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!!

Glad to see things are going in the right direction for you hedwiggity and you ChandlersFarang. Fingers crossed you get your peaks soon.

hoping for a peak tomorrow tired of the symptoms now dont know how i haven't noticed them before now it feels like im coming down with something also hoping OV doesn't happen for 2 days at least as it takes OH a while to "fill up " again after DTD don't want OV with him running on empty lol

Hmm, that's a bit concerning for your OH. Try seeing if he will take a zinc supplement (or a multi-vitamin containing zinc) which should help improve things. Here is a link that explains more. health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/men/health-tips/5-benefits-of-zinc-for-men.htm#page=1

You should be aiming to DTD every 48 hours to maximise chances. More often means that they can't replenish properly iirc, and less often and you risk there not being enough there when you ovulate.

he is a bit overweight and he hates taking tablets i got him some fertilman that languishing in the kitchen drawers after 3hrs to get him to swallow 1 tablet lol hes a big baby when it comes to tablets. i think 1-2 to replenish sperm supply is normal wish i OV 1-2 days would be so much easier to get PG

Lol my husband isn't exactly built on the slim side either (massive understatement). If he can't/won't take tablets try to incorporate more zinc into his diet if you can as that should help. I sympathise with him to an extent because I hate taking tablets too but on the other hand, why should you be the only one to have to suffer . Agree multiple ov would help with the pg rates but think about the multiple babies that could result! Eek.

This will sound mad but I've put maca powder in food before stews etc to make sure hubby got what's needed! He now has to take proxeed drink as recommended by consultant to improve sperm but it's costly!

Pissed-off post alert!! ARRGGHH am on CD25 and the CBFMonster has just given me a low reading!!!!! No peak AGAIN. This is exactly what happened last cycle - high reading from CD9-CD25 and then giving up at CD25. Will have to pack it up now and go back to relying just on OPKs. This is so annoying!! I really hoped my cycle would be shorter this month. Looks like another 40 dayer. Am gonna stop taking pregnacare and switch onto a folic acid only tablet next month and see if that makes any difference. May go to see the doc as well - being Bangkok I can see a specialist straight away and pretty cheaply! Pesky body... That's two boxes of sticks wasted now as well, with no peak. Bloody pill!! If have come off it months before if I'd known it was gonna take so long to sort out my cycles afterwards.

OK rant over!!!!

Hiya lullaby!! Nice to see someone on my time zone are you living there permanently? How are you finding ttc there? X x

(hedwiggity here) chandler why don't you use CBFM later on in your cycle instead of the first day of the cycle ? so it can be used right up to your AF and it might get a chance at detecting a peak that way

Might try the maca powder mel was wondering the other day weather or not to chuck a couple of my folic acid and iron and zinc pills in my casserole thought the heat would destroy them and any benefits they had though ?

The maca will be ok I'm sure as you can put it in food, not sure id chuck all the other pills in :/ my hubby is getting sick of the drink now as he can't visually see any benefits.
Sorry to hear you got a low chandler it's annoying when they are expensive. I think that will happen to me this month. I'd start later in cycle too.

12dpo according to ff day 22 and another high on
Monitor and bfn on first response :( my cycles tend to be 28-31 days the odd time it's been early at 26.

Hedwiggity and thegrandhighwitch, in terms of zinc I have discovered that seven seas to blackcurrant flavour zinc and vitamin c capsules. They are suckable rather than to be taken as tablets iykwim. They come in a purple pot and are often on 3 for 2in boots etc. my DH is not keen on tablets but takes these quite happily probably because they taste and look like sweets I think we worked out that you need three capsules to get the rda of zinc but please check that!

I also read somewhere that pumpkin seeds are very good for men's sperm production so now sprinkle these liberally on all DH's soups and salads and mix with mayo in sandwiches etc not sure if it works but makes me feel proactive!

Hi all, quick update! Ttc #1, m/c 7 weeks ago so very nervous starting out again. Got my first peak this morning on CD15, despite getting a on the cb opk yday! Dtd last night. The lines on my sticks have been a mystery to me until this morning until I finally saw the two lines of the same strength. This 2ww malarkey is going to feel like a month! GL everyone!

Yay blankfornames that sounds pretty conclusive!! After my meltdown this morning I've had a faint line appear on an OPK this afternoon, and the first signs of some EWCM!!

This suggests to me that I literally JUST missed out on the monitor having chance to detect a surge by a day or two which is incredibly irritating!

So is it possible to start testing later in the cycle? I thought you had to star feeding the monster as soon as it asked for the first stick on CD6. So if I set it on CD1 and then ignore it's requests until maybe CD12, would it still work..? I hadn't realised you could do that...?

i got another high today want a peak now though fed up of highs lol i think next month i will program the monitor for CD1 when im on CD6 plus the 3-4 days it takes to ask for a stick that means i get an extra 10 days before AF arrives to use it took a bit of maths and a calendar but it will work im paranoid ill OV in the 10 days it doesn't test before AF

ChandlersFarang, my sister advised me to start testing from day 11 to save on sticks. I was too enthusiastic though and started when it told me from CD6. If I have to use it again next month (fx none of us do) I'll start from CD11. I can't see starting later making a difference tbh. It's still going to detect the LH surge one way or the other...won't it?

Isnt that a bit late to start testing ? How long is your cycle ? Mines only 29-30 days long but i do agree saving sticks is a must i dont see why it wants to test so soon after AF when your uterus is still recovering from shedding there is now way you can OV so soon i dont think

I wouldn't recommend to test later tbh. I know it is frustrating when you are getting nothing but low/high readings for ages as it has done for me this month when it started asking for tests on cd7 and I didn't get a peak until cd17. But on a previous cycle (last pg) it started asking on cd11 and I got a peak on cd13. Something I could easily have missed had I programmed it wrong or not bothered to test when it asked me to. Don't forget that for some of you, it is your first cycle using the monitor and it is also possible that you may not have ovulated this cycle through stress/illness etc and you may inadvertently scupper future chances by not using the monitor as intended. The test sticks are certainly expensive considering they pretty much get pee'd on then thrown away (or photographed and uploaded to the internet for other women to look at ) but they are cheaper than the pregnancy tests that will be done to confirm a BFP so won't they be worth it in the end?

I think if i use the monitor for more than 2 months i might consider using it a few days later once i have to roundabout ish days that OV is happening

Grand, the issue for me isn't the expense, it's the fact that the monitor will 'give up' if your cycle is too long. Exactly the same thing happened last cycle - it asked for tests from CD6, started giving high readings from CD9 and then on CD25 suddenly have a low. Once you get a low after a high reading there is no point doing more tests - the monitor will only give you lows until it is reset, even if you peak. I read that on the company site. So carrying on after the CD25 low reading for me really would be a waste of sticks. Then using OPKs I ovulated about 3 days after the CBFM stopped working (both times). Basically if your cycle is 35+ days then it's too long to use the monitor. Hence why some of the suggestions for starting later would be good for me, so that I can keep the bloody thing interested long enough to get to the peak reading!! Lol!!

I think I will set CD1 on CD7 so I give myself a week less. There's no way my cycle would suddenly be so short that that would stop anything working I reckon.

I'm not convinced either, day 23 and still high (I know it's only month 1 but had the old one for years) not sure about getting a duomonitor before ivf any experiences??

Ok this is my test today I got a high agi
ain but clearblue have changed their sticks to purple ones now and it has this weird line going through it anyone else got this problem

Hi ladies how are you all? this my first time using the CBFM I have the advanced one, I have had 10 days of high too!! It wants a another 10 days worth of sticks now lol ?? me and the hubby have been trying for #1 for 18 months now and I am seriously losing the will to live, an old colleague has announced her pregnancy on FB today after only 6 months of trying, I feel so low right now and feel the need to talk to someone is going through the same ?? Xx

Big hugs I know exactly how you feel :(

Thanks Mel3062 back at you! How long have you been ttc? ??