I’ve been seeing adverts for this hormone tracker called Inito and one of the things it highlights is that it is able to confirm ovulation occurred by measuring PdG. Has anyone used this or know more about confirming ovulation?
I’ve been BBT tracking and as far as I understand, a consistently raised BBT can confirm ovulation as well so I don’t want to spend money on something that isn’t necessary but if we don’t conceive soon (especially because I have PCOS) it might be helpful to know if I am not ovulating…
Before you spend any money on products or specialized things, especially with a history of PCOS I’d ask your doctor for Day 21 bloodwork for a few cycles, to measure your progesterone levels, that will be the most accurate way to see if you are consistently ovulating. You can also get ultrasounds starting around day 10 of your cycle to see if your follicles start maturing for ovulation.
It took us 5 years to get a diagnosis of PCOS, and honestly when you know you might already have an ovulation dysfunction, I think it’s best to just immediately speak to your doctor instead of wasting the time and heart ache of just trying and hoping for months. They say to try for a year before testing for things but you already know you might have a long road! No need to make it longer, we conceived our first medicated cycle!!! I wish we’d pursued it sooner but didn’t know it was a viable option for our situation since diagnosis took so long.
Edit to also add - BBT always worked great for me, and I definitely recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility if you haven’t yet! It’s such a great resource for knowing your body, PCOS or not!
Currently TTC with PCOS as well! With PCOS you can have multiple spikes in LH and PdG, so the data that Inito gives you likely would not tell you whether or not you’re ovulating. Over the counter ovulation tests wouldn’t be accurate either because of that. I tried tracking BBT as well but couldn’t confirm ovulation with that data either as there was never much change for me. Honestly I think trying to figure everything out myself at home was too stressful for me and I just ended up more confused.
So I agree, I think going straight to your doctor is the best bet to get the most accurate information and the proper tests. I think it’s better to know what you’re working with rather than going in blind, and better to have someone who specializes in fertility to guide you. I don’t think there’s a surefire way to confirm ovulation at home (with PCOS) because you are working with incomplete information.
I’ve been getting so many targeted PCOS ads as well, for things like hormone trackers and herbal tea blends that promise to get you pregnant on the first cycle. I honestly think a lot of companies like that tend to take advantage of people who are struggling to conceive, which I personally find really gross. Inito has the hidden continued cost of the test strips after the initial purchase as well so it ends up being pretty expensive, and if you’re willing and able to spend the money you might as well spend it on the doctor imo. I hope that helps, and good luck to you in your fertility journey! Wishing you all the best
Well, here in the States I already have an OBGYN and at my preconception appointment in [name_u]August[/name_u] he was upset with my former OB freaking out over my A1C being .01 over and not explaining I wasn’t near the diabetic range yet (I transferred to this practice even though I live an hour away because of the treatment I’d had at the one nearby) and he said 1) I was not overweight (something a doctor has never said to me before) and 2) he didn’t want me to worry about infertility just yet because my cycles had been pretty consistently 30 days before birth control. He wants me/us to come back in at 9 months (May 2024) if we haven’t conceived by then but he wasn’t too worried yet.
And with the cost of appointments/ultrasounds here (even with health insurance as they only cover so much), it might be more cost effective to just get Inito at 150$ lol and since my BBT raise has been pretty consistent, I think I might actually be ovulating so I might give it a couple more cycles before trying anything intense. It’s good to know that BBT is usually pretty reliable though.
Thanks for your input! I was just diagnosed with PCOS earlier this year and was a bit shocked because I don’t have any of the symptoms, just the “string of pearls” on my ovaries.
I think PCOS is different for everyone though because this last cycle was my first time using an ovulation kit and I only had 1-2 positive tests it was able to detect within a day of each other to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, which was hopefully actual ovulation. I was mainly looking to see if anyone was aware of the accuracy of BBT for confirmation and if they had/had not liked Inito!
This is VERY important to note! A lot of people don’t realize there’s actually 4 distinct types of PCOS. And it sounds like you have Type D like me, that’s characterized by having Polycystic Ovaries and Irregular cycles, but isn’t hormonal. Which is why most Type D isn’t diagnosed for so long.
I never had an issue with OPKs or BBT. But I believe Types A,B, & C all struggle moreso to track ovulation because they deal with the different hormonal problems that people tend to associate with PCOS. I’ve tracked at least 3 pregnancy cycles with BBT and it’s been incredibly accurate for me, OPKs have always been reliable for me as well, I can only think of a few cycles where I’ve gotten wonky results. BBT especially is very obvious if it’s not working well, you’ll see a mountain range in your chart instead of a rolling hill with a steep jump into another rolling hill!
All of that being said, I think if your doctor says to try 9 months, which seems reasonable, and you’ve been getting reliable results from your temping, I’d avoid spending on any extra devices, as they are kinda predatory to women TTC. My fertility doctor also said that all the supplements etc are absolutely snake oil and to not waste money!
(The things my Fertility doctor did recommend taking daily, as they have scientific backing, are 600mg CoEnzyme Q10, 2000 IU Vitamin D, Fish Oils and B Vitamins)
Now that I’m off BC my cycle is re-regularizing back to 30ish days (and I just quit a super stressful job so that will hopefully help) so that is hopeful although I’ve heard you can be regular w/o ovulating! But yeah, I’ve only really struggled with weight loss and then the ultrasound on my ovaries earlier this year showed the polycystic state.
I am already on prenatals with requisite amounts of recommended stuff, Inositol (doctor recommended at my preconception appointment) and iron (because I’m prone to anemia).
