How long after the LH surge do you actually ovulate?

[Anonymous]

This question is for those who have confirmed ovulation either through temping or ultrasound. Do any of you know for sure the time between the onset of your LH surge and confirmed ovulation? I have reason to think I might ovulate at least 24 hours after an OPK first turns positive, maybe more, but have no way of confirming it since I don't temp and am not being monitored via ultrasound. Studies seem to give a wide range (anywhere from 8-48 hours) so I am curious to hear whether people's actual experiences are on the low or high end of the published range. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This question is for those who have confirmed ovulation either through temping or ultrasound. Do any of you know for sure the time between the onset of your LH surge and confirmed ovulation? I have reason to think I might ovulate at least 24 hours after an OPK first turns positive, maybe more, but have no way of confirming it since I don't temp and am not being monitored via ultrasound. Studies seem to give a wide range (anywhere from 8-48 hours) so I am curious to hear whether people's actual experiences are on the low or high end of the published range. Thanks!

Usually 24 to 36 hours for me. Temping.

[Anonymous]

It is supposed to be 36 hours after the surge starts. When *you* catch the surge is a different matter.

I always tested with FMU, which meant I O'ed the next day after my first + OPK... but since I was testing with FMU, my surge actually started the day before.

[Anonymous]

Usually within 24 hours. But you can also use your period to determine this. Do you have regular cycles? Usually it's about 14 days after the day you ovulate (though it's true it can vary between 12 and 15 days). For me, I typically have 29 day cycles and get a positive OPK on day 14, ovulate on day 15, and then have my period on day 29 (14 days later).

[Anonymous]

You can also keep testing after a positive OPK and that might give you some sense based on when it turns negative.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks ladies! I tested twice per day this past cycle and got a very strong positive in the evening of day 14. Then another strong positive the following morning, followed by "weaker" positives that evening and the next morning. By the evening of day 16 it was totally negative. This was my first time using Wondfos instead of the Clearblue monitor so it was interesting to keep testing after the initial positive and see that my surge lasts quite a while.

Anyway, the reason I asked is because I got pregnant this cycle and went in for early betas since my previous pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. I was sort of obsessing over the initial number, which looks a lot better if I ovulated on day 15 or 16 (after my surge started but still showing positive OPKs) than if I ovulated on day 14 (when the surge was first detected). Trying to just calm down and let things play out but part of me wishes I had temped and knew exactly how many dpo I was on the days of my blood draws!

[Anonymous]

OP again -- just to clarify what I meant by "weaker" positives, I mean that the control and test lines were the same darkness as opposed to the test line being way darker than control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks ladies! I tested twice per day this past cycle and got a very strong positive in the evening of day 14. Then another strong positive the following morning, followed by "weaker" positives that evening and the next morning. By the evening of day 16 it was totally negative. This was my first time using Wondfos instead of the Clearblue monitor so it was interesting to keep testing after the initial positive and see that my surge lasts quite a while.

Anyway, the reason I asked is because I got pregnant this cycle and went in for early betas since my previous pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. I was sort of obsessing over the initial number, which looks a lot better if I ovulated on day 15 or 16 (after my surge started but still showing positive OPKs) than if I ovulated on day 14 (when the surge was first detected). Trying to just calm down and let things play out but part of me wishes I had temped and knew exactly how many dpo I was on the days of my blood draws!

Congrats OP! No need to obsess yet. Hope this one sticks for you. If not, try temping in conjunction with the Wondfos next time. I've been on both sides of this game and when you've had a loss or two, the extra reassurance is worth it.

[Anonymous]

I used a Clearblue OPK the cycle I got pregnant. Peak surge on CD 14, ovulation on CD 16 (per temping). Have a beautiful baby now. Good luck!