1st IUI - Catching the LH Surge!

The past weekend was somehow very stressful for me. As per instructed, I tested my urine every morning, hoping for a positive result from the ovulation test.

2011.06.11 (Sat)
I did the ovulation test first thing in the morning. As there was no instruction on the packaging ( I was given loose packets without the box), I dip the absorbent sampler into the urine container  for 10 secs, then let it lie on a flat surface. I kept staring at the result window. After about 1 minute, I saw 2 lines appeared, 1 clear and 1 faint.

Hmmm? So how do I interpret it? Positive or negative? Never mind, let's ask Google. The answer I got from the Internet showed that other than 2 clear blue lines, the rest of the variants are considered negative. I also found out that I should dip the absorbent sampler in the urine for 20 secs.

To be honest, I had never used an ovulation test kit before. My previous doctor asked me to monitor my basal body temperature to detect an ovulation, where I was requested to take my temperature every morning, preferably at the same timing before I stepped down from the bed. A sudden drop of the body temperature indicates ovulation. In fact, due to my irregular working hour in TV production line, it was hard for me to measure my temperature at the same hour every morning. Sometimes I woke up as early as 3am for a morning assignment; sometimes I slept as late as 4am after a round-the-clock assignment. But, believe it or not, I still deligently recorded my temperature for one and a half year, not knowing that I was a PCOS patient; and a PCOS patient who does not have regular period is unable to detect her ovulation point because she does not ovulate in most of her cycles! Whenever I recall that period of time where I innocently waited for a sudden drop of temperature on my basal body temperature chart, I have nothing to say except meeting a good doctor is very crucial in the process of treating infertility. Well, sorry for swaying away from the original topic, let's get back on track.

Feeling a bit insecure, I rang the clinic during lunch time to explain my test result to the nurse. The nurse told me the same answer as what I found from the Internet. I was told to continue to do the test tomorrow morning and inform them the result.

2011.06.12 (Sunday)
Excitedly, I did the ovulation test first thing after I woke up. This time the result was clearly negative because I can only see 1 control line. I was confused because at least yesterday there were 2 lines, although 1 was faint. Does that mean things are going backwards?

I texted the nurse to tell her the result of the test and she called me after 10 minutes. I was shocked when she said that she would try to arrange my IUI in the afternoon and asked me to stay at home and wait for her call.

"Why IUI is arranged when I have a negative result?" I eagerly needed an answer. She explained that since the day before there were 1 clear line and 1 faint line, that indicated that the level of LH was picking up. After that, the LH surge might have already happened (as early as12 hours after my previous test) without me knowing. The level of LH will drop after the surge. This explains why I only see 1 contol line (negative) this morning. So, I should be ovulating within the next 36 hours.

Well, now I totally understand the science behind the test, but the point is how do I catch the LH surge if I only do 1 test a day? Well, that is the reason why there are some people who choose to do 2 tests a day (1 in the morning, 1 in the evening) because they just don't want to miss the surge.  But this practice can only be applied to those who have regular period, where they can roughly estimate when their ovulations will take place. They just need to do the test during that few days. For those who have irregular period, it definitely will burn a lot of money just to buy the ovulation test kits.

The nurse then called back to inform me that she was unable to arrange the IUI on that afternoon, so it would be carried out on Monday morning. She reminded us to do our own 'home work' before Monday, just to increase the chance of pregnancy. Well, trust me, making love as per instructed by a third party is indeed very stressful for both the husband and wife!