I don’t understand and I don’t know what to do...:(

[dh8892]

Hi all,

Feel very sorry for myself today. Me and my husband are TTC for our first baby.

I’ve been using the clear blue ovulation sticks since August and in all that time I’ve had ONE day of smiley face. That’s it. :(

Does that mean I’m having my periods and just not ovulating? Has anyone else had this and if so, what did you do?

I’m beginning to worry that maybe there’s a fertility problem? Or maybe it’s the sticks? I don’t know!

Maybe I should track body temperature... I honestly have no clue and feel I have nobody to talk to about it as nobody knows I’m trying and a couple of my cousins have just got pregnant “without even trying” which only adds to my concern :(

Sorry to be a debby-downer! Just need some help xx

[GregariousMountains]

There might be a problem with your ovulation, you can call your doctor to put your mind at rest, they will ask how long you've been trying and depending on your age either say keep trying it takes a while (we were told 2 years is normal).
Anecdotally, I do have ovulation issues (PCOS with intermittent anvolutery (sorry I can't spell) cycles) I never got a smiley face but I did eventually have two children, conceived naturally.

[GregariousMountains]

Oh and as I know you will ask, 5 years TTC for DC1 and 3 years TTC for DC2.

[Mooey89]

Did you come off contraception to start TTC? It can take a while to get back to normal after. Are you doing your ov sticks in the afternoon? Pay attention to your body too, I always feel a little pain in whichever side I’m ovulating from and changes in CM. If you’ve been trying for a while your doc can do a blood test to check for ovulation too. Good luck! X

[cheekypanda]

I'm sorry you're having a tough time, keep going and try and keep strong as hard as it is. It took us 9 months and I'm 12 weeks now. I used the clear blue ovulation sticks and just wanted to ask...Did you get the ones that are flashing and then go static? If so you say you had one day of smiley was that a flashing and then it went back to a circle?

[BigPlanes]

There is a book called “Understanding Your Fertility” which is worth a read. There’s lots of signs of fertility. You are still in the very early days but it could be worth tracking your signs.

[TitsOutForHarambe]

I used ovulation sticks the first month we tried for DD. I didn't get any smiley faces for the whole month, but then at the end of the month I was pregnant... So I must have ovulated at some point lol. Because of this I have never fully trusted the sticks.

I would speak to your GP before you start worrying that there are fertility problems. At this point it could just be a problem with the testing.

[dh8892]

Thank you all for your responses!

@GregariousMountains thank you this is reassuring, I think I might give my GP a quick call today for a chat!!

@Mooey89 yes I came off the pill last September in readiness for TTC and thought that would be enough time :( I always do the sticks in the morning, should it be in the afternoon?

@cheekypanda the one day smiley I got, it was just a solid smiley face, that was it! It didn’t flash or go to a circle etc, just a solid smiley face!

@BigPlanes thank you - I’ll have a google for this now!

It is just so so difficult isn’t it :( nobody tells you about all of this, they say don’t have sex you get pregnant! (I wish!!)

[jollybobs89]

I used ovulation sticks and very rarely got a smiley face I also used the Ovia app which was quite good at tracking periods and ovulation etc. The month I finally fell pregnant which was 11 months later the time we'd had sex was only once that month and it was no where near my ovulation days (well where I was meant to ovulate)

If I was you I'd stop using the sticks and just see how you get on for a few months trying without the added stress of having to do it on a specific day because you've got a smiley face etc I think it makes you more stressed.

[MarshmallowsOnToast]

Are you using the purple or pink Clearblue digital tests?

[BigPlanes]

Sorry it’s actually called “Taking Charge of Your Fertility”

[MarshmallowsOnToast]

Also are you recognising your Egg White cervical mucus?

[Hatscats]

Temping and tracking cervical mucus worked so much better for me. I used natural cycles (paid) then fertility friend (free). Once you get the hang of it it’s easy, I had crazy cycles and it let me know if I had ovulated or not for definite.

[dh8892]

@MarshmallowsOnToast the pink ones! I didn’t realise there were purple, should I have purple ones? And egg white on Sunday but no smiley face on Sunday! :(

[dh8892]

@jollybobs89 I think you’re completely right, it adds so much stress (and a little heartache too!!)

[NoCallerID]

Hi OP,

I second the book Taking charge of your fertility by Toni Weschler.
I would also recommend temping as it's the only way to confirm ovulation other than a scan. The kindara app is great for that. I'm not familiar with clear blue OPKs, I use easy @ home ones from amazon and track them with the Premom app. They're so cheap and good, I use them almost every time I go to the loo when I have fertile mucus as it's so easy to miss the peak otherwise. How often do you use the OPKs? Often once or twice a day isn't enough.

[Juno231]

Hi OP,

I second temping to put your mind at rest - ovulation sticks will only ever tell you that your body is trying to ovulate, not whether it actually has.

[dh8892]

@NoCallerID ooh which are the amazon ones, are they called at home? I’ve stupidly just been using the clear blue ones each morning and leaving it at that

[NoCallerID]

@dh8892 they're called easy@home

They also come with 20 HPTs (which are actually the best cheapie HPTs I could find, and I've tried a lot! They're close to FRER sensitivity)

Easy@Home 50 x Ovulation Test Strips and 20 x Pregnancy Test Strips - Fertility Test Kit, Powered by Premom Ovulation Predictor iOS and Android App (50 LH + 20 HCG) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DOJG6RA/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_NscFFb3HAMGKC

[dh8892]

@NoCallerID thank you so much, that’s really kind of you! I really appreciate it xx

[BuffaloCauliflower]

Right.

• Sod the the Clearblue smily ones, just get a big pack of the cheapies from Amazon, they’re all basically the same. It’s much easier to follow a line darkening than a smily, they actually make it harder. Do a test every afternoon or evening (LH will be higher later in the day so not the morning) from roughly day 8 of your cycle, start doing 2-3 across the afternoon/evening each day as the line darkens. You’ll see it darken over a few days, but your ovulation can change month to month which is why you want lots of tests. I have text book regular 28 day cycles and I’ve still ovulated as early as day 11 and as late as day 18, though it’s usually day 14/15. Lots of tests covering the whole period will help capture the fluctuation.
  

• A positive is when the test line is as dark as the control, but that surge can happen really quickly. Like you’ll see it in the afternoon and then it’ll drop again by late evening. A positive surge means ovulation is 24-36 hours away roughly so get busy. But - you need the sperm there waiting in the Fallopian tube before the egg pops out to meet it, you’re not aiming to exactly hit the egg. Sperm has to go through a process of beefing up once it’s in the tube, so the couple of days before egg comes out are your best bet. If you ovulate then have sex later that day it could be too late.
  

• Have a look at Sperm Meets Egg - even with tracking you want to be having sex enough across the period you’re aiming for, not just aiming for that surge because as above you want the sperm already there.

[BuffaloCauliflower]

• oh and I also used Natural Cycles (first for contraception and then to help conceive) and found it great, so definitely recommend using that and temping as well. But if you do the above and SMEP (sperm meets egg plan) you may not need it as well

[dh8892]

@BuffaloCauliflower wow!! That was absolutely amazing thank you so much for that, I’m really grateful! There’s so much I didn’t know and that’s just given me a lot more hope so thank you!

[BuffaloCauliflower]

@dh8892 no worries I went on a pretty intense research quest TTC, may as well pass it on. Good luck x

[Dillo10]

I used them for three months, never got a smiley face, ended up pregnant.

Have sex every other day during the whole month and let nature take its course.

[MarshmallowsOnToast]

[quote dh8892]@MarshmallowsOnToast the pink ones! I didn’t realise there were purple, should I have purple ones? And egg white on Sunday but no smiley face on Sunday! :([/quote]
You said early on

"the one day smiley I got, it was just a solid smiley face, that was it! It didn’t flash or go to a circle etc, just a solid smiley face!"

Only the purple ones (the advanced ovulation tests) give you a warning you're coming up to peak fertility. They will give a flashing smiley.

The pink ones you're using only have the facility to show when you're at peak (no warning) with a static smiley.

Hope that makes sense.