Do ovulation sticks flip from faint to positive?

[Moancup]

First month TTC and I’m using boots ovulation tests. I’m on CD11 of a 27 day cycle and for the last three days I’ve had faint lines only with no progression. Based on previous tracking of CM and ovulation cramps (I think) I’d expect to ovulate on Sunday. Should I expect the line to suddenly darken when the LH surge is here or should it be building up more obviously if I’m right about ovulating on Sunday?

Yes I usually get one day of it being a bit darker before then get peak then drops back down again!

I tried those sticks multiple times, including different brands and just found them awful. Expensive (for any brand which was good), difficult to read, and having to do 1-2 per day was time consuming. To add to that, I never saw a positive! (despite knowing I ovulated)

I have used a re-usable, saliva OPK for years. Always got a result and could predict easily just prior to ovulation- when it was going to be positive. Mine is called 'Maybe Baby' but there are other brands available.

It definitely can flip (and fast). This was my first month ttc. I’m 36, was like nope I’m probably infertile/it will take months to ovulate after the pill. Then boom it appeared out the blue. Premom and the easy at home strips helped me test. Be aware, you can have slow onset increases or one like me that was a 1 day rapid onset, so until you figure it out you should try test 2x a day around ovulation so you don’t miss the peak . Good luck!!

Thanks everyone. I’ll stick with once a day for this month and see what happens but sounds like twice a day next time is the way to go.

@Moancup Look how mine jumped from negative to positive within the space of a few hours. It can also drop right back down just as quickly so I would definitely test at least twice a day this cycle to ensure you don't miss it! Good luck

@wineosaurus4 sorry for jumping on this thread - I've been doing these for ages and they are constantly low and think I'm not waiting long enough for them to develop even though I time for 5 mins. Please can I ask how long you leave them? Thanks!

@Jcmars01 I would say just a couple of minutes, and definitely after 10mins they will be showing the full result. When I had positives you could watch the darker line appear as urine travelled up the test, some of mine were pretty strong though. The best/most accurate time I found to test was late afternoon. Good luck!