Ovulation

[Spencerskates]

As a pre-warning, some of this may be potentially TMI, I’m not putting anything TMI under a spoiler or anything.

So, I’ve been tracking my ovulation as I’m trying to get pregnant, and I’ve been using a mixture of the cheap ovulation strips and the Clearblue digital ovulation tests. The strips don’t always show a positive result, but for the last 6 cycles I’ve had a ‘peak’ digital on CD15 (it’s rare that I get ‘high’ result). This month, I started testing around CD12, which is a little bit later than I normally would, and I’m currently on CD15 and don’t seem to be getting closer to a positive result.

Couple of extra factors:
- I drink a lot of water (at least 9 pints, plus a fair few herbal teas throughout the day) so I’m not sure if my urine is concentrated enough for the strips and if that makes a difference or not.
- I ran 10 miles on CD5 this month, but have reduced my mileage after that.
- On either CD11/12 I noticed that my CM was becoming more clear/stretchy, and I had some stomach cramping, but both of those have stopped now.


Has anyone had experience with this?
I’m wondering if I’m either going to ovulate late or not at all this month, or is it possible I ovulated already?

 

[Tui]

Unlikely you have ovulated already although not impossible. I doubt the run will have any bearing if you are exercising regularly already (must be to be able to run 10 miles!)

The month I conceived my current pregnancy I ovulated 2-3 days later than usual. Some variation is normal.
What time do you test? You might have a short peak in which case testing twice a day may be helpful.

I always used the internet cheapie strips. Generally found that I often missed the point at which the test line was darker than the control, or it just never went darker - the best I got was “as dark as” and then it would fade, but I definitely ovulated as I’m pregnant now.

Good luck!

 

[Definitelyme]

With the cheapie sticks you may easily miss your peak surge if you don’t test often enough. Coming up to ovulation I would test twice a day (around 11am and 6pm) to ensure it’s caught. Some cheap opks are more tricky to see the positive on. I’d suggest using wondfos (from Amazon) They are a bit more expensive (£14 for 40 I think) than som brands but much clearer to read. Also try using Femometer app to log your cheapies as it tells you how close to peak you are (gives a percentage. When I was ovulating my % was between 118% and 200%)

In terms of this cycle maybe you are ovulating later. The cycle I conceived this pregnancy on I didn’t ovulate until day 48, after previously having 35 day cycles.

 

[Spencerskates]

Unlikely you have ovulated already although not impossible. I doubt the run will have any bearing if you are exercising regularly already (must be to be able to run 10 miles!)

The month I conceived my current pregnancy I ovulated 2-3 days later than usual. Some variation is normal.
What time do you test? You might have a short peak in which case testing twice a day may be helpful.

I always used the internet cheapie strips. Generally found that I often missed the point at which the test line was darker than the control, or it just never went darker - the best I got was “as dark as” and then it would fade, but I definitely ovulated as I’m pregnant now.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your reply! I’ll keep testing and see if it happens.

To be fair, the running is fairly new, so I’m tempted to ease off and see if that makes a difference. But I am generally active/fit (I think!)

I’ve been using the Clearblue digital first thing, this morning it showed as ‘low’ again, but the two lines looked very similar to me. I use the cheapies mid afternoon usually, but not sure if my fluid intake is affecting it because I don’t restrict it before I take the test, or hold for too long.

Did anyone take any supplements etc while TTC? Also wondering if this could be making a difference because I’ve been taking a fair few!

With the cheapie sticks you may easily miss your peak surge if you don’t test often enough. Coming up to ovulation I would test twice a day (around 11am and 6pm) to ensure it’s caught. Some cheap opks are more tricky to see the positive on. I’d suggest using wondfos (from Amazon) They are a bit more expensive (£14 for 40 I think) than som brands but much clearer to read. Also try using Femometer app to log your cheapies as it tells you how close to peak you are (gives a percentage. When I was ovulating my % was between 118% and 200%)

In terms of this cycle maybe you are ovulating later. The cycle I conceived this pregnancy on I didn’t ovulate until day 48, after previously having 35 day cycles.

Ooh thank you, that sounds good. The ones I’ve been using have an app too, which definitely helps, but I’ll try those next cycle.

That’s reassuring to hear

My cycles are always 29/30 days, hopefully it’s just late this month!

 

[Heybooboo]

I used the clear blue but first thing in the morning only as it’s when you get the clearest reading appariently. I ovulated late 3 months in a row but they were accurate and on the third month it works we conceived.

 

[Spencerskates]

I used the clear blue but first thing in the morning only as it’s when you get the clearest reading appariently. I ovulated late 3 months in a row but they were accurate and on the third month it works we conceived.

When you ovulated late, did your period then come late (on the cycles you didn’t conceive)?

Thank you for sharing this, it gives me hope!

It’s hard enough trying to get pregnant when your OH works 12 hour shifts and you can sometimes go days without seeing each other, I don’t need to stop ovulating as well

 

[Definitelyme]

When you ovulated late, did your period then come late (on the cycles you didn’t conceive)?

Thank you for sharing this, it gives me hope!

It’s hard enough trying to get pregnant when your OH works 12 hour shifts and you can sometimes go days without seeing each other, I don’t need to stop ovulating as well

If you ovulate late your period will come late, as your luteal phase will be approx the same every cycle. So for me, my luteal phase is 11 days (which is short). So if I ovulate on cycle day 30, my period will arrive on cycle day 41. If I ovulate on cycle day 50, my period will arrive on cycle day 61.

 

[Heybooboo]

When you ovulated late, did your period then come late (on the cycles you didn’t conceive)?

Thank you for sharing this, it gives me hope!

It’s hard enough trying to get pregnant when your OH works 12 hour shifts and you can sometimes go days without seeing each other, I don’t need to stop ovulating as well

No my period was on time, I use the flo app used it for years and it worked for my son but noticed this time I was a week later than it was saying but my periods were still bang on!

no that doesn’t help the first time I tracked it I panicked I wasn’t ovulated because it wasn’t in sync but when I researched it said it’s perfectly normal to not ovulate every month (not sure how true that is though!)
Also the month it did work we had sex every other day as soon as it was fertile until 5 days after a peak reading. Not sure if it helped but that’s what we did differently that month

 

[BettyCrocker]

Try using the cheap OPKs every day, and as you see the line getting darker then start using them twice a day. Don’t use first morning urine - wait until say mid morning and then again early evening. Maybe try to ease off on the amount of fluids you are drinking - 9 pints of water plus tea every day seems a bit much?

 

[Doobots]

When I was trying to conceive my second baby, my ovulation dates and periods were all over the place thanks to breastfeeding. I was getting checked for an ovarian cyst because of pain I had and mentioned the ovulation to my doctor as I was stressing about not knowing when was best to try. He told me the best thing to do was have sex every other day throughout the month and forget about what the test said. Was pregnant one month later.

 

[Spencerskates]

Try using the cheap OPKs every day, and as you see the line getting darker then start using them twice a day. Don’t use first morning urine - wait until say mid morning and then again early evening. Maybe try to ease off on the amount of fluids you are drinking - 9 pints of water plus tea every day seems a bit much?

I’ll give that a go! I wasn’t sure whether to count the tea as fluid intake or not, I know one of the big things for conceiving is making sure that you’re hydrated so that’s why I’ve been drinking a lot.

When I was trying to conceive my second baby, my ovulation dates and periods were all over the place thanks to breastfeeding. I was getting checked for an ovarian cyst because of pain I had and mentioned the ovulation to my doctor as I was stressing about not knowing when was best to try. He told me the best thing to do was have sex every other day throughout the month and forget about what the test said. Was pregnant one month later.

That definitely makes sense, I’m half tempted to not test next month and just have as much sex as we can (again, not easy when your OH is a paramedic and is always either at work or exhausted from work )

 

[Doobots]

That definitely makes sense, I’m half tempted to not test next month and just have as much sex as we can (again, not easy when your OH is a paramedic and is always either at work or exhausted from work )

I honestly think it really helped me mentally to not be testing. And even though the sex we had was 'to try' it didn't have that panic WE HAVE TO DO IT NOW feeling to it which definitely ruins the mood. Good luck with it x

 

[Pingping]

My partner and I have been trying to conceive since March, I know this isn’t long. Bujust have this dread in my mind that we won’t be able to have kids, and I have always thought this, did / does anyone else have these thoughts too?

someone asked me and my partner once if we’ve ever fallen / got anyone pregnant before, neither have so she said you may not be able to have kids then and it has really stuck with me.

I got fixated on taking ovulation tests so found for me it’s best to not take them now as I was just putting too much pressure on my partner to perform.

But the more months that go by that I’m not pregnant are really getting to me its all I can think about, everyone keeps saying oh just relax and it will happen.. yeah that’s not really helpful

 

[HoGi]

My partner and I have been trying to conceive since March, I know this isn’t long. Bujust have this dread in my mind that we won’t be able to have kids, and I have always thought this, did / does anyone else have these thoughts too?

someone asked me and my partner once if we’ve ever fallen / got anyone pregnant before, neither have so she said you may not be able to have kids then and it has really stuck with me.

I got fixated on taking ovulation tests so found for me it’s best to not take them now as I was just putting too much pressure on my partner to perform.

But the more months that go by that I’m not pregnant are really getting to me its all I can think about, everyone keeps saying oh just relax and it will happen.. yeah that’s not really helpful

I feel the same. Not TTC yet but neither me or my husband have had fallen/gotten someone pregnant before. I'm 31 and he is 39.

I don't know whether I am just really good at using contraception (as I seem to know lots if people who were taking the pill and still got pregnant!) Or if one/both of us have a problem!!

It worries me far more than I think it should

 

[Spencerskates]

My partner and I have been trying to conceive since March, I know this isn’t long. Bujust have this dread in my mind that we won’t be able to have kids, and I have always thought this, did / does anyone else have these thoughts too?

someone asked me and my partner once if we’ve ever fallen / got anyone pregnant before, neither have so she said you may not be able to have kids then and it has really stuck with me.

I got fixated on taking ovulation tests so found for me it’s best to not take them now as I was just putting too much pressure on my partner to perform.

But the more months that go by that I’m not pregnant are really getting to me its all I can think about, everyone keeps saying oh just relax and it will happen.. yeah that’s not really helpful

I feel the same. Not TTC yet but neither me or my husband have had fallen/gotten someone pregnant before. I'm 31 and he is 39.

I don't know whether I am just really good at using contraception (as I seem to know lots if people who were taking the pill and still got pregnant!) Or if one/both of us have a problem!!

It worries me far more than I think it should

If/when you get to the point of trying for a year, or there abouts, go and see your doctor - there’s a few simple tests they can do before you go down the fertility route.

I’ve had full blood tests, to rule out any underlying health issues, and tests at different points in my cycle to test if I was ovulating or not. My first one was ‘borderline’ so they repeated it and that was well within the healthy range, but I’m now questioning that.

I also had an internal ultrasound to check things like my womb lining, ovaries and tubes.

 

[Tui]

My partner and I have been trying to conceive since March, I know this isn’t long. Bujust have this dread in my mind that we won’t be able to have kids, and I have always thought this, did / does anyone else have these thoughts too?

someone asked me and my partner once if we’ve ever fallen / got anyone pregnant before, neither have so she said you may not be able to have kids then and it has really stuck with me.

I got fixated on taking ovulation tests so found for me it’s best to not take them now as I was just putting too much pressure on my partner to perform.

But the more months that go by that I’m not pregnant are really getting to me its all I can think about, everyone keeps saying oh just relax and it will happen.. yeah that’s not really helpful

I think it's not unusual to feel this way. It is certainly understandable to be nervous, as I expect it is something you really want!! Whoever said that to you was pretty insensitive - the likelihood is is that you will successfully conceive eventually but it can take up to a year or more in some cases. I don't know about your situation, but I was constantly from the age of 16 to 30 trying very hard not to get pregnant. Then when you start trying, you find it is actually harder to get pregnant than you realise as there is only a 48-72 hour window!!

I'm 30, started trying in January, pregnant on 2nd cycle in February, then miscarried. Now 10 weeks into 2nd pregnancy and so far so good....
TTC is a rollercoaster and I found the time between my miscarriage in April and that positive test in July was an absolute age but in reality, it wasn't that long. It bloody well feels like it at the time though, especially after planning for over a year before we were actually in a position to TTC (financially, professionally etc).

If it helps, NHS website says this:

• aged 19 to 26 – 92% will conceive after 1 year and 98% after 2 years
• aged 35 to 39 – 82% will conceive after 1 year and 90% after 2 years