Is OvuSense worth the investment for you?
When you are in the market for a fertility monitor, you have a LOT of choice. From apps, to sticks to pee on, lubricants, supplements and of course… we have our beloved thermometers to track out cycles with. There is some ground breaking technology at the moment though when it comes to the way you can track your temperature and OvuSense is on of the gadgets you will want to know about. In this article I share how it works, what I think of it and what my viewers think, so that you can decide if it’s the right thing for you to invest in.
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Is OvuSense a BBT thermometer?
Yes the OvuSense sensor takes your temperature, no it’s not a BBT thermometer. BBT thermometers measure your basal body temperature; your temperature in rest. Usually the temperature is taken orally, sometimes vaginally if you choose to do so.
OvuSense you insert in your vagina overnight and it then measures your temperature continuously, every 5 minutes in fact. Then, when you sync it with the app on your phone, it will give you a reading that is an average for the night and tells you if you are nearing ovulation or if ovulation can be confirmed.
What is great about OvuSense
Here is what I think is fantastic about this nifty little device (that kind of looks like a torpedo haha).
I love that OvuSense is well researched. The team was also very willing to answer any of my questions (even the CEO emailed back and forth with me on research!) in my preparation of this review. He also provided some extra info after the release of the video which I have added below!
Here is what is really amazing about OvuSense, it is the only temperature recording device I know that is able to tell you that you are ABOUT to ovulate! Normally in charting when you take your temperature, it is to confirm ovulation only. Ovusense on the other hand is so sensitive, it can pick up on a temperature rise from the small amounts of progesterone as the follicle that holds the egg is rupturing, even before the egg is released!
Research shows it’s even more accurate in predicting when you are ovulating than Mira & ClearBlue. I think that makes sense, because LH does tell you when an egg is about to be released, but not that the follicle is actually rupturing. Many women with PCOS have seveal LH surges in a cycle without ovulating, so going by ovulation tests alone doesn’t tell you that you’re ovulating. Ovusense detects the first bit of rupture of the follicle and is therefore able to tell you when you are about to release the egg (usually when 2 days of pattern of ovulation are confirmed).
Here is what our community on YouTube loves about OvuSense:
A lot of you that have PCOS and used Ovusense were excited
Some of you said you were finally able to pinpoint ovulation where you weren’t before either due to shift work, erratic temperatures, or the apps you were using not being able to pinpoint ovulation. A couple of you even attributed your pregnancies to OvuSense!
Another positive for you was not having to think about your temperature before you move, eg before going to the bathroom or if you have lack of sleep, or when you are nursing.
What’s not so great about OvuSense?
There are a lot of positives, but every good thing has it’s drawbacks. The following may not make this device the right investment for you.
It needs to be thrown out after a year because the material disintegrates. OvuSense’s reply to this: We get that it’s not ideal to have to buy a new sensor after a year but have deliberately kept the cost of the repeat sensor really low (in fact the price doesn’t cover our costs).
You can’t use it without the app and so you continue to pay a membership fee after the initial investment
It needs to sync with your phone within 3 hours of removing it from body, or you will lose the data. OvuSense’s reply to this: ‘have to download data within 3 hours’ is not correct – in reality you have up to 12 hours to download the data but we recommend downloading within 3 hours because otherwise your recording windows can clash. This is one of those instances where what we recommend has perhaps been taken as an important instruction.
Here is what our community doesn’t like about OvuSense:
The higher initial cost of the device plus the monthly fee
It only goes by temperature and does not take into account any other fertility signs such as OPK’s, cervical mucus or cervical position.
A couple of you mentioned it being uncomfortable. Some to the point of skipping it completely, some taking it as it is because of the benefits.
A few of you said you seemed to react allergically or even got multiple yeast infections using the device. Watch the video to hear my thoughts on this. OvuSense’s reply to this: We have a clinical duty to follow up on instances of irritation and certainly infection so if you do know people with this issue, or come across them in the future please do ask them to get in touch with us at www.ovusense.com/getsupport if they haven’t done so. So far the incidence of reported irritation issues is still considerably less than 1%.
Although a perception of ‘reacting to the silicone’ may be out there that is in fact not possible – we use medical implant grade silicone which has been fully tested for biocompatibility and toxicity to the highest level of the ISO10993 standards. That doesn’t mean that irritation due to having the sensor present doesn’t occur but the silicone itself is guaranteed safe to use.
My personal experience with OvuSense
Ok, of course I am not just reviewing OvuSense based on staring at the device and listening to the research right? I HAD to try it myself right?
Well, to be honest, it first lay on my desk for months before I even dared to try it. I am a sensitive gal and the sensor looked absolutely huge to me. Yes, even after already having given birth naturally…
When I finally did dare to try it, it luckily turned out it wasn’t nearly as big as I imagined it to be. Nevertheless, I did have discomfort using it. It actually kept me tossing and turning at night. Sometimes it was up too high, touched my cervix and gave me period like cramps. I would have to remove it and would continue to get the cramping pain for hours. I would end up taking the homeopathic remedy Magnesium Phosphoricum – GREAT menstrual pain reliever – to have the pain stop.
Sometimes the device was too low and the tail and bottom of the device would irritate.
I appear to be a bit of an anomaly though when it comes to the discomfort, since research that Ovusense did with a group of 13 women, showed that non of the women on their panel had any issues with it.
Anyway, as a result of the discomfort I actually removed it a couple of times during the night when I went to the bathroom and left it on the sink counter. Of course in my sleepy state I would not remember to sync it with my phone and would loose the data because it needs to be synced within 3 hours of removal. So that portion of the night I did wear it, was also lost, sigh.
Then one night – this is embarrassing – I forgot to remove it when I went to the bathroom, and you guessed it… the little torpedo shot out and it shot INTO the pipes of the toilet. So there was no way of retrieving it again.
The people at OvuSense were darlings though, and have promised to send me another one to try a few more cycles to find a way to wear it that doesn’t cause discomfort. I’ll update this post when I have new experiences!
I also tested OvuSense alongside Tempdrop and Mira, and ALL three pinpointed a different ovulation date, so I ended up having to still interpret it myself anyway. However, if I have to believe the research, OvuSense would be the one to go by!
All this being said, it may sound like I really don’t like OvuSense. That’s not the case, I’m a big fan of the technology and I do think women like me are in the minority. Those of you that are sensitive though, this info my help you as there isn’t much information out there for us.
Who is OvuSense ideal for?
Here is who I think OvuSense is ideal for:
Women with PCOS, irregular cycles, or diminished ovarian reserve. It’s much easier to pinpoint ovulation with OvuSense when you have irregular cycles. The only downside is that if you feel it’s uncomfortable, you need to remember you will be wearing it a lot when ovulation is delayed.
For women that have very little or no cervical mucus and/or have partners with diminished sperm quality or count. OvuSense helps your time love making super close to ovulation which is even more important when you haven’t got the best quality sperm or the cervical mucus to keep it nourished and alive for more than a few days.
For those that don’t enjoy interpreting charts or need a device to take out the irregularities to make interpretation easier.
Who is OvuSense not for?
You may not enjoy OvuSense or need it if you fall into one of the following categories:
Sensitive people. If you have difficulty with tampons or the menstrual cup, this may not be for you either. Also, if you experience pain on intercourse.
If you want to chart on a budget. A regular BBT thermometer + cervical mucus check + OPK’s will still give you 80-90% ovulation confirmation accuracy! It is not so daunting as you may think to learn to chart. You can learn it for free with my online charting course.
If you are only just starting out trying to conceive and have had regular cycles with no particular issues, then you don’t have the need for a high tech fertility monitor right away. You may not even need or wish to take a temperature at all! Just monitoring your cervical mucus and timing sex when it increases or additionally using an ovulation prediction test may be all you need. I’m a BIG fan of charting, but even more a fan of it not becoming an obsession.
If based on all this you have decided that OvuSense is worth your try, then I cheer you on for sure! OvuSense has provided a discount code for my followers:
FLEUR20 – 20% off OvuSense standard
FLEURPRO – 30% off of OvuSense Pro through the end of 2020 (then goes to 20%)
Head on over to the OvuSense shop to apply your discount code.