Ovacue Monitor tips

With only 2 months of using the Ovacue monitor under my belt, I'm by no means a pro, but I've talked with Zetek about 5 times, and having had a "secondary fertility" situation in my 2nd month, I feel like I've got some good info and tips to offer anyone who might be interested...

In any case, forum leader Michaela has already given great info on how to use the monitor as far as oral and vaginal readings, etc., so I'll skip that and give other info with myself as an example (Michaela, since you have so much experience with other women's readings, feel free to edit anything I write that seems incorrect to you):

1)  When you reach the time of predicted ovulation, watch for your own body signs as well, the ewcm, etc.  At this point you're watching for a vaginal drop (Low reading) in your evening monitor test.  When that happens, you've supposedly got about 12-36 hours before you'll ovulate.  Mine apparently happens in about 12-18 hours, so I don't have much time.  It's recommended that once you get that low, you use the vaginal monitor again the following morning after you've been up a couple hours, just to see if you're still low.  That helps narrow down when ovulation occurs.  Write down your reading, because you'll take the reading again that night at your normal time and it will wipe out the morning's reading.  In my case, the mid-morning reading was still low, and I didn't realize the monitor's prediction of highest fertility (in my case, the 2nd) WOULD NOT CHANGE, so I was expecting to wait until then to TTC...

and that's where I was in error... the monitor continued to predict the 2nd as my highest fertility day, so I thought it was accurate.  I've since learned that particular message does not change, it's a prediction!  You MUST go by your vaginal low reading and watch for the rise for your timing, depending on what you're trying to sway for, or not!  The monitor is right on in giving you your readings, and when ovulation attempts, but not necessarily when it actually does occur.

2)  When the monitor adjusts for your readings and sees the actual rise, that's when you'll get the pink "ovulation confirmed" reading.  For some women, that's accurate, but for others, if you have a longer cycle/later ovulation date than the average, or the first attempt doesn't work and your body tries again to ovulate, that message can be erroneous.  I believe forum leader Michaela has had enough women coming to her in despair with questions to prove that one.

In my case, I got the lovely pink Ovulation confirmed message a day before my predicted "highest fertility" date, but 2 nights later I got the vaginal rise again and a purple Ovulation confirmed message, so I was one of those with a secondary fertility attempt.  My colors did adjust, and my other messages changed as far as "highest, high, etc.), so I could see something was going on, but I didn't know what was happening.  So just take your prediction with a grain of salt... it was right for me the first month, and right in between my first ovulation attempt and the second on my second month, but your readings and your body are the real indicators.  I recommend continuing to use OPK tests and others also swear by temp charting (I guess if I get a BFN this month, I'll start that too.)  That said, I do like the monitor so far, as it helps to see the colors and watch them along with the readings.

Best Wishes!

 Great tips!  Can you post your numbers so we can see what they look like?  It is sometimes easier to understand when you have numbers to look at.

Thanks!  Sure, I can post my numbers:

28 day average cycle (occasionally 27-29)

Cycle Day 1 5/21 - O 138

5/22 - 2 - 136

5/23 - 3- 158

5/24 - 4- 124

5/25 - 5 - 125 - V 371

5/26 - 6 - 138 - V 381

5/27 - 7 - 166 - V 366  (my take for a high, followed by the two lowers on days 8 and 9... should have ovulated on day 14, which in the end, apparently I did)

5/28 - 8 -  139 - V 186

5/29 - 9 - 125 - V 206

5/30 - 10 - 129 - V190

5/31 - 11 - 112 - V 141 - took this for my "Low", which stayed down the next morning as well.

6/1 - 12 - 143 - V am 150, pm 188 - got pink "ovulation confirmed" that night

6/2 - 13 - 128 - V am 357, pm 157 - huge am rise, then major drop showing the hormone change again.

6/3 - 14 - 167,  V pm 283 - got purple "ovulation confirmed" again last night, much higher rise.

(don't have my numbers written down for today, can update them tonight when I've got the monitor)

According to Lynn at Zetek, the pink came because of the hormone change (forgotten if it was estrogen or progesterone), and then when I had that additional drop, and then another hormone change, it showed a second ovulation.

Michaela, you might be able to answer this, as I forgot to ask Lynn - I normally use Progesterone cream starting on day 12 of my cycle, stopping on first day of AF.  Since I was told to use it during pregnancy through my first trimester, I went ahead and used it that morning as usual, day 12 AFTER my morning readings... could my doing so have made it a false pink "ovulation confirmed" show up that night by raising my progesterone level, and it wasn't really a secondary after all, that I actually ovulated for the first time properly on the 14th as I was supposed to?  That would have made the monitor prediction accurate after all.  This just occurred to me!  I've wondered if all the things we do to change our acidity might have an effect on our vaginal readings as well, like my day 13 - am 357 V reading, when I'd been using all that lime juice after TTC the night before and that morning!  I may have to ask Lynn about both of those things!  What do you think? 

summerlady:

I normally use Progesterone cream starting on day 12 of my cycle

Is it a prescription or over the counter?

summerlady:

could my doing so have made it a false pink "ovulation confirmed" show up that night by raising my progesterone level, and it wasn't really a secondary after all,

Since the sensors measure electrolyte changes I don't think that the cream did anything to your readings but it is hard to know for sure.  

summerlady:

This just occurred to me!  I've wondered if all the things we do to change our acidity might have an effect on our vaginal readings as well

I absolutely think it changes things and there is a sticky on top of the fertility monitor section that explains why I no longer recommend the Cue to swayers that are changing the environment of their vajayjays.  I believe Zetek has said that it shouldn't effect the numbers but I also don't think they have done any research on it to know for sure and in my opinion if you are douching and change the environment then there has to be some change in the readings.  The only thing that could help is the accuracy is if you consistently do this from month to month so that you know what your readings are like when doing the lime juice or other things in the vajayjay.  

summerlady:

hat I actually ovulated for the first time properly on the 14th as I was supposed to?

YES!  According to your nightly readings you definitely O'ed on CD13 or 14 depending on if you O on the vaginal low reading or the vaginal rise.  The other thing about taking your readings in the morning or night you should actually only compare night readings to night readings and morning readings to morning readings.  The reason you shouldn't compare morning to night is because it can be so drastically different.  I have tried morning and night readings for about 3 months and what I have found is that you can't really see much of a difference and I have only seen this work for one person in all the readings I have seen on here.  So as you can see the morning reading on CD13 was super high but then it went back down to normal range that night.  It then spiked up on CD14 confirming that you have O'ed so I actually think the monitor was wrong for you no matter the second fertility stuff or not.  If you are a regular 28 day cycle then O'ing on CD12 would make it a 16 day luteal phase and there is no reason for you to be on the progesterone cream.  Is there a reason you are using it?

It's just an over the counter progesterone cream.  I went through a period of time when my cycles were getting longer and I wasn't feeling so good, and using it helped get me back on track and now I use it because I'm older and want it to stay that way.  I started using it again because I have miscarriages in my past (1 ten years ago and another 8 months ago; This is my first attempt since then TTC.)   My naturepath/herbologist recommended it, and I've been pleased with how regular I am when I use it this way.  I'm proof it helps regulate cycles, but it's also recommended to help support pregnancies so you have less chance of m/c, so it seemed sensible to use it now (I wasn't using it last year when I m/c.)

As far as doing the morning readings, I only intended to do it once I get the vaginal low at night in hopes of confirming it's still low the next morning, and then that early pink O message that evening threw me for a loop so I did it a a few days.  I got that lower morning reading because I didn't do the lime juice until after I'd done the reading, and I got that tremendously high morning reading after a night of using the lime, so if I go through this again in coming months, I'll track it and see if it's consistent.  I think, though I'm not sure, that I O sometime between the low and the high reading, but I've never temped and haven't figured that out yet, so if I'm not BFP this month, I'll start for next.

Thanks again for taking a look at my readings.  It's nice to have you confirm what I thought I'd figured for myself!  :-)