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. ;-)

You can read more about the different devices here.

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!

Fertility Awareness Method: Reliable Birth Control Without Hormones

After my horrendous experience with hormonal birth control on the Mirena IUD, you can imagine I was not eager to get on another type of hormonal birth control. It turns out there aren't many options out there, except for condoms which I'm not a fan of. And except for FAM, Fertility Awareness Method.

FAM is something that not many people know about, even among doctors. A few people are generally familiar with the concept, but only because they used it to get pregnant. Yes, in addition to being birth control, it can also be a great way to conceive.

Very basically: FAM is a way for the woman to know her body and to know when she's ovulating. When you're not ovulating or not about to ovulate, you can have as much sex as you want. If you don't want to get pregnant, then you either abstain or use another method of birth control (i.e. condoms) when you are ovulating.

If you want to get pregnant, you make sure to have sex when you're ovulating since that's the only time you can get pregnant. Many couple erroneously think they're infertile when in fact they're just not having sex at the right time of the month.

FAM is NOT the rhythm method.
The rhythm method presupposes that every woman has a 28 day cycle and every woman ovulates on day 14. This is obviously not the case, as cycles can vary from month to month and especially from woman to woman. FAM looks at each month's cycle to determine when you're ovulating and when you're not.


How safe is this?
The bottom line is that no one's going to use it unless it works. And it does. If used correctly, it has almost the same effectiveness as the pill, 98%. Reasons for pregnancy/not correct use? Having sex during ovulation and not understanding the rules used to determine when you're fertile.

How does this work?

You need to know where you are in your cycle at all times. Luckily, your body lets you know, as long as you know how to read the signs.

First, you need to take your basal body temperature every day, which is your temperature before you get out of bed in the morning. Eventually, you will see a pattern emerge. The first half of your cycle, your temperature is lower. It drops to its lowest point on the day before you ovulate, and then for the rest of your cycle, temperatures are up. The temperature drops down again when you get your period, and the cycle starts over. (So yes, this is a great way to know the day you're going to get your period!)

Example of fertility chart

Secondly, you need to observe your cervical fluid. This confused me greatly at first, but now I'm a whiz at knowing what my cervical fluid means. Without cervical fluid, sperm die a quick and hopefully painless death.  Sperm need cervical fluid to transport them to the egg. So if you're using FAM as birth control, you need to be careful when you start to get fluid.

There are a few different types of fluid, and you only get fluid when you're about to ovulate or when you're ovulating. Some fluid is more "fertile" than others, but I tend to abstain when there's fluid at all because sperm can survive for up to 5 days when there's fluid and I don't want them hanging around, waiting for my "fertile" fluid to appear.

There are a few other methods, but these are the two that I find the most easy to track and the most reliable. Google FAM, or check out Planned Parenthood's page here for more information on other methods.

How much does it cost?
FAM can be very cheap. Really, all you need is a basal body thermometer, which you can pick up at a drugstore for less than $10. There are other options, which I'll discuss in a future post, that cost more, but doing this on the cheap is definitely possible.

Who should not use FAM?

FAM, while perfect for me, may not be for you. You have to have the discipline to take your temperature every day. You have to have the discipline to check your cervical fluid. You have to have the discipline not to have unprotected sex when you're not experiencing a "safe" day.

Beyond that, it's not recommended for non-monogamous couples due to STDs and HIV/AIDS risk. It's also not recommended for those who binge drink regularly, as it raises your basal body temperature and can cause confusion when charting.

While FAM works for those with irregular cycles, if your cycle is very irregular (i.e. more than 40 days or less than 20 days apart), it may not work for you.

Really, how easy is it? It sounds like a lot of work.
When I first started charting, I was confused. For the first week, I wasn't sure I was taking my temperature at the right time, correctly (I know, I know, but I was nervous), or if it was "immediately" after I had woken up. (What if I was awake thinking for a few moments before I realized I was awake?)

I was also a little confused by the cervical fluid and all the various types, but once I read Taking Charge of Your Fertility, I became much more confident on all fronts, and now I think it's breeze. It takes me less than 30 seconds a day to know where I am and what my body will (probably) do that day. I love it and I don't see myself going back on any hormonal birth control any time soon.

Want to learn more?
Generally I recommend talking to your doctor, but make sure your doctor knows about FAM before making an appointment.

Definitely check out the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. Despite appearing like a pregnancy book, this is actually perfect for every woman to learn how her body functions. Despite thinking I knew a lot about my body, I found that my knowledge really only skimmed the surface. Things that always seemed crazy or disgusting suddenly made sense, and I no longer view my body as an unpredictable foreign being that's out to get me.

More importantly, it will teach you how to chart your cycles which will help you know when you're fertile and when you're not. If you are trying to conceive and having difficulties, you will hopefully be able to bypass many of the tests and drugs from the infertility doctor because you'll already know which phase of your cycle is causing the problems. Truly, it should be required reading for every female (and most men, as well!).