I have been ttc for 6 months - with one m/c. i went to the dr. today and she said do the ovulation sticks, and come in again exactly 7 days after i get the surge line - to see if i have ovulated and test for Progesterone levels, this they can do buy blood work. has anyone had this done?

Am verteran of many blood tests.

The problem with opk's is that these can be misleading in their own right. These kits measure the levels of luteinising hormone. If you are one of many women who are producing more than normal levels of LH then the kit will read this. It is not the case that a rise in LH is immediately followed by ovulation, also many women have more than one rise in LH every month.

There is a blood test to measure progesterone levels and its called a day 21 test. It can be done on or around about that 21st day. Levels of LH and FSH are usually tested earlier in the cycle; in this regard day 10 is a standard test. If these hormone levels are tested you must ensure that the level of LH is compared against that of FSH. If this is not done the test result can be misleading.

I had a day 21 progesterone test last month to check whether I was ovulating. Got the results back and my prog level was 23. Told by nurse that "they like to see a level of at least 30 as that would indicate you have ovulated". Am currently 6 weeks pregnant, so their target levels are not completely accurate. Having said that, the blood tests are meant to be a lot more reliable than OPKs, as you can get an LH surge (hence +ve OPK result) but still not ovulate. Hope that helps.

I'd temp take as well as ov stick to be quite sure.

thanks to all who replied. got my results - 13 was the number i was given - what does this mean? thanks again

if thats a day 21 prog. a level of 13 is too low for ovulation...BUT never go by one test your GP should repeat the test in another cycle. Also if your cycle is not 28days then a day 21 prog. can be a bit misleading.

Klou

I would get your LH and FSH levels checked as well (these are tested earlier in the cycle around day 3) as these are probably awry also if your progesterone level is low. A level of 13 would indicate no ovulation occured that particular cycle.

My cycles were always irregular but I had the 21 day test done regardless (over a period of several months according to calendar days) and it also showed non ovulation.

Will doc refer you to a gynae?. GPs can only do so much and a gynae referral may stand you in better stead.

really 13 too low for ovulation? now i am gutted.

Day 1-14 >1 to 1.5 ng/ml

Day 15-28 2-28 ng/ml

this is something i found online. seems all the info is different and can be misleading.
i asked the nurse who called iwth the results and she said it mean i had ovulated!

poseparker - how long are your cycles? i read that would make a difference what the 21 day reading was if you had a 28 or say a 31 day cycle?

really 13 too low for ovulation? now i am gutted.

Day 1-14 >1 to 1.5 ng/ml

Day 15-28 2-28 ng/ml

this is something i found online. seems all the info is different and can be misleading.
i asked the nurse who called iwth the results and she said it mean i had ovulated!

poseparker - how long are your cycles? i read that would make a difference what the 21 day reading was if you had a 28 or say a 31 day cycle?

in uk Dr's look for d21 prog of at least 25nmol/l but best if >30nmol/l. hth.