When is the Best Time to Take an Ovulation Test?

1. Pregnancy – identifying fertile days: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia 
2. Findings from a mobile application–based cohort are consistent with established knowledge of the menstrual cycle, fertile window, and conception 
3. Characteristics of the urinary luteinizing hormone surge in young ovulatory women – Fertility and Sterility 
4. Detection of ovulation, a review of currently available methods – PMC 
5. use of urine LH detection kits to time intrauterine insemination with donor sperm | Human Reproduction | Oxford Academic 
6. paradox of declining fertility but increasing twinning rates with advancing maternal age | Human Reproduction | Oxford Academic
7. Assessment of anovulation in eumenorrheic women: comparison of ovulation detection algorithms

{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “FAQPage”, “@id”: “https://blog.inito.com/when-is-the-best-time-to-take-an-ovulation-test/#faq”, “mainEntity”: [ { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “When is the best time of day to use an ovulation test?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “The best time of day to take an ovulation test would be once in the morning with your first morning urine (FMU) and once in the afternoon. This will give you the best chance of capturing and detecting your LH surge in the event that you have a short-lived single spike pattern.\n\nIf you’re only able to test once a day though, go with your first morning urine. This is because LH surge levels tend to be highest between the hours of midnight and 8am.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Why is my ovulation test positive in the morning and negative at night?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “The most likely reason for having a positive ovulation test in the morning and a negative one at night has to do with your LH surge pattern. Some women have a rapid onset LH surge that rises and falls within a matter of hours. If you have this type of surge pattern and see a positive result in the morning, it’s perfectly normal to get a negative result hours later when you test in the evening.\n\nThe more you track your typical LH patterns (with ovulation tests or a fertility monitor like Inito), the more you’ll get to know what’s “normal” for you.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Is it better to take an ovulation test once or twice a day?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Determining if it’s better to take an ovulation once or twice a day depends on what’s most important to you. If your top priority is being able to detect and avoid potentially missing your LH surge, twice a day is better. That said, we know that having to buy more ovulation test strips can add up monetarily over time. So if you want to make ovulation testing more financially sustainable, then once a day, first thing in the morning may be a better option.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Do two lines on an ovulation test mean pregnant?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “In some cases, two lines on an ovulation test could mean that you’re pregnant. This is because the molecular makeup of LH and hCG are similar and sometimes the test can’t tell the difference.\n\nThat said, if you have a fairly regular cycle and you’re taking an ovulation test mid-cycle, the two lines aren’t likely to indicate a pregnancy. This is because your hCG levels wouldn’t begin rising until after implantation (6 – 12 DPO) which is likely a full week or more after you would be using LH test strips.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Can I have a negative ovulation test but still ovulate?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Yes, you can have a negative ovulation test and still ovulate. This is because home ovulation tests are designed around average LH levels and thresholds. But natural baseline LH levels differ quite a bit from one woman to the next. This means that a woman who has a lower baseline LH level could still experience an LH surge that triggers ovulation, but the LH wouldn’t be high enough for a test to detect.\n\nFor most ovulation predictor kits, the threshold value for a positive result is around 20 – 25 mIU/mL. So let’s say there are two women. Woman A has a baseline LH level of 3 and Woman B has a baseline LH level of 14. Woman A’s LH surge peaks at 15 mIU/mL and Woman B’s LH surge peaks at 65 mIU/mL. Both women may ovulate, but Woman A’s ovulation test would be negative while Woman B’s would be positive.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Do ovulation tests get darker after 5 minutes?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “It is possible for ovulation tests to get darker after 5 minutes, depending on the brand of test you’re using and the environmental conditions you’re in (like extra moisture in the air).\n\nSometimes, an evaporation line can develop on your test as well. This happens when the test is left sitting out for too long. The urine evaporates, leaving behind salts that form a faint line on the test. This shouldn’t be taken as a positive test, and you should never judge your ovulation test results off of a result that appears outside of the test window. You can find the specific test window timing on the manufacturer’s directions for the test you’re using.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Why am I not ovulating but having periods?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “When you’re not ovulating but still having periods, it’s not really considered a true period. Instead, it’s called anovulatory bleeding, and it’s caused by hormonal imbalances. With this type of bleeding, it will usually happen at less predictable times, and it may be heavier or longer-lasting than true period bleeding.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What does weak ovulation mean?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Weak ovulation could mean that something has gone wrong with the timing of ovulation and your hormonal response. This isn’t a medically recognized diagnosis, though.\n\nWeak ovulation is linked with lower levels of progesterone (a hormone that is vital for implantation and early pregnancy) or a shorter luteal phase.” } } ] }