Ovulation Frustration

I didn't have success with the ovulation kit. According to the sticks, I never ovulated, and I was pregnant the following month?!?!?! I wouldn't trust them. The best way is, if you have a regular cycle, use the ovulation charts on iVillage, or another baby website.

Many years ago before kits I used a rectal thermometer and followed the directions exactly. I could tell the exact day I ovulated. My husband came home from work on his lunch hour and his pager went off the whole time but we have a wonderful 23 year old son now and I know the exact day he was conceived! A.

You should buy a different brand of test that is easier to read. The lines have to be very bright to indicate ovulation. There's no way you've been ovulating for 2 weeks.

Here's another suggestion though. Just have sex every other day. That way you know you're going to hit a day when you're ovulating. My doc suggested that, and it worked great. I used an ovulation kit, too, but that took some of the pressure off.

Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a wonderful book which will help you to understand your cycle and determine if there really is a problem, or it's just a case of those sticks being wrong. All you need to do is take your temp every morning before you get up and chart it on the charts provided in the book. Pretty soon you'll see when the best time is for you and your husband to try and conceive. That's how my husband and I conceived within just a couple of months of starting trying. Good luck!

If you are reading the tests correct I just want to let you know that the tests will be positive if your pregnant also! (hope you are!)

Well if your NOT using the kit the theory is days 10-18 days every other day, because you may ovulate early or late. We've also been trying to conceive the past three months and using the Clear Blue Ovulation monitor. Last month my fertile days were from 13-17 with days 15 and 16 being my peak days. This month my fertile days were from 10-14 with 12 and 13 being my peak days. So it'll vary. I also have used this website www.mymonthlycycles.com and www.whenmybaby.com to input my periods and it'll help you determine your average cycle and ovulation days.

Trying to conceive a baby is definatly just that TRYING...ugh!
Hopefully it'll happen for us this month for the both of us =)!! I take a test next week, too.

Good Luck to you!!
A. R.

Sometimes those kits are not accurate. Make sure your hormone levels are all normal, if you haven't done so already. Also, you could try another brand of kits next month and see what happens.

you should just have sex the very first day you get a positive ov test and then again every day thereafter for 3 days. theres no point in testing after your initial few days of testing. you can't be ovulating for 2 weeks, maybe your reading the test wrong? try another brand for sure, something easier to read! good luck :)

Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It will tell you that getting those test kits is giving you information you need after the fact - you need to be trying to conceive *before* you ovulate.

It's a fantastic book and helps you see your own cycles and natural body rhythm. After a couple of months, you start to know when you're going to ovulate. We didn't have fertility problems, but we used the charting to find the best time to conceive and "hit paydirt" the first time both times.

Jennifer, I really do think everyone is different. I always thought that around day 14 right after your period you would be ovulating but I know I was always around the 10th day. I would get my period and it would last 5 to 6 days and on the 10th day I would start ovulating. I know I was and both of my sons were concieved right around that time. I never heard about 2 weeks of ovulation. I thought around 4 or 5 days on mounth. I am not sure if that is correct but I never had any problems getting pregnant. Maybe try a couple of days right after your period is over. Good Luck and relax!!

Have you tried the Clearblue Ovulation kits that give you a smiley face. The line ones are hard to read because the test line has to be the exact same color or darker than the control line. But if you use the Smiley Face Digital Ovulation Predictor Tests it takes a lot of the guess work out.
I also second the recommendation for www.fertilityfriend.com

Check out the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". It really explains the women's cycle. We used it for birth control, before we were ready for kids. But it's intended for either way (I believe). Trying to or not to get pregnant.

the clear blue easy fertility monitor worked for me!!! I bought mine off of ebay for a fraction of the cost, along with the test strips.

All I can add is that sometimes the name brand kits didn't work for me, for some reason. I actually had better reliability from the generic Target brand ones! Good luck!

A good indication of ovulation to watch for is discharge that has the color and consistancy of egg whites. Once it thickens and becomes less transparent you have likely already ovulated. Try "baby dancing" once you notice the change every other day. Ovulation kits can be difficult to read an often not very accurate. If temping every morning is difficult for you the cervical mucus watch is very helpful. Good luck!

A couple of days a month.

Also, you'll almost always get 2 lines when you're CLOSE to ovulation. Just because you have 2 lines doesn't mean you're ovulating. The test line needs to be DARKER than the control line.

go to www.fertilityfriend.com
On there you will find information about charting your basal body temperature, and cervical mucas. It is VERY helpful! The ovulation tests don't always work for everyone, I know they never worked for me. They said I was ovulating when I wasn't. Good Luck!

In response to your edit comment:
If you take a preg. test next week it may not come back positive even if you are pregnant. If you do not know for sure when you ovulated you will not know when to take a test. The standard is to wait two weeks after you ovulate to see if a preg. test is positive or negative. If the test comes back negative take another every two or three days until you get a positive or you start your period. Charting will help you know your cycle, when you ovulate, and how long your luteal phase is(the time between ovulation and your period)and when you will be able to see a positive pregnancy test or your period.

Original response:

Your best bet, in order to concieve, would be to chart your basal body (waking) temperature and your cervical mucous. Go to www.fertilityfriend.com and read their tutorials to get started. It is not complicated and it will help you to know your bod and when you are ovulating. It is much more accurate than just using ovulation predictors. The book Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also wonderful in helping you learn your body.

Taking action now, and learing how your body works will help you to get pregnant. Not every woman ovulates on CD 14. (I usually ovulate on CD 20) If you don't know when you ovulate you could be missing your date all together!

I really encourage you to chart. It is a great way to learn how your body works. You would be amazed at how clueless people actually are (myself included before I started charting).