Ovulation testing

[Chilli]

Please can someone explain to me in simple turns what is involved in an ovulation test and generally how it works?

 

[Belle30]

Hi Chilli

You use an ovulation test like a pregnancy test - you can get stick ones that you hold in your urine stream or strip ones that you put into a cup of urine (and the urine stream sticks you can usually put into a cup instead if you prefer to do it that way).

The tests detect luteinising hormone (lh for short) - you get a 'surge' of this hormone just before you ovulate. The tests are designed to have two lines on them (like a pregnancy test) - a 'control' line that will always show (unless the test is faulty), and a 'test' line that will show the same colour as, or darker than the control line IF it detects your lh surge. That's where it's different from a pregnancy test - many girls get two lines all the time on an ovulation test - a dark control line and a lighter test line - but that's because there is always some lh kicking around in our bodies. For the test to be positive, the test line must be the same as or darker than the control. Sometimes the tests are difficult to read because of this, and some brands are more sensitive than others.

When you get two dark lines, it's a sign that you will probably ovulate between 12 - 48 hours later. I think the average is supposed to be 36 hours later. So it's a sign to jump on your other half and go straight to bed, as this is your most fertile time!

When you start using the test sticks/strips to test for ovulation depends on the length of your cycle. In an 'average' (HAHA!) cycle of 28 days, an 'average' woman (HAHAHA!) ovulates 14 days after the start of her period, and therefore 14 days before the start of the next one, but many women have shorter or longer cycles and ovulate earlier or later (but you probably know this already). Because of this variance, I think with a 28 day cycle the advice is to start testing around 8 or 9 days after the start of your period - but you need to check on this!

Your lh surge can be quite short/quick, so some women find they have to test twice a day to pick up the surge. You're not supposed to use first morning urine to test as the hormone doesn't tend to appear until later in the day. I think they normally advise you to test between 11am - 8pm.

www.peeonastick.com explains all about ovulation predictor kits (opks) and has lots of good advice - so have a look.

Anyone else - please fill in gaps if i've missed anything!

Hope this helps
Good luck xx

 

[babybuffy84]

Crikey think you explained it all there !!!! Nice one

 

[want2bamom]

I've heard that your supposed to test always around the same time..why is that??

 

[achekh8707]

want2beamom - testing around the same time just helps make sure you get the most accurate results, and you can compare the tests more accurately this way. If you take a test at 9am the first day and at 3pm the next day, your LH levels will be naturally different at those times of day, making your test results harder to read. Think of it like weighing yourself at the same time everyday - you wouldn't want to weigh yourself in the morning before eating one day, and after lunch the next day, because you'll think you've gained weight!