Can you have a negative ovulation test and be pregnant

If you have found this article, you are probably wondering if you are pregnant. Sometimes, when you are trying to conceive it can seem like all you do is wee on things, when you are not peeing ovulation test strips, you are peeing on pregnancy tests. Sometimes trying to get pregnant isn’t as romantic as we once thought it would be.

What Does an Ovulation Test Tell You?

An ovulation test can be used to tell you whether or not you are ovulating by detecting spikes in your lutenising hormone levels- called LH surge.

By using the ovulation test kits, you can also detect when your fertile window is likely to be each month.

Finding Out Your Fertility Window Using Ovulation Test Strips

Working out your fertile days can be hard, first of all you are checking for your lh (Luteinizing hormones) surge by peeing on ovualtion tests trying pinpointing ovulation day, working out when the fertile window starts, checking your cervical mucus to check it matches what it should and then trying to have as much sex as you can within a small window… I mean it is honestly like a full time job, not to mention the emotional rollercoaster that comes with it.

Trying to conceive can actually be a really stressful time for couples wanting to see results right away.

Unfortunately, not all pregnancies happen quickly and it can actually take up to 2 years to get a positive test.

Luteinizing hormone is something I only heard of once I started paying more attention to my menstrual cycle more closely.

I never tracked my cycle before and when I found out that ovulation only happens once per month and you literally have one chance of pregnancy each month it shocked me, not like in the movies.

I started using ovulation predictor kits to detect ovulation a few months back and since then I have been keeping a close eye on LH surges.

Ovulation test strips are simply strips of paper that can be bought in bulk, test strips are not overly expensive, you can buy digital ovulation tests but these are more expensive.

What Does a Positive Ovulation Test Look Like?

A positive ovulation test has two lines. If you can see two lines on an ovulation test, you are likely to be ovulating!

What Does A Faint Line on an Ovulation Test Mean?

A faint line on an ovulation test means that your LH levels are not quite high enough yet to be considered a real “LH Surge”- an indicator of ovulation.

If you receive a faint test line on an ovulation test, you should test again later in the day, or tomorrow.

A dark line means that you are likely to be ovulating.

Home Pregnancy Tests or Use an Ovulation Test?

Sometimes, we can end up spending a fortune on home pregnancy tests searching for two lines in the window and a positive result, the trouble is for many of us the two-week wait is just too much to bear and the waiting, symptom spotting and daydreams about cuddling our bundle of joy that we simply cannot wait to take a pregnancy test.

It is almost like the pregnancy tests call to us from the local Tesco around the corner…. and as much as we promise ourselves we won’t test too early next time we cannot help it, we just long for the control line and the pregnancy hormone line to appear.

Do Ovulation Tests Work for Pregnancy

Ok, so here you are, your at the point where you need to test and you may not have any pregnancy tests in the cupboard and perhaps you just NEED to know if you are or not.

You have 2000 ovulation sticks so can you use ovulation tests for pregnancy?

Will the Ovulation Test Be Positive If Pregnant? – Can A Ovulation Test Detect Pregnancy?

So, can we use an ovulation test to detect pregnancy?

Although ovulation strips are detecting for an LH surge not for HCG (the pregnancy hormone) they can sometimes bring up a faint line to show pregnancy.

Please note we do not recommend this because you could be having a LH surge when you check and you may see two lines in the window which will get your hopes up, we do recommend using a pregnancy test instead of a ovulation test even though an ovulation test can potentially detect early pregnancy. A positive OPK does not equal pregnant!

Ovulation Test Line is Getting Darker Does This Mean I Am Pregnant?

Ovulation tests are designed to be used as ovulation tests and nothing else.

If an ovulation test line is getting darker it could mean you are ovulating and not actually pregnant. The ovulation tests measure the lh surge which is the hormone that is realised before you release an egg.

The idea with ovulation test strips is when the line gets dark you are having your lh surge and you are officially in your fertile window or fertile days, this is when you should be having sex with your partner as the egg release is imminent.

Trying to Get a Positive Pregnancy Test

Getting pregnant can be a very stressful time especially if you have been trying to get a postive pregnancy test for a while. Trying to conceive is all about having sex at the right time, you literally have one chance to get pregnant every month which is why it can be frustatrating when it isn’t working.

Ovulation Kits Can Help You Get Pregnant

Using ovulation kits to measure your lh levels is a great way to predict ovulation ahead of time. Having sex every other day throughout the cycle can get a litte regimented so using ovulation tests helps women conceive.

What is an LH Surge? – Does it Mean I Am in my Fertility Window?

You know that ovulation test kits can help you to identify when you may be ovuulating, but what does an ovulation test actually detect?

LH Surge (Luteinizing hormone) is a hormone that is present before ovulation. When an ovulation test strip is positive it means means that ovulation is imminent and that you are likely to release an egg in the next 36 hours. This is the time that couples focus on having the most sex to ensure they have a sperm waiting for the egg.

The egg only survives for 12 hours without ferilisation and once the time is up, you have missed your chance for pregnancy in the cycle.

Does an LH Surge Stay High if you are Pregnant?

No, an LH surge does not stay high once you are pregnant.

In fact, receiving  positive ovulation test strips may actually indicate that you are not pregnant, as your LH levels are really low whilst you are pregnant!

It is still possible to receive an ovulation test strip positive and be pregnant, as the structure of hCG and LH are similar, making ovulation test kits some times show a positive result, when in fact it is the hCG hormone that it is detecting.

No Lines On An Ovulation Test – Could I Be Pregnant?

Absolutely! Ovulation tests are not used to detect pregnancy; they are used to detect ovulation.

Your LH levels are actually very low when you are pregnant, so receiving a neagtive ovulation  test result does not mean that y0u are not pregnant!

Will An Ovulation Test Be Negative If Pregnant?

If the egg has just been fertilised, then there is a chance that the ovulation test may still be positive.

As a general rule though, you can expect an ovulation test to show a negative result if you are pregnant (as long as the ovulation test strip does not confuse the hCG hormone with the LH!)

The Conclusion – Can An Ovulation Test Detect Early Pregnancy?

Ovulation tests are not used to detect pregnancy, and should not be used for this purpose!

Ovulation tests can sometimes detect pregnancy, as they can confuse the hCG hormone produced when pregnant and the lutenising hormone produced during ovulation.

If you would like to accurately test whether or not you could be pregnant, you should take a pregnancy test.

Here are some statements from mybump2baby mums who are keen to join in the conversation about trying to conceive and ovulation stips for pregnancy

Laura “Many times I have asked myself can ovulation test detect early pregnancy especially when I ran out of pregnancy tests. I have used one with my first son and got a very light second line when I was 14dpo, I do often get a second line on ovulation sticks anyway so I didn’t feel very confident with that so ended up going to the shops and getting my official BFP with a clear blue digital”

Sam “Ovulation tests took the pressure from me and my husband trying to do it every 3 days throughout the month, if we missed one we used to get angry but now I know when I am ovulating because i record my body temperature, check my cervical mucus and use an ovulation test for the lh surge. I am now getting in the swing of knowing my fertile days by just looking for certain indicators.”

Amy ” I know my fertile days by using ovulation test stripes to measure my lh surge and my basal body temperature. Getting pregnant is stressful especially when you got pregnanct easily the first time. Seeing a positive tesult of the ovulation tests means I know when my fertile window is. I use the cheap ovulation sticks from Amazon but you can get better ones, they are just more expensive and mine tends to do the trick although I am yet to report the next pregnancy after 12 months of trying to conceive”

Suzy ” I use the clearblue easy fertility monitor and swear by it, I wouldn”t use an ovulation test strip again after getting a positive result once, I was so excited but it turned out I had my lh surge late in the cycle. There are some fab fertility monitors out there

Clare “I got a positive ovulation test when pregnant and got really confused, I was using the ovulation test strips to plan my pregnancy around my ovulation, I didn’t realise at the time but my ovulation tests weren’t picking up my fertile days or Luteinizing hormone – they actually picked up my pregnancy. When I finally picked up the fact i was pregnant on a pregnancy test I was actually further along in pregnancy then i realised so ovulation tests can definately pick up your pregnancy hormones because that is exactly what happened to me”

Loz ” I had 2 lines on ovulation test and ended up pregnant, I couldn’t test as I had no home pregnancy tests, a friend of mine told me she picked up her pregnancy on a ovulation test strip so i thought I would try it and lone behold I was pregnant”

Sez “I have been getting pregnant for a while and was told to keep an eye on my menstrual cycle and lh surge using ovulation tests. I found that I have a few surges throughout the month and I believe this can be quite common for people with POS. The ovulation predictor kits were great for me as it meant that the unusual lh surges were picked up and I went to my doctor. I decided to start using a fertility monitor that measures my basal body temperature and pinpoints ovulation to the day even though ovulation can sometimes be once every 120 days.”

Laura ” We start testing with home pregnancy tests each month, i know that I shouldn’t but I can’t help it, we have always began to start testing from 7po, a lot of people say it is too soon to start testing but the two week wait drives me insane, my cycle length is 35 days and I ovulation on day 15 so 20 days to wait is just too long so I always test for pregnancy, I am thinking about using a fertility monitor from my next period as well as testing as i have read some good stuff about using these to get positive results”

Jenny “the process of getting pregnant for many women starts as fun but when things don’t go to plan we can start worrying, i was worried about my chances of getting pregnant as i am getting older, i became desperate and found that I was very stressed. I used ovulation test strips evey month to detect a pregnancy as I promised myself every month that i would stop pregnancy tests but then in the two week wait i would often become impatient and start testing with anything i could”

Jess “I know that hcg can’t be picked up on ovulation tests but i have used them to test for pregnancy before when i have been out of pregnancy test strips. Hcg is the hormone that is released after implatation. Ovulation tests detect pregnancy in your urine but if you often get faint lines anyway i wouldn’t recommend testing your urine using ovulation tests. I do recommend monitoring your temperature over several days as this can help predict ovulation”

Carla is the founder of MyBump2Baby. Carla has a huge passion for linking together small businesses and growing families. Carla’s humorous, non-filtered honesty has won the hearts of thousands of parents throughout the UK.

She has previously written for the Metro and made appearances on BBC News, BBC 5 live, LBC etc. Carla is a finalist for Blogger of the Year award with Simply Ladies inc. Carla is also the host of the popular Fifty Shades of Motherhood podcast and The MyBump2Baby Expert podcast.

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