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Ovulation tests are the fastest and most reliable way to distinguish when your body is ovulating. Detecting ovulation as early as possible is essential when you are trying to get pregnant. An egg must be fertilized just as it is released into your fallopian tube or the window of opportunity for conception quite literally disintegrates until your next menstrual cycle. Understanding ovulation tests and how they work will help you know the right time to try to conceive and make your dreams of parenthood come true.
Understand What Ovulation Tests Do
A woman’s body constantly releases a hormone known as the Luteinizing Hormone (LH). A surge of LH in your body in the middle of your menstrual cycle stimulates an egg to release from one of your ovaries and drop into your fallopian tube. This is called ovulation and the time in which an egg may be fertilized and pregnancy can occur.
Ovulation tests detect an elevated level of LH in your urine. Once you detect an LH surge you have 24-36 hours of peak fertility. The egg will not be fully released for 36 hours after the LH surge begins, however sperm can stay in the woman’s body for up to a week so any time between when you detect an LH surge up until 36 hours afterwards is when you are most likely to conceive. Respectively you can also get pregnant if you have unprotected intercourse immediately prior to an LH surge and ovulation.
How to Take Ovulation Tests
There are two types of ovulation tests, strips that are held into a cup of your fresh urine for several seconds and midstream tests that you stick in a stream of your urine. You should test your urine twice a day at the same times every day, once in the morning between 11am and 3pm and again in the evening between 5pm and 10pm. It is best to limit liquid intake 2 hours before you test so as not to dilute the LH and miss your ovulation.
Understand Ovulation Test Results
After exposing the test strip to your urine you let it sit for several minutes and wait for a color to appear on the test band. Compare the color that appears on the test band to the control band on the ovulation test. If the test band color is equal to or darker than the control band then you are experiencing an LH surge. If the test band color is lighter than the control band then you have regular, low levels of LH in your system and are not yet ovulating.
When to Start Taking Ovulation Tests
It is important to start testing for LH at the right time during your menstrual cycle so that you do not miss it. In order to do this you must know the length of your menstrual cycle, or how many days are in between the first day of your period to first day of your next period. Menstrual cycles are different for every woman and can range anywhere from 20 to 40 days long. If your menstrual cycle is different every month, take an average of the number of days between each period from the past 3 months.
Take the number of days your cycle lasts and count from the first day of your period to the corresponding number below. This day is when you should start using ovulation tests until you see an LH spike.
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Days in your cycle
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20
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21
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22
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23
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24
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25
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26
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27
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28
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29
|
|
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# of days after the 1st day of your period to begin ovulation tests
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5
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5
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
|
|
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Days in your cycle
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30
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31
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32
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33
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34
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35
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36
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37
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38
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39
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40
|
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# of days after the 1st day of your period to begin ovulation tests
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
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18
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19
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20
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21
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22
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23
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Restrictions to Ovulation Tests
Ovulation tests do not work correctly if you have certain medications in your system, such as menotrpins for injection, danazol, clompphene citrate and oral contraceptives. False positives have been known to accompany the fertility drug Clamid. If you are on any medications check with your doctor to see if they may interfere with your ovulation tests results.
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