Ovulation Tests -will they just send me mad?

[Flappergirl86]

So I'm not TTC just yet -we're waiting till during or after a little blow out holiday in September so I can drink and go on roller coasters etc but I decided to start tracking my ovulation so when the time comes I know what my body is doing. However Ive been in my fertile window for 5 days (according to my Clue app) and the (various brands) of ovulation sticks Ive been using show no second line or the very faintest of lines that i have to eyeball from about 3cm away to see. Does this mean I'm not ovulating at all?! If I'm in my fertile window and dont even have LH present when its meant to show all month anyway how am I ever gonna get a 'surge'? I can't talk to my partner about it 'cos he'll think I'm bonkers to be OV testing before we're even trying. And I probably am but the baby urge does this to us right? RIGHT? I bought a thermometer yesterday so am also gonna start driving myself crackers with that every morning. Any help/advice/support gratefully received xx

Well the app knows nothing about you.

The sticks are telling you that your actual body is not lining up with the app.

Personally I don't think both are helpful. Delete the app and stick to the sticks. You could simply have V early or V late ovulation. Or yes, you may not be surging at all.

But this is the point of the sticks - to show you what your body is actually doing and alert you to idiosyncrasies.

Next month try using the sticks the entire time. Never mind about this fertile window business.

I tried using the ovulation sticks. Never once got a positive result. Currently 10 weeks pg so clearly they were missing something! Don't worry too much about it - TTC can feel like a race to get pregnant but honestly, the more pressure you put on yourself with sticks, apps etc, the harder it is. Good luck!

Apps are generally useless. They work on an average and assume every single woman is exactly the same. There are a few that over several cycles will learn and try to predict accurately, but never rely on them or trust them to be right. OPKs on the other hand will tell you with certainty, unless you suffer from
PCOS or similar, when you are having a LH surge. However, the surge does not mean you will definitely ovulate as sometimes a woman's body gears up to ovulate and then doesn't do so (although this is not typical). Using BBT, which is a faff, you can tell once you have ovulated but not beforehand - but this can be useful to build up knowledge of whether you have a regular cycle and works well if you are also using OPKs.

The best advice is regular sex (about three times a week or every other day) but I have always relied purely on OPKs and looking out for EWCM, and it hasn't taken me more than three cycles to conceive by doing so.

Agree with EWCM. Definitely need to be tracking that!

Third the ewcm. If you read up about cervical mucous and cervical position then just monitor that as you're getting to know your body and cycle then that's a good indicator. And in my experience less likely to make you as crazy as opks/temping/apps! Lol

Thanks everyone, thats sage advice. I'll sack off App stalking x

The whole thing can drive you crazy! But having said that I was always convinced I ovulate very early in my cycle going by symptoms alone (and the fact a psychic told me I do )

Using OPKs and the app together I can now expect to ovulate on or after CD16.

The OPKs can be useful if you have an irregular cycle too. For example I O'd a few days late this month so i know not to get excited about pregnancy when AF doesn't show on CF29.