Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor Test Sticks, 30 Count (Packaging May Vary)
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List Price: Our Price: $27.99 You Save: $22.00 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor Test Sticks, 30 Count (Packaging May Vary)
Customer Review: Three month supply?? NOT!
Summary: 4 Stars
If you have a long cycle, expect to use 20 sticks that first month since the machine starts you testing on day six and if you have not peaked by day fifteen it will ask you to test clear past your peak day and all the way to day twenty-five. Lesson learned after I had to buy another box of sticks to finish out month two when it started me testing on day eight. I think next month I will just time it so I only have to use half a box per cycle (15 sticks). Just start testing a few days later than the machine tells me to and stop testing after peak day will certainly cut down on stick usage and cost.
Cons -- After you have spent morning after morning looking at the lines on the stick and seeing which one(s) show, it is easy to predict what the machine is going to say. I sort of feel ripped off by having to use the machine to tell me what I can plainly see with my own eyes. But the machine makes it easy to keep track of cycle days and it is an easy reminder to test, so I am not overly upset.
I also find it easier and more accurate to use the "dip in a cup" method over the "running stream" method. Just use a disposable Dixie cup - much less messy and splashy.
I am not sorry I bought the system -- I just need to tweak it a bit so that the sticks actually last me for three months. Gave it four stars because it DOES what it is supposed to do, took away one star because it gets expensive to use as directed if you have any issues at all with your cycle.
My suggestion is to not rely too heavily on this machine and take the time to learn your body signs since sometimes signs come later in the day, even when you have had a low fertility reading in the morning. This is only an additional tool in natural family planning.
Customer Review: Misses high fertility days some months...
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought the monitor and test strips about 5 months ago for a great price through Amazon.
The monitor doesn't always tell you the "high fertility" days if you have an irregular cycle, which doesn't make sense to me. IMO, if the reading is based on hormone levels, you would have the same hormones either earlier or later in your cycle, based on when you're going to ovulate that month. I'm not sure if the machine just "guesses" the high fertility days based on your LH surge or what. Some months I ovulate late, around day 19 or 20 and the machine was asking me to test after my LH surge, making me waste a lot of test strips. I called up the company's toll-free number and told them my issue as I though the machine was broken. The lady told me that the strips work in batches of ten, so if you ovulate late one month and use all 10 strips, it will prompt you for another 10 regardless if ovulation happened or not during the second 10. She told me that once it detects the LH surge, to stop testing for the month. You do not need to continue testing after it detects the LH surge, so don't waste your strips.
I do wonder about the LH surge detection, since conventional ovulation strips say to test in the afternoon or evening because the LH hormone can't be detected very well in the morning. This month, I went straight to LH surge and could have sworn that I ovulated about 12 hours later (it should happen 24-36 hours after detection)I wonder if I did a conventional ovulation test the night before if it would have shown positive.
In summary, I don't think that this machine is all it is cracked up to be, as I think it works more on history stored in the machine vs. what is really going on in your body.
Customer Review: Great product and easy to use
Summary: 4 Stars
About me: I'm just under 38 and trying to get pregnant for the first time. I'd been put on the pill because I had an irregular cycle and terrible cramps and had been on it for almost 19 years before I went off this last May. I had gone off the pill a few years ago to see if my cycle was better but it went back to its irregular path.
Why I choose this product: I'm older and I hoped to not have to try for years. Also, because I have an irregular cycle, I couldn't even begin to guess when I'd ovulate so I figured this would help me take the guess work out. I also didn't want to examine my CM every day to guess. My friend used this and it helped her pinpoint her days and she highly recommended it.
How's it going: I'm glad I'm using it. It does tell me when I'm ovulating and that's what I wanted. It's straightforward and easy to use. My ovulation varies so this is great for knowing when to tell my husband it's game on. I'm not pregnant yet, but think this is a great tool for simplifying the process. I couldn't imagine how women did it before. I did decide to also do basal temperature to compare and find I'm more confident with this monitor. I am a light sleeper and my husband wakes 2 hours before me. I found that my temperatures can vary greatly.
Downside: You have to pee on a stick for 10 days at a time. I can understand the first few times as it "learning" your cycle but don't understand why I have to continue once I've ovulated in a cycle. And if it doesn't detect an ovulation, you have to pee on a stick for 20 days (which I did a couple of months ago). I will say peeing on sticks has lost it's "fun" factor.
Customer Review: Works....
Summary: 5 Stars
My gyno suggested this. I asked her about the comments on this and other websites stating this was hard to use if you had long or irregular periods. She said it is perfect for irregular periods. My periods were crazy since my thyroid was underactive for a bit. During that time this machine confirmed I was ovulating. It does what it says it will. However, that whole setting the time thing doesn't seem to work perfectly. The directions say to press the M button on the first day of menses then that sets your 6 hours window to test each morning. That didn't happen for me. I pressed the button at 8a and which means I should have been able to test as early as 5a but I was never able to test until 8a. At first I thought it wasnt working but then I discovered it wasn't allowing me to test until 8a. It did however allow me to test until noon so it worked but had an issue. It did this for at least two cycles but I only tried to test early those two times. I still have't gotten preg but that isn't he machines fault. It does give me dates of ovulation which is what I paid for the rest is up to God. Plus I am not trying that hard, if a person wanted to save the $150 on this machine they could just have intercourse every other day or every third day all month (except during menses/bleeding phase). I honestly just don't have time to do that :) plus with my thyroid being underactive I needed to confirm I was ovulating. It works but it is spendy...if you have time to be intimate every other day you can save a lot of money. It is not difficult to use though and I have even taken it on vacation. It takes about 2-3 extra min each morning. I am happy with my purchase.Customer Review: Not so reliable
Summary: 2 Stars
I reviewed this product about four months ago, pleased at that point with the product. I was not one of those lucky people who got pregnant on the first try, but that is of no fault of the monitor. I used this product for two months with normal low, high and peak readings and was very happy. These readings were accurate based on other fertility signs (BBT, CM, etc.). The third month, I used Clomid and received only low and high readings, though fertility signs clearly indicated ovulation had taken place. The manual does indicate that this is possible on Clomid. The next month, I did not use Clomid and received only "low" readings. About 26 dyas into that cycle, the monitor would not turn on. I returned the monitor to Inverness Medical (the makers of the monitor) and they supposedly replaced the unit and said that my unit had water damage. I never got the unit wet, placed a "soaked" stick into the monitor, etc. so I am not sure how this happened. The representative said not to leave the monitor in the bathroom where humidity can build - strange given that I would imagine that most people keep their in the bathroom due to the nature of the product. This is my first month using the monitor since I received it back and again only received low and high readings, although ovulation clearly took place. My warning to those buying this product - do not solely rely on the monitor if you are having trouble concieving and do not leave the monitor in the bathroom. I would strongly suggest charting using a program offered by a site like fertilityfriend.com and looking at ALL of your fertility signs.