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Expert Q&A

	By Robert Jansen Fertility Expert

If when using an ovulation prediction kit I never see the LH surge, does that mean that I'm not ovulating?

There are several ways you can check yourself to see whether you are ovulating, but looking for the LH surge is one of the more difficult (and expensive) methods.

First, do you have regular periods? (And I mean really regular.) Provided the time from the beginning of one period to the beginning of the next is between 24 and 35 days, provided they usually last about the same length of time, you are more than 90 percent likely to be ovulating.

If you also get some period pain, and maybe get a twinge of pain at midcycle when there's stretchy mucus in the vagina, ovulation is even more certain (and you can use these symptoms to time when you should have sex).

Still cheap and useful: you can keep a temperature chart (your drug store can advise you). Your basal body temperature goes up slightly AFTER you've ovulated and stays up until your next period starts. By keeping a chart you can look back and see the pattern. But note that once the temperature has gone up, you've already ovulated.

If you have regular periods, but do not have these symptoms, then an LH test (again, from your drug store or supermarket) can be heaps useful. But, it might only show positive for a day or two in a month. Because each test costs around $5 or more (like, every day!) you will not want to be testing every day of your cycle. This is where your menstrual calendar from previous months helps. You should start about 16 days before you would expect to get your next period. If you test during the day, having sex the next morning when you get a positive test should be best, timing-wise.

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