Ovulation testing???

[Sarah_a_2018]

Has anyone found ovulation testing helpful?

I’ve had two periods since the IVF, my body obviously didn’t need much time to get back to normal from all the IVF hormones, my first period was right on schedule and has been ever since!

I just want to take this time over the next few months to learn how my cycle works in my own body, we stuck to what the clinic told us which was to not use apps, ovulation tests and just have sex every 2-3 days to optimise our chances but it got tiring pretty quickly, especially when it just stopped being fun and just got mechanical and stressful 🙈

I read about checking for EWCM and i had it for my last two cycles, one day on first cycle, had it for 2 days last month and we made sure to have sex every other day, I did start to use an app which has been pretty accurate for calculating my period dates and was spot on for my predicted ovulation dates for the last two cycles, but for this month today was my predicted ovulation day and nothing, I’ve had twinges since Saturday dull period like cramps and then nothing has happened so I’m 🤔

A friend recommended ovulation testing as it’s good to have for working out your fertile window and have tested since Saturday and all negative so I’ve either ovulated early or not ovulated at all yet, will be interesting to track this for a couple of months and see what happens, I’m pretty sure we’ve been timing sex all wrong.

Any advice from anyone who has used them with success or are still using them and find them useful would be helpful, I’m just using boots own brand but might upgrade to the clear blue if they do what they say!

[Orla9298]

Fertility friend is a great app, and I do that along with ovulation strips and temping. After 2.5 years ttc I no way could have sex every 2-3 days. We only have sex around ovulation as we don’t have the energy all month but we have managed to avoid it feeling too mechanical and forced. The app is great I log temps and cervical fluid and Ovulation strip results, and i always know to the day when I ovulate. It even knew I was pregnant by the things I logged like spotting and cramps and sore boobs!x

[Lizzielizzielizzie]

I DON’T recommend the clear blue fertility monitor if you do upgrade to clearblue. I found their normal ovulation strips good but the fertility monitor is not worth the money and told me I hadn’t ovulated the one month when I got pregnant (so I had clearly ovulated). I think getting to know you cycle is a good thing though. Remember you need to have plenty of sex just before ovulation, don’t wait for the surge to show or you could miss it x

[Sarah_a_2018 in reply to Lizzielizzielizzie]

Thanks, I was thinking about buying the fertility monitor but hubby not too keen when he saw the price, especially when you need to buy test strips at £30 a pack on top of that 😩

I’ve started reading taking charge of your fertility so hopefully will get to know my cycle in the next couple of months hopefully, I get my period every 26-28 days like clockwork but my ovulation is totally off, it seems to change if it’s even happening at all and that’s what I’m hoping to find out as I think for the last couple of months we’ve timed sex wrong or just not had enough of it at my most fertile days - such a minefield this TTC 😩

[Orla9298]

I recommend just the cheap strips by One Step from amazon. My clinic don’t recommend the fancier ones or the digis, say the simple strips are best. Just test 2-3 times a day with them when you start getting a stronger line

[Sarah_a_2018 in reply to Orla9298]

Thanks will take a look, right now I’m mid cycle which should be around my ovulation time but I’ve tested since Saturday and all been negative, not even a hint of a second line 😳

[Orla9298 in reply to Sarah_a_2018]

I sometimes ovulate as early as day 10! Normally day 12-14. It is possible to sometimes just not ovulate one cycle randomly, even if you normally do. If you have a 26-28 day cycle it’s worth testing from day 8 each morning then as you get a bit closer to your normal ovulation time or as you get ewcm, or as the line started to darken increase to 2-3 times a day. You should be able to get a pack of 50 on amazon or eBay for less than a tenner. I’d suggest typing “one step wide ovulation strips” as the wide ones are a bit easier to read. Good luck with it!xx

[Bexta6060]

I second the reccomendation for the fertility friend app. I found ovulation tests to be inaccurate, you can miss a surge or even have a surge and not ovulate. Temping really helped me pin down my O date.

[abcgirl]

When i first started using the Clear Blue digital ovulation predictor kit, I always used them in the morning with my first pee. But I read that in some women the surge happened mid-morning, so your second pee in mid-day or afternoon is best. That's when I always checked it afterwards and got the smiley face each month. I too am pretty regular but realized that I would ovulate late even though my cycle was on average 28 days. I had a Luteal Phase of around 9-12 days. Which isn't good... that has somehow corrected itself - I'm guessing it's either the acupuncture or vitamins I'm taking but not sure. Either way we still needed ICSI so my ovulation schedule wasn't the problem.

[Sarah_a_2018]

Thanks everyone, this was my first attempt and none the wiser as to what is going on, I got some ewcm today but not a lot, I can usually tell when I'm ovulating as I get crampy, a bit wet down there and hot flushes but had none of that and I'm on day 16 of my cycle so I may have missed my window or not ovulated yet, will find out in the next 10-12 days I suppose, think I will start temping and will look into downloading fertility friend, thanks again 😁 Xxx