Monday, April 1, 2013

Review of the LadyComp

After my horrifying Mirena experience, I did not want to get on any kind of prescription medication. Because birth control is necessary, I opted for Fertility Awareness Method. You can read more about FAM here if you're unfamiliar with it, but basically it's knowing when you can get pregnant and when you can't and having sex accordingly. So yes, sex is put on a bit of a schedule, or at least, unprotected sex is put on a schedule, but I'd take that any day over the horrors of the side effects of medication.

FAM uses charting and basal body temperature readings, as well as secondary signs (and sometimes third signs!) such as your cervical fluid, and it can be very straight forward. But sometimes it isn't. When I was researching FAM to find out if it was right for me, I came across many forum postings from women who were nervous: "I had unprotected sex on this day, but I'm not sure when I ovulated. Could I be PREGNANT?!" 

I can't speak to the skill level of these women in using FAM. I just knew I didn't want to be one of them. In almost every forum, women suggested the LadyComp, BabyComp, or the Pearly to those who could afford it. While it wasn't easily affordable for me (though they do have payment plans), I coughed up the money and I am so happy I did.


What is it? 
The LadyComp is natural, hormonal free birth control. It's part thermometer, which you need to take your temperature, and part computer, which stores your temperature (and height, weight, age, etc) and compares it to hundreds of thousands of other women to determine if you're fertile or not.

Which one should I get?
The BabyComp is a device for women who are trying to get pregnant. It can even help you choose a sex, though it's not 100% reliable. It takes your temperature and tells you the best days to have sex in order to have a little bundle of joy.

The LadyComp is a birth control device. It takes your temperature and tells you which days not to have sex. The Pearly is a cheaper version of the LadyComp. The display isn't as large, and it doesn't keep as much of your information in it's database, but it essentially does the same thing.

If you get the LadyComp and decide you do want a baby (at some point), you can pay a fee and upgrade the software so your LadyComp because a BabyComp. Or you don't have to. Just have sex on the red days and a baby should appear 9 months later. ;-)


How much?
So I spent a lot of money on the LadyComp, and it made me a little sick to my stomach, even a month or so afterwards. Yes, it's an investment. Yes, I'll save money long term. Yes, I could have bought a used one on eBay or Craigslist to save money, but when you're unemployed, spending money at all seems like a bad idea.

If you can't come up with the money and you're interested, I encourage you to look into their payment plan or look around on the internet for a used one.

I bought a new one because I wanted the warranty. (No point in spending all that money if it breaks!)

How does it work?
A red light means don't have sex. Green means go for it. The first few months, I got a lot of yellow lights. And yellow means that the machine is still learning my body, and it's best to treat it as a red day. I wasn't totally pleased with the yellow lights (nor was my boyfriend), but because I was tracking my chart alongside the machine, I had a little better of an idea about when I could have sex (and also if the machine was working properly).

I found that the machine is very conservative (hence all the yellow lights) in figuring out my ovulation days. It's much better now - I rarely, if ever, get a yellow day. Currently, my red days start the day before my cervical fluid shows up, so it's exactly on point with that. It's also great at determining the day I'm ovulating and when I can start having sex again.

In fact, now I only track my charts for my doctors to reference.

The LadyComp stores information for the last 180 days in its database, but it doesn't organize it like a chart - it's just numbers.

Does it actually work?
The Lady Comp has a Pearl Index rating of .7, which means less than 1 out of 100 women who use this will get pregnant. To compare, the pill has a PI between .1-.9 and diaphragms have a PI of 1-3. So compared to other hormonal alternatives, it's about the same, if not better. Percentage wise, it's 99.3% accurate.

You can compare their devices to other, more standard birth control measures on their website.

I encourage you to poke around their website and give it a shot if you're interested.

Let me know if you have any questions!

11 comments:

  1. How many red days does it usually give you now?

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    1. On average I have about 10-12 red days each month, which is a bit higher than normal, but I find the LadyComp to be highly accuracte and I'm still pleased with it!

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  2. How long have you been using the Lady Comp? I have absolutely had it with the pill, and really want to purchase one, but I went to my doctor and she was very skeptical about the effectiveness of the method,stating that basal body temperature monitoring was not enough to prevent pregnancy.

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  3. I've been using it now for a year and a half. I was skeptical at first as well, but I haven't had any close calls. I highly recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler; it covers the science behind fertility awareness method/natural family planning and after I read it, I was convinced it was right for me and bought the LadyComp.

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  4. Hey Kirstin, Thanks for your blog. I love my lady comp and want to help others too. Check out my group for support in natural birth control. I would love you to join:) https://www.facebook.com/groups/449843428493538/

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  5. I am so glad to read such a lovely eloquent post on the Lady-Comp stating all the facts. I have had my Lady-Comp for over 3 years and I have never looked back. It helped me track my cycles for a while and then get pregnant with my son who is now 10 months old, after a long struggle with Anovulation. I hope many more woman can learn about Lady-Comp and natural birth control as it is in harmony with the bodies natural cycle. I just LOVE it! Thank you for writing the post!!

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  6. Hi, I really want to buy the lady comp too but I'm a little scared that it's quite risky like my doctor has said. Does it give you green lights a few days before you ovulate? If so then you could easily fall pregnant couldnt you? as sperm can live for up to 5 days? Thanks, Emma

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    1. Everyone's cycle is a little bit different, but I don't find the LadyComp risky at all. The device takes into account that sperm can live for up to 10 days and it factors that into the red/green days it gives you each cycle.

      I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility (http://amzn.to/1oWmsek) so you can understand how your body works and why the LadyComp is so effective. After reading the book, you may choose to chart your cycle yourself and save money. I preferred the convenience of the LadyComp.

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    2. If you are looking for a cheaper option I would recommend the app Lady Cycle. I used it for a little less than a year alongside the LadyComp and found the days to be almost always the same. With this you would also need to buy a thermometer. I found the charts on this app to be very nicely laid out (great visuals which the LadyComp doesn't have: you can easily look back and see your previous cycles) and it has many levels of customization. Of course it's a little more work to the enter data in your phone but I think it's worth it.

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    3. I say you should have no fear! I was the pioneer too two years ago when I was the first person who bought LadyComp amongst all my friends and I never heard of it before!
      I also spoke to a nurse who had no clue what she was talking about, so I bought the Taking Charge of Your Fertility book as well and it rocked my world. I have been using it since 2014 and it has been just a bliss.

      I have also written my story about it, so feel free to check it out on marialuisakitchen.com or you can join FAM group on Facebook and all the girls there are very supportive and knowledgeable! :)

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  7. Hey Kristin,
    I was wondering, do you know anything about daysy (https://www.usa.daysy.me/). It appears to be somehow related to lady comp.

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