Unsure if my body is still ovulating - any thoughts on attached pic?

[Skittles11]

Hi all I have been unsure for a while whether I am still ovulating each month. I don't use the sticks every month, in fact rarely use them because I have had lots of disruptions to my "normal" cycle through IVF drugs etc, so thought they may not be reliable. But on the months I have tried tracking in between any fertility drug cycles, I never seem to get a clear line which is mentioned in the instruction pack- that it should be as dark or darker than the test line. You can see on mine it gets a bit stronger but then goes lighter again - it never is as dark as the test line.

Does this mean I am not ovulating? And experience welcomed.

Is it Progesterone Day 21 that enables you to check if ovulation occured?

Thanks x

[MrsOrangejuice]

I can't work out the sticks so used the digital ones with the flashing smiley as you near the peak and then solid smiley when it reaches peak. They're expensive but they've always been reliable for me and I like the pre-warning. You ideally need to know your normal/average cycle length and adjust the day you start testing, or you have to go from an early date in the month to get accurate results which can feel a bit wasteful. 21 day progesterone is the standard ovulation blood test - again you need to know your cycle length or rough length, or have done the ovulation test sticks, then do the blood test around 7 days after you think you ovulated (so depending on your cycle, it'snot necessarily day 21). It doesn't guarantee you released an egg (need scans to confirm that) but it's a very strong indication and what most doctors/clinics go off.

[Ivf41x]

Hi, i used the cheap test like yours and also clearblue ones same time, as I’m bit confused for the result it gave. I do got the smiley face from clearblue while the lines from the cheap one is always lighter than the control line, but they do get bit darker with approaching the smiley face day.

[BearPanda]

Ah, yes, it's hard to say, I can see they are very faint but do indeed get darker at one point for sure! The most reliable answer would come from a scans done at a clinic (can be any private gynecologyst, doesn't have to be yours) where they can check your ovaries to see which one (if any) has released an egg. This can be checked in your lutheal phase.

[Twiglet2]

I’d recommend the clear blue purple ones too, I didn’t really understand these wee strip ones. You could also ask your clinic if they do a test to confirm the LH surge for you when you get the solid smiley on the clear blue (and possibly even scan you) in sure that would all cost ££ of course! Xx

[Lamagarden]

I use these strips as they are cheaper than the digital one but I find them useless! I’m not sure if they just don’t work or I’m expecting too much colour. I have also tracked my basal temp and mucus so pretty sure I’m ovulating just think the strips are crap 🤷‍♀️

[PeachesGirl]

The sticks can be tricky to decipher and aren’t wholly accurate. You’re best off judging the changes in your cervical mucus, as that is your body’s way of telling you what is going on. The 21 day blood test does test if you’ve ovulated but it may not be taken on day 21. It’s generally taken 7 days after you ovulate, so for me I took it on day 29 because I have a longer cycle and don’t normally ovulate until day 22. Be prepared to advocate for yourself if your doctor is anything like mine! I’ve had to push for a lot and ended up paying for my own progesterone test in the end because they wouldn’t accept that they ordered the original progesterone test too early. Good luck!

[Cuppppatea]

I found that I needed to be really strict with the times I had a wee before doing the test. I left it about 4 hours after peeing with low water intake. It could be a diluted result?

Also - Asda ones worked better for me

[Estherlovescats]

Get yourself mira and u test progesterone 5 days after ovulation they tell u the level to watch for.