Hello ladies:

I'm new to this forum and coming off of birth control pills soon. I've been taking birth control pills now for 10 years, and over the last year or so on Yasmin I've been experiencing terrible side effects- mood swings, irritable, migraines, you name it. I'm more than ready to stop taking the pill. My hubby and I want a method that will take us through the next 1-2 years, at which point we want to think about having a little one.

I had some questions about Lady Comp, though. It seems, from what all of you have said, like a wonderful choice (thank you for sharing your experiences!!). However, I was wondering:

How much does drinking affect it? I don't drink a lot, but I like to have a couple of glasses of wine on Saturday nights...

Also, is it absolutely necessary to use a backup method on the green days even though you're not ovulating? Condoms don't work for me and hubby, they break...

For those who came off of hormonal birth control, how long does it take for LadyComp to start working effectively?

Thank you SO much for sharing your experiences and any advice/answers would be MUCH appreciated. I'm trying to make the best decision I can, and everyone's opinions and input is welcome.

Hi Meagan,

Alkohol does affect your temperature. If you drink about the same every day, then it does not matter as it is a contnuous disturbance. But if you only drink once or twice a week, then your temperature will rise the next morning. To avoid confusing Lady-Comp too much I recommend forget about the temp reading for that day. The worst that can happen is that you have one or two more red or yellow days than absolutely necessary under stabel conditions.

As for green days:
at the beginn of your cycle they are safe with 99.3%
after confirmed ovulation in the second half of your cycle they are 100% safe. Thus on those days you can enjoy love without hesitation.

comming off the pill it can take just one month till up to a max of 2 years for your cycle to regulate itself. Just be patient and trust your Lady-Comp. In case of doubts - ask.

Hello Pia:

Thank you so very much for answering my questions.

I am nervous about coming off of birth control after such a long time on the pill, but seeing the information here about Lady Comp has helped and reassured me very much. I am sure that I will have more questions as time goes on, but in the meantime, I am getting the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" that many women here have recommended.

I'm still wondering what I should do for bc on the days that are "red" because, as I said, condoms do not work for us...

Once again, thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and thank you Pia for answering my questions! I really appreciate it.

Let's be truthful here, ALL green lights are 99.3% safe, no green light is 100% safe and it is important to know that. There are women who have gotten pregnant on "post-ovulatory" greens, an example right here. Ladycomp very rarely gives false greens where it mistakingly thinks ovulation has happened, but it does happen.


All that said, 99.3% is pretty darn good. It is important to remember that only abstinance is 100% safe, and that it is important to be comfortable in your choice of contraception. If 99.3% safe is not enough for you, ladycomp is simply not the best birth control method for you, and you should continue to research other methods that are better suited for your individual needs.
I trust my ladycomp completely as I have never seen a false green in the almost two years of using it, it has always kept me safe. You can check out my chart in my sig to see how the reds and greens are distributed in my cycles.

As for red days, we do anal and oral. I hate condoms with a passion so we never use them either. If that is not sufficiant for you, there are many different barrier-methods other than condoms you can check out. Such as a diaphragm, sponge, cervical cap and probably a ton more I'm not familiar with.
Good luck!

I used the today's sponge the other day and it was ok...I think it affected my orgasm but that could just be psychological. I bought a femcap to use with natural spermicide (contragel- from ladytobaby.com). I think it is pretty effective like 97%. Or, spermicide foam or films with withdrawal may be a good combination if you can handle nonoxyl 9 spermicide as some people are allergic to it.

Hello all,

I've had Lady-Comp for about a month and before my period it gave me one green and then mostly yellows but post period its given me one yellow and 16 reds. Is this normal?

Yes, I would consider that fairly normal. It will not give you greens after your period until it has detected ovulation. Also, it can take a few months for Ladycomp to get to know your cycle, and it can be extra cautious during that time.

I usually get my first post ovulation green between day 15 and day 19. I usually ovulate quite early and I have short cycles (26 day average). Considering it is very common to ovulate later than me, it it probably very normal to not get post ovulation greens until +/- cycle day 20. Maybe even later. It all depends on our cycle and when/if you ovulate.
I think your Ladycomp is doing it's job by keeping you safe until it is sure you have ovulated and thereby knows you are infertile.

Oh good. I was worried that maybe I was doing something wrong. Thanks.

Hello, I'm new to this forum and would love some advice! I just started using Ladycomp a few months ago and I had an obvious temperature shift with my first cycle, but this current cycle has me confused...

LC says I O'd on the 23rd, but FF hasn't detected O yet, and now my temperatures are going down.....

I am also an ultrasound tech, so have the added benefit of being able to scan myself. With my first cycle I had an obvious dominant follicle develop, which ruptured right around the time that both FF and LC said I O'd. With this cycle I didn't have a dominant follicle starting at all when LC predicted I was going to O in a few days, and I scanned myself on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of this week and I still had a mid-sized follicle (1.3cm) for all three days.

LC says I O'd on the 23rd, but I wasn't able to scan myself over that previous weekend, so I guess I could have O'd and the follicle just didn't completely rupture....however if I did really O, why are my temps going back down now? And it seems like LC isn't so sure anymore either, because it still keeps giving me red lights ever since I "O'd" on the 23rd...

Here's the link to my current cycle and the one before it:
http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/2aa363

My Ovulation Chart

Thanks so much for your help!! =)

The blinking red light in your current cycle is a prediction only. Ladycomp does not confirm ovulation until your cycle is closed, about 5-6 days into your new cycle. Check back in your next cycle and you will see that the blinking light has moved, and it probably will agree with fertilityfriend (give or take a day). This is your confirmed ovulation date.

Since you are not getting any green lights, ladycomp has not detected ovulation yet despite the blinking light. By looking at your chart I agree. In other words your ladycomp is doing it's job like it's supposed to.

This a regular question around here and I really with the manual was a lot clearer about this. It definitely causes a lot of confusion.
Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info! That makes sense since it had forecasted that these past two days would be green, but each morning gives me red instead.

I wonder if I could have O'd on the 23rd (17th day of my cycle) since my temp did go up, but for some reason I am just having a short luteal phase? My temp rise was at the time I would have expected to ovulate, otherwise it would be a really long cycle! But I did just stop taking the pill the beginning of Sept, so maybe things haven't gotten back to normal yet......

I guess I'll just wait and see what happens... =)

I really doubt you have ovulated yet. There is no consistent temp rise on your chart. You could either be ovulating late in your cycle, or be having an anovulatory cycle (the occasional one is quite normal).
I don't know how long you were on the pill and if you know how your normal hormone free cycles are, it could be that you naturally ovulate on the later side. It looks like you did in your last cycle too.
But since you are so fresh off the pill, there is really no way of knowing yet and you will need to give it some time.

Ok, thanks! I appreciate the help. I'll just wait it out now and see what happens over the next few days =)

We've been using withdrawal on red days for the past 6 months or so and are much happier than we were with barrier methods, especially since I occasionally ovulate a little early so Lady-Comp gives me a lot of red lights.

Not for everyone though.

I second that one. Withdrawal has been my backup of choice when using any. If you use it correctly it's a good option and always available. I agree that it's not for everyone as well. Depends on how "skilled" your partner is at control and knowing ahead of time so he can pull out soon enough as well as precautions to ensure there is no residual sperm in the urethra (waiting 6 hours or urinating in between acts). If that's followed correctly the one year failure rate is only 4% which is comparable to the 3% condom failure rate (perfect use).

I am also new to this forum and new to lady comp. In fact, I bought mine from a good friend who only used hers for a week or so.
How do I delete her info that is in there?
Also, I am breastfeeding my almost 5 month old daughter and have not started my period (last one was October 2008). How is that going to affect the lady comp, especially with me having never used it before?

Do you have the instructions for it? The directions for deleting are in it. If not you can go to the Rax Medical website, where they have the instruction manual. I don't have the book handy so I can't be more helpful.

thanks...i will look there

I copied this from the manual:
"Deleting saved data
Start self-testing (see page 11), now data can be deleted during or after the self-testing:
• Press simultaneously the round button, the minus button and the plus button.
• Hold all three buttons for 5 seconds.
• An “L” for delete appears on the display
panel, with a “9” on the right.
• Now release the three buttons.
• You must count down this “9” to zero by
pressing the minus button 9 times. The can- cellation process is interrupted if you touch any other button. At zero it is automatically deleted. An acoustic signal can be heard.
• Afterwards the current time appears on the display.

In so doing, the unintentional deletion of saved data will be excluded. After deleting you will find the pre-set example values on the indivi- dual displays. After taking your temperature the first time, the example data is automatically deleted, this is also the case when switching the device on for the first time."

If you want to download the manual to keep it handy on your computer, you can do so by clicking here.

Good luck.

when entering your height do you use just inches?