Oova helps users understand their unique hormone patterns by tracking luteinizing hormone (LH), E3G (an estrogen metabolite), and PdG (a progesterone metabolite) levels.
After you scan your test strip, the Oova app will give you a reading for that day. You can see your cycle data presented in a calendar view. This can be incredibly helpful to understand your entire cycle, identify your fertile window, and pinpoint when you ovulate.
Sometimes, interpreting your results is confusing depending on your unique hormone levels. There are several specific hormone patterns that we see come up in Oova users more frequently.
This guide will tell you what these hormone patterns could mean and what we would suggest to someone who encounters them when tracking their cycle with Oova.
Scenario 1: All LOW Results
If you use your Oova test kit for one full cycle and see only yellow circles, this means the Oova app is detecting LOW levels of LH present in your urine. Compared to your baseline, your LH and E3G readings over the month never hit a value high enough to trigger a HIGH or PEAK status.
So, what does all LOW LH mean?
LOW LH could mean that you had an anovulatory cycle, meaning that your body didn’t release an egg this cycle. However, try not to jump to the conclusion that all yellow, LOW readings must mean that you didn’t ovulate. You may have ovulated, but your LH surge is on the lower side.
If this was your first cycle using Oova, it’s possible that the algorithm hasn’t yet learned your unique baseline.
You can look at other factors to figure out whether a cycle was anovulatory or if your LH surge was just low.
What to look for
Instead of just looking at the calendar overview, look at the specific hormone concentrations. Is LH staying significantly low, but are your PdG levels are going up later in the cycle? This would indicate that you did ovulate, but that your LH surge was on the lower side.
If your LH levels remain low and your PdG levels are also not rising, you likely experienced an anovulatory cycle.
What to do
If you see that LH is staying low, but PdG levels are rising
We recommend changing your testing time for your next cycle.
LH activity changes over the course of the day, so it’s possible that LH is more dormant at the time you are testing. If you're usually testing every morning, try testing 8-10 hours later in the day. If you are testing every evening, try testing in the morning, right when you wake up.
If your LH surge is on the lower side, the app’s algorithm will learn and adjust accordingly for subsequent cycles.
If you see E3G rise, an LH surge, and an increase in PdG
There is no reason for concern. It can still be helpful to change your testing time to see if there is a more significant LH differential at a different point in the day. This is the case for many of our users.
If you don’t see PdG increase
It is possible that you had an anovulatory cycle. Some conditions, like PCOS, higher than normal stress levels, over-exercising, or changes to medications like hormonal birth control, can all contribute to anovulatory cycles.
If you have multiple cycles where you don’t think ovulation has occurred, it is a good idea to talk to your doctor to figure out why your body isn’t releasing an egg.
When to have sex
If you continuously get LOW readings, it can be hard to know when to time intercourse if you're trying to conceive. We recommend having intercourse every one to two days until you see your PdG levels start to rise, which confirms that ovulation has occurred.
Even if you haven’t received an “Ovulation Confirmation” status, it is still possible that you have ovulated, and an egg could still be fertilized.
Scenario 2: LOW reading immediately after HIGH or PEAK
If you notice that you have several days of LOW readings, then a day or two of HIGH readings, a PEAK reading, then your levels immediately go back to LOW, this is entirely normal.
It is also not uncommon to have several days of LOW readings, then one or two PEAK readings, and then a couple of days of LOW readings.
What to look for
These two scenarios are slightly different but likely mean the same thing. The important thing to pay attention to is if, after a couple of days of LOW readings, you do receive an "Ovulation Confirmation" status followed by several days of POST OVULATION.
PdG levels can take up to 72 hours to rise after LH peaks. Typically, we would want to see PdG levels rise within this time frame. Once PdG starts to rise, you will see an “Ovulation Confirmation” status.
It isn’t uncommon to see LOW readings for a few days after a HIGH or PEAK LH reading. This could just mean it takes your egg a bit longer to release PdG.
What to do
If you're still seeing LOW readings
If more than 72 hours pass and you're still seeing LOW readings, especially if this happens for multiple cycles, it could be a good idea to speak with your doctor.
It may be taking your egg too long to form the corpus luteum, which is responsible for releasing PdG. PdG levels need to rise shortly after ovulation, so the hormones trigger the endometrium, or uterine lining, to build. If PdG isn’t released effectively, the lining won’t thicken, and it will be more difficult for the fertilized egg to implant and grow in your uterus.
When to have sex
If you're trying to conceive, we recommend having intercourse every other day leading up to HIGH or PEAK days and then every day you get HIGH or PEAK readings. Then, continue to have intercourse every other day until you receive an “Ovulation Confirmation” status.
The reason we recommend continuing to have intercourse following your PEAK days is that an egg can still get fertilized in the uterus if sperm is present. It can take several days for the corpus luteum to form and release progesterone. An egg may still be able to get fertilized between when your LH levels peak and when PdG increases enough to confirm ovulation.
Scenario 3: Short LH surge
If you notice that you have several days of LOW, then one day of HIGH, and then you go immediately back to LOW readings or straight to POST-OVULATION, it is likely that your LH surge, or fertile window, is on the shorter side. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
What to do
If you're trying to conceive, you may want to change your testing time. You may see more LH activity if you test 8-10 hours later than when you currently test. This can help open up a broader fertile window than you would see if you maintained your current testing time.
When to have sex
We would still recommend having intercourse every other day when you receive LOW readings. Then, make sure to have sex any day your reading is HIGH. Continue to have sex every other day until you get an “Ovulation Confirmation” status or a POST OVULATION reading.
Scenario 4: Elevated LH baseline
If you track a full cycle with Oova and see that all of your readings are either all HIGH or a combination of all HIGH or PEAK readings, this could indicate that you have a relatively higher LH baseline.
Depending on your body, this isn’t necessarily a problem and could be normal. It will take the app another cycle for the algorithm to learn your true baseline and adjust its reporting.
What to know
It is also essential to know that if you are on medication or are weaning off of medication, your LH readings could be impacted. Some people with conditions like PCOS also notice a slightly higher LH baseline than what is considered average.
Wait a couple of days; if you have ovulated, you will receive an “Ovulation Confirmation" status and should start seeing POST OVULATION on the calendar. If you are still seeing HIGH or PEAK readings after several days, check your hormone percentage readings to see when your PdG levels have gone up. This is a sign that ovulation did occur.
What to do
Don’t worry! Oova will learn the differential between your daily levels and your baseline. In subsequent months, the app will recognize when LH is high for you. Even if your LH baseline is higher, we still detect a surge because the algorithm identifies that LH activity rises above your baseline.
This is one reason why Oova is an excellent choice for people living with PCOS or other hormone-related conditions. Standard ovulation tests can’t account for differences in hormone baseline levels.
When to have sex
If you're trying to conceive, having an elevated LH or E3G baseline can make it tricky to know precisely when you are most fertile, particularly in your first cycle using Oova.
We recommend having intercourse every day or every other day that you get a HIGH reading and then every day when you have a PEAK reading. Then continue to have intercourse every other day until you receive an “Ovulation Confirmation” status.