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Product Details
- Binding
- Health and Beauty
- Brand
- Clearblue
- Feature
- Typically identifies up to 6 fertile days
- Label
- Clearblue
- Publisher
- Clearblue
- Studio
- Clearblue
- ItemDimensions
- Height:100
Length:100
Weight:0.7
Width:100 - PackageDimensions
- Height:200
Length:780
Weight:40
Width:600
Editorial Reviews
The Clearblue Fertility Monitor helps reduce the time it takes to conceive your baby. This handheld digital monitor is the only product to track two key fertility hormones and store your personal cycle information. The optical reader assesses hormone changes in your urine to clearly identify your fertility status every day. The Clearblue Fertility Monitor has been shown to accurately predict ovulation when compared to fertility specialist tools such as serum hormone measurements and vaginal ultrasound scans, but testing can be done at home and at a fraction of the cost.
About the machine: You have to program it to start during your period. So, if you buy it in between your cycles, you need to wait until your next period to begin using the monitor, however you can program it up to day 5 on your period, meaning if you buy this and you are anywhere from day 1-5 in your menses, you can program it for whatever day between those five days you are on. If you purchase the monitor and you are on day 3 of your period, the monitor will allow you to program day 3 and start from there. For me I had a bit of trouble figuring out the programming but to be honest Im not that mechanically inclined, but I did eventually get it.
You start testing when the maching tells you to, so you won't be testing everyday. This helps because it saves $$ on the sticks. You pee on the stick in the morning (first morning urine for best results, as opposed to afternoon urine with OPK'S) at the same time every morning. There is a 3 hour window that is allowed. So if you set your clock for 7am, but you really have to pee at 5:30, you pee at that time so the urine is concentrated. The 3 hour window can go either way- before 7am or after, just as long as its the first urine. The machine will give you either a low, high or peak (with a little egg next to the peak days) reading. The instructions advise you to baby dance on high and peak days.
Now for the cons. Its pricey! The machine itself is expensive, much, much more then OPK's and the sticks are pricey as well. When you buy the machine it will come with a certain amount of sticks, but then you need to buy refills which can get costly.
Did it work?? For us it worked. I was able to get pregnant the second cycle using this monitor. It showed that I was ovualting on day 10, where I figured I was around days 12-16, so we were way off. With the new found knowledge of when I was actually ovualting we got pregnant with our little boy.
The machine is simple and easy to use. I know that it's expensive and that the cost may be off-putting, but it is certainly cheaper than consultations with fertility specialists. I also have a very demanding job and was not consistent with keeping up with my charting, etc.
This is such a sensitive issue for so many people. I think we need all of the help we can get. Good luck!
I used this monitor every month for over a year with one successful pregnancy (ending in miscarriage). The very thing I liked about this tool is possibly what prevented my getting pregnant sooner. I relied too much on the accuracy of the monitor! The machine reads the stick and displays the "fertile day" sign. If there are any errors in this reading, you won't know because you can't read them yourself. You must rely totally on the accuracy of the machine. Whereas, with the simpler ovulation predictor sticks, you can read them yourself; see the line to determine if it is darker or lighter than the test line and can compare it with sticks from one day to the next.
After trying to conceive for so long, I found myself only focusing on the "prime fertile days." I didn't have the energy to "try" if the monitor didn't say I had to. I think by narrowing my target to the 2 or 3 perfect days that this machine predicted, caused me to actually miss my fertile days. I think the machine was wrong. I came to this conclusion one month when I decided to check behind the monitor by using it simultaniously with the ovulation predictor sticks. The monitor read my LH surge as day 12 and I read the sticks as surging on day 18. If I had not checked behind the machine, so to speak, I would have missed my actual peak time. By NOT paying attention to the monitor readings, I persevered and kept at it until day 18 and this was the month I got pregnant.
I'd recommend that if you do buy this monitor, use it as a guideline and not as the gospel. Use it to indicate your fertile days but don't stop there. Don't just "try" on the fertile days. The one pregnancy I did have was due to "trying" even after the machine said it wasn't productive.
One final note, the sticks for this machine are bought in boxes of 30 and are very expensive. You MUST use 10 per month dictated by the machine. Purchasing the box of 5 or 7 ovulation predictor sticks is actually less expensive and you need only use the number of sticks until you see the "peak." These kits are complete as is (just add urine!) and do not require the purchase of an expensive machine.
Good luck!
A couple friends had used this monitor with amazing results, and though we hadn't started trying to get pregnant yet, I purchased this monitor in the hopes of improving our chances (and my sanity - since my wife was getting wound up worrying that we wouldn't be able to conceive).
The plan was to use it one "practice month" so that the machine could learn her cycle and she could get use to it, and then get serious the next month. Well, guess what? Using the machine she got pregnant that first "practice" month.
It was truly a mixed blessing because I was looking forward to at least a month or two of hard work but instead my part was done before I ever really got started (husbands should take this into account). In all seriousness though, the relief on my wife's face was well worth the expense of this little gadget. We were sold on this device and used it again, with similar results, to conceive our second child.
I will add a caveat though. We have a friend who was not successful using this device. In the end it took her 3 invitro sessions to finally get pregnant and have her baby, so I'm thinking other issues were involved, but I want people to know that while this device works surprisingly well, no device is 100% guaranteed.
For those who claim it gave inaccurate readings: did you test EVERY day, because missing a day will yield incorrect readings; are your cycles IRREGULAR, because this product won't help you if your cycles run over 40 days; and did you perform your test within the proper WINDOW of the day, because, again, if you tested outside of the specific time period your results won't be accurate. The directions are very specific!!
It is easy to use, honestly the instruction manual is kinda overwhelming.. BUT it has a lot of required troubleshooting info.. if you get an error on the screen what to do etc.
Basically you set the monitor for whatever time you want to test and every morning you test at that time or two hours around that time.. You pee on a stick click the cap over the pee area and put it in the monitor.. it just SNAPS in place. It reads it then tells you weither you are Low, High or Peak.. VERY Clearly and it's easy easy easy to follow and read. You don't have to sit and look at it waiting for a response you can go about getting ready for your day come back and take the stick out and read your status.
I found that it just let's you know EXACTLY when you should try to conceive. I learned some months you peak and some you don't and that is just a normal thing..happens sometimes. My Sister-in-law had problems conceiving and she tried it and got pregnant about 3 cycles into using it. I've got two friends that have used it as well and both have newborns now. It's fast and easy.
On a side note.. I have also seen the stresses it puts on couples.. TONIGHT'S THE PEAK NIGHT ETC... Personally I think you should keep "that" info to youself.. don't want to deal with performance anxiety!! I also found that just making sure during peak and HIGH that you are doing the "baby dance" makes conceiving a higher possibility.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: These monitors CAN NOT be reset. So if you buy one off of ebay or borrow from a friend.. it will still think you are her..with her cycle time and all the other info it learned from her. SO your first month you may find that you are using A LOT of sticks for it to get used to you and figure out when you ovulate. Customer Service told me the first months reading may even be inaccurate with a borrowed monitor.
Also from Checking EVERYWHERE for the best stick deal amazon has just about everyone beat AND they offer free shipping on the sticks!! :-)
Good Luck!
1. Getting up in the middle of the night (or early morning) to pee throws off the monitor's result, leading to the wrong "peak" days.
2. Missing the first test day (cycle day 6 or so) throws off the monitor's result, leading to the wrong "peak" days.
(Note: I confirmed with my doctor and other tests that this monitor gave the wrong result, missing ovulation by four days).
3. There is no ability to scroll back and forth to review previous month's data.
4. The setting of the time window for testing is very unintuitive and inconveniently restrictive.
5. Per the company's spokeperson, the monitor only picks up one "peak" day and automatically labels the following day also as "peak" regardless of what is actually detected in the urine. This is problematic because the monitor can get the first peak day wrong for the reasons above and, because of this feature, does not allow you to continue to monitor to detect your real peak. (Actually, it does allow you to submit a sample but the result is pre-determined).
6. There is actually very little useful information about the so-called period of "high" fertility preceding the "peak" time. The monitor doesn't actually use your previous cycles like it claims to (so say their representatives when you call to ask about it).
7. The representatives of the company are not very knowledgeable about their product, refuse to share information about how it works on grounds that it's proprietary, and generally are quite rude when you call with questions.
You would do just as well and save a lot of money buying the inexpensive test sticks.
If you do borrow it from someone, remove the battery and reinsert it then reset the monitor as if you just bought it.
WORKS GREAT!
UPDATE!!!!!
I am holding my beautiful baby boy now and only used this machine for 2 months. It is a godsend!!
So I bought the monitor. Sure, it seems a little pricey, but compared to having to possibly spend thousands on infertility treatments later, it is a STEAL. Each month of trying really matters a lot, especially when you're getting older. I didn't want to waste any time.
Unlike the ovulation sticks you can buy from other companies, this monitor gives you more days of heads-up when your fertile days are approaching. It doesn't just tell you the day or two when your LH is rising, but also several days before when your estrogen is increasing. No other system does this.
As I recovered from the miscarriage and was closer to being able to start trying again, I started using the monitor to see when my cycles were going to come back to normal (in other words, when my ovulation date was around day 14-15 like it was before I ever got pregnant). It felt good getting so much information about what was going on with my body.
For the first two months I used the monitor, I saw my cycles steadily returning to what they had been before the pregnancy -- which was a great relief. Each month I got a little closer to the way things were before. It was a GREAT feeling to know my body was getting back to normal.
The third month I was using it, my cycle was back to normal -- and that's when I got pregnant again. Now I'm 31 weeks and so far all is well!!
There are some drawbacks: 1) For people with irregular or unusually long or short cycles, I've heard the monitor can be more confusing to use, but I don't know that first-hand so I couldn't tell you all the details. However, most people I've read about seem to have some luck with it even if they are having irregular cycles. Those taking Clomid and that stuff can also use this product. 2) I had trouble figuring out how to insert the sticks at first, and I wasted some. Luckily I was doing a practice month before I was ready to start trying again, so I got the hang of it. I still had to wake up every morning and use my first morning urine, which isn't always easy, but it was definitely a small price to pay for being able to get pregnant naturally rather than having to go through the utter sloughs of despair some people go through.
If you get this project, you should go to BabyCenter or a website like that and get into a Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor Users discussion group - there is at least one of them on there, and all the women will answer your questions and put your mind at ease, as well as trade nitty-gritty details about where they are in their cycles and how the monitor worked for them and what they did and didn't do. It's yet another thing that makes you feel more in control of your fertility, and will help you with all those freak outs over things like 'Why is the monitor showing me this' or 'Is it normal for the egg symbol to be flashing for two days' or whatever. It keeps you calm during what for some people can be a long (but successful in the end!) wait. And it makes you feel as if other people are pulling for you, since your daily readings are not something you're going to share with your pals all day.
Thank God this company figured out what they were doing and created this device. It's SO useful and I think more companies should find ways to make fertility easier like ClearBlue did. Miscarriages and trying to conceive are so heartbreaking for so many people; this puts you back in the driver's seat.
We had decided to make the leap to IVF and decided to try this device one final time. Well, that's all it took - just a little patience because in February, I FINALLY became pregnant. It took 5 months of use for us due to my irregular cycles, but if you are trying to conceive on a specific timetable, I highly suggest purchasing this to take the guesswork out of when to do the deed.
Count me in as one of the highly satisfied customers! :)
The monitor was so easy to use and having a machine pinpoint peak fertility made everything much simpler. No more fumbling around with a thermometer first thing in the morning and trying to accurately interpret the LH strips! One of the best parts of using the monitor is that it allowed me to relax. You just sit back and do what it says. It keeps track of everything. I can honestly say it is worth every penny.
UPDATE: After three months of trying without success for our second child I decided to get out the monitor. I was almost three years older and thought there was no way I would get pregnant on the first try with the monitor. I was wrong! It worked like a charm the first month. Now we have a healthy, happy 6-month-old!
I highly recommend this monitor if you have had any trouble in finding your peak days of ovulation.
Go see your doctor about a fertility workup if you are having problems conceiving.
If you are healthy and normal, with regular cycles and ovulation, then this little gadget is well worth the money. Think of it as an investment--are your children worth it? What is a piddly $150-$200 if it helps you bring children into your lives?
Some couples undergoing IVF have spent tens of thousands of dollars to achieve their dream of a child. Just keep perspective.
I would definitely recommend this monitor to anyone who is trying to conceive simply because it works. Obviously you need to follow the instructions, but this monitor allowed me to know when I was ovulating and when having sex would most likely lead to conception. The first time I followed the monitor schedule I was able to conceive. I'm not saying that is representative of everyone's experience, but if you are using the monitor correctly and time your intercourse to the peak and near-peak days, you should be able to conceive. If you have problems conceiving, you should see a fertility specialist/reproductive endocrinologist.
I don't find it difficult to use at all. I collect my urine in a cup and use a watch to time the 15 seconds you need to dip the test stick. If I wake up and have to go earlier than usual the instruction book said just to collect urine in a cup and keep it at room temp till your usual test time. I have done this several times with accurate results. I ordered my monitor and 2 boxes of test strips not realizing that the boxes came with enough strips (30 in a box) for 2 to 3 cycles (for the average cycle). If you have a reg. cycle and only need to test for the 10 days then these test strips cost about the same as using the reg. ovulation kits without having to try and read the lines.
We're 7 days from finding out if we were successful this cycle but even if we weren't it will be easier to pin point next month's most fertile time.
Goodluck everyone!
guessing, and helps you concive a baby natrually
We waited the Dr. recommended 2 full cycles after our miscarriage and began using the monitor November 5, 2007. I was getting pretty antsy around days 12 & 13 because the monitor hadn't moved off of low fertility. But, come day 14 it jumped to peak fertility (egg & all)! So we made good use of days 14 and 15.
Because I couldn't bring myself to believe that this little gadget could really tell me when to try to conceive, much less read my fertility spot-on the first month, I had talked myself into believing the machine was manufactured to read peak fertility for everyone at standard mid-cycle, but then my body started acting differently. 10 days later, I was experiencing mild nausea.
November 30, day 25 of my cycle and my 32nd birthday, I took a pregancy test. I knew full well it was super-early to be testing and that I may not receive the result I was hoping for. Much to my disbelief, the test read positive! I've since administered 4 more pregnancy tests, all yielding the same result.
I am truly amazed at the accuracy of the ClearBlue Fertility Monitor. It was so well-worth the money and I plan to use it for our second child, after by God's grace, we get through this pregnancy with a healthy baby.
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We started using this monitor two cycles ago. What it showed me was that I ovulated earlier then I realized. Our timing was all off! You can baby dance until the cows come home...but it wont work unless you catch that egg! Clearblue easy helped us to do just that!
Another thing I liked is that it was easier to get my hubbie involved in the process. Lets face it...men do not want to be bothered by a ovulation stick and trying to help you decide if it looks dark, or if you missed your LH surge!? Well, with this monitor, he can look at it and see exactly where you are in the cycle. When the little egg symbol popped up... I no longer had my husband; I had SUPERMAN! He put on the cape and went after that egg! teehee
He baby danced on my High and peak days, and here we are after two cycles!
Do yourslef a favor and get this! Also...I used Fertilaide as a supplement.
Good luck and lots of baby dust to you!
Long story short, this monitor never showed an ovulation cycle, which is what we were scared of. My wife basically was not ovulating, and this was confirmed by our family doctor. Our doctor was thankfully familiar with prescribing Clomid, which is now generic and less than $10 a prescription. Clomid works by blocking the estrogen negative feedback loop to the pituitary gland, causing increased FSH and LH hormone secretion, leading to more ovarian follicles and their rupture, which equals ovulation! While taking Clomid the monitor accurately showed increases in hormone levels up to the point of showing us when she was ovulating. Within 2 months of regular ovulation cycles, and the monitor tracking and confirming them perfectly, we conceived. My wife is currently 19 weeks pregnant and due in December.
This monitor was very helpful in us figuring out why we weren't getting pregnant and even more helpful in tracking whether or not Clomid was doing its job. Though it is a little pricey, as well as the replacement sticks, I believe that the purchase is well worth it. Especially if you have irregular menstrual cycles and would like to confirm whether you are ovulating or not.
Here's the deal: You are given a 4 hour window of time to pee on the stick and put it in the monitor. You set the 4 hour window, but probably it's in the morning because when you choose to do this, you shouldn't have been to the bathroom for 4 hours previously. So if you're like me and you wake up around 4 am to pee, but you have to wake up at 7 for work and you'll undoubtably want to go again at that time, you're stuck doing this test at 4 am.
So you're half asleep and you're trying to pee on the stick for 3 seconds. Not more, not less. Either of those could affect the performance of the monitor. Another option is to pee in a cup and dip the stick in the urine for 15 minutes. Who wants to be up for 15 minutes in the middle of the night? The good news is that you can put the stick in the monitor and go back to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, you can turn it on and get the reading then, instead of waiting 3 minutes for the results at 4 am.
Now, my experience with this thing was mixed. The monitor is supposed to register when you're having an estrogen surge, which preceeds ovulation. That's way better than the disposable sticks that you buy at the drug store, because it's important to start having sex before you ovulate to maximize your chances of fertility. Then the monitor is supposed to show a little egg in the window when you are actually shooting out an egg, based on another hormone.
Here's the thing. Out of the 4 months, only once did I get the monitor to do that. The other months I either got the estrogen surge and no egg indicator, or I got an egg indicator and no estrogen surge. But like I say, I am kind of lame at peeing on the sticks. So maybe it's not like that for everyone.
On the flipside, I did figure out when I was ovulating, because I definitely seemed to be getting these readings at the same time every month. Plus I found the fact that it kept track of the days of my cycle helpful.
So all in all, it was a good thing to use. I am 36 and I'm pregnant after only 5 months of trying. According to the statistics, people my age usually take 12 months or more to conceive. So I think it helped me.
PS: During the month I conceived, the monitor only showed the estrogen surge. According to the monitor, I never ovulated.
There are negatives, however. The testing window IS annoying, and as other reviews have mentioned, you can't miss it during a day it asks you to take a test or you will screw up your hormone readings that month. On the positive side, it's a 6 hour window, so when I set it at the beginning of the month, I pressed the button at 6am. That way, I could test as early as 3 am and as late as 9am, allowing me to sleep in if I wanted or be able to pee on it earlier if woke up early to go the bathroom. It will ask you to start testing on day 6 of your cycle, and if you get your peak within 10 days, that's all the testing you'll need that month, so at least you don't have to deal with it everyday. If you are traveling far away from your time zone during your testing days, though, the testing window time is going to be problematic for you. You can reset your time at the start of each month, so consider trying to plan for an acceptable window that might allow for you to use it where you are going.
Also, while a lot of people say it's so easy to use, I wouldn't totally agree. Once I figured it out, it WAS easy to use, but it was not intuitive. Definitely take time to read the manual, but then basically you pee on the stick, insert it in the machine, wait till it's done reading over a few minutes, then remove it, then you see your result that day.
Good luck if you are trying to conceive. Despite its lack of flexibility for testing, it really does work accurately and is worth the money.
In the meantime I had also purchased "Taking charge of your fertility" and used the information about the physical signs of fertility in conjunction with the information I had previously learned from the monitor to understand my own signs better. All this information together allowed my to successfully identify my peak days during the one cycle when the monitor didn't register. Although it is tedious to test 10 times during each cycle and the cost of this unit was a little on the high side, I am so thankful that it helped me conceive that I don't mind the downsides.
UPDATE: This monitor helped us conceive twice. I got pregnant after only three cycles the second time.
One would therefore believe that the OPKs would do the trick. But they were just not for me. I tried the sticks with the two lines. I swear I never got my second line darker than the first, but it often looked to be the same color. Maybe I just don't have the sensitivity of perception on this one, but reading the lines was exasperating and still not giving me the concrete answer I was looking for...yes...no?
Next, I went strictly digital, but the digital kits are much more expensive and often sold in smaller bundles. I have a varied cycle, 26 - 34 days on average. The first time I did the weekly kit I got a smiley face - a positive sign. I wasn't able to conceive and so we tested with the digital OPK the next month and I did not get an ovulation indicator this time around. Did this mean I didn't ovulate this month, or that I planned the timing poorly based on my varied cycle?
Taking two digital kits in one month seemed cost prohibitive, so I really wanted something that would essentially do the same thing - be a digital yes/no result over the entire month. For that reason, the ClearBlue Easy Fertility Monitor was the natural choice for me, and as mentioned, something I wish I would have done to begin with. It would have actually saved me a bunch of money I spent on all the other stuff I tried...
Being a nerd, I read the instruction book twice the day it arrived (which happened to be day 4 of my cycle) so I was able to start the kit the next morning (being that it gives you the first 5 days to set the monitor). By then I was very familiar with the ins and outs of the monitor and told my husband that I was optimistic we'd conceive within 3 months.
Month 1, as the instruction book explains, may lead to a lot of high fertility days and possibly no peak day as the monitor gets to know you. I was a little discouraged with this result for myself...as I found myself in the high range for 10 days or so, while never reaching peak fertility. I was also on business travel half of this time, so our efforts were a bit interrupted. Needless to say I didn't conceive. But I was optimistic about the next two months.
Month 2, was completely the opposite. I received NO high fertility days and jumped straight to peak on Day 17 of my cycle. Elated to see an ovulation sign, we attempted conception once again that day and the next, and crossed our fingers for good results. And that was it...On Day 35 of my cycle when my period had not arrived, I took a pregnancy test, and it went immediately to pregnant!
We are so excited and currently 18 weeks along in this pregnancy. Prior to this result, I was really getting a little paranoid that maybe I didn't ovulate often, or regularly, and my doctor was talking to me about clomid and other fertility options. I'm just elated I held out, found this tool, and something that could give me the decisive answer I needed in my varying cycles.
I recommend this product for women like me, who've had limited success with other methods, and have very irregular cycles. I also recommend reading the directions ahead of time. I felt the product was easy to use, but I read a TON of reviews, and while most were positive, many of the negative comments seemed to stem partly from ignorance on the product. For example, some reviewers complained about the "lines" on the stick not reading the same as the digital message, but the instructions clearly state these sticks are not meant to be read as typical OPKs. Obviously nothing can guarantee a pregnancy - but for me - this was the easiest/best way for me to interpret my monthly cycle.
I would recommend this product to my friends, and plan to use it again for future pregnancies. I could not be more pleased with the results!!
Our first attempt with the monitor was in January of 2011. I started using the monitor on the 1st day of my period. I just used it as the directions instructed. We baby-danced on both of the "peak" days and I just found out that we're 4 weeks pregnant!!
It worked for this 35 year old PCOS sufferer. The odds were against me to conceive this quickly - and we were successful after the first attempt thanks to this monitor! The monitor pretty much spoon-fed us on when to conceive. Thank you Clearblue Easy!! It really was EASY!
1. This is a terrific tool for helping you understand your cycle, most especially if yours is irregular. It took me about a month to wrap my brain around it, even with the user manual. But it's easy to use once you understand how it works.
2. Great data. Even if you're not getting pregnant overnight, this gives you the data you need to take to a fertility specialist and help them immediately understand your cycle. It was a HUGE help in diagnosing what might be up with hormones, ovulation timing, etc. I kept an Excel spreadsheet with one line per month.
Cons
1. The monitor does not adapt well to travel and time zone changes. When you set the system at the start of your cycle, you get a fixed window of a few hours during which you need to do the test. If you have to travel far away during your cycle, your new window might end up being at 4pm at your new location and make accurate testing impossible. This isn't good for business travel. It also fell off of my bathroom counter one night and the batteries came out. Somehow that re-set the test window to later in the day and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. That ruined a month's worth of data and was frustrating.
2. Unless you are on a textbook regular cycle, one box does not equal three months of testing, especially when you first start and it's "learning" your cycle. I think the "all sticks must be from the same box" instruction is bogus--the company should be able to guarantee quality and consistency. One box I bought really DID have problems with absorbency--the wick didn't pull enough moisture up for the sensor to detect. I called the company and complained, and they sent me a replacement box of sticks, but only after telling me I'd been doing everything wrong and their products were perfect.
New or used?
Could you buy a used one? You could, if you want. The monitor says it stores your history so it can adjust its measurements to fit your cycle...but the user manual says there's a way to erase the history and start over again. As for sanitation, I don't care what anybody says, but at some point the previous user got a drop of urine on it somewhere. If the seller swaps it down with sanitizer, the buyer wipes it down with sanitizer as well, and the buyer and feels comfortable with the whole idea, then go for it. Personally, I'd buy a new one.
Summary
Just using it and learning your cycles does not guarantee that you'll get pregnant. there are far more factors than ovulation timing. Still, it's helpful and I recommend buying it, but keep your expectations in check. It's not a magic wand, even if you get the numbers right.
In the end, I used it for about two years, and the data was really helpful to a fertility specialist...especially for comparing clomid cycles to non-clomid cycles. The monitor wasn't my magic wand...IUI was, but this helped me get there.
The Clearblue easy fertility monitor is easy to use. It has a 6 hour window for testing, so if I press the "m" at 7am. I have a chance to test between 4AM to 10AM, which works for me. I use the dip the stick in the cup for 15 seconds method. I was only required to use 10 sticks at a time per ovulation cycle. But, because of the holiday stress, travel and being sick in December I had to use 20 sticks. My ovulation was delayed. This monitor helped me to relax and feel a little bit in control of an uncontrollable situation. I found out that I am ovulating. We've been trying to conceive for 10 months naturally. In November I ovulated on the 14th-15th day and in December I ovulated 10 days late. I wouldn't have known without the monitor. I thought I broke the machine when it didn't register peak fertility for an extra 10 days. I tried the BBT method, that was not for me. I never woke up at the same time, I slept with my mouth open or I'd forget to track a day or two. I wish I would have known about this monitor from the beginning. I highly recommend this product, not because it guarantees conception (because it DOES NOT), but for a peace of mind and as a useful tool in detecting ovulation. I'll use the monitor again when we try for # 2 later. My friend is buying one for her aunt, who also has been trying to conceive for almost a year.
The only negative is the cost. It is expensive, $200 for the machine and $50 for a test pack of 30 sticks. The 30 sticks is supposed to last three months, unless you have a long cycle or a delayed one like I did.
I started keeping track of my cycles: 26 days, 25 days, 15 days, 28 days, 21 days. Ugh. After a few months of no results I decided to go ahead and purchase the Clear Blue monitor thinking that it could at least help me to pinpoint my peaks even if the 'planning' portion of the software in it was likely to be useless given my varying cycles.
1st Month: I started Day 1 on July 10 and on Day 6 the meter told me to test. I had high days from Day 6-14 and then my first peak day on the 15th and the 16th(though for the 16th I was not asked to test (as I had finished my 10test on the 15th). Another high day on the 17th and then low until my next period at Day 21.
2nd Month: Once again I started to test on Day 6. The showing on this second month was low on Day 6-8 then on Day 9 I got a peak reading(day 10 as well). Day 11 was high and then low readings until I finished the 10-day supply. Note that I had the flashing 'm' start on day 16 (I guess the machine thought that given my peak was on day 9 my period should start around a week after.)
Today marks Day 28 since my last period started(still have a flashing 'm') and I just took a pregancy test which was positive! I'm ecstatic.
I would highly recommend this monitor as it took the guesswork out of figuring out when I was ovulating and all with minimal effort!
Good luck to everyone else.
I used it starting when I started my period on Nov 10th 2006 and I'm now about 5wks pregnant! Very easy to use. Its great! Only took us one cycle! Highly recommend to anyone with relatively regular cycles.