Best Hormone Tracker for Irregular Cycles

If you are going to buy an independently reviewed services or products via a hyperlink on our web site, SheKnows might obtain an affiliate fee.

I used to be on contraception capsules for round 14 years. After I lastly tossed my final pack, I used to be stunned to study simply how irregular my cycles are. At first, I believed it was the results of being on hormonal birth control for thus lengthy, however after being prescription-free for 2 years, I nonetheless take care of the frustrations of an irregular cycle. 

Since going off contraception, I’ve develop into fully obsessive about wellness tech for girls’s well being to assist me higher perceive my cycle. This consists of the coveted Oura Ring, which I put on (and sleep with) each day. I like the Oura Ring as a result of it makes monitoring my cycle primarily based on my basal physique temperature a complete breeze — all I’ve to do is sync it with the Pure Cycles app, and it tells me the place I’m in my cycle and may predict my fertility window and interval.

Then I had the chance to check the Mira Hormone Monitor and realized that, as a lot because the Oura Ring and Pure Cycles mixture is efficient at predicting my interval (it was virtually at all times fairly correct), my irregular cycle throws off the expertise, making it more durable to foretell which day I truly ovulate. 

Mira Fertility Tracker Overview

The Mira Hormone Monitor is a small, egg-shaped system that’s basically like having a lab within the palm of your hand. It connects to the Mira app, the place you may load information and share extra insights (together with basal physique temperature, which I nonetheless pull from my Oura Ring and Pure Cycles app) and get a good suggestion of what’s going on internally all through your cycle — irrespective of how lengthy or quick they is perhaps — to know exactly once you’re ovulating.

“It doesn’t simply offer you a sure/no reply about ovulation — it quantitatively tracks key reproductive hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH), E3G (the primary metabolite of estrogen), PdG (the primary metabolite progesterone), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), utilizing urine samples, providing a way more nuanced and correct view of your cycle,” says Rosemary MacKenzie, a scientific supervisor and analysis lead at Mira. 

How Does Mira Work?

To check your hormones, you pee right into a small silicone cup that’s included with the system, then dip a take a look at wand into the urine for 20 seconds (the app conveniently counts down for you), you then insert the wand into the system, and it really works its magic to research the hormone ranges and offer you an correct view of the place every part is at. As soon as the wand is analyzed, the app doesn’t simply retailer the insights — it makes use of AI to interpret the main points in context, taking cycle historical past, hormone developments, and irregularities into consideration to generate customized insights and predictions, says MacKenzie. The app additionally tells you when to check primarily based on the info, so that you don’t have to trace and set reminders for your self. 

All of this feels like a problem — and much more work than simply sleeping with a wellness tracker and syncing its information to a contraception app — nevertheless it’s truly not as annoying because it appears. I’ve taken my system with me on a number of journeys, together with on a tour with my musician husband, the place I used to be actually working a lab from the teeny tiny tour bus toilet (whereas the bus was transferring, no much less). Its small design and easy course of made it really easy to maintain up with my cycle insights at the same time as I bopped from metropolis to metropolis. 

Verdict

Having a transparent concept of my fertility window and ovulation window has been a complete game-changer for me, since having an irregular cycle could make getting pregnant harder. “An irregular cycle usually signifies that ovulation shouldn’t be occurring repeatedly or in any respect, which makes it more durable to foretell the fertile window,” says Anate A. Brauer, M.D., FACOG, of RMA of New York, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist with intensive expertise in treating all medical and surgical facets of infertility.

She notes that most individuals with irregular cycles are nonetheless in a position to conceive, however with out constant ovulation, the probabilities of conception in a given cycle are decrease. By understanding my cycle on a lab degree, making an attempt to get pregnant has felt much less and fewer like a shot at nighttime and given me the boldness enhance I’ve wanted in my fertility journey.  

Professionals: 
Extra exact cycle monitoring 
Compact measurement that you may simply journey with 
Comes with every part it is advisable to get began 
Person-friendly app 
FSA and HSA eligible 

Cons: 
Excessive price ticket (and the refill wands are additionally dear)