Ovulation testing kits - can I do it every other day for a long cycle?

[KittyCatKittyCat]

Hello all.
Have bought my first kit - Clear Blue easy ovulation testing kit. There are 7 tests in the pack. I'm a bit of a stinge, but not yet resorting to ebay cheapies (that'll be August if July doesn't work out). I have irregular cycles, 29-34 days is usual, extremes have been 27 or 35 days! This kit cost £20 and I'm being a stinge.

Why do I have to test every day?

Surely I could test every other day over a longer period of time?

It's not as if I'm keeping yesterday's test for comparison. And I still intend to DTD every 2-3 days from day 10, as I know my cycles are a bit all over the place.

Thought/ideas/experiences?

Thanks,

The LH surge that the tests look for can last as little as 12 hours, so testing every other day means you could miss it entirely.

IMHO OPKs are pointless if you have irregular cycles, you might as well just flush your money down the toilet. I speak from experience, I have PCOS with cycles varying from 29 days to 100+.

Amazon the clearblue dual ones are 20 pound for 20 tests!! Free delivery and come within a few days xx

I think your cycles aren't irregular enough to suggest you are not ovulating. My cycles used to vary by a similar length but were brought into line by acu. Also, watching my cycle meant I noticed that the shorter cycles came when I oved from the right side and longer ones from the left. Once that was taken into account, i was actually clockwork!

OPKs did work for me, but you do need to do them every day. Sometimes my LH surge has lasted more than one day, but sometimes I have only tested positive for one day.

Hi, not sure if it will help but I read a post on another site from a natural fertility expert on how to tell when you are fertile. It was quite interesting and was about how to recognise your bodies signs leading up to fertility. It may be worth a read and help you pinpoint the best time to test? I will put link at the end of my post. Hope this helps a little! Good luck xx forum.prideangel.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=537

I've been using Clear Blue ov tests this month and I didn't have a clue what my cycle was doing as I had a D&C 7th June. I knew that last time I had a D&C, I ovulated immediately after, so I tested every other day at first (didn't think it was likely as my CM was too sticky). Then, when it came to nearly two weeks since the D&C and my CM was thinner and more stretchy and my cervis SHOW, I started testing every day, sometimes twice if working long hours and therefore up for a long time. I got my smiley face on Wednesday - right when I'd expected :-) Are you checking your cervix and CM? I'm new to this and have dodgy cycles normally, but it still worked for me.

Oh, I've also - as neurotic as it may sound - written down every sign or symptom I've noticed around ovulation. I intend to do this for a few months (if I don't get pg, but obviously I hope I will) and I hope it will help me pinpoint it more accurately in future without tests. Some could be due to something else entirely, like feeling very tired and sleeping badly (I work long shifts and I've had a cold), but also may not (the midwife I see told me a lot of women sleep badly around ovulation), and others are more definite (I had a sharp ache in the rhs of my lower back yesterday, which I think was ovulation pain - right time, no other cause, and I have a retroverted uterus so I tend to feel all pains related to my reproductive system in my back rather than my front).