OvaCue: The Ideal Fertility Monitor for Women with Irregular Cycles

If you're reading this, you're probably already aware that having an irregular cycle can make it difficult to predict your ovulation date. Compounding this issue is the fact that most fertility monitors on the market are unable to account for an irregular cycle, and as such, often provide inaccurate results.

In contrast, the OvaCue fertility monitor, in combination with the optional vaginal sensor, is ideal for trying-to-conceive women with irregular cycles (as well as women with regular cycles, of course). Here's why: An irregular cycle is often correlated with some degree of hormonal imbalance. While other fertility monitors predict ovulation based on the attainment of a pre-determined level of a given hormone (either luteinizing hormone, estrogen, or a combination of the two), the OvaCue has no predetermined level set — rather, it interprets each reading in your cycle in relation to your previous readings. That is to say, the OvaCue doesn't look for a specific reading based on statistical averages, it looks for an overall trend in your body's own unique readings. This method of ovulation determination is particularly suitable for women with irregular cycles since a hormonal imbalance may prevent you from reaching a predetermined hormone level prior to ovulation.

The optional vaginal sensor is an important addition to the OvaCue and oral sensor for women with irregular cycles. The OvaCue uses your average cycle length to determine when it should be looking for certain trends in your oral readings. Once it detects this trend (what's known as your "cue peak"), it is able to predict when ovulation may occur. The OvaCue will give a "possible" (lightest blue) on the calendar at the time of your cue peak (the selection of your dominant follicle). This represents the beginning of your fertile window and it generally occurs about 5-7 days before ovulation. However, women with irregular cycles may not necessarily ovulate in 5-7 days; they may ovulate before or after that time.

With the vaginal sensor, the monitor is able to cross-reference additional data points which are provided from interpreting electrolyte levels in your cervical mucus. This allows the monitor to determine when your estrogen levels are decreasing and your progesterone levels are increasing (ovulation). If you happen to ovulate earlier than the oral sensor predicted, the vaginal sensor will be able to notify you 1 to 2 days in advance that ovulation will actually be occurring sooner. This is also the case if ovulation is going to occur later than the oral reading had originally predicted; the OvaCue (with the help of the information provided by vaginal readings) will extend your "fertile" window until progesterone dominance has been detected.

Some women, particularly women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), experience “multiple follicular stimulation”, a condition in which more than one follicle is selected during the course of a cycle.  Multiple follicular stimulation can occur if the dominant follicle does not mature or rupture as expected (perhaps due to a timing issue with the secretion of luteinizing hormone or some other hormone imbalance).  As a result, the egg is not released and fertilization cannot occur. The body will often recognize that there is a problem with the first follicle and will attempt to address the situation by selecting a second follicle 3-5 days later. For trying-to-conceive women, recognizing the selection of this second follicle is important, as it will result in ovulation occurring later than expected. (Note: multiple follicular stimulation is one reason why some women experience longer than normal cycles). Using data gathered from the oral and vaginal sensors, the OvaCue can help you determine if you are experiencing multiple follicular stimulation.  For more information see Multiple Follicular Stimulation, Secondary Fertility, and the Purple Box.

Bottom line: Women with irregular cycles are able to use the OvaCue to accurately identify their peak fertile time in a way that no other ovulation prediction method can match.