Positive Ovulation Test

If you are trying to conceive, you know just how important it is to track the most fertile days of your cycle (i.e. your LH surge and the day of ovulation). The most common ways to do this include tracking your basal body temperature (BBT), monitoring your cervical mucus, and/or testing your LH levels with an ovulation predictor kit (often called an OPK).

A positive ovulation test is a key indicator of fertility so in this post, we’ll focus on ovulation testing and OPKs specifically, shedding light on what a positive ovulation test means, the best time for conception, and the essential next steps to take after a positive result. We’ll also follow up by answering some of the most frequently asked questions about ovulation tests and OPKs.

What Is an Ovulation Test and How Does It Work? 

So how do ovulation tests work? Most people are familiar with the pee-on-stick variety of home pregnancy tests. Ovulation tests are very similar but instead of detecting hCG to indicate whether you’re pregnant or not, they measure your levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) – the hormone that spikes approximately 24-36 hours before ovulation occurs. 

It’s important to note that they do not measure the exact day of ovulation, but rather the rise in LH that occurs before ovulation. According to the American Pregnancy Association, when used correctly ovulation tests are approximately 99% accurate making them a reliable tool and useful tool for predicting fertility. 

What a Positive Ovulation Test Indicates

A positive ovulation test means that your LH levels are above the threshold considered to be “surging” – meaning that ovulation will likely happen within 24-36 hours.

At rest, typical LH levels for women are between 5-25 IU/L, and during the LH surge, they can peak up to 100+ IU/L. The most common and reliable threshold for ovulation testing is between 25-30 IU/L. This means that if your LH levels are above this threshold, the result of your ovulation test should be positive.

Many people wonder if their ovulation test results will be positive if pregnant. A positive ovulation test strip is testing for the presence of LH, as opposed to hCG, the hormone that pregnancy tests detect. However, since LH and hCG have similar molecular structures, your ovulation test will be positive if you actually are pregnant since these tests aren’t sensitive enough to distinguish between the two hormones. Alternatively, it may be a false positive, which can be caused by pregnancy or a number of other factors, like PCOS. 

How to Use an Ovulation Test Kit

The experience of using an OPK is very similar to taking a pregnancy test. Typically, all you must do is collect a urine sample, dip the test stick into the urine sample, and wait a few minutes until your results are ready.

Bear in mind that each brand of OPK is different. Before taking your test, always make sure to read and follow the instructions to receive the best results.

Types of Ovulation Tests

The most common type of test is a standard paper test strip that displays two lines once a urine sample is taken. The lines are typically pink in color, however, some tests have lines that are either gray or blue.

Regardless of the color, if this type of paper test is positive, both the control line and the test line should look exactly the same in color and intensity. The test line can also be darker than the control line in order to be considered positive. However, if the test line is lighter in color than the control line, this is not considered a positive result.

There are also other ovulation tests out there that can display your result digitally. However, instead of two lines, the test will display either a smiley face or the word “yes”. Digital tests are often more expensive than paper tests. However, many women prefer these tests because they like to receive a clear yes or no answer.

High tech options for monitoring ovulation also exist. Premium hormonal health tracking tools like the Mira Hormone Monitor enable you to track your LH levels with lab-quality hormone tracking. Unlike OPKs which only work based on standard thresholds, Mira’s AI technology learns about your cycle patterns and analyzes this information to provide personalized results that become more sophisticated over time. By analyzing your hormone levels you’ll get fertility insights as well as highly personalized ovulation prediction to make the most of your fertile window. 

Ovulation tests are one of many tools you can use to predict ovulation and your fertile window. Many people use them in conjunction with other fertility awareness methods like basal body temperature charting. Methods like using BBT to confirm ovulation aren’t as accurate as hormone tracking, but can be used alongside other methods to confirm ovulation has occurred. 

Step-by-Step Guide

There are a number of different types of ovulation tests and OPKs out there so be sure to follow the instructions for your specific test to get the most accurate results. Digital ovulation test kits will usually give you a straightforward result such as a smiley face or a yes/no answer, whereas traditional OPKs work by using a two-line system (similar to a pregnancy test). 

When testing at home, the most cost-effective option is a standard ovulation test strip kit. This type of test will display your results as two lines, and you can interpret your results based on how dark your test line is. 

Here is how they work:

• The first line of your OPK test is the control line, and it is there to let you know that the test is working properly with the urine sample that it was given.
• The second line is considered the results or “test” line, and it will let you know whether or not your LH levels are surging.

If the results line is as dark or darker than the control line, this is an indicator that your LH levels are elevated. If the result line is faint in color or lighter than the control line, this indicates that LH was detected, but is not high enough to be considered surging.

When to take an ovulation test will largely depend on your own cycle. If you have a rough idea of your cycle timeline you can start testing a few days prior to ovulation and use the results to predict ovulation. As your LH surges, you should be able to see the result lines get progressively darker. If you are new to testing, it can take some trial and error to get a better understanding of when you ovulate. 

While traditional OPKs and at-home ovulation test kits can give you insight into whether or not your LH levels are surging, they cannot tell you what your exact LH levels are. Hormone tracking systems like Mira are a great option for monitoring LH throughout your entire cycle, so that you can easily identify your personal baseline LH levels and surges.

In addition to at-home test kits, you can also test for LH at your doctor’s office with a standard blood test. However, unlike Mira or OPKs where you receive an instant result, it may take a day or two for the lab to analyze and communicate your results to you.

Regardless of which type of test you use, here is how to take an ovulation test to get the best results:

• Start testing a few days before the expected ovulation. To make sure you don’t miss ovulation you will want to start early in the menstrual cycle.
• The best time of day to take your ovulation test is between 12pm and 8am when you are most likely to experience your LH surge.
• Limit fluid intake and try not to use the restroom for 2 hours before using the test to increase LH urine concentration.
• Test once a day until the result is positive
• Once you have a positive result in the morning, test again in 6 hours to verify an LH surge
• After the first positive result, ovulation usually happens within the next 24 – 36 hours.
• Follow the instructions of the brand you choose. Just like a pregnancy test, a faint second line usually means a negative test for ovulation

Best Time for Ovulation Test

Knowing the best time to take an ovulation test and hopefully get a positive ovulation test strip can require some calculation and depends on your own cycle. For the majority of people, there is no need to test every day and you can start testing just before your anticipated ovulation to see your levels rise. 

The truth is, your cycle length and ovulation day can differ from cycle to cycle but testing can be even more challenging when you have irregular cycles or a hormonal condition like PCOS. If you are tracking your cycle you’ll have a better estimate of when to start testing but cycle irregularities mean you may have to test more often and the testing may be difficult, expensive, and unreliable. Fertility tracking devices like Mira can track your LH levels over time to learn how they relate to ovulation and allow you to plan for your fertile window. 

What to Do After a Positive Ovulation Test?

The whole point of ovulation testing is to know when you are most fertile and give you a greater shot at conceiving successfully. Once you’ve received a positive ovulation test, you can plan sex with your partner at the most optimum time for getting pregnant. 

Aim to have sex with your partner everyday or every other day during your fertile window. Research suggests that daily sex results in a 25% chance of conception, while sex every other day results in a 22% chance of conception. 

Fertility Window and Its Importance

The time around ovulation is known as your fertile window because the vast majority of pregnancies occur during this time. This is the time when your body is preparing for a potential pregnancy by secreting estrogen and luteinizing hormone to help the body release an egg into the fallopian tubes for potential fertilization. Since sperm can live in the female reproductive system for 3-5 days, your fertile window is considered the days leading up to ovulation as well as the day after ovulation. The day before ovulation and the day of ovulation are peak fertility days though since the egg can only survive for up to 24 hours. 

Knowing when you are most fertile or the most likely to conceive is helpful information for planning a pregnancy. This information helps you predict the best time for you and your partner to have unprotected sex to try and conceive. 

Tracking Ovulation

Tracking ovulation is an important step, especially if you plan to use this information to try and get pregnant. Ovulation test results can help you know exactly when to do the deed for the best results. There are a number of ways you can track ovulation, from low tech like calendars to higher tech like fertility monitors. 

Methods to track ovulation include:

• The Calendar Method – Estimating your ovulation based on the first day of your last period and your typical cycle length.
• Basal Body Temperature Method – Charting your basal body temperature with a basal thermometer to identify patterns and estimate ovulation. 
• Cervical Mucus Method – Tracking the texture and consistency of your cervical mucus throughout your cycle.
• Hormone Testing – Either through blood testing or a hormone tracking device to measure exact hormone levels related to fertility.

Each method comes with its own set of pros and cons, including the accuracy of their predictions. The signs and symptoms of ovulation can vary greatly from person to person, but regardless of when you ovulate, your sex hormones follow a predictable path before ovulation. The changes in estrogen and luteinizing hormone results in ovulation and tracking these hormones is one of the most accurate ways to predict ovulation. With a device like the Mira Fertility Tracker, you can get a complete personalized fertility picture with your unique patterns to help you predict your full fertile window, not just the date of ovulation. 

Common Misconceptions About Ovulation Tests

Ovulation vs. Fertility

Ovulation is not the same thing as fertility and there are some common misconceptions about ovulation tests that persist. Ovulation is when the egg is released from the ovary and it can only survive for up to 24 hours whereas fertility and your fertile window are when you are most likely to conceive. Ovulation test strips and ovulation kits do not measure the exact day of ovulation, rather they measure the rise in LH which spikes before ovulation occurs. They are most helpful in the 5 days leading up to ovulation and are only one of many tools you can use to track fertility. 

Irregular Cycles

Irregular cycles can make tracking ovulation that much more difficult. Hormonal imbalances, like PCOS, may mean ovulation may not always take place and estrogen and LH levels may not follow predictable patterns. Irregular periods make it difficult to know when to start testing, and your hormone levels may skew any results. 

A common treatment for those with hormonal imbalances that can cause irregular cycles includes nutrient supplementation therapy. There are a number of supplements that show promise to manage insulin resistance, metabolism, and hormone balance (not to mention the range of other health benefits). Mira’s own PCOS supplements work to support ovarian health, promote hormonal balance, and assist metabolic function. 

False Positives

What Does It Mean?

OPKs aren’t necessarily as easy to read as pregnancy tests and for a positive ovulation test the test line must be as dark as the control line or darker. Faint lines do not necessarily mean you have a positive ovulation test. You may have a faint positive ovulation test if pregnant since luteinizing hormone has a similar molecular structure to hCG (the pregnancy hormone) and the test may be picking that up. You may also be experiencing a false positive where your LH may not have spiked enough yet, you may be testing too early or late, or you may have missed your surge altogether. 

Why Does It Happen?

Even though ovulation tests can be up to 99% accurate, there is still a risk of getting a false-positive result. This could be due to a number of influential factors such as:

• Timing – for example, taking your test too early or too late in your cycle.
• Hormonal imbalance – for example, if you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or if you have recently been pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Certain medications – for example, birth control pills and fertility medications.

There is also the possibility that perhaps the test was not taken correctly. If you have never used an OPK before, make sure to read the instructions thoroughly. As you continue to test over several cycles, you will get a better feel for when and how to test.

How to Understand That You Are Pregnant

Early Pregnancy Signs

The flood of hormones released once an egg is fertilized and implanted in the uterus means you might start to experience those stereotypical pregnancy symptoms. As the developing embryo releases hCG (the pregnancy hormone) you might begin to feel pregnant even before you can take a pregnancy test. 

Physical signs like frequent urination or sore breasts and excessive sleepiness are all early symptoms of pregnancy. While hormonal signs like nausea, cramping or light bleeding, cervical mucus changes, and even constipation can also be early pregnancy signs. 

Read more about the signs of early pregnancy in this post on what to expect in the first few weeks. 

Why These Signs Matter

When you’re trying to conceive, you may find yourself on a constant lookout for any early signs. And since so many of the symptoms of early pregnancy are similar to those of an impending menstrual period, it can be difficult to tell the difference. These signs matter because they can help you monitor and track early symptoms of pregnancy, but also help you plan for the best time to take a pregnancy test. The two week wait can be notoriously frustrating, but the only way to confirm pregnancy is by taking a pregnancy test. 

What to Do If You Don’t Get a Positive Ovulation Test?

Possible Reasons for No Positive Test

There are a number of possible reasons you may not be getting a positive ovulation test. Ovulation test results can be affected by a number of lifestyle factors as well as other variables that may interfere with the accuracy of your results. The American Pregnancy Association lists pregnancy, recent pregnancy, menopause, and certain fertility medications as complication factors for the accuracy of ovulation test results. 

When to See a Healthcare Provider

Ovulation kits are one of many tools you can use on your fertility journey but if you’ve been using them for some time and are still finding it difficult to become pregnant, it’s a good idea to speak with your doctor. They can offer advice on testing, offer alternatives, or even refer you to a fertility specialist if needed. 

It can be tempting to panic when the results are not as expected but before drawing any conclusions about your ovulation or fertility, it can be helpful to work with a hormone health practitioner (like the ones from Mira’s Hormone Health Clinic for Fertility) for specific strategies and interventions. Coaches from our clinic are well versed in all things fertility, including ovulation test results and can help you navigate ovulation testing to get the best results. 

Conclusion

Ovulation test kits can be an important part of your fertility journey and are one of many tools you can use to track your fertile window and get pregnant. They can work as a stand-alone method for predicting ovulation, or in conjunction with other fertility tracking and awareness methods. They don’t work for everyone, especially those with hormonal imbalances or irregular cycles, but can still help you understand your cycle. 

If you’re actively planning a pregnancy, being able to pinpoint your fertile window is crucial to getting pregnant and a better understanding of ovulation can give you insight into your menstrual cycle and help you make informed decisions about your fertility. 

Frequently Asked Questions