Advice on ovulation tests

[rustyspoon45]

It's my first month of properly tracking ovulation using some of the strip tests from the internet. My phone tracker says I should be ovulating Saturday/Sunday but I've been checking since Wednesday. So far I've just had one faint test line and no sign of another line at all.

I thought that the control line would be there but just gradually getting darker. If I'm due to ovulate this weekend and am having signs of ovulation shouldn't there be at least something in the control section at this point? Sorry I am new to all this.

I'm very new to ovulation tests myself, but turns out I ovulate around a week after the apps I use predicts x

The control line should always be present - it's there to show the test is working properly! If you're not getting any control line at all it means it is a faulty test, I'd definitely try again today making sure you're following the instructions exactly, then if you get no control line at all again it might be a faulty batch. Also make sure you know which line is control and test - sounds silly but I was looking at mine the opposite way round for a week before I realised

Control line is there but faint. But no sign of another line even though I'm apparently ovulating this weekend :-/

The control line should be a strong line for each test you do. The test line, which is the line below it, has to be the same or darker in colour for it to be positive. My test line usually gets darker each day that I approach ovulation until both lines are the same colour. Hope this helps x

@Moonshine160 yes this is what I believed to be the case which is why I'm surprised I haven't had even the inkling of a second line yet. Do your lines usually appear in the days before ovulation then get gradually darker? I'm due to ovulate tomorrow or Sunday (judging by my app) and am having clear signs of ovulation (EWCM) but there's only one line still.

Keep going. My surge usually happens very quickly and is easily missed if I don't test multiple times per day as I approach ovulation.
I used the Premom ones from Amazon. They have an app that you take pictures of your stick with and it gives you a score and then calculates your peak reading once the lines starting getting lighter again.

I'd recommend trying clearblue advanced digital as well. You use them first thing in the morning so no worrying about holding your pee. And the smiley first is unambiguous.

Yes at certain times of the month I get no second line at all. Maybe you are ovulating a little later this month or as PP said you might get your surge all of a sudden :)

@rustyspoon45
Are you using the green one step ones? I found these very very faint too.
I switched to easy@home and found I’m also a rapid surger too, so I might have a smidgen of a line, then I test about 3 times in a day when I approach CD14 to try catch when my peak is.

@cat8986 yes! I will try another brand if it carries on being so unclear

@rustyspoon45 the control line should always be there, like a pp said. It proves the test strip is working.
I used the same brand, here's a picture. The test line has faded on the older ones, but you can still see the control line very clearly.

@Nervousdave thanks that's really helpful. My control line is there but has never been as clear and darks as yours. And as yet I haven't had even a shadow of a second line. Really odd as I'm having ovulation symptoms. But I'll keep checking.

Oh wait I finally got a line this morning!