Best Advice: Fertility Trackers My Experience

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I'm writing this fertility post in hopes that it helps other women trying to conceive (TTC). I'm going tell you what fertility trackers I'm using and what my OBGYN said when I went in for fertility testing after one year of TTC at age 37/38.

We started actively trying for a third child last September (when I was 37). I got pregnant in January and had a miscarriage in March. I've had two previous healthy pregnancies (my youngest is 5).

After 5 months of TTC after the miscarriage at age 38, I made an appointment with my OBGYN for fertility hormone blood work. The OBGYN was able to schedule an appointment the next day. I showed up on day 3 of my menstrual cycle and the OBGYN said the blood work should be done on day 3, so I got the script and walked over to the lab. The lab tests came back normal.

The biggest take away from my OBGYN appointment, was that the doctor recommended the Mira Fertility Tracker.

I had been using Easy@Home Ovulation Test Strips. These ovulation test strips detect luteinizing hormone (LH). The way they work is you dip them in urine to test your LH level and when your LH levels surge or "peak" this signals that ovulation will follow.

I made the mistake of using the Easy@Home Ovulation Test Strips without their app for the longest time! Premom app is free and is a game changer. Instead of guessing how your test strips compare, you snap a picture in the app and the app gives each strip a number (test to control ratio) and highlights your LH peak.

Here is a screen shot from my Premom app of the test strip results/pictures in August:

LH Strip PreMom App Screen Shot

I love LH Ovulation Test Strips. I love LH test strips because they are inexpensive (50 pack under $16 on Amazon), easy to use and you can test as many times a day as you want.

It's generally recommended that you test your first urine in the morning, but as I got more desperate to get pregnant, I tested 2-3 times a day. Testing multiple times a day helped me find my LH peak.

As time went on without getting pregnant, I started to read online reviews for more expensive fertility trackers available; including the Mira Fertility Tracker.

I was surprised when my OBGYN recommended Mira. The doctor said that they used to do blood work to track the same hormones that Mira tracks. At some point their office compared results from blood work to Mira results and got pretty close to the same information.

I left the OBGYN and ordered the Mira Fertility Starter Kit with Max Wands.

For some reason, I couldn't use my HSA/FSA on Amazon for my initial order of the tracker and wands. I still need to look into reimbursement from my HSA/FSA for that initial purchase because it was expensive ($249 plus tax)- ouch!

I was able to use my HSA/FSA on Amazon when I recently ordered more Max Wands.

I was really excited to try to Mira. Especially, after spending a lot of money on it. I thought I would be getting pregnant that first cycle.

Spoiler, I didn't get pregnant the first cycle I used Mira.

Because the Max Wands are expensive (almost $95 for 20 on Amazon) I only tested using Mira in the morning with my first urine. I was a little disappointed and anxious when Mira did not detect my LH surge. With that said, do not stop using your inexpensive LH Ovulation Test Strips!!! I wish I had kept testing multiple times a day using the cheap LH strips that first cycle along with Mira.

Mira Max Wands test for LH. E3G and PdG. A rise in E3G (estrone-3-glucuronide) can stimulate an LH surge, LH surge indicates ovulation is approaching and a rise in PdG (progesterone) signals that ovulation has occurred.

Eventually, the Mira showed an increase in PdG during that first cycle. An increase in PdG was a big relief because it confirmed that the Mira missed my LH peak and that I had ovulated.

Here is a screen shot from my Mira app for last cycle using Max Wands:

Mira App Screen Shot

Here are the cons from my first experience with Mira:

• Expensive

• Missed LH peak (tested 1x a day because of cost)

Here are the pros from my first experience with Mira:

• Tested PdG (huge reassurance that ovulation occurred)

Biggest piece of advice if you decide to use a more expensive fertility tracker like the Mira:

• Don't stop using your inexpensive LH strips to test multiple times a day!

I am going into my 2nd cycle using Mira. I'll keep you posted on my experience.

This cycle, I will definately use my Easy@Home Ovulation Test Strips (multiple times a day close to expected LH surge) along with my Mira Max Wands 1x a day (maybe 2x a day when my cheap LH strips show that I'm close to an LH surge), so that I don't miss my LH peak.