If you can hear your biological clock tick........ pee on a stick. (Clearblue Easy Digital Ovulation Test)

Member Name: HonestBob

Product:	Clearblue Easy Digital Ovulation Test
Date:	19/02/09 (306 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lets you know the best time to conceive a baby

Disadvantages: Getting an empty circle can be disheartening.

Previously, when I've decided to have a baby, I've simply thrown contraception to the back of a drawer and got jiggy with it with, resulting thankfully, in fairly swift and easy conception. However, I know my biological clock is ticking and the risk of various genetic disorders increases with each passing month, so now that the decision has been made to try for one more baby, my other half and I have decided to add a bit of science into the mix. At 38 I don't have many baby-making months left so I have decided to leave nothing to chance.

One thing I have noticed about getting older (how odd to think of 38 as 'older') is that my menstrual cycle has become slightly less regular. Nothing spectacular, just 27 days one month, 28 the next, with the occasional 35 day cycle thrown in to send me into a frenzy. Another reason for using an ovulation testing kit. I could get jiggy with it every night to make sure there's tadpoles ready to meet the eggy, but come on folks, I'm 38, the other half is considerably older and we've got 8 kids between us...... sleep is so much more attractive some (most!) nights.

With age, irregular cycle and stamina (or lack of) in mind, I paid almost £20 for a Clearblue Easy Digital Ovulation Test. I got mine from Asda, but I've seen them in all the major supermarkets, Boots and other chemists. The product name is a little misleading as the box actually holds one digital test reader and seven tester sticks, so peronally I would rename it Clearblue Easy Digital Ovulation TestS so that purchasers would know that more than one test can be completed for £20. Indeed, if you're lucky and get the date for ovulation spot on you could use the same pack over several months (hoping, however, that one positive ovulation result would result in conception, making the other six tests redundant of course).

Testing is easy. You can test using mid-stream urine or you can pee in a pot. I use the pee in a pot method (less likely to end up with a wet hand!). The test can be carried out at any time of the day, although apparently most women test first thing in the morning. This is probably because you must not have urinated for at least four hours previous to testing so that the hormone level is concentrated enough for the test to detect. The test works by detecting the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) surge. This occurs approximately 24-36 hours prior to ovulation and is indicated on the test reader by the appearance of a smiley face. If the LH surge is not detected an empty circle (minus eyes and smile) appears on the digital display.

As my previous menstrual cycle was 27 days long I started testing on day 10 (counting the first day of my period as day 1) of my cycle. A leaflet is provided in the box, which tells you when to begin testing dependent upon the usual length of your cycle. I'm not particularly well co-ordinated first thing in the morning so I decided to test in the evening. Not easy as I have the bladder capacity of a hamster, but I managed to hold on for four hours (just) each night. I peed in an old, clean plastic cup and then my partner timed the 15 seconds that the testing stick had to sit in the urine (it's only fair that he plays a role too!). Prior to placing the stick in the pot I had to remove it from its foil wrapper, remove the pink cap on the absorbant tip and then insert it into the digital reader. Both the digital reader and the testing stick have pink arrows printed on them and these must be lined up for correct insertion of the stick (I'm hoping pink is a good omen as we really, really want a girl this time).

Once the stick is inserted in the digital reader a mini picture of the test appears in the digital display window. Once the 15 second dip has been completed the test is removed from the urine and the test cap replaced. The digital display picture then begins to flash. The test must be left on a flat surface for 3 minutes before reading the display. Once again, my partner did the timing. After the 3 minutes is up the digital display has changed from a flashing picture of a test stick to either a circle (no LH surge detected) or a smiley face (LH surge detected).

My surge was detected on day 17 of my cycle. I used all seven test sticks before getting a smiley face. I will admit to a brief panic that I might not be ovulating at all when the sixth test produced an empty circle. However, on the seventh day a smiley face did appear and I breathed a sigh of relief, maybe 38 isn't that old after all.

Once we had a smiley face in the display window we STOPPED getting jiggy with it. We are hoping to conceive a girl and have read various articles on gender selection, most of which suggested a cut off period before ovulation occurs as female sperm live longer and are stronger swimmers than male sperm. However, for people who are not concerned about the gender of their baby and who just want to get pregnant it is best to have sex when the smiley face appears as your chances of conception are higher once the LH surge has occurred.

So, did it work...... Yes, it detected when I would ovulate. Twenty four hours after the appearance of the smiley face I had all the physical signs and symptoms that I have become accustomed to and that I know mean I am ovulating. Am I pregnant? It's too early to tell. Taking into consideration that I used the test to tell me when to STOP having sex, the chances of me becoming pregnant this month are not as great as they would be if I carried on baby dancing through ovulation. Has this method increased my chances of conceiving a girl? Once again, as I do not know if I am pregnant yet I don't know if we've successfully scored pink. Will I find out the gender during a scan? Not on your nelly, I'm in the lemon team on this one, girl or boy I'll adore it.

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Warning: Ovulation tests should not be used as a means of contraception. Although they pinpoint when an LH surge is due, sperm can remain viable for up to three days in a woman's body so some may still be swimming around when the surge happens. Also, women can have other periods of increased fertility during their cycle and other fertility monitors would be required to detect these. And for heaven's sake, who'd use a £20 ovulation test kit for contraception purposes anyway!!

Summary: Worth considering if you want to know the best time to conceive.