Do ovulation kits work?

[Chickz]

Hello we have been ttc for a few months now. I have been using the sainsburys ovulation kits for two months testing daily. However, the kits are not picking up when my egg is due to be released and I get negative results every time. Im still getting periods so I know that an egg is being released. I am testing at the same time - 530-6pm and do not drink too much before hand. Do these kits work? Are some better than others?

[LovesApples]

Hi Chickz, I had problems too. I went for the clearblue version and used them before Christmas last year, but the digital test kit broke within the first cycle of use. Then I used a slightly cheaper version and it seemed to work. I did hear though that sometimes the tests are not sensitive enough to pick up the LH surge. I left it and thought that we might be better off to simply try every 2-3 days, so as to cover all the bases. Good luck

[MagpieCursedTea]

I never found them particularly helpful. I got a lot of false positives with the digital ones and found the cheapy ones difficult to read. I much prefer tracking my bbt, but that only tells you after you ovulate. Tracking other symptoms like cervical mucus and cervical position can help predict ovulation once you get used to it.

[maybebabybee]

Not to put a downer on things but just because you are having periods doesn't necessary mean you are ovulating. you could be having something called an anovulatory cycle (not sure of spelling but I think that's right), where your body gears up to ovulate but doesn't and you still bleed (there's a name for the type of bleed which I can't remember but basically it looks like a period so you wouldn't know it wasn't IYSWIM).

I'm not saying you're not ovulating, but they only way to be sure is if you are temping and your temp rises. Have you considered this?

Worth remembering that sometimes you can get a positive OPK and still not be ovulating as your body will gear up to ovulate and produce fertile CM and the LH hormone which makes OPKs go positive, but will still not release an egg.

I am not saying that you are not ovulating, but just if you want to be sure then honestly temping is the only way you will know 100%, other than actually getting pregnant of course :)

For me I didn't bother with OPKs, just had regular sex (every other day starting from cycle day 6) and did my temps to make sure I had O'd. When you do a few cycles temping you start to see if you ovulate around the same time every month as well which also helps with planning. It also helps you see if you o'd late for some reason, and when you know that you don't start POAS'ing madly because you know your period will be later than usual.

sorry for essay!!!

[Inwaiting]

I got a load of cheap ones off eBay. I usually tested every morning when I first woke up. On one Sunday I done it as I woke up - negative. Tested around 1pm positive and one just before i went to bed and it was negative again. We caught it in time (thankfully it was a Sunday!) and i got my BFP this week.

Best thing we found was to DTD as much as poss over fertile period +2 days either side .

[VimFuego101]

I used cheapies off amazon and they worked fine for me. I tested twice a day though - sometimes i would get a -ve result one evening, and a positive the following morning, then back to -ve again - so if you're only testing once a day, you could miss the +ve test.

[Artioo2]

Yes, if the line starts getting darker so you know roughly when the surge is starting, it's definitely worth testing twice a day if you have the cheapie sticks. It's very possible to miss your surge if you only test once in 24 hours. I've had a negative at 2pm,positive at 9pm then back to negative the next day.

[sizethree]

I used the Clearblue digital ones and they worked 1st cycle for one pregnancy (sadly ended in MC) and worked 2nd cycle for another pregnancy. Whereas previously it'd been 6 months then 8 months before getting a bfp.
I did test twice a day, first thing in the morn and when I got home from work, though just to be sure I didn't miss the surge.

[Chickz]

Thanks everyone. That's interesting about possibly missing the surge! I think I will buy cheapies from
Amazon and test a couple of times a day.
Maybebabybee- thank you I never knew about that. At the moment I have no reason to believe that I'm not ovulating. I already have a toddler so I am hoping everything is working!

[LondonGirl83]

I used an OPK for the first time this month as I recently mc and wanted to know what was going on with my body! My surge was way earlier than I anticipated it would be 8 day post MC (I tested negative two days before so I know its not left over HcG). DH and I went at it like rabbits for 48 hours.

[Chickz]

Sorry t hear that londongirl. Good luck though!

[RiverTam]

I used the clear blue digital ones and they worked perfectly, I got pg 1st time on a number of occasions using them.