Is it possible to have ALL ovulation symptoms but NOT ovulate?

Question

I've been monitoring my mucus for several months.. I know the differences.. as well as cervical postition... Today is cycle day 13 (27 day cycles).. I have definated egg white mucus, position is high soft and open... HOWEVER~ I'm not getting a positive opk! ?? I bought the cheapie Answer brand this month and have read that it got the worst reviews as far as how "potent" your urine has to be with LH before it will detect it... Hubby and I are "bd-ing" just to cover our grounds, but I'm wondering if you have a non-ovulatory cycle if your cervix still acts as if you ovulate?? What do you think about the negative opks? I may get a positive in a day or two (hopefully)... In the meantime, everything else is pointing to FERTILE.

Answer 1

Technically, those are symptoms of high estrogen levels which are being produced during the follicular phase, so there is a good chance of ovulation.  But you are right, everything does point to being FERTILE now.  The higher estrogen levels peaks and then starts to decline causing the LH spike, which then is the signal to ovulate (release egg from follicle).  The only "ovulation symptom" that one may experience during this time is slight discomfort around the ovaries (most women don't feel this even if ovulating).

It is certainly possible to have the good signs of pending ovulation and not ovulate (if you have fertility issues or irregular cycles).  I wouldn't worry about the LH spike and continue to TTC over the next few days. LH spike can come and go very quickly (in less than 24 hrs), so it may not have been detected by the OPK.   It is also certainly possible that LH has not spiked yet, so you can keep testing with OPK every 12 hrs or so.

Good luck

Answer 2

It is possible to have all ovulation symptoms and not ovulate. It is possible to have a positive OPK and not ovulate. It is also possible to not have a positive OPK and ovulate. About 13 to 14% of women don't have enough LH to synthesize into their urine but the LH does its job at releasing the egg from the follicle.

Answer always worked for me. But my OPK has never been positive in the morning - my positives were always around 4pm after I had not drank anything for about 2 hours. I had luck with all tests. But my favorite were Clearblue Digital OPKs - no guessing about the lines.