Are ovulation sticks reliable?

[Lheuredubebe]

My app says that my peak should be today. I used an ovulation stick yesterday morning and the line that appeared wasn't equal to or darker than the control line, figured that was normal. Tried another one this morning and it's even lighter than it was yesterday. I understand the apps aren't always accurate, but surely this doesn't mean I've missed my ovulation entirely and only caught the end of it with the stick, does it? Last period started on 10th Jan, ended on 14th Jan.

An app can't predict what your body does but a test can tell what it's doing when you take it. Rely on the sticks, not the app

But what does it mean if the line is lighter than it was yesterday?

I'm actually in the same situation and quite confused

I found them really good, mine were sometimes darker then lighter, but when they were positive it was very obviously positive!

I will say sometimes surges can be very quick, mine were, and the month we got lucky I only caught it cos I tested like 4 times in a day 😂

I wanted to test again tonight but I've had 3 billion tons of water today and no clue if that'll make a difference. If I'm not pregnant this cycle then the next one I am having sex every other day the whole damn month, I'm sick of never knowing when it's happening!! DH will be beside himself with joy 😂

They worked for me 3 cycles in a row.

The sticks are more accurate than any app.

I think you need to test afternoon or evening I've heard they don't work in the morning.

They have worked for me every time. You just need still at using them and use at least 2 a day or you could miss your surge. Have you put your correct cycle length into your app?

So you’re approximately day 14 today- you get an Lh peak 24-36 hours before ovulation - so if you ovulate on day 14 it’s quite possible you did miss the peak with the sticks. They’re definitely more reliable than an app which bases its predictions on average cycles- and very few of us are bang average- but you need to start them well before you ovulate to establish a baseline- I start around day 9, even though I’ve never ovulated earlier than day 20!

If in doubt, I would use clearblue OPKs. I know they aren't cheap and not a solution to use month after month, but I used them when I felt like I had no idea what was going on. Turns out I ovulate much later than I thought (day 20-21). We got pregnant first month of trying for first baby, and second month of trying with second pregnancy thanks to clearblue...

As far as I'm aware, I'm using the app correctly and always update it with any changes. I know it's not 100% reliable, that's why I bought the sticks, but I'm not really understanding them and feeling really overwhelmed with the sheer amount of info out there, I'm getting all muddled up.

Can someone explain this to me like I'm an idiot, please? The only thing the leaflet says is that when the line is darker than/equal to the control line, I'm going to ovulate within 24 to 48 hours. Does the line go lighter again when I'm past the "surge"?

Like is the best time to have sex when the line is then darker again, because that's within the 24-48 hour window?

@Lheuredubebe the best time to have sex is the 5 days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation itself - so peak day, day after peak day and the 3-4 days before peak. You need to do a few months to learn your cycle so you know when to start dtd (hopefully you won’t need to though). If you’re struggling dtd day of peak and the day after.

when I was ttc the cycle I got pregnant (pregnant now) we dtd peak day, day before peak and 3 days before peak. We missed ovulation day as didn’t have time.

My positive and negative ovulation tests. Sounds like you've missed your peak

I didn't think it was even possible to ovulate within a few days of the last day of your period? Everything I read says it happens around 14 days after the first day of your period. So I can ovulate absolutely any time from the last day of my period to 14 days later?

Ovulation can shift and be unreliable just like periods can

Day 14 is just a generic average. We are all different. I ovulate on day 20-21 which is obviously much later than day 14! I think it's fairly common to ovulate as early as day 10.

How long are your cycles? A better way to judge it is 12-14 days before your next period is due, than working forward from when you got your period. The luteal phase (the time in between Ovulation and next period) tends to be 12-14 days - but the time between last period and Ovulation can very quite a lot from person to person.

Try clearblue OPKs next month if you can afford it... simply to gain a better understanding of when you ovulate.

This is just all so complicated, I'm so sick of it already. Cycles over the past year have been 33, 28, 31, 29, 27, 26, 32, 31....

Hey @Lheuredubebe how often have you been testing your LH?

For the first couple of cycles I tested every day from start of my cycle untill a few days post peak/ovulation and then every couple of days till the next cycle started.

I got a clear picture of when my peak actually was and in turn ovulation. I normally peak around day 15/16 with ovulation day 16/17. So now, once I get to day 10, I test once a day and up to twice a day around day 13 until after ovulation

Don't count yourself out yet as missing it, you might have actually not ovulated yet. Too much water can impact it but I've personally found not by much. Just try to not drink for an hour or so this evening and test again

Not very often at all. Last month I got a bit crazy with a million calculations so decided to just take it easy this month, so I've only tested a couple of times around when my app said I should be ovulating, but neither of the tests were as dark as the control line.

I think I'll just continue to dtd every other day this month and then if I end up being out then I can properly test every day next month to get a better idea.

Worked for me. I used fmu got peak and fell pregnant