O Kits - When is the best time to test it - ?. Please Help..

[Loobie9]

I still havent managed to get my smiley face from using the clearblue digital ovulation kit. It's the one that gives you 7 days worth of sticks.

This month i have started testing as from day 17 of my cycle. My cycles can be anything from 35 to 41 days long. The last 3 months have been 41 days. I always test 1st thing in the morning using my first pee ( ) sorry if TMI...... LOL

Can you tell me if i'm doing this right, as I've heard conflicting things that testing first thing won't pick it up, yet on the packet it says that some women find it easier to test first thing.

Just not sure if this could be the reason i haven't picked it up yet.....

Any advice would be greatfully received....

 

[mrs_metal]

I didn't use the clearblue myself but on the ovulation sticks I used I got the best results around lunchtime although I could only do it that time at weekends, during the week it was around 6pm and the results were ok. On the sticks I bought it did say to do it afternoon or evening (before 8pm) and not with FMU

Good luck, I hope you get your OV soon

 

[Loola]

I havent used the clearblue ov tests either, but I do use others regularly. I usually test at around 5pm when I get in from work.

There have been months where I have not had strong lines on my tests but know I am about to ovulate because of CM, if its egg white or certainly very wet then I know Im about to ovulate.

 

[Kittykins]

If your cycle is 41 days long, and you have the average luteal phase of 14 days, you will ovulate on day 27 of that cycle. If your cycle is 35 days long, with the ave lp, you will ovulate on day 21 of that cycle. Therefore you'd expect to see a + on around day 26 for a 41-day cycle and around day 20 for a 35-day cycle.

If you're testing from day 17, you should pick up a result for a 35-day cycle, but you'll run out of sticks on day 23 - too early to get a + if you're having a cycle of 39+ days.

I can see why you're starting to test so early, but if your cycles are that variable, then a 7-day kit doesn't give you enough sticks. You could consider buying the Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor (expensive, but cheaper on eBay, and you can get them second-hand and reset them), or go for a bundle of cheap OPK sticks - I just bought 100 OPKs for about £15 inc P&P from Fertility Plan on eBay, as like you, my cycles have been varying recently.


As for timing, the LH surge usually begins early morning, before you wake, but the LH takes around 6 hours to become detectable in your urine. So if you test at 8am, chances are you'll miss the surge if it began just 3 hours previously - and by the time you test the next day, it may well have passed.

However, if your urine is too diluted, the LH won't be present in enough of a concentration for the OPK to pick up. Think of it like Ribena - if you added 250ml of water to a couple of cm of Ribena, you'd taste the blackcurrant. If you added the couple of cm of Ribena to a 5-litre watering can full of water, you wouldn't know the blackcurrant was there - even though it's the same quantity of Ribena, it's a different concentration.

Ideally, then, you'd test around midday-early afternoon, and drink very little for the 3 hours before testing, in order to increase the concentration of your urine. So if you drink a lot of water through the day, you'd be unlikely to detect an LH surge if you tested lat the best time.

Personally I'm not the best person to talk to on this - I know the facts, but I've never yet seen anything other than a faint line on the OPKs! And some women never will get a +. This month, my intention is to test just before lunch, as I usually drink most water with lunch and immediately afterwards.

HTH!

 

[Loobie9]

thankyou so much for your reply kittykins, very helpful.

i have enough sticks to see me through for this cycle, so for next cycle, think i'll buy the ebay ones. i think i will do what you said and test in the morning and drink my water in the afternoon as i do drink lots of water.

i think i've been giving up testing too early, so lets see - watch this space..

 

[sunnyday]

You shouldn't test for LH surge with first morning urine as the hormone gets synthasised (sp) in your body and won't show on a test kit until midday-ish.

I used to use the CB digi ovulation tests, but I alongside the Ebay cheapies. My cycles were around 40 - 45 days, so I'd use Ebay cheapies from around day 19, and as I saw the lines getting stronger I'd then also test with the CB digi. It saved me money and also gave me a huge amount of reasurrance seeing a positive OPK on 2 different tests.

Also, as the lines got stronger I'd often test twice a day, once at around midday and then again early evening.

Everyone's different but it worked for me, I got my BFP on month 2 of TTC.

This is a really useful site if you want some extra reading. http://www.peeonastick.com/opks.html

 

[lillou]

i use this clearblue digi ovulation kit and i think its best to use it between 10am and 2pm roughly but def not FMU

 

[Loobie9]

am i right in thinking that you can have had anything to drink 3-4 hours before testing.

I'm finding this hard as i had a cup of tea this morning at 8.30 so can't test until 12.30, which also means i can't drink anything ALL morning..

is this true, does anyone know ?.

 

[CB23]

I think its more don't drink excessive amounts beforehand than don't drink anything. The odd cup of tea or glass of water won't matter so much. I just carry try to drink a wee bit less, and generally test sometime in the afternoon with internet cheapies and I have had an easily identifiable positive every month so they do work.

 

[CazH]

I used clearblue normal opk (not digital) I peed on them in morn and got dark line last month and this month on day 15/16 I normally have a 28/27 day cycle. Had high hopes last month as bedded on ov day but no such joy. Fingers crossed this month been having lots of passion this month nearly every other day! My husband is loving it!!!! he he he

 

[sunnyday]

am i right in thinking that you can have had anything to drink 3-4 hours before testing.

I'm finding this hard as i had a cup of tea this morning at 8.30 so can't test until 12.30, which also means i can't drink anything ALL morning..

is this true, does anyone know ?.

It's fine to have your cuppa in the morning, and perhaps a small glass of water before you test - if you're thirsty, then have a drink. Just don't go over the top and glug bottles of water beforehand.