Many couples start using ovulation predictor kits as soon as they start trying to become pregnant. We were not one of those couples. My first experience using one was the same month that I also experienced my first intrauterine insemination (IUI), so I had a lot of new things to learn about that month. Those kits were challenging for me, both logistically and emotionally.
Logistics
I was working full-time when we were going through the infertility process, so I had to deal with the ovulation predictor kit at work. That was not fun.
First, there was the issue of having to hold my bladder for a long time before using it. According to our doctor, the hormone indicating that I was ready to ovulate would reach my bladder sometime in the morning, so he wanted me to test after 10:00 a.m.
According to the instructions, I was supposed to hold my bladder for four hours before testing. That was a problem for a couple of reasons:
- I did not even wake up until 6:30 a.m.
- I was not physically capable of holding my bladder that long.
Perhaps men need to be the ones to pee on the sticks because my husband can go for hours – maybe even days – without having to urinate. I do not know many women with bladders of steel. So, I compromised with holding my bladder for two hours, and even that was a struggle for me.
The other issue was that I had to sneak away from my cubicle at exactly 10:00 a.m. to do the test (especially since my bladder was about to pop), and I had to stay away from my desk long enough to read the results. Even though the results generally show within a few minutes, 10:00 a.m. was not always the best time to be away from my desk for 5-10 minutes.
Emotions
I was surprised when using an ovulation predictor kit upset me. Over the prior year, I had “peed on sticks” several times when I hoped that I was pregnant, only to see a negative result. Each time the stick did not turn blue because I was not ready to ovulate reminded me of the disappointment of negative pregnancy tests. It also meant that I would endure the same bladder issues the next day. When the stick did turn blue, it felt like the stick was mocking me: It was just an ovulation indicator, not a positive pregnancy result.
Perhaps I was just overly sensitive to the logistics and emotions, but they were an issue for me nonetheless. I was relieved when the stick turned blue so we could do our IUI the next morning.
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