[aimeefolds]

Hi all,

I have been tracking my ovulation for the last 2 months and last month I never had a positive ovulation test. This month I am supposed to be ovulating and once again I have not gotten a positive. However, today the stick showed strange results. The control line was faint and the test line matched the faintness of the control line. I was wondering if this could mean that I am in fact going to ovulate or an invalid test? Thank you!

[Lucky Mama]

Hi and welcome!

From the instructions on my tests, it says that the test strips will hae control lines that vary in color, but that the only thing that matters is if the test line is the same color or darker than the control line. So no matter what color the control line is, if your test line is the same color or darker, you probably caught your surge!

When do you test during the day? Sometimes, your LH surge is so short that you might miss it with an OPK.

Hopefully you get your BFP soon!

[~ Nicole ~]

I know those line tests are really confusing when you first start using them. Took me months to get it figured out. This is what you need to do. Stick to one brand of test strip. Trust me each one is differant so if you keep switching you will have to start all over trying to figure that brand out. Than get a pack of Clear blue easy digital ovulation tests. Each morning take both tests. Photograph the strips each day, write on the strip or on the photo which day it was take so you remember the line intensity. Than when you get a positive on the digital photograph that day's test strip and write on the strip test for that day "positive" and photograph it. Now you will have a referance for what a positive on that brand of strip looks like for future cycles. Once you know for sure what a positive looks like and have it recorded it will be easy to figure out on future cycles.

Here are my photos from when I did this test

Negative



Positive



See the differance between a negative and positive is very subtle. This is why you MUST photograph it! Until I did this test I was just as clueless as you!

[aimeefolds]

Oh ok thank you Lucky Mama and Nicole for your help! I was also thinking that maybe I kept missing the point in the day when the positive would show up the best?? Or, that I drank too much water so it was diluted and that's why both lines for so faint? Thank you for the picture examples too Nicole. Both of my lines were very light... more like the first one. I'm going to try again today and see what happens...

[Aillidh]

I was just reading along this thread...but Nicole thanks for the visuals that makes a lot of sense!

[aimeefolds]

So, I finally got a results that seemed positive. Both lines were very dark and the same color. This happened yesterday and I tested again today... and the test line was back to be very light already!! So, basically I had one day that looked like it was positive for ovulation this month... and that's it. The line definitely wasn't darker either... so I'm not even sure if that counts. It seems like once again this month I did not ovulate when I should have.. or these tests don't work.

[Lucky Mama]

Well, it might be depend on the brand, but mine say it's positive if the color is the SAME or darker. It could be positive! You will usually O 12-36 hours after the surge shows up on a test. Are you taking your temps in the morning? An OPK can tell you that your body is preparing to ovulate, but a rise in temps will tell you that DID ovulate.

The egg can survive for 12-24 hours after O, but sperm can live for up to 5 days in your uterus. So, if you BD even 5 days before you O, you have some chance of getting pregnant. A lot of people think it's best to BD the day before you O so the swimmers are there waiting for the eggie! If you got your positive yesterday, I would say start baby dancing, girl! You might just hit your fertile window perfectly!

Also, the LH surge can be short, so it's not uncommon to get a positive and then a negative even 12 hours later.

HTH!

[Sawyers_Mommy]

I'm not sure about them both being lightly colored. When I take them the control line is ALWAYS dark then the test line changes in color and gets as dark as the control line once I get my surge. Not saying its not possible for yours to be doing that just that mine don't I get mine off of Amazon.com. Also, if you got a positive for just one day then you probably are about to ovulate, I only get one day of positive opk's then O the day after the positive