# Ovulation kit versus blood tests to time IUI... anyone know???



## Minnie35 (Oct 28, 2009)

Hi everyone.  Just wondered if anyone knew...  Because of the longish journey between home (Leeds) and the clinic (Manchester) my consultant recommended that I use an ovulation predictor kit (just a stick to wee on) rather than the usual, which would mean going over for daily blood tests when ovulation is due.


Having had a BFN with my first try, I'm wondering whether anyone knows whether the ovulation kits are less accurate than blood tests, and whether anyone has ever used the ovulation kits and they've been successful... also whether there's anyone who's gone for blood tests but also used the kit, so they can tell me the connection between the two results, and whether one shows positive before the other.


Not sure whether I'm just being neurotic, and I do appreciate that I've only had one go and I would've been ridiculously lucky for it to have worked straight away, I'm just trying to rule out any factors which I do have control over!


Thanks!
Minnie x


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## lulumead (May 29, 2008)

Hi Minnie
My clinic just says do home tests...but I did have a blood test last time which indicated that my LH was high, it was still only a faint line on the home test, plus it can take a bit longer for it to show up in your wee! Blood tests probably tell more but I think if you use home tests properly, maybe test 3 times a day you will pick up the surge and they should be able to time it accordingly.  Generally i think with pee tests they inseminate the next day....every clinic seems to be different though!
Have you thought about having a HCG trigger which might help with timing.
xx


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## professor waffle (Apr 23, 2005)

Minnie are you having a natural IUI with no scans etc? I would say blood tests are more accurate but as youcan only have them at a certain appointment it's certainly less flexible. Also that if you bear in mind that your LH surges before ovulation you have a 24-36 hour window to get your IUI done. It's a difficult one since you can't be taking blood tests daily or even twice daily whereas you can do a pee stick (it's expensive though!) - I also believe most women tend to ovulate in the afternoon so worth considering when you time your pee sticks?

Fingers crossed for you hon


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## morrigan (Dec 8, 2009)

I had a nightmare with Ovulation sticks as they only ever showed a faint line followed be a really short window of it being postive (less than 4 hours) Ive just had my 3rd un medicated IUI but this one I have timed with a scan when  faint line appeared on stick to check follicle size and trigger shot 36 hours before IUI (scan and trigger sourced away from my cliniic as I am having treatment abroad) can't comment  on how successful as still in 2WW and may yet get a BFN but my follicle size suggests I ovulate later than I thought I did using pee sticks alone and this is the only time Ive confident of timeing as I insured it with trigger shot.

Some one on here - Can't remember who- told me they used the  clearblue fertiltiy monitor which I think looks at estrogen levels as well as LH on pee sticks and its the oestrogen rising that triggers causes the the LH surge- I think !!! so you get some warning.


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## going it alone (Feb 11, 2006)

I had scans every few days to check how many follicles. It was the pee sticks that I relied on to indicate the surge and hterefore my bastings. I only had a blood test the week after to double check that I had ovulated.
Hope all goes well
Sam x


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## acrazywench (Jul 26, 2009)

Hi Minnie, I've taken to using digital ovulation tests as I find the 'is that line darker than that line' tests impossible (almost like being at the opticians and hazarding a guess as to whether the black circle on the red or green background is darker) - a smiley face is much more reassuring! With my clinic for the last two rounds I 've used pee sticks in the morning to detect the surge, had a trigger shot and then had iui the following day.


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## some1 (May 13, 2006)

Hello Minnie - In answer to your question about which is more accurate for timing insemination, pee sticks or blood tests, I think the blood test must be otherwise why would your clinic be using them as a first choice.  

The problem with using the LH surge to time ovulation is that there are differences in how long after surge ovulation happens and how strong the surge is i.e some people never get a really clear positive on a pee stick.  LH surges tend to start over night and most test kits say to test in the morning

Lulumead makes a good suggestion about testing several times a day to try to pick up the surge at the start.

I used to be a real fertility geek (I spent more than a year before treatment even started tracking BBT (basal body temperature), testing for LH surge and monitoring cervical mucus) and found a good source of cheap OPK test sticks (they are clearblue tests, but the lab version rather than the spangly packaged retail ones) - pm me if you want their details. 

LH surges tend to start over night and most test kits say to test in the morning, but the surge may not have made it into your first morning wee.  I used to always test first and second wees and quite often they showed a different result despite only being an hour or so apart! 

On the IUI that worked for me I didn't use ovulation tests, or blood tests.  Instead I had follicle tracking, which meant having scans on day 9, 12 and then IUI on day 14 (with trigger shot on evening of day 12) - would this be a possibility for you?  I should mention that on my successful cycle I took Clomid, but don't know if it was the clomid or follicle tracking or something else that did the trick.

Hope this has been helpful, wishing you loads of luck!

Some1

xx


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## Minnie35 (Oct 28, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the advice.  Acrazywench your post made me chuckle, that is exactly the problem I had with the pee stick - in fact  test line always showed up fainter than the control one and I found myself looking at it in the mirror to see if I could convince myself it was darker! And Some1 I think I might enquire about your suggestion on my next IUI.


Thanks all of you for the advice. It's really appreciated! Fingers crossed for your 2ww Morrigan!


Minnie x


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