First time using ovulation sticks, any help or advice welcome

[littlemissmischief]

Been ttc for a few months with no joy so gonna try ovulation sticks but no nothing so any help or advice about best ones, where to get them, how to use them etc... Would be great

Thanks x

[SparkyMalarky]

Hello Boots own worked for me this month! Top tip I got from them was that u shouldn't do it first thing in the morning!

[SparkyMalarky]

I was referring to the test by the way.......

[littlemissmischief]

ha ha thanks malarky, can you remember how much they are? did you use them everyday throughout the cycle?
Does that mean you got a BFP?

[makingafamily]

Hey Little

I've found the ebay cheapy ones work fine and you can get about 50 for about £6 so that way if you become a bit of a pee stick obsessive like me you can do one in the morning and one at night.

Good luck

[littlemissmischief]

Thanks makingafamily (love the name),i will have a look on ebay x

[frasersmummy]

I bought a persona monitor.. I know its expensive but I found it really accurate..

I conceived twice first time with it.

there is no trying to judge whether the line is dark enough or not . the machine shows a little 0 on the days you are ovulating

After your first month it only allows you to test 10 days in the month each time within a 3 hour window

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

LMM

If your periods are irregular I would urge you not to use OPK's. They are unhelpful to use in such circumstances.

They are also beset with problems; these kits assume that there is one rise in LH every month and that such a rise is immediately followed by ovulation. Both of these are simply not true.

[littlemissmischief]

Oh i didnt realise that they didnt always tell you when you were ovulating I assumed thats what they did, my periods are irregular why are they unhelpful, if you dont mind all the questions

Frasersmummy - what is a persona monitor and why can you only use it on a certain number of days?

Sorry for all the questions but I dont know anything about all this x

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

If your periods are irregular then it is more than likely that you are not ovulating regularly. Hormonal imbalances (in this particular regard PCO is a common culprit) and thyroid imbalance are a common cause of such problems.

You need to establish exactly why your periods are irregular - I would suggest a visit to the GP to have a blood test done. They should check both your LH and FSH levels; if these are out of balance (they should be the same) then this is an indicator as to why your periods are irregular.

[makingafamily]

I've also got a Clear Blue Fertility Monitor although its only my first month using it so not sure what i think yet. Its been giving me high readings for the last 4 days but no peak as of yet

[littlemissmischief]

Attila thanks for the advice, I know why my periods are irregular its because I have endometriosis although I managed to concieve my ds within 3 weeks of being with my DP we are not having the same luck now.

My periods have become more regular since having my lo ranging from 36 - 51 days so not as bad as before when i went months without one but thought the ovulation stciks would help as im not sure when I ovulate.

[Ponymum]

Hi littlemischief. Also really helpful to read others' views on the pee sticks. I thought it might be useful to share our experience, as I thought the sticks were useful - though now not sure if it was just a coincidence!

We were ttc for a year. I had a very irregular cycle after coming off the pill - 45 day cycle with occasional extra "mini" period in the middle of the cycle so I never really knew what was a real period and what wasn't. Asked the GP loads of questions but they were hopeless and suggested I look on the internet!! Eventually managed to get a blood test which confirmed I was ovulating.

Started using the sticks and had the following experience:

1. due to unpredictable cycle it was hard to guess when to start using them. Some months I missed it. If money is no object, I suggest using over a longer number of days.
2. difficult to interpret results - is that a dark line or not?
3. if we suspected a positive, we just went at it like rabbits for 2-3 days. We decided to ignore the advice about waiting 48 hours as we decided that was just rubbish. We decided our issue was not how fast/strong DH's sperm was, but the rarity of finding my ovulating time, so that was the thing we had to focus on, IYSWIM!

None of this terribly scientific, but somehow it worked! Baby due in 10 days! We can't believe we have made it. Good luck and keep at it - it is SOOO worth it!

[littlemissmischief]

Ponymum - thankyou for sharing you story with me its amazing - Good luck with everything and your new baby! how exciting for you!!

I have heard a few people really dis the sticks but i got 25 really cheaply off ebay and like you said am gonna star using them from cd10 right the way through as im not sure on cycle dates hopefully will catch the right time. I too was not sure when i heard the whole 24-36 hrs till you ovulate so gonna do as you suggested and have fun too

[Ponymum]

Hi! to clarify: I mean we didn't wait 48 hours between each time we had sex. As soon as we saw the possible dark line we started straight away and did it as often as we possibly could for about 3 days!

We had previously been told that you should only try a maximum of twice during the ovulation window, and that you had to wait 48 hours in between to allow the sperm to "replenish" or something... . That's the bit we ignored.

[littlemissmischief]

Oh right, well I havent heard that and was gonna do exactly as you did anyway

Bet you cant wait to meet you lo now!! Im so excited for you x

[yellowflowers]

I have pco but regular periods (every month usually 30 day cycle but occasionally a day or two more or a day or two less). Attilathemeerkat, just wondered whether you know if opk sticks will work for me?