A thread for anyone TTC with a ClearBlue Fertility Monitor!

[ChandlersFarang]

Morning ladies!! I was hunting around for a recent thread for anyone TTC with a CBFM but couldn't find any - please let me know if one is ongoing that I didn't find!! But otherwise I wanted a place to share experiences with other ladies using this rather interesting gadget. It makes big claims for success!!

About me - I'm TTC baby #1, cycle #3, expecting AF or BFP on 2-12 June.

I'm still having slightly long cycles after stopping the pill - this is my first cycle using the monitor properly, because my last cycle went on for 40 days, and the machine got bored and stopped asking for sticks after 25 days!!

I'm currently on CD09 and had my first day of a high reading today, although I know the machine gives out high readings like they're going out of fashion so not reading much into that! Will be kicking off the SMEP (sperm meets egg plan!) from today though anyway just to be sure.

Would love to hear from you!!

[hedwiggity]

Im on CD9 today still a low reading and these stomach cramps wont do one looked at my ovulation app and tomorrow should be a high FX please be a high and put my PCOS theories to and end !

[ChandlersFarang]

Hey HighWitch! Well remembered, we're all here on MN, furiously posting and POASing away, as ever! Ha ha. I have to say I've never heard of an ovulation microscope?! Will have a google now. Can you tell us more?

Just fed the CBFMonster with day 20's pee stick. Second line just about there but the usual one is still very dark, I think it's meant to fade as LH surge starts so don't think ov will be happening today! Have had 11 high readings now. Really really really hope my cycle is short enough for the monitor to actually show a peak this time!! Eek!!

[TheGrandHighWitch]

Hi ChandlersFarang.
The ovulation microscope I have is this one: www.amazon.co.uk/Babystart-BSF-FertilFocus-Ovulation-Microscope/dp/B001CQJPS4?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21. Now I must say that it is quite a lot of money for what it is (I was extremely lucky and bought mine for about £3 at Tesco a few years back). However, it is completely re-usable and so that does help make the cost a bit easier to cope with. To use, you add a drop of saliva to the lens first thing in the morning (or anytime as long as you have had nothing to eat or drink for at least 3 hours so first thing is easier I find). You then wait for it to dry, pop the lens back into the case and use the built in light to view the sample. The idea is that the estrogen causes the saliva to take on a 'ferning' pattern which looks like ferns on a plant or frost on a window. The more ferns you get, the closer to ovulation you are.

It is very discreet as it is about the size of a lipstick and I do it in the morning as part of a routine. Basal body temperature via thermometer, drop of saliva on the microscope lens, CBFM test stick (where applicable). All the data from that gets added to my fertility friend app on my phone.

My monitor has showed nothing but high readings for the last 9 days (and one low reading the day before that) so I am getting a bit disheartened by it now. The only thing which is helping is that I did get some cramping yesterday and again this morning which I am hoping are ovulation pains and that the high readings on the monitor is simply because this is the first proper cycle the monitor has done for me since TTC with my last child. I am on CD16 so should have ovulated by now assuming I have a 28 day cycle.

For yours though, I thought the monitor only asks for 10-20 sticks so sounds a bit worrying if this morning was your 20th test. Hopefully you have already ovulated and the monitor simply didn't recognise it.

[Aprilray]

Ooh, I thought I had everything ttc related but hadn't come across the ovulation microscope, have added it to my Amazon wish list - thanks HighWitch
Hope your CBFMonsters start giving out peak readings soon ladies!

[blankfornames]

ChandlersFarang, I didn't know that the more prominent line fades the closer you get to ovulation? I'm on CD11, monitor gave me a high reading this morning but the line is still quite dark and second line is barely visible. Hope you get your peak soon!

[ChandlersFarang]

Wow witch thanks for the new tip! That gadget sounds amazing! How clever that you can determine ovulation from saliva as well. Well done human body for being so cool. 31 years running mine and still learning new tricks and operating features ha ha.

Just to clarify I'm on CD20, but have only been feeding my CBFMonster since CD8, so that's 12 sticks so far. Fx I get a peak in the next 8 before it gets bored again and goes into hibernation like last time. 40 sticks with no peak over 2 cycles would not be the wisest use of money! Lol.

Don't be disheartened about the high readings - I've had exactly the same thing but lots of people still report getting the peak reading so it's worth plugging away!!

Yeah I read that you can learn to read the sticks - that line you always get from the start of the cycle is indeed meant to fade a bit as the other one gets clearer. Although I've never had a peak myself so not seen this - can anyone else confirm or share their experiences? I'm not expecting to suddenly get a peak reading with the sticks looking the same all the time.

[blankfornames]

Ah, that's good to know. I must start keeping the next few sticks and comparing lines! Thanks!

[TheGrandHighWitch]

Ah, glad to hear I have just misread it then ChandlersFarang and there is some time yet. I am hoping that I have either ovulated and the monitor hasn't recognised it or will ovulate in the next few days. I have got 10 more days of test sticks left for this month or I will have to spend another £20 on them.

Re the lines, I think it is correct for the first line to fade as the other darkens. As far as I know, the first line represents estrogen which is needed to make you ovulate. As you near ovulation, the estrogen drops as the LH increases which is what sparks ovulation. The LH is what causes the second line to appear. After ovulation you get progesterone which is what causes your temp to rise. Incidentally a raised temp for 18 days after ovulation is apparently a definative sign of pregnancy and that was certainly the case with my second child (although I only charted up to the day I got a BFP then).

So in a nutshell it should be; The first line = estrogen and the more prominent it is, the higher the reading on your monitor. The second line = LH and the more prominent that one is indicates you should be approaching peak fertility. Neither should be as obvious afterwards as progesterone is used then and the tests don't check for that one.

Finally I would like to apologise for how often I have used the word ovulate/ovulation in this mammoth post .

[blankfornames]

Wow TheGrandHighWitch thanks for taking the time to explain that!! I'll be line watching intently from now on! Jeepers, there's so much to learn.. and this is before little ones even come along!!

[hedwiggity]

CD10 and still no high thought today was the day well maybe tomorow

[TheGrandHighWitch]

No problem blankfornames, happy to help where I can.

Sorry to hear your highs are coming late hedwiggity. IIRC you were the poster worried about potential pcos? If so, I don't think you have to worry as I beleive pcos causes extensive high readings on the monitor and so in your case, it points more towards a later ovulation than you thought. It is also possible that you will go from low to peak and skip the high bit depending on how quick your hormones act.

The last time I used my monitor for TTC it didn't ask for any tests until CD11 (I am looking back at my chart from then I don't have that good a memory lol). That was followed by two days of peak readings then one high reading and then that was followed by 12 low readings the last of which was taken the day before my BFP. I should stress that I was on clomid for that cycle so I don't know if that skewed the dates as it would have forced ovulation to occur. But it should mimic a 'normal' ovulatory cycle to a certain extent so you may well be on track. HTH.

[TheGrandHighWitch]

Sorry, should have said that the test on CD11 of that cycle was a high reading.

[hedwiggity]

phew thanks for that i can put my PCOS worries aside and stop annoying OH with my worries think im just going to wait and see and stop expecting a BFP i have until the 15th next month to get a BFP before next AF/monitor reset so lots of time

[TheGrandHighWitch]

So excited as I finally got a peak this morning! CD17 so I expect I will either have a longer cycle or a shorter luteal phase. Knew something was going right when my ovulation microscope showed much more ferning patterns than it had been doing. Then noticed the second line on the test stick was much more obvious than the first one which is way less noticeable now. Just need to wait for the temp spike to confirm once ovulation has occurred and DTD in the meantime and hopefully job done. I can't quite believe it as my previous pregnancies were via clomid so it's brilliant that my body is actually doing what it should be doing without any help.

Pics below are the ones from the microscope if you are interested in what it looks like. Pic one was on the 20th, two on the 23rd and the third one was from this morning.

[hedwiggity]

wow congrats grandhighwitch always wondered what "ferning" was when i saw these scopes on amazon now i know :) hoping i get a peak this week too

[guineapig1]

Great news thegrandhighwitch! CD12 here but fourth day of high on the monitor. Really hoping for a peak sometime in the next week and trying to resist buying one of those microscopes which I had never heard about till now

[TheGrandHighWitch]

Thanks hedwiggity and guineapig1. The only thing that is concerning me slightly is the lack of cm (sorry for the tmi). It seems like everything is on track but that. I am using the cough medicine trick to try to help but it doesn't seem to be making a difference and I would hate for anything to scupper it when my body is finally doing something right.

The good side is that my cd17 peak should give you hope that it can happen even if it is a bit late.

[blankfornames]

There's a cough medicine trick too?? My gosh.. I'm really falling behind here!

[TheGrandHighWitch]

Well there should be but in my case it isn't working right now which is a massive pain. Essentially you can take certain types of cough medicine to make your cm more like ewcm. It has to be an expectorant one like for chesty coughs and you are looking for an ingredient called Guaifenesin.

[ChandlersFarang]

Witch thanks for the confirmation about the sticks/lines.... This morning I've finally started to notice a very slight shift in the two lines today! Am anticipating ovulation in next few days... The irony is that DH might be away weds-fri this week on a work trip - AAARRGGHHH!! I've got the longest cycles ever so missing one peak day would be crushing!!! Fx the peak comes fri when he gets home...

And those photos of 'ferns' are amazing! That is so cool!!

I've not been doing the cough medicine thing but the grapefruit juice thing for EWCM. Apparently the cough medicine loosens what is already there so it's more slippery and less clumpy, while grapefruit juice is meant to help you produce more. Interesting stuff hey! Have had a glass every morning since CD1 so I'll let you know if I get more this cycle!!

[hedwiggity]

I just use a bit of pre seed when I'm dry I've had loads of dryness past month but this month i have a bit of ewcm i think it helps to not wash down below with soap i used to do in the shower but now don't unless i use the vagisil PH gel after dtd even if your dry it doesn't mean you aren't OV

[hedwiggity]

Fun thing about the monitor using the first pee of the day i just had mine at 2am !! Had to leave it in a blooming tumbler at side of the sink hope OH doesnt see it before my 6am test time or he'll think ive lost the plot

[TheGrandHighWitch]

Thanks hedwiggity, I guess I just worry that the environment wont be good enough to let anything survive long enough to fertilise an egg lol. In any event, we DTD last night and todays temp was higher than yesterday (but no higher than it has been already this month). Test stick lines looked more or less equal this morning but after some drying time, the second line is still fainter than the first which means I am still at a 'peak' time. Microscope seems to be pointing towards non fertile though (have a sample drying atm) so should be in the tww now.

I did my test at around half five this morning as I have been struggling to sleep properly for a few weeks now. But does anyone know if the sticks are affected by the breakdown of the hormones like pregnancy tests are? HCG for example breaks down in urine if stored (this can be slowed down by storing samples in the fridge but ewww) so this can affect how well the test performs as a 20mIU/ml test may only be picking up 10mIU/ml in the sample and give a false negative iyswim. I have no idea if this happens with the cbfm sticks though. I have read it is better to test as late as you can in order to pick up the LH surge but on the other hand, how are you meant to do that plus use fmu when you wake up in the early hours?

Sorry for the rambling there. If you made sense of that then well done to you.

[hedwiggity]

I just did my test and its another low only been using the monitor from CD3 so still time for a peak i don't think it made any difference using urine from 2am for an 8:30 test but thats just me

[TheGrandHighWitch]

I just googled it and it appears that these tests aren't affected in the same way so it is fine to store it but important to ensure it's fmu. Also found out that if you test via collected urine then you need to dip the test for 15 seconds. I dipped for 12 seconds this morning as for some reason thought the dipping time was 10 seconds to that helps explain some of the faintness.

Hopefully your highs will come soon hedwiggity. How do your test sticks look? I think roughly speaking, Line near edge of test - faint, inner line - dark = low. both lines the same = high. Line near edge of test - dark, inner line - faint = peak. So if you have previous days tests to compare them to, you may be able to guage if you are going in the right direction so to speak.