General questions about Ovulation testing
Here are the most frequently asked questions about pregnancy testing, answered by the Clearblue® Easy experts.
Clearblue® Easy Ovulation Tests detect the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) surge which occurs approximately 24-36 hours prior to ovulation. This is how they help you pinpoint the 2 best days of your cycle to conceive - the day before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. So, if you have sex on these 2 days, you’ll be giving yourself the best chance of becoming pregnant.
The Clearblue® Easy Fertility Monitor can maximize your chances of conception. It not only detects the LH surge and pinpoints your 2 Peak Fertility days, but also identifies typically up to 5 additional fertile days when you may conceive (High Fertility days) by detecting the rise in estrogen which occurs immediately before this LH surge. As your partner’s sperm can survive in your body for several days, having sex on those days can also result in pregnancy. It also gives you personal information, telling you when you need to test and when the end of your cycle is.
No, it will not affect your results. But your cycles might be irregular if you’ve recently stopped taking the pill, so it may be harder to know when to start testing. For this reason, it might be a good idea to wait until you’ve had two natural menstrual cycles in a row, and note the length of these cycles, before using a Clearblue® Easy Ovulation Test.
Always read the manufacturers’ instructions for any medication you are taking before conducting a test.
Certain medical conditions and medications can affect the performance of the test. For example, if you are actually pregnant, have recently been pregnant, have reached the menopause or if you have polycystic ovarian syndrome, you may get a misleading result. This may also be true if you are taking fertility drugs containing Luteinizing Hormone (LH) or human Chorionic Gonadotrophin(hCG). Please check with your doctor.
Clomiphene citrate doesn’t affect the test but may affect the length of your cycle and make it harder to know when to start testing with Ovulation Tests. If you’ve used a whole pack of test sticks and your LH surge hasn’t been detected, you can start a new pack.
If you’re taking clomiphene citrate, we advise you to consult your doctor for advice before using the Clearblue® Easy Fertility Monitor. Clomiphene citrate can raise estrogen levels and this may result in High Fertility being declared early in the cycle and more High Fertility days being displayed, and in some cases the Monitor may not show Peak Fertility even when ovulation occurs.
Before you can be sure when to start testing, you need to determine your usual cycle length. The length of your cycle is the number of days from the day your period starts (Day 1) to the day before your next period starts.
The length of the cycle can vary from one woman to another and can vary from cycle to cycle in the same woman. If your cycle length varies by more than 3 days, choose the shortest cycle you have had over the last 6 months to determine when to start testing.
If you wish to start using Clearblue® Easy Ovulation Tests before knowing your cycle length, we recommend that you start testing on day 10. However, without determining your cycle length, it is possible that you might miss your surge because you have started testing too late, or you may need to use additional test sticks to detect your LH surge.
If your cycle is 21 days or less, you should start testing on day 5 of your cycle. If your cycle is longer than 40 days, you should start testing 17 days before you expect your next period.
It can take normal, healthy women many months to conceive. There are many reasons why you may not get pregnant, even if you've had sex during your most fertile time. So keep trying.
Alternatively, you may want to start using the Clearblue® Easy Fertility Monitor. The Clearblue® Easy Fertility Monitor is the most advanced method of maximizing your chances of getting. Click here to find out more about the Clearblue Fertility Monitor.
If after several months of trying you've had no success, it’s recommended you see your doctor to find out more about your next steps.
You could take a Clearblue® Easy Pregnancy Test. They’re easy to use and can give you an accurate result in as little as 1 minute. If your Clearblue® Easy Pregnancy Test result is ‘Pregnant’ you should see your doctor to discuss your result and the steps you should take next. If you’d like to know more about Clearblue Pregnancy Tests, click here.
The number of tests in a Clearblue® Easy Ovulation Test pack is sufficient for most women with regular cycles to detect their LH surge. If your cycle length varies by more than 3 days, then you may need to start a new pack and use additional test sticks to detect your LH surge.
The best solution is to test again as soon as possible today (though you should wait 4 hours before passing urine again to ensure that the level of LH in your urine is not diluted). Try to avoid drinking excessive amounts between doing the tests. Make sure that you follow all the instructions carefully. It’s best not to wait until the next day to do another test, or you could miss your LH surge. If you have collected a sample to test, then you can use this same sample straight away to do your second test. If you don’t detect your LH surge with this second test, then test again tomorrow at the usual time.
