I got a monitor, but since buying it I have figured out several things about it. Overall this is what I can tell you about monitor vs. kit:
- Both of them detect 2 hormones
- Both of them give you 4 fertile days
- The kit is a little harder to read, mostly because the monitor outright tells you PEAK, HIGH or LOW, so there is no room for misinterpretation. The 7 day kit gives you a smiling face or no face, but still you only get 2 possibilities instead of 3
- If you are willing to bend a few statistical rules, the fact that the monitor stores 6 months' worth of info on your body could give you an idea of the natural trends your cycle follows. Although I wouldn't put too much trust on that.
- At the end of all your expenses, you will be able to resell the monitor with very little devaluation or lend it to a friend (the manual says you are not supposed to, but urine does not touch the monitor so the chances of infection are ridiculously low***, plus you can actually reset its memory so it's like new). I m planning to give mine to my sister after I am done. Obviously Clearblue tells you otherwise because hey, they want you to buy it new! With the kit, you spend an about 5 dollars more every month (as opposed to the strips for the monitor). I would say you end up spending about the same if you only ttc for a few months and resell your monitor. Otherwise the 5 dollar difference in the price of the testing strips would accumulate and make the kit significantly more expensive. This difference will be even more obvious if you manage to borrow a monitor from a trustworthy friend/relative.
- On the same note, you can find the monitor on ebay for pretty cheap. I bought mine brand new for 100 dollars instead of the usual ~200. They sell them used of course, but I had no idea they would have also worked until I bought myself a new one
. Used monitors aren't insanely cheaper than $100, though which sucks when you are buying but will be good when you are trying to get your investment back.
***about infection transmittal and sharing a monitor:
1.Even if you had a poor aim and let's say, got your hands splashed with urine (ew), there is no way for you to touch the internal part of the slot. The reading sensor is hidden inside a slot and impossible to touch unless you are a T-rex and have tiny fingers. The rest of the monitor is pretty easy to disinfect if you have cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. This of course does not apply if you have a seriously resistant contagious disease in which case you probably shouldn't lend your monitor to anyone.
2. Moreover, there is a very thick impermeable plastic layer covering the testing paper, so when you put the test in the monitor slot, the black sensor does not at all touch urine. In fact, it seems to me that the light that the monitor emits in the slot is what makes the reading possible. The sensor seems to measure either the transparency or patterns in the distribution of light in the testing paper. It does not store chemicals so clearly it does not need to be in contact with urine at all (after all, the monitor does not have an expiration date, and it also doesn't need to be reloaded with testing reactants. The testing strips do however have an expiration date, and they do contain reactants. The testings strips, as you well know, do touch urine). To me, this is strong evidence that the monitor is not supposed to be in contact with bodily fluids.
3. The wording in this section of the manual (
here is the link to the manual download, btw - look at page 27, question 25) is very loopholy:
The monitor has been designed to be used. What does this even mean?
Once it has been used, it stores your personal data and modifies the testing schedule based on the data. If you transfer the monitor to another person, it may take several months for the monitor to adjust to the new person's data. This could result in a delay for the new user to see Peak fertility. On the very next page (28) they tell you how to totally reset your monitor in a way that you delete ALL information. So no.
Additionally once your monitor has been used, it is contaminated with your urine, which may contain an infectious disease. There are no reliable methods for you to clean or remove infectious diseases from the monitor. It is for these reasons that we do not recommend that anyone use your monitor but you. Besides the reasons mentioned above, urine is considered a low risk body fluid (unlike blood, semen or vaginal secretions) see this link, page 1.
What is more, this article can only cite 1 infection transmitted by urine, and is very clear that the infection occurs from contact between urine and one's mouth, which means hand washing should minimize any risks.
](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall ](*,)")
Sorry about the wall of text. In conclusion, I recommend you borrow or buy a second hand monitor. Otherwise use the testing kits but it may be a little bit more expensive. I wanted to make a complete post in case someone else ever wonders about the advantages/disadvantages of getting a fertility monitor. I hope it helps!
Edit to add: These are all my speculations and I am not your doctor, obgyn, lawyer or whatnot. Just a stranger on the internet who likes to do research every morning while testing.
