Which have you used, how does it work, when should I start testing? I want to start testing sense the doctor hasn't tested yet even though she has question if I am ovulating. I have mentioned in another post I should be ovulating in a little over a week & we are serious about TTC this time around so I want to have proof of ovulation. Any suggestions?
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My doctor recommended using the Clear Blue digital ovulation kit. They are pretty pricey ($56 a box), but they are so easy to read that I think it is worth it. When there is no LH detected it shows an empty circle, and when it is there is a smiley face.
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Have you considered charting, too? I only ask because I know sometimes people will get a postivie ovulation test, but don't actually ovulate-- your body gears up for it, then doesn't release the egg. I mention it because you said your doctor thought you might not be ovulating, obviously for most people, OPKs are plenty good!
I've never used any kind of ovulation tests, just chart temps and BD until O has been confirmed through rising temps. -
I used the Clear-blue Easy Digital ones. The first month, I started on day 8 till I got a positive on day 16. The next month, I started at day 12, since I had a better indication on when I was ovulating. The digitals are totally worth the extra money. The first month I did another kind and it was too hard to figure out whether the line was darker then the control line. Smiley face and you know it is go time. I found amazon to have them the cheapest.
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i used Wondfos then the clearblue digital to confirm. The digitals are great, but since they are more expensive, I only use it when i'm having trouble interpreting the lines, especially close to O time. The one box of digitals i purchased has lasted me over 3 cycles so far using this method!
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I used Clear Blue Easy Digital....but want to say that the month we got pregnant it never gave me a positive and I took them religiously so they aren't fool proof....just do your BD'ing
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@chibee: I did the exact same thing.
I started testing around day 10 and kept testing until after the ovulation test went negative again.
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I've only used Wondfos although if you're getting them from Amazon you have to pay attention to which retailer they're coming from. Other than the one time I wasn't paying attention, they've been pretty good. No matter what brand you use it is a good idea to chart if you want to prove that you're ovulating, since OPKs only prove that you're having an LH surge...your temps prove that you ovulated. You can have an LH surge but not ovulate! Using the two together is often the most helpful approach for TTC b/c the OPKs give you a heads up that you're about to O and should BD, and then your temps let you know that you definitely O'ed.
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The smiley tests are the best!! They are pricey, but the best.
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I use the Wondfo's and thus far I've had really good luck with them. I use my CM to figure out when I'm close to Oing and then I use the strips from there until I O!
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@foodnerd81 I currently chart using the Creighton model (or catholic method) where we chart vaginal discharge. I have CM any where between day 10-16, I have heard about the body shutting down ovulation during stress and I have had double CM in one month before because of that. The doctor wonders if I am having CM & just not ovulation due to PSOC. I use to be able to feel when I was ovulating before she put me on Metformin, but she thought that was just my cysts swelling...
I just want some answers and am considering switching doctors. Everything is what maybe this, possibly that. It's getting real frustrating. It's one of the reasons I wanted to get the O tests, just take maters into my own hands.
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Just wanted to say that I'm followin' along on this one, and thanks for the advice (and OP for posting the question in the first place!)!
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I also suggest the Clear Blue Easy Digital ones with the smiley face! After spending money on other brands with the stripes or plus signs, argh...got me SO frustrated and I think I would use multiples a day! The CB was the easiest and least stressful and would show a happy face when the other ones wouldn't pick it up.
Tip: I know most people say to test with FMU, but I learned after a couple of frustrating cycles that I tended to OV at night (or at least just get the positive OPKs at night). I would test in the morning, that night, and the next morning, and the next night, and I would get positives at night only on both days! Weird, but something to consider if you get frustrated along the way like I did. Best of luck! -
@SPANIELLOVE How do you temp? I am day 5 into my cycle and I am still spotting, would it be alright to start temping tomorrow morning?
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I second @shopaholic's comment on not using FMU. For me, I've only ever had positives mid-day (smu or early afternoon). I'll get very dark but not quite positives the evening before and morning of, but no clear positive until a little later in the day.
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WOW, how many times a day do you have to pee on these things! They are so expensive I am almost just considering switching doctors and having them do it sense I've already spent my deductible for the year, or does insurance not cover something like that?
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@Sugar.Biscuit: Buy the cheap wondfos on Amazon! Much easier on your wallet.
You don't have to POAS more than once a day, but sometimes it takes testing out different times of day to figure out when you usually surge... I know some people who POAS twice a day when they expect they'll be getting a positive, just to be sure they catch it.
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@Sugar.Biscuit: Let's just say I was doubling up and using different brands at the same time when I was frustrated with the cheapie dip sticks and the ones with the lines. Digital is seriously more cost-effective (for me) after everything as said and done.
You can find coupons in the Sunday paper as well as in the boxes. If your TTC journey takes awhile, it may be worth it to rent the CB Fertility Monitor (my cousin rented it from Amazon).
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Dittos on the Clear Blue Easy Digitals. Anything else I would have been second guessing myself all the time.
The first month I used them like the box said (started after AF ended, and continued until they went positive and back to negative). I used them after I came home from work, so around 6pm at night. The second month I waited until I was closer to when I had ovulated the prior month, got a few negatives and then went positive, back to negative. I tested mornings and evenings then (may have also done that the first month. I don't remember ;)). The third month I only had a few left, so I used them super sparingly, got two negatives two days in a row, and the next day a positive. That used up my 'one month supply'
box. -
If the concern is that you may not be ovulating, you should definitely try temping. I just started two days ago, but opk will only tell you if your body is preparing to ovulate. It doesn't tell you if you actually will/have. They're a wonderful tool to tell you when you may be fertile though. That way, assuming you are ovulating, you'll be trying at the right time!
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@Sugar.Biscuit: I have PCOS too, and I don't ovulate at all without medication because of the cysts. I used to think I was ovulating because I'd get ovary pains, but they were totally misleading. Also, if you have PCOS it can throw off OPKs due to constant high LH levels. And CM can have an abnormal pattern if you have anovulatory cycles.
I see you're using the Creighton method, so I'm not sure how against other reproductive technologies you are. But if you're not ovulating, you might be best off seeing an RE and having a monitored cycle on Clomid or Femara. They'll be able to see your ovaries and keep an eye on the follicles and see how/if they progress.
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