Ovulation Tests

There are actually a few ways of telling how you are fertile and I will talk about those thing in a second but a great way to either tell you are fertile or confirm your suspensions about being fertile are OPK's otherwise known as ovulation predictor kits. DO NOT try to conceive without these!!! Seriously? Yes, seriously!

You can literally predict ovulation spot on with OPK's and they are fun! Just please don't become a pee on a stick addict, actually it's okay to become a poas addict because you are excited about making a baby and you should be!

Let me start with how to use opk's. It's so simple, how soon that you should start testing after aunt flow or your period ends depends on your cycle length. So as a general rule, if you have a 28 or 29 day cycle, you should start testing on cycle day 10 or 11. So the first day of your period is cycle day 1, right? Just making sure you were aware of that.

What I usually do is I start testing just once per day. OPK's tend to start getting darker and darker as the LH hormone in your body increases, so what I do is when the tests begin to get darker, I start testing 2 maybe 3 times per day. You want to make sure that when you are about to test don't drink too much water and try to make sure you haven't peed in at least 2 hours.

An OPK is positive when the test line is darker than the control line, depending on what type of test you are using, the test should specify which line is your line and which is the control line. For example, this is a NEGATIVE ovulation test:

The test pictured here is a Wondfo (On a sidenote, I used to use Wondfos all the time, however I stopped using them only because I needed to pinpoint my surge to the exact hour and these are so sensitive that they can make you believe you are getting your surge and you are not. However, if you are TTC with a partner and you are able to baby dance on all of your fertile days, the Wondfo tests are not too shabby. They are cheap, easy to use and easy to read. My suggestion would be to buy as many Wondfos as you want but then use the other brands and/or digitals to back up the results. 

Here some more pics of the Wondfos:  

This OPK is negative:

These OPK's are positive:

Anyway, the point I want to make is, when using any test stick style test, keep in mind that YOUR line will always be closest to the pee collection area of the stick. So in other words, the line that your pee passes first will always be YOUR line, the latter line is always the control line. 

An OPK is only positive when the test line or YOUR line is dark as or darker than the control line.

Notice both of these tests are positive, the top is a Wondfo (blue package) and the bottom is an Answer brand, Please note that the Wondfo brand was positive the day before too and the Answer was still negative. In this case the Answer brand is better in my opinion for if you have to pinpoint ovulation to the exact hour because none of the other OPK's taken the day before was positive except for the Wondfo. 

Here is another example of a positive OPK (Please note, this is the cycle I got my bfp) 

The top test is an unknown internet cheapy (negative), the middle is an Answer stick (positive) and the bottom is an Answer strip (positive)

Okay, so I love the Answer brand, I really do, because they work and they are reasonably priced. Anyway, hopefully you are clear on recognizing a positive OPK. If you are still not sure, there are digital ovulation tests also. I like using these as well because you can buy the test strips and use them until you get a positive and then confirm your positive with a digital. 

Just remember that ovulation tests are supposed to predict that you are about to ovulate, so you can expect to ovulate up to 2 to 72 hours after a positive ovulation test. I will touch more this subject in my section about when to baby dance or inseminate to maximize your chances for conception. 

OPK's can be a little confusing but they are actually a fun tool to help you conceive. Just make sure you get a good brand and also get the type of test that works best for you. Below are my favorite brands of OPK's. These used in conjunction with your bodies natural fertility signs, will ensure you will be pregnant in no time. 

WHAT BRAND OPK SHOULD I USE??

Like I said, the Wondfos are cheap, economic and they work. I've always purchased my ovulation tests from Ebay. Make sure it's the actual Wondfo brand or the tests that are in the blue package like here. 

I also recommend these tests as well:

ANSWER Daily Ovulation Tracker for Any Cycle Length - 20 Test Strips and a Cup Answer Daily Ovulation is a simple way to determine when you are most able to become pregnant. ANSWER Daily Ovulation Tracker for Any Cycle Length - 20 Test Strips and a Cup

Answer One-Step Ovulation Test - Kit Ovulation Test Predicts the day youre most able to become pregnant. Answer One-Step Ovulation Test - Kit

First response easy-read ovulation test kit - 7 ea First response easy-read ovulation test makes it easy to identify your LH surge. First response easy-read ovulation test kit - 1 ea

First Response digital ovulation test kit - 20 tests Only test to predict ovulation based on your unique LH hormone level. First Response digital ovulation test kit - 20 tests

Clearblue easy ovulation test pack - 7 ea Clearblue easy ovulation test pack the most effective ovulation kit. Clearblue easy ovulation test pack - 7 ea

Preffered Plus ovulation predictor - 7 Tests Can be used as early as 4 days before you expect your period. Preffered Plus ovulation predictor - 7 Tests

Clearblue Easy Ovulation plus Digital Pregnancy Test Combination Pack - 1 Pack Clearblue Easy Ovulation plus Digital Pregnancy Test Combination Pack contains 7 Ovulation Tests plus 1 Digital Pregnancy Test. Clearblue Easy Ovulation plus Digital Pregnancy Test Combination Pack - 1 Pack

Clearblue easy digital ovulation test easy read one month supply - 20 ea Detects the surge of luteinizing hormone in your urine which normally occurs 24-36 hours before ovulation Clearblue easy digital ovulation test easy read one month supply - 20 ea

Any of these tests will work perfectly.

Clearblue Easy also makes a fertility monitor which is supposed to tell you more fertile days per cycle by measuring LH as well as your estrogen levels. This can be a pretty expensive tool but you can find good deals on Ebay like this one Click here.

Ebay also has some awesome deals on some used Clearblue Easy fertility monitors, to check out the new, used and auction listings Click here

Just don't forget to purchase plenty of the clearblue test sticks.


Charting

The ovulation tests will tell you that you are about to ovulate but how do you know that you actually ovulated? There's actually quite a few ways to know for sure if you ovulated, you are pregnant, an ultrasound shows ovulation, or you had a temperature rise. You can actually learn about charting in depth by visiting Fertilityfriend.com, but basically what happens is after ovulation you will experience a rise in basal body temperature.

This is an expensive way of verifying that you are ovulating, the only drawback is you have to take your temperature at the same time everyday, upon waking up, after a good nights sleep. It can be difficult, especially with other children in the home but lots of women do it.

For charting just make sure you get a quality basal body thermometer. A good one is listed below:

Nexcare Basal digital thermometer Accu beep - 1 ea Clinically proven to match glass thermometer accuracy. Nexcare Basal digital thermometer Accu beep - 1 ea

You can also purchase basal body thermometers at most local pharmacies but some of those have really low ratings, also make sure you have at least 2, sometimes 3 because they can be lost, break or batteries can go out in them.

If you like the shake down, non-digital kind, a good mercury free one is below:

Geratherm Basal mercury free thermometer - 1 ea Geratherm Thermometer with magnified optic case included for easy readability.

You can also purchase basal body thermometers on Ebay.

Now that you know everything you need to know about OPK's, let's move on to recognizing your fertile signs and checking your cervix.