ovulation kits - interpreting results?

[sallycinamon]

Once ovulation has ocurred should the test read positive every day until period comes? OR do you just get a positive reading just before ovulation and then once it has happened and you test again you get a negative reading?

I got neg reading on Thursday, didn't test at weekend as was away, got neg readings today and yesterday but I am convinced i have ovulated as all the other signs have been present! Perhpas it was Saturday. how accurate are these kits?

Also, do you always ovulate 14 days before your next period or could this vary by a day or 2 and be, say, 15 or 13 days before period?

thanks!

These should not be used when periods are irregular in nature.

The problem with OPK's are twofold. First of all these assume that women only have one rise in LH every month and that such a rise is immediately followed by ovulation. Both of these are simply not true.

You certainly do not always ovulate 14 days before the start of the next period; ovulation can occur earlier, later or not at all in ANY given cycle. It is also quite possible to have periods without ovulating.

sallycinamon - I've been touting this book so much on here that people will think I'm on commission!!! I read it a few weeks ago and have learned so much about my cycle that I feel that every woman should read it!!

I could quote you little snippets from the book in response to your question, but it wouldn't answer it fully tbh. I really recommend that you read it.

So basically these ovulation kits are a bit of a waste of time and money then? What about if your cycle is fairly regular? What is defined as a regular cycle anyway?

That book looks interesting. Will give it a couple more months then think about purchasing it!

Apart from cervical mucus, slight cramp and body temp what are the other things to look out foras a sign of ovulation?

Hi Sally

I don't think OPKs are a waste of money.

It is very likely that you did miss your LH surge if you didn't test every day.

You get a positive test when your body is gearing up for ovulation and then the tests go back to negative quite quickly afterwards. I've never had a positive for more than two days in a row.

In all likelihood you did ovulate over the weekend and missed the surge by the time you started to re-test.

To answer your other questions - my signs of ovulation are: egg white mucus and bloating.

Sally - as Nancy says, these sticks only detect the surge in your hormones which is your body gearing up for ovulation. They don't actually tell you if you ovulated or not. It is possible that the body can make all the preparations for ovulation, but the hormone levels don't become high enough to actually trigger ovulation. (I'm not saying this has happened to you, but you need to be aware that they are not foolproof)

As well as cervical fluid and temperature charting, it is possible to check the position of the cervix to determine when you are fertile. However, none of these checks on their own can give you a definitive answer to the question "have I ovulated" but a combination of these three checks can give you a very accurate picture of exactly what's going on.

HTH

I didn't find them a waste of money. I used them each time I got pregnant (3 times), first one was second try, second and third times both first go.

Obviously not everyone will be able to conceive so quickly, I realise I am lucky there, but they certainly told me the right couple of days to try and it worked.

And my cycle is regular-ish.

I found them really good and my periods were between 23 and 26 days apart. I used clear blue digital so there was no guessing if the line was dark enough and also noted other fertility sings such as cervical mucus.

I found no change in my temperature throughout my cycle, and the ovulation sticks didn't show any positive results for months. Could never get the hang of checking CM properly and was convinced I wasn't ovulating. Was about to see GP about it but then had a surprise BFP! I guess everyone is different.

Wizzska - there's every chance that you weren't ovulating, except for the cycle where you got your BFP. But you'll never really know so I guess it doesn't matter.

hi - personally speaking, OPKs work for me. I fell preg. after we bd once that month. I started to test when i felt ov. day would be approaching. At first they were -ve, then as soon as the 1st +ve showed i looked out for other signs (ov. pain and v.v. slippery cm). I had both those signs a couple of hours after my 2nd +ve (and it was a v.sharp pain on my left!). We bd a few hours later (egg is in better position then). The next day morning I tested again - it was +ve, and the next time i tested it was -ve. I must say that i tested every 12hrs, using the clearblue digital OKP (i find the test sticks an excellent visual way of tracking the surge from start to finish).
Hope this helps!
Also, the other replies are true because everyone is different - we don't all ovulate on the same day in each cycle, sometimes there are several LH surges before actual ov. takes place (and this would be picked up each time by an OPK!), and some cycles are annovular. Some women have surges that are v.short and go undetected by an OPK. Do ask if you unsure about anything i've mentioned.

thanks for your experiences.

One more question: If you have the ewcm for a few days and the ov pain etc is there a pretty good chance you have ovulated?

Sounds like there's a pretty good chance, but you can't say for sure.

BTW the question in your original post about how long between ovulation and your period... This time is called the luteal phase and it don't vary terribly much from cycle to cycle in the same woman, however it can vary enormously from one woman to the next. Average is around 14 days, but it can vary from around 10 -16. The longer the luteal phase, the better chance there is of implantation. Stress or illness can delay ovulatation, so the length of time between day one of your period and ovulation can vary which therefore has a knock on effect on the total cycle length. Hope that makes sense. And I still recommend that book!!

Oh "that book" I was talking about on another thread. Ooops.

This book

When trying to concieve no2 I took my temp and used sticks (not obsessive normally). I had had a m/c the prev month and didnt have a clue what cycle was going to do. According to temp I ovulated and according to sticks nothing happened that month. A few weeks later I had a BFP so obviously did.