PCOS Awareness Month: OvuSense Review
After using it for 3 months, I’m sharing my brutally honest OvuSense review of it and how it’s worked for me with PCOS, plus a 20% DISCOUNT FOR YOU!!!
Last updated: June, 2023. OvuSense helped us conceive a sweet little boy that we lost at 13 weeks to a silent miscarriage (or missed miscarriage) and our baby girl Collins who got to come home with us in 2021!
I still use OvuSense every night and added a FAQ section to hopefully help you guys out with some questions I get a lot with this! Scroll to the end of the post to read 🙂
A few days, I shared ago our infertility story.
Don’t worry – even though it’s kind of a bummer, I sprinkled it with sarcasm and humor.
I’m not sure how many of you are anything like me, but at one point I had 6 fertility apps on my phone that essentially tracked the exact same information and guess what – it was ALL WRONG!
Predictions of new cycles? Wrong.
Prediction of a shift in my body temperatures? Again, wrong.
I was beginning to get frustrated when I stumbled across the Ava Bracelet. Even though it wasn’t approved for people like me with PCOS, I went ahead and got it to try out anyway.
I wrote about what it was like to use the Ava Bracelet, but as I suspected, it’s also REALLY wrong. It’s not Ava’s fault. They are very clear it’s not for women with PCOS like me.
But then creeped in this little guy out of nowhere.
Okay, maybe not out of nowhere, but I was researching as I normally do and stumbled across this and had never heard of it but it was proven to predict ovulation within 99% accuracy for people with PCOS! I was intrigued!
What is OvuSense?
OvuSense is a fertility monitor worn internally overnight that takes your body temperature every 5 minutes and then automatically records it in an app in the morning.
OvuSense predicts ovulation up to 24 hours in advance and confirms ovulation with 99% accuracy, even if you have PCOS!
Now, I’m a 6 on the enneagram so of course, I’m skeptic of this, but I also really like science and numbers.
How to read OvuSense Chart
Good lord, wanna talk about bearing my soul?
I mean here’s literally the most intimate details of my life RIGHT HERE. This was my first cycle using OvuSense.
See, the dot that’s circled in gray? OvuSense says I ovulated! Say whaaaa? It says I ovulated on day 32.
Most “normal” cycles are only 28 days and by day 28 my body hadn’t even ovulated yet.
The temperatures to the left of that circle are all below that gray line and the temperatures to the right are all above it which is an indication that ovulation actually happened.
My body didn’t hate me that month! Still not pregnant and still struggling to conceive, but nonetheless, here we are.
I also got a good insight about my luteal phase – after using this, on months I actually ovulate, my luteal phase is never more than 10 days long.
Just for fun, here’s my most recent cycle that ended just a couple days ago.
See those temperatures? And see that sad little notification in the top right?
Yup. Body extra hated me this month.
This was the first month I trailed far off keto and the first month my body didn’t ovulate since I’ve had OvuSense. While I don’t follow the keto diet anymore because I’m learning to love my new body since Collins came to town, I’m trying to find ways to regulate my ovulation without a “diet”.
Pros of OvuSense
Speed of sync
One thing I am increasingly not happy about with Ava is how long it takes in the morning to sync.
With OvuSense, I literally have to tap the end of my iPhone to the monitor in the mornings and bam. It’s synced.
Accuracy
Well, mostly.
See this huge jump in temperatures above? This was the month I was diagnosed with meningitis and although I could have ovulated, I think the dates may be off due to the fever I had with it.
Other than that, I feel pretty confident about my other 2 cycles so far.
Ease of use
Seriously. It’s SO EASY. No bracelet. No worrying about a long time syncing. It’s really the whole concept of “set it and forget it.”
Support of a nurse
This is probably one of my favorite features. OvuSense comes with a free meeting with one of their fertility specialists. There’s also a Facebook group where you can go to have other eyes on your chart and ask for advice or help! I’ve found it super useful!
Cons of OvuSense
Cost
Of course y’all know how I feel about this. It sucks enough we just out here trying to do something most women can do without any help.
But add to that we have to PAY for help. BOOOOO. And lemme tell you, this thing ain’t cheap. Cheaper than IVF or IUI, sure, but good LAWD.
Replace yearly
The great thing is that OvuSense has no “battery” so you don’t have to charge it every day, but the bad side is you do have to replace it every year which means you have to make sure you can order it before it “expires”.
However, the silver lining is the new sensor is free, you just pay the shipping and processing fee once you choose a subscription!
OvuSense vs. Ava Bracelet
After using Ava for about 6+ months and OvuSense for about 4, my vote for me personally is OvuSense.
Ava has been glitchy, it’s not accurate for women like us with PCOS, and I haven’t found it to be super useful for me.
OvuSense is for sure accurate, way more easy to use and about the same price as Ava Bracelet.
So, in my humble, non-medical opinion, if you have PCOS, are struggling to conceive and are trying to decide between the two, go with OvuSense.
FAQ
I can’t stress this enough – yes. Yes it does. Whether your cycles are 28 days or 128 days, OvuSense is super accurate. I’ve even shown it to my doctor to prove a thing or two.
99%! I mean, nothing can ever be 100, but that’s as close as you can get and I’m good with that!
No. Your temperatures won’t be accurate because of your blood flow and you can also stain your sensor. Nobody wants that.
NO! This is the best part! You can order your OvuSense whenever and you can use it starting the day you get it if you’re not actively bleeding! Your ovulation may be off that month if it’s already happened, but you can start using it whenever you’re ready! Hooray!
Yes, but tbh I haven’t had good luck with this. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to quickly put my hand in the toilet to get this thing out. That’s not embarrassing to have all over the internet at all….
Personally, this is a tricky one for me. It claims it does and that it gives you your fertile window, BUT what I will say is that it can fluctuate and for me, if I’m entering my fertile window, many times it has shifted within the window so this part isn’t always accurate for me.
But using OvuSense combined with other methods of checking for peak fertile days, yes, it can be helpful.
I’ve never used OvuSense with Clomid. We did our 13 rounds of Clomid prior to me finding OvuSense, but Clomid is an ovulation inducer. Which means it should make your body ovulate and so using OvuSense to see when you actually did ovulate like
What’s In It For YOU?
Blah, blah, blah. Show me the money. Okay! OvuSense was SO KIND to give you guys 20% off your purchase with the code ‘CARMEN’!
Also, I know it’s a long shot, but if you legit have any questions about it or want to talk more in depth, I would really LOVE to help you!
Feel free to contact me on my website or you can slide up in my Instagram DMs and I would be more than happy to help!
Thank you to OvuSense for allowing me to try their product for a couple months. I promise you that all opinions are my own. Ya girl will never be paid to say something she doesn’t wanna. EVER.
Thank you for the code! It worked. ????
Yay!
Was so excited to find a coupon and it’s expired ????????????
I’m so sorry – I can reach out to the team and see if they can reinstate it if you’re still interested.
@Carmen Smith,
Can you ? I know I’m late but worth a try, lol.
I’ll see what I can do. Feel free to send me an email so it doesn’t get lost in comments since I don’t check those that often!
Do u wear it just at night? What about after sex, does it change the out come temp wise?. Did u find it uncomfortable to keep it it all night?
Are you a part of their FB group? It’s SO helpful to ask questions and get advice and see how many other girls are using it! Yes, you wear it just at night, I typically put it in before bed. Wearing it after sex doesn’t change the temp, just give it a bit of time before you put it back in. It wasn’t uncomfortable for me at ALL. It was akin to wearing a tampon – super painless!
Did you try a normal oral thermometer? Also did you try them at the same time? I’d really like to see all three used on one cycle and see if there is statistically significant differences.
Yep, but because I have kids and am often up and down in the middle of the night, because I don’t wake/sleep at the same time every day and because so my environmental things can alter your temperature, I stopped trusting it a long time ago. Core body temp and BBT will never be the same because they’re taking different things, if that makes sense. Your CORE body temp is measuring the temp at your cervix which is way more accurate. The BBT only measures oral temp which can be affected by a lot. I will also say that because OvuSense works by taking your temp every five minutes and aggregating the data, it gives you the average over the course of hours where as BBT is just when you wake up. That’s a very long winded answer to say I still trust OvuSense haha. I did use the Ava bracelet and this at the same time and they were close, but definitely not the same.
I’ve tried using your discount code “CARMEN” and it didn’t work.
I’m sorry, it may not be working anymore but if you’d like, I’d be happy to reach out to the company and see if there is another one I can give to you! Feel free to send me an email at carmen@livingletterhome.com and I’ll be happy to see what I can do for you! I know any little bit helps.
Thanks Carmen for this review. I was searching for an actual person with PCOS that had used it asides the reviews I see on their site. My concern or rather question is as with PCOS, we have spotting every so often. Sometimes I spot for about 2weeks, albeit really light and erractic. One day its here, the next day its not and back again the 3rd day until it finally stops. Would it makes sense or wear or not wear then?
Hmmm, it depends on how heavy it is. Typically if there is blood flow, it’s not quite as accurate because it can alter the temperatures. I personally probably would wait for it to stop if it’s heavy, but if it’s not really that heavy, I would try it.
Hello! I have pcos and never get my period without Progesterone. Do I start my cycle on OvuSense on day I start using it or first day of my next period ?
you don’t use OvuSense while you’re on your period. So as soon as the bleeding stops, you can wear it again. Hope that helps!
Hey there! This may be a silly question, but do you wear it while you’re on your period? How does it track during that time?
No you don’t; You technically could, but it would stain it. You just keep it out the duration and then put it back in when it’s over 🙂
Hmm I came across you blog because been searching for something to help me get pregnant. I dont any form of medical insurance due to no job but I planned on getting one to start my journey in TTC however insurance companies said I gotta wait until November for the open enrollment (which is a torture)…. Planned on getting a consult to a ivf facility and then all these pandemic happened as well..
Looking for something to atleast help me get started in my own way and with PCOS it’s hard to track your cycles… If I may to ask, when do you start using the ovusense? I just ordered one.
You start as soon as you’re done actively bleeding on your cycle. Hope that helps!
I just wondered if you get periods with your pcos? I haven’t have a period in over three months so wondered if this would help?
Thanks
Great question – sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. For example, my last cycle was almost 60 days. I bled for 19 days, used ovusense to see that I ovulated on day 40 something and then had my cycle 11 days later. It’s all over the place, but it still helps so much to see that even when I thought I wasn’t ovulating and having a cycle, I actually was/am. I hope that’s helpful!