Ovulation Double Check

I don't know if very many of you know about this product yet, but there is an at home test that claims to confirm whether or not you ovulated. The product is called Ovulation Double Check and it is a test stick that you dip in your urine. It looks and works much the same way as the cheapie pregnancy tests. A company called MFB Fertility manufactures the product. According to them the test checks for Pregnanediol Glucuronide (PdG), which is the major urine metabolite of Progesterone. Progesterone is the hormone your body produces after it ovulates. It is also the hormone responsible for the temp shift if you track your temperature. MFB Fertility says that the presence of PgD in urine directly correlates with the presence of progesterone in blood. PgD levels in urine typically rise 24-36 hours after ovulation. They recommend that the tests are stored at room temperature in the sealed pouch they come packaged in and that they be kept away from direct sunlight, moisture and heat. Each pouch contains one test strip and it should be used as soon as it is opened. The tests come with a paper printed with instructions and information, including when and how to test. Unlike pregnancy tests, two lines is a negative result and one line is a positive. MFB Fertility says that in their studies most users reported a positive result 3-6 days after suspected ovulation. The pack contains seven individually packaged test strips. The tests are FDA Registered and are manufactured in an FDA approved facility.

Now, I feel that if these tests strips work, it could change the TTC world. There would be no more guessing whether or not you ovulated. There would be no back and forth to the lab for blood work to see if you ovulated. Anyone would be able to know if they ovulated or not, even those that are in between doctors or have some other problem with getting blood work. Think of the money you could save in pregnancy tests if you know you didn't ovulate. Some people have regular cycles and don't understand why they aren't getting pregnant and it's because they aren't actually ovulating. Those people would now be able to find out. Some people track their temperatures, have a temp shift and aren't actually ovulating, now you can find out. This is a great concept and I was very excited when I first heard about it, which was actually before it was even available for sale. I bought three packs of them from their crowdfund site. I paid $70 for 21 test strips. I feel like that was a little more than I wanted to pay, but still a pretty fair price. The tests are now for sale on Amazon, but it's $39.99 for 7 or $79.99 for 21 tests and according to MFB Fertility's Facebook page the price will be going up. Personally, I won't be buying anymore for that and I think that is a very steep price. You can get online and order a blood progesterone test for $50.

It seems that the majority of users of these tests are using them for birth control along with NFP rather than trying to get pregnant, which is interesting to me. I really thought there would be a larger following from the TTC world, especially from those that can't reliably use OPK's because of elevated LH. Women with PCOS will typically have that problem. I see so many people in FB groups and in forums that think they have already ovulated, but then their temps get weird or they get egg white cm. There wouldn't be so much guessing or being confused if you were using these. I don't know if the TTC world just hasn't really gotten wind of this product yet or what.

The tests themselves seem to be of good quality. The problem with strips tends to be that they are pretty small and thin, which can make them hard to read at times. However, these strips are decent size and I don't think reading them will be a problem. I can't say whether or not they are accurate yet. I should be ovulating in the next few days and once I do I will make a new post to let you know how they worked. All in all, I think if they work and they can find a way to make them more affordable, this will be an amazing product that everyone will want to have in their TTC arsenal. If you want to check it out for yourself then check out their website. They also have an email if you have any questions. If you have used the product, I would love to hear about your experience. Baby dust!

Round 1 (Again)

I haven't forgotten about you and I'm sorry I've been MIA. The only internet I have right now is running hotspot from my phone. I barely have enough service to work the phone itself, much less run the computer. It took 20 minutes of waiting to get this page to load so I could write this post. You would think someone would have come up with a better way for people that travel to have Wifi since our data slows to nonexistent speeds after so many GB. If someone could please do that I would really appreciate it!

Anyway, I had my appointment with my RE a few weeks ago. We are going to try Clomid for a while first and see what happens. I started on 100mg this time instead of the 50mg. Last time I was on it I ended up on 150mg before I called it quits. I'm currently on cd 6 (ugh). He mentioned possibly doing IUI if we don't have results with Clomid. I don't know if I would do IUI again or not. We tried it twice before and had zero results with it. He did test my AMH and I am patiently waiting for the results. To be honest, I'm pretty nervous about that test. As most of you probably know, AMH will tell us if I have enough eggs left to even bother ttc. I have often wondered if I have a low egg count and now I get to find out. Fair warning, if it comes back bad I will probably cry and curse a little bit. My main goal right now is get our credit cards paid off so that we can go to CNY in New York and do IVF. They are very cheap compared to many other centers and they have a great success rate. I have talked to many people that have gone there and I am determined that we will get there in the next year or two. I am currently in phlebotomy class so that I can get a job and help financially. Hopefully that will speed up the process and we can get there sooner rather than later.

I'm definitely having a hard time lately. Every day someone on FB posts that they are pregnant. This has been going on every day for the last few weeks. I'm seriously not exaggerating, not even a little bit. I know you won't believe that, but it's the truth. Every. Single. Day. I know there are a lot of people that get mad because that bothers me, but I really can't help it. It's not that I'm not happy for them, because I really am (mostly). It's just that every single new announcement is yet another reminder of my body's failure to do the one thing it was naturally designed to do. Just another reminder that all of the firsts I am experiencing with my daughter will more than likely also be my lasts. It's so frustrating that I am trying to so hard and doing all of the right things to make it happen and yet it's so easy for other people. I had really hoped that having my daughter would make the pain of infertility easier to deal with. I always thought that if I could just experience motherhood that it would be enough for me. In many ways it is and in many ways I'm totally okay if I never have another baby. The problem is that you never stop feeling broken. My body doesn't work the way it is supposed to. Period. Having my daughter hasn't changed that and hasn't changed what it feels like to know that. And it's not just having a baby. If we weren't ttc I would still be having problems because my cycles are so irregular. I have cysts on my ovaries that cause me excruciating pain that people think I exaggerate. My cramps are so painful that many people wouldn't be able to deal with it. It hurts. It hurts emotionally and physically. It's a lot to cope with and it's totally draining. Then, on top of all that, I feel like a failure to my husband. After many years and two losses I was finally able to give him a child, but he wants another one. Nothing can make that feeling of letting him down go away. I'm 30 and I've had fertility problems since my early 20's. My chances of getting pregnant now are pretty slim and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. I think the thing that irritates me the most is that nobody that hasn't experienced problems can even begin to understand or empathize with what I'm going through. So it's basically like I have to deal with it all on my own and that's really hard. Sometimes I just need to breakdown and cry. I need to let it all out because holding it in just gets harder and harder, but when I do that people make me feel like I have no right to. It's a vicious cycle and it never ends.

*Baby Dust*