Anyone experienced with Clearblue dual hormone tests?

[BluePheasant]

Hi hoping for some advice about the Clearblue dual hormone digital ovulation test...

This is the first cycle I've tried ovulation testing, and I think I've cocked it up already! I did the first stick yesterday and got a plain circle. Today I got a flashing smiley face however this came as quite a surprise as judging by my last few cycles I wouldn't have expected to see this so soon (long cycles and am only on day 13).

I read the leaflet and it says if not tested on the first wee after your longest sleep then may get unexpected high fertility result. I did go to the loo in the early hours as DD woke me up so when I got up later didn't need a wee straight away so tested after I'd had a cup of tea. So I guess this wasn't my first wee after the longest sleep as it says to do in the instructions.

Have I buggered up the results for the rest of this cycle? Would it go back to a plain circle tomorrow if I'm not actually in high fertility? Or does it just stay on high fertility until I get the surge?

Wasn't expecting it to be this confusing!

[BluePheasant]

Bump

[HeyJupiter]

Don't worry OP, that sounds totally normal. I had the same last month - one blank circle and then onto flashing the next day. Had five days of flashing before getting my static 'peak' smiley face. The month before I had the textbook two days of flashing before my peak. It does depend a bit on when you test (I never get a peak face with FMU as the LH levels just aren't that strong at 7am despite what the advice is.) The oestrogen being picked up for the flashing face is better with FMU though. It's all bloody confusing but trust your instincts if you know your cycles well and DTD around the time you think you will actually be ovulating :)

[BluePheasant]

Thanks for reply :) Yep it's confusing alright! I've been trying to get to know my cycles better using the Ovia app but they are quite long and irregular, I think we keep missing the boat.
What time of day do you test to get a peak fertility result? Or is it pot luck?

[witchmountain]

It seems to vary from person to person. I only ever got my peaks with FMU, but some people only get them in the afternoon. I think you have to resign yourself to an expensive month of lots of testing until you figure out what time of day works for you. Also don't panic if you get days and days of the flashing smiley - if you have long cycles that might happen, just keep testing and see if the peak turns up. I've anything from two days of 'high' before a peak on a 26 day cycle to 16 days of 'high' on a 48 day cycle - but the peak did come! Whatever happened I found the second half (post peak) of my cycle was always the same length with a day or two.

[HeyJupiter]

I usually get my peak face at about midday and my flashing face in the morning :) The first cycle I tried I ended up testing twice a day (7am and midday) every day that I got a flashing face in order to 'catch' the peak face. It seems that everyone is different so worth trying out. It is expensive but you'll get the hang of your body a bit more. After that the waiting begins (i'm halfway through my two week wait and going mad!) Good luck!

[BluePheasant]

Thank you both :) good tips.
Yes I'd like to catch the elusive peak face just for the peace of mind that I do actually ovulate so twice daily might be a good idea. Expensive month indeed!

Good luck with your 2WW Jupiter 🤞

[HeyJupiter]

Thank you! This TTC malarkey is much more stressful than I thought it would be..