ovulation pain but not ovulating? please help

[coco808]

Hi! I'm new to this and didn't know where to post this so I am starting a new thread. I came off the pill in Feb and we have started TTC. I get 'ovulation pain' on day 17 of my cycle. I presumed I was ovulating but decided to check this month with Boot's ovulation sticks as got BFN last month even though we DTD on my fertile days. Today was day 17, got the ovulation pain most of the day but the ovulation stick is still showing negative? I've been doing it for the last 7 days. I thought that it should have started to show positive 2 days ago??? Now I am completely panicking, thinking there is something wrong. AF has been regular since coming off the pill and 31 days long.
I am 31 and was on the pill for 4 years. Always had pretty regular AF. Any response would be hugely appreciated! x

Ovulation sticks don't tell you when you ovulate they tell you that you have got a lh surge. This surge happens 24 to 48 hours before you ovulate!

You may ovulate later in your cycle and therefore have not got your lh surge yet.

Keep testing with the ovulation sticks at the same time everyday. And mist importantly keep up dtd!

If you continue to feel that you are not ovulating go to your gp and get day 21 bloods one which tell you if you ovulate or not.

Don't worry!

In my case I get the positive opk before the pains. I then ovulate one- two days later. Some women don't get positives though, but still ovulate. Or perhaps you got the pains but did not ovulate this month, I had that once as well. In that case your body should try again next time.

You could try taking your bbt every morning, which will show a rise in temp after you ovulate. This is helpful if opks don't work for you.

Hi coco ,as blue has said the only way to confirm you've ovulated is to see a sustained rise in body basal temp for at least three days.
You need to take your temp as soon as you wake, at the same time each day.
There is also a device called a "Duofertility" monitor which you wear all the time to monitor your temp, it's stupidly expensive but they sometimes give a 12 mth guarantee ,if you dont get pregnant in 12 mths you get a refund. If you google it there's lots of info on their website.
Another useful website with lots of info on ttc is Fertility Friend.
OPK sticks rely on sampling at a consistent time and can vary with concentration of your urine, also the LH surge can be quite transient so it's possible to miss it .
Sometimes you can get an LH surge and not go on to ovulate till later in the cycle, a temp change (or blood test) would confirm it.
The blood test for progesterone needs to be taken 7 days after ovulation, so normally on cd21 if it's a typical 28d cycle with ovulation on cd14, however to be accurate you need to have an idea when you've ovulated!(I had mine done on cd23 because I knew I'd ovulated on cd16)
Using other clues like checking cervical mucous can help to pinpoint the fertile window along with opk sticks and temping.
BTW you can get opk sticks in bulk from Amazon which work out much cheaper than Boots!
Good luck!

I'd recommend cheap OPK strips from amazon etc. do them 2x a day at about 2pm and again about 6pm. You're much more likely to catch the LH surge. However I agree with the PP above. They only predict ovulation, they don't confirm it. BBT charting is more useful IMO. Google "fertility friend" for loads of help with this.

That is really helpful ladies! Thank you so much!

Hey Coco, hope you're ok - I've had plenty of my own panics re ovulation recently, and I know it's a bit crap. I really would second Irish's recommendation of FF - I've just started using it this month, so it's too early to see any patterns or for it to be of particular use as yet, but it's certainly very interesting and I'm hoping that next month will be a lot clearer for me. Try it! Much easier than just writing stuff down!

Re OPKs, if the Boots ones work like CB, then (according to their helpline) you need to start testing when you're definitely not fertile - ie before any surge - as the sticks detect a RISE rather than a specific level. The first test is always negative, and the subsequent ones become positive when they see a rise in your hormone levels. So, if you take the first one too late, you might never get a positive. Mind, I think Boots' ones are all 'basic' ones in that they only detect the LH surge rather than the oestrogen surge and then the LH surge? If that's the case, what I've said should be less relevant - BUT you unfortunately can get an LH surge and still not ovulate, and you can ovulate without a detectable LH surge (though I think this is rarer). I'd go get a Day 21 test to check your progesterone levels if I were you. Good luck.

Thank you! I finally got a positive on the Ovulation Test stick (Boots one) for the last two days running. Its a bit strange and contrary to everything I am reading on FF etc. It appears to be that I am getting the ovulation pains before the LH surge and the ovulation?
Does this mean I am possible ovulating today?

It's normal to get the pains before ovulating. It's probably the ovaries getting ready to release an egg or something. You should ovulate 12-36 hours after getting your first positive.

ahh I may have missed my chance this month, but at least I know for next time!