| "Helping women track their ovulation in a smarter way" | 
Basal body temperature (BBT) is a great way to help check ovulation by identifying temperature rises in your body, due to increased progesterone production after ovulation. But what happens if you aren’t seeing this temperature spike? Or what if you missed your temp for a few days, and you can’t see your coverline? Having trouble being consistent with your temping? Or perhaps, you suffer from a thyroid imbalance that affects your basal body temperature?
Why Progesterone Testing?
All thanks to advancements in modern technology, we now have a convenient tool to help you feel more confident about ovulation at home!
A reliable way to track ovulation is by checking progesterone levels. Traditionally, BBT readings or a blood test were the only ways to get an idea of adequate progesterone levels. Oftentimes, doctors would order a serum, day-21 progesterone test, or 7-DPO in hopes of capturing progesterone after ovulation. However, this process not only involved a trip to the doctor’s office and an uncomfortable needle stick, but also a potential risk of missing the actual timing of ovulation.
Ultrasound is another technique that reproductive endocrinology clinics use to visualize and track follicle growth and release. However, not only is this expensive, but it also requires frequent trips to the clinic throughout the menstrual cycle.
But what if you could double-check ovulation at home in a cost-effective way?
PdG Testing at Home
At home PdG test strips can now test for a urinary metabolite of progesterone called pregnanediol 3-glucuronide, also known as PdG. This gives you the ability to feel more confident that ovulation has likely occurred, regardless of BBT readings.
These easy-to-use PdG test strips are just like LH and hCG test strips: you simply dip a test strip in a sample of urine and read the results after a few minutes. All three types of fertility tests can be captured, stored, and charted through the free Premom Ovulation Tracker app.
PdG strips have often been used in association with fertile mucus tracking. You can begin using PdG test strips after the disappearance of highly fertile type mucus. A positive PdG is typically detected starting about 5 days after the LH peak.
A Deeper Dive into the Luteal Phase
The luteal phase is the second half of the menstrual cycle and is known to be dominated by the hormone progesterone, the hormone released with successful ovulation. Without ovulation, the presence of progesterone is highly unlikely. However, this may also be due to other medical conditions.
Progesterone is responsible for reducing cervical mucus production, increasing body temperature by 0.4 – 1.0 degrees Fahrenheit, preparing the endometrium for fertilized egg implantation, decreasing uterine contractions, and supporting early pregnancy.
The luteal phase can be broken into three phases and is typically similar in length for most women. We can see increasing levels of progesterone through the first two phases of the luteal phase.
– Luteinization Process (early stage)
– Progestation Process (middle stage)
– Luteolysis Process (late stage)
With PdG testing, progesterone levels that are above 5ng/mL can be detected. With this amount, one can feel confident that ovulation was likely successful. These test strips were designed with research in mind to get women’s results that accurately reflect their ovulation.
Tracking PdG can offer helpful insights into whether your body likely produced progesterone after ovulation. If you’re interested in adding this type of information to your cycle tracking, Easy@Home PdG test strips are a simple way to get started.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6614355/
https://helloclue.com/articles/cycle-a-z/progesterone-101
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31133596/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28579410/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22131389/
https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2001.00194.x
