Ovacue Review

Ovacue, this review has been a long time coming and I'm sorry that it has taken so long to get to it. The Ovacue monitor claims to predict up to a seven day fertile window. That way you can plan intercourse accordingly. It claims to not only predict ovulation, but also to confirm that you actually did or did not ovulate. It is supposed to work for those that have PCOS and/or irregular cycles. There are no recurring costs, such as test sticks. All you need is the monitor, the saliva sensor and the vaginal sensor. They say that the vaginal sensor is optional, but ovulation can't be confirmed without it. There is the traditional monitor, which is what I have, and there is the sensors that connect straight to your phone.

How does it work? The sensors are supposed to detect changes in electrolyte levels in your saliva and cervical mucous. You place the oral sensor on your tongue every morning, before you eat, drink, smoke, etc. The monitor will track the trends in your electrolytes and looks for what they call a Cue Peak. Once the Cue Peak is identified, the monitor will populate your fertile window. The vaginal sensor is supposed to determine if you ovulated by looking for the trend that shows a move from estrogen dominance to progesterone dominance. The readings will be higher than pre-ovulation readings and stay high through the luteal phase. Their website boasts that it is 98.3% effective. Word of warning, don't try to interpret the readings. The numbers don't really mean anything, the trend is what you look at. There is an online community and an app for users. If you are having trouble deciphering your chart, there are specialists in the forums that can help you. The monitor runs $349 for the traditional and $299 for the mobile.

Now on to my personal experience with it. I got pregnant the second month I used this, but this monitor didn't help me get pregnant in any way. My fertile window and ovulation day was off the first and second month I used it. The month that I got pregnant, it actually gave me error codes. Fast forward to about a year later. I got it out to start trying for baby number 2. My vaginal sensor wasn't working. It had been on a shelf in the closet of my bathroom with nothing on top of it and nothing touching it, but when I got it out it wouldn't work. The sensors have a one year warranty, but of course my warranty was up. So I had to fork out $100 to get a new one. I used that one for a while, but before my year was up it had also quit working. I now have another one that I got from the warranty. If this one stops working then I won't be buying anymore. Reading over some of the forums and reviews, this seems to be an ongoing issue that apparently hasn't been dealt with yet. I have had no issues from the oral sensor and the one I have is the original one that came with it when I bought it in 2013. Does it work? For me...NO. Not one time has it ever predicted my fertile window correctly and the days that it confirms I ovulated has never been the day that I actually ovulated. This is the case even if I don't go by what it populates and only look at the trends. The vaginal readings are supposed to stay elevated after ovulation to coincide with elevated progesterone. My vaginal readings are always low after ovulation, which would cause some of the specialists to tell you to look into luteal phase defect or low progesterone levels. Any time I have asked them about why my chart doesn't ever follow the pattern it is supposed to they say that there could be many things causing it. Which basically means they don't know. They give the same copy and paste answers to every person that asks a question like that and tells everyone that if your cycles are irregular that you can't go off of what the monitor tells you. Instead, you have to decipher the trends in your numbers yourself or have them do it. Which, like I said earlier, it is still wrong even then. For example, last month I was on Clomid. I know that I ovulated because I had a clear temp shift and my seven day progesterone was 17.4. However, my vaginal readings stayed low after ovulation and did not always stay as high as my pre-ovulation readings. So basically this monitor does absolutely nothing for me and I wasted almost $400 on it, plus the extra $100 for the new sensor. If it works for some of you, that's great and I wish you luck. I personally cannot recommend for people to pay that much money on a product that over the course of three years hasn't gotten it right once. I also read over the forums quite a bit to see what experience others are having with it and there seems to be the same issues popping up with many people. If you have that kind of money to throw out and see if it works, by all means go for it. It may work for you. If you are on a tighter budget, I wouldn't risk it. If I knew when I bought it what I know now, I wouldn't have spent the money on it.

Below is my chart from last month. You can see from my temps when I actually ovulated (which also coincides with my positive urine ovulation test) and see that my vaginal readings were low.

If you have used the Ovacue monitor, please let us know what your experience with it was  by commenting below.

Two More To Go

Well, my first month back on Clomid was a failure. I most definitely did ovulate, but pregnancy tests were stark white. My Progesterone level was 17.4. That's not the best level I've ever had, but it was sufficient for my doctor. I did have a very clear temp shift, much more clear than some I've had lately. The plan right now is to finish this second round of Clomid and then do one more. If I still don't get pregnant, then I go back to the doctor to decide what to do next. My guess would be he'll suggest and injectable IUI course or just a Clomid IUI. I will try one IUI and possibly two. I haven't decided yet. What I really want to do is save up the money to go to CNY Fertility in New York and have an IVF cycle done. That will be the last thing I will try. If I still don't get pregnant after doing IVF I will wait until I'm 35 and then I will have a hysterectomy done. Hopefully my predisposition to pre-cancer cells won't force me to have it done earlier. I have spent so much of the last eight years obsessing over tracking everything and trying to get pregnant. I really just want to relax and enjoy life without thinking about it. I just can't until I know I have tried everything.

Okay, let's talk a little about the Ovulation Double Check tests. I used the tests with my last cycle and I know that I ovulated. The tests had two dark lines when I first started them. After a couple of days they did get very faint, but they didn't completely disappear. After speaking with Amy from MFB Fertility we think we may have figured out why. In about 5-7% of women, the progesterone is metabolized so fast that it may not register a true positive on the test. I know that I metabolize most things more quickly than other people and I feel this is probably what happened. The important thing is that the tests did get very faint, so I can make sure to look for that change and know that if I had a clear temp shift I more than likely did ovulate. Of course every cycle is different and I may get a true positive next time. Amy herself struggled with infertility and was blessed with two children. She says these tests are her way of giving back and helping those of us still struggling. She has been very helpful with any questions and feedback I have for her. I also wanted to add that the price they are on Amazon will not be going up. That was a misunderstanding on my part. After all is said and done, I highly recommend these tests for anyone that is trying to conceive and wants to make sure that they are ovulating. A lot of money can be saved on pregnancy tests if we know if we even ovulated or not. The customer service is amazing and the product itself is of very good quality. Give them a try!

On another note, who is ready for warmer weather? This cold weather is absolutely killing me. It's so pretty outside, but it's so cold. One day will be warm enough for tank tops and then it snows that night. I'm ready for fires and fishing and boating and everything summer. I know my daughter is getting tired of being cooped up inside. She's started being a little bit of a brat. She needs to be able to go outside and run off some energy. We have gotten out a few times, but hopefully warmer weather is coming soon.

Suggestions! - If there are any topics that you would like to see me cover or a product you would like to see a review on...PLEASE just let me know. This isn't a blog just about me and my journey, it's also to provide information to those of you looking for answers.