What did the Clearblue Fertility Monitor give you that regular OPKs didn't?

[Lindsay81]

My friend is giving me her CBFM to reset and use, now that she is pregnant.

My doubts about it have been echoed by some reviews I've seen.

Example: you always see a darkening line on regular OPKs for, let's say, 3 days (3 x "high" days) and a positive line for one day, therefore you likely ovulate the next day (2 x "peak" days). This, in theory, gives you the 5/6 high or peak days that Clearblue market the CBFM on, right?

So does it really give you any more information than normal OPKs? Reviews, thoughts and opinions all welcome!

bump.
just been given one too and interested to see if it's worth it!

With OPKs it's not always clear that LH is rising, and not for everyone either. The monitor is more reliable to predict an upcoming rise, because it measures oestrogen levels. If they rise, then an LH surge should follow in the next days. It usually gives you 5 high days and 2 peak days, so more than regular OPKs do.

So the advantages of the monitor are:

• You poas in the morning, just once a day. You wont miss your peak, because it uses first morning urine.
• It tells you when to start poas, so you don't have to keep track of it
• It is very reliable, it reads the sticks, so you don't have to. Subtle rises in oestrogen you cannot see yourself, but the machine can.
• As said, it gives you more time before the LH surge. After the LH surge (and the first peak), you should ovulate between 12 and 48 hours.

A disadvantage can be the cost, but if you figure out how to use the stocks economically the cost is not that much! In most cycles I only used 7 sticks or so and you can get boxes on amazon for a good price.