Please explain Clearblue Digital Ovulation to me.. totally confused!

[Ariba]

I have bought the Clearblue Digital Ovulation kit. We are older and due to various reasons DTD every other day for most of the month isn't ideal, but we will try best we can, and so I want to maximise our chances. I've read the instructions and some stuff on here about it, but I'm confused, if someone who knows could please help me out 💐

• I have PCOS and possible Endo and cycles range from 29 days to the most recent 39/40 days. I think I ovulate at any point between day 14/15 at earliest, to like day 25+.
• Instructions say use your shortest cycle in past 6 months to start testing, for for me would be 29 so start day 9. But then I read on here that if you have flashing smileys for 9 days then it will always read flashing after that no matter what? If this is right then it wouldn't be accurate for me or tell me, if I ovulated later than day 18?, which I do at times. Should I get another kit with separate reader thingy and start again if this happens, or no?
• Does the reader 'learn' from the sticks, or should I get a new one each month?
• Do you use first morning urine? or do you have to hold for like 3 hours before? I drink a lot of water so my urine is often quite diluted and I found the strip ovulation tests to be difficult to read because of this, but maybe cause was only doing them once a day, do you use clearblue more than once a day? or would this confuse it?

Sorry for the length of post, no idea where the bullet points came from! and thank you xx

Hey! I don’t have any experience with PCOS but I can explain what I did when my cycles were all over the place if that helps. I use the advanced ovulation sticks (purple ones).

When I first came off the coil I had a mini bleed and took that as my ‘period’. Then about 10 days later I started using the tests to gauge a rough cycle and note it on my app (I use Clue). The first month or 2 I used A LOT of tests as I had no idea what my cycle was and month 2 I didn’t get a period at all so my app thought my cycle was like 56 days or something! Then once I bled again I did the same thing, start testing day 10 onwards to get a rough idea.

With irregular cycles I think that’s one of the things you could do (expensive I know). Mines are now regular (28 days and I ovulate on day 15) so I test about 3/4 days before ovulation as I sometimes get 4 days fertility (3 flashing and 1 static) or 3 days (2 flashing then static) so I’m only using 4/5 tests per month.

I always use my first morning urine as it’s easier and like you I drink a lot of water so any other time is useless. Tbh I don’t think it matters too much for ovulation as long as it’s the same time each day but don’t quote me on that. I’ve not used the clear blue more than once a day as my fertile window is quite long but my sisters was 12 hours each month so she needed to test twice a day to be able to plan. So unfair how it’s different for everyone.

Good luck trying 🍀

Hi Kermit, thank you so much. Do you use the clearblue kit which has the sticks you put into the reader? do you use the same reader, or get a new one each month? I think I will use FMU too cause otherwise mine is too diluted. I may try testing twice a day towards mid-ish cycle if a longer hold so long as I don't mess with the testing by doing that. Interesting about your sister, I suspect I have a short peak as well and I think it's in the evening or night time. Some months I get clear signs of ovulation at CD14/15/16, some months more like CD18, this month CD24, some maybe I don't ovulate at all. So it's really difficult to know when.

Good luck for you too xx

Hi, just posting to say I'm in the same position! Tracking with these tests for the first time (the pink ones), I'm on CD 15 and still getting a circle. My cycle can be up to 32 days so I suppose it could be later. From what I can tell the tests don't learn, it's just comparing the 2 blue lines inside the test, and if its darker we'll get the smiley face on these tests. I am doing them first thing in the morning. I also started proceive max this month and wondering if it is delaying my cycle, I would typically have EWCM by now. Best of luck with your ttc journey!

Yeah I use the one where you put in the holder. I use the same holder each month and only change when I buy a new box. Strange as you can’t buy the sticks separate but I heard it’s to do with battery life as the static face stays on for 2 days I think so could be that. It’s a mind field 😭

I’m sure I’ve read these aren’t suitable for pcos, I’m not 100% but worth a search!
I’ve used them previously, I would test once in the morning until I got ewcm, then twice a day until peak. However I found it would give me the static smiley much earlier than the cheap strips, so I was actually ovulating 2+ days after the clearblue gave me a peak. I stop using them and only used cheap, I like you drank a lot but I could still see a definite surge and fall

@Summerrose24 Thank you, and good luck to you too. I had a really long cycle this past month - 39 days when it's usually 29-33. Worrying I could be in perimenopause (I'm 37), but my daughter who's 19 also had a really long cycle as well this month, and I read somewhere that the mid winter time can cause this, so maybe the same for you. Yeah I keep reading about the vitamins messing with cycle so I am just going to take folic acid, and my usual occasional multivit and mineral and omega 3.

@Kermit04 Yeah it is a complete minefield isn't it! thanks for letting me know, I thought maybe the kit would 'learn' from our cycles if using the same one, since it is so expensive.

@BGxxx I've read that as well about PCOS, but I'm going to give it a try anyway.
Do you know how long after ewcm you actually ovulate? The only possible 'reliable' sign of ovulation for me is ewcm, I get like a 'blob' of it (sorry for tmi) usually around day 13-14 of a 29-33 day cycle. However this month I timed dtd to start from day 13, but I never got ewcm at usual time ): ): I thought I'd not ovulated at all but then got ewcm at around day 22/23/24 can't remember exactly, and cycle length was 39 days this time, so think it could be accurate for me.
That's interesting about the cheap strips vs the clearblue. I have tried the strips before but maybe I wasn't testing enough (just once a day) and I never got any peak the line never got anywhere near as dark as the control. I've also ordered them too though.

@Ariba I would have ewcm for 5+ days, would normally ovulate about 4 days after it started! I would test at least 3 times a day, I have a fast peak so if not I would completely miss it. It’s worth trying that as well the clearblue if you’ve ordered them