questions).

She implied I wouldn't conceive. Nice. Gives me motivation to do it even more now - I hate being told I can't do something!!!

If you talk to them they are going to tell you that it is going to do all sorts of things to get you pg. It can't. All it is going to do is to tell you to have sex. It can't fix any anotomical problems. It can't make you pregnant. All it can do is tell you when to have sex. You are doing that already.

Trust me when I say that if someone said to me, 'give me £500 and I guarantee you will get pregnant' and I would be there with a roll of used tenners as quickly as humanly possible.
This device will not do that. Yes the guarantee sounds good but all it is is the statistics that we all already know. 80% (or what ever the number is) of couples having well timed sex will achieve pregnancy within 12 months. This does nothing more than ensure you are having well timed sex. You are already doing this.

I sympathise with your situation I would do anything to be pg, but I can see that this is not going to make that happen. It's not a miracle cure.

I don't know your financial situation but very few of us have £500 that we can just spend without a thought. Don't get one.

These are cruel people preying in our desperation to get pregnant.
There is an interesting thread about them on the Money Saving Expert forum. People saying that they have been refused the refund.

Cross post there.

Glad you are not doing it.

I can't believe their fertility expert said that you couldn't concieve. Many women concieve with one tube, that is why we have two.

Thanks pipbin sometimes we need a bit of sense smacked into us when we are desperate to have a baby!

I probably would have given it a go if it wasn't for the woman on the phone telling me I wouldn't get pregnant the way I am currently doing it.... That just pissed me right off!

Oh well, cd 5 on another cycle. It's just pissing me off now!

Maples, I think that given your situation with such long cycles then it is worth while.
However for someone with regular cycles under 40 days it's not really worth it.
Glad it worked for you.

It could do this is true.
I have found that the CBFM gave me a different window the first month I used it.
However I am temping and using OPKs too which all helps me pinpoint it.
This works fine for me as I have 33 day cycles that are regular. I can see how with long or erratic cycles it would help. However with regular cycles I can't see it would make that much difference. Certainly not enough to spend £500.

To me it just seems like people fleecing women who are in a desperate situation.

I don't understand how it can be an alternative to IVF. IVF is a medical procedure where they create an embryo for you. All the DF does is tell you to have sex more.

Also, looking into it I see that there are further running costs. The underarm sensors only last 6 months and cot £125 to replace. Also the adhesive pads need replacing too at £10 for 40. As well as that if you decide to continue to use if for longer than a year they want £45 a month to provide data crunching and support.

I'm sorry but it just seems like snake oil to me.

And also with CBFM there is a second hand market. Even though I bought a second hand CBFM I'm still buying the sticks from Clear Blue. Clear Blue are still making money from me.

From what I understand you have to return the DF to them when you get your refund. Not sure what happens when you get pregnant though.

Another point is that the moneyback guarantee only applies to getting pregnant, not staying pregnant.
I miscarried in March, got a monitor in May,didn't realize that I had just conceived after my first AF when I started using it, miscarried in June but since I hadn't conceived while using it was told it didn't affect the guarantee.
I ovulated 14 d after the miscarriage, though the monitor didn't confirm it till a few days after.I had conceived again but am now sadly in the process of miscarrying.
The information I got from the monitor had no bearing really on me conceiving, though I knew the date of conception more accurately than I would have otherwise and I got an email suggesting I do a preg test from my temp readings.
The advice from the team can be useful,and I have got a list of things we should look into testing for if we want to investigate my recurrent miscarriages. However, if your cycle is regular and you dtd ev 2 days from end of AF it should cover the right time I suppose without being told when to dtd.
I knew I wouldn't qualify for the full refund now but had the impression you could return the monitor for a partial refund, as we're not sure yet what we're going to do I emailed to enquire today but was told there are no returns.

Hi maples, I dont remember you recommending it but if you did then definitely don't apologise! My cycles are between 30-34 days and I of between 15&19 according to Cbfm. Can you explain a bit more what you mean about the duof giving different results to Cbfm? We did every other day from day 10 day 20 usually but maybe I am missing something.

The £500 doesn't bother me too much - we're lucky we can afford it. I do understand why they don't give money back if the pregnancy doesn't deliver a full term baby at the end of it.

I suppose I am at the point where I will try anything, especially now I am left with one tube only.....

Hey Berries if £500 is money you can spend without worrying then go for it.
I'm not being funny but I know it money I couldn't just spend. But if you can then good luck and I hope it works.

Found that temping and using fertilityfriend charting worked well for me. Low cost.