Ovulation sticks? Do they really help?

[Stacey2007]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried the ovulation sticks ? If they helped and what ones are the best? I want to give them a try this month

I used some cheap ones from amazon. I think they were one step ones. I was unsure when I was ovulating after coming off the pill and so started using them around day 10 of my cycle. The first cycle I got a blazing positive, after a couple with no positives was the cycle we conceived so for me they worked. They basically catch a surge in the luteal hormone and typically you ovulate 12-24 hours after the surge. The window can be quite small so I was testing in the morning and afternoon when I thought I was near a positive. They also don't confirm ovulation. As i understand, the only way to confirm ovulation is by temping/bloodtests which I never did.

The type I used were very basic and it's worth mentioning that a positive on these type of tests is only classed as such when the test line is as dark or darker than the control line, not just a faint line like with a pregnancy test. There's loads of info online about how to use them properly. There are much simpler ones available that have smiley faces as indicators but these are much more expensive.

Nope. I used em for over two years. Needed ivf for unexplained infertility in the end.

I used the clear blue ovulation sticks and got pregnant the first month TTC. I found them easy to use and dtd as soon as we saw the smiley face appear.

I tries them for a while. Apart from once, they didn't indicate that I was ovulating. I started to think there was a problem. I gave up on them, relaxed a bit more and got pregnant really quickly afterwards.

I used them to help prove I was likely ovulating even though my periods were irregular. I actually got pregnant in one of the months I didn't bother.

Oh and I used the cheap ones from Amazon though other people I know who were proactively ttc used more expensive ones.

I never got a proper positive on one. I could see progression of the the line, but never got one where the line was stronger than the control line like you are supposed to. I clearly ovulated as I'm now 26 weeks pregnant.

I was part of a clear blue trial. I found it very helpful & although it took us over a year to conceive DS, we fell pregnant within a month of using the Clear Blue kit. I would highly recommend - especially if you have anything other than a standard 28 Day cycle.

I think they have a certain use, the best option to cover ovulation is just having regular sex throughout ur cycle however generally it’s just not doable with Work, family, stress etc so if you want to be able to be more specific on the best time to ensure you have sex then they do give an indication of when you have your LH surge.
This is particularly helpful if you don’t ovulate mid cycle, which I didn’t, so for a long time we were missing or not really covering my ovulation days.
You have to remember that they are limited and only show a surge - that does not confirm you’ve ovulated, they don’t work for all women but that doesn’t mean you’re not getting either a surge or egg release and they have a small window for some so if you miss a Day testing you might miss the positive.
Best method to start with - buy a load of cheapies from amazon, start testing on day 10 and keep a track on the line to see the progression or darkening. When the test line is as dark or darker than the control line, that’s a positive.
I found them helpful but ultimately I didn’t get pregnant using them, I just knew the days with the best chance of it happening. That might be enough to help you!

I just bought cheap ones off Amazon. Were useful to show me that I ovulated early in my cycle compared to 'average'. The clearblue ones are pretty pricy though.

Best method to start with - buy a load of cheapies from amazon, start testing on day 10

This is presuming you have an approximate 28 day cycle that is fairly regular.

If your cycle is shorter then you have to start testing earlier and if it longer you may want to start testing later. If your cycle is irregular then you have to do a lot of testing.

If you Google clearblue ovulation test they will tell you when to start testing.

so many mixed answers, thanks everyone. I’m wondering if it’s worth a try, I’ve been trying for a year with no luck ☹️ Getting me down now so anything is worth a go.. I’ve looked online and also seen Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor, £120 without sticks! Looks amazing but again online some good and bad reviews, I may try the cheaper ones first then move on to this if no luck.

Poundland or Amazon ones work just as well as expensive ones so try the cheapies first.

Thankyou butlerswharf I will give them a try

God luck!

*good! Ffs I'm an atheist

Not for me. I came off the pill and had no periods for a year (not actively trying for a baby). Tried ovulation strips 'just to see' and never got a positive result so was convinced I had fertility problems. Because of that I was a little less careful and next thing I knew I was pregnant!

The cheap ones are the best in my opinion. Make sure you know how to read them though! The lines must be equal darkness to be positive. Also the best time to test is early afternoon unlike pregnancy tests.

I also did the clear blue digital trial and then continued to buy them but the month I got pregnant, I never got a positive on the clear blue so it obviously doesn't always work!

Whichever you use they will only tell you when ovulation is likely to occur but it's not guaranteed that you actually will. You can get a surge and then never ovulate.

They will also only help you if you don't have regular sex. I used them so i could do SMEP (sex every two days and then every day for 3 days once you get a positive and then miss a day and one last shag). Ultimately it was a cheap ovulation stick and SMEP that was successful for us.

I got a flashing smiley face today I dint expect it, thought it was a little too early for it tbh, I’m on cycle day 12 today, excited to see if anything come from this month, I can hope fingers crossed !

I used the cheapies and the clear blue, bohh as effective as each other I think! On your version though check that you don't have the one that has a flashing smiley and a static/solid smiley... Mine it would be an empty circle, then a flashing smiley when ovulation was approaching and it would stay flashing for maybe 3 days (or more!) until I would finally get a solid smiley which means ovulation is imminent. It doesnt mean u cant get pregnant during the flashing phase cos the sperms can hang around for a while but if you have 4 or 5 days between flashing and solid you don't want to miss it! Solid is what u are waiting for!

Yes it’s that one I started them on Sunday morning, got a blank 0 then this morning got a flashing, so more than likely I will see a flashing for a couple of days? Then hopefully a solid? Is this right 🙈 did they help you Sophie ?

I used the Clear Blue ones. I found them helpful because my partner and I work long hours and can often be on opposite shifts (e.g. one on early, one on late) so it wasn’t always straightforward to dtd every other day as advised. By narrowing down the window it helped me know when it was worth swapping shifts or making a particular effort, and that way we didn't exhaust ourselves trying on days we didn’t have much chance.

Yep that's right. I read up a lot about them and many people reported 5+ days of flashing, totally normal, just depends on your cycles so don't get put off. I typically had 3 or 4 days of flashing until solid. I also read a lot of people who never got solids because they had short surges. I never had this problem but I liked to use the Internet cheapies and clear blue together. Once the flashing started I would use the cheap ones 2 or 3 times per day and when I thought it was positive, I would confirm it with clear blue. In some ways using the Internet cheap ones is easier because you can see the line progressing - unlike a pregnancy test the ovulation test had to be as dark or darker than the control line to be positive, so u can literally watch it get darker over the days. With clear blue you don't know its about to turn solid until it does. We had a miscarriage and it took 3 cycles for periods to return properly. We were pregnant by cycle 5 so just two 'real' cycles using the sticks. But be warned it does get obsessive!

I used cheap ones from Amazon. Bought a pack of ten each time. Only needed 1 each time! Soon as the line appeared we DTD every other day over 6 days. Both times we got pregnant that cycle. So first cycle each time!

Oh also, the first time u use a machine you will ALWAYS get a O circle, the machine has to get used to your personal levels. So if you started on sunday and got a circle and today flashing, you could well have got a flashing yesterday too if you had started on Saturday, does that make sense? If you use them for more than one cycle u can buy another packet but just use the sticks from that packet and keep using the same machine so you don't have to start again from a O again. Unfortunately they don't sell the sticks separately!

Yes that makes sense, I never thought about that... how long did you try for with no success first? I’ve been trying for a year. Feels like it will never happen ☹️ Yes that’s the only problem with them clearblue. But if it helps then £25 a time is worth it 😁