Customer Reviews

First Response Ovulation Test 20-pk.

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Bought this so I could get a bumper pack of kits and hopefully spend a little less. However, you have to use all 20 sticks within 30 days so its fine if you would use that many in any given cycle because you have no idea when you ovulate and have very long cycles. But if you can pin point ovulation within a 5 day window then this bumper pack is not very useful!

A few things to know:
1) These tests "expire" 30 days after you open the bag. So don't think you can stock up for multiple months. Of course they won't mention this until you've already opened the box.
2) This isn't as black-and-white as they'd have you believe, at least in my case. Unlike pregnancy tests, where you're looking for the presence or absence of a line, reading these tests depends on determining whether the test line is lighter than the control line (a negative test) or the same as or darker than the control line (a positive test). Maybe this is fine for most people, but every day since I've started, the two lines have been similar in color and tricky to decide which is "lighter" or "darker". Since you are only supposed to have a positive test for a few days of the month, I couldn't really say whether I've ovulated or not. So I spent my money . . . why?
3) the instructions included are pretty vague . . . you will probably want to read up on ovulation testing online (but don't count on first response's website to be very helpful) before you start. Additionally, things like Clomid can mess with your results.

All that said, this pack cost something like $48 at CVS. So if you're going to buy it, buy it here.

The tests are exactly of the same quality as the individually packed tests, however don't have the caps and all 20 of them are packed together in a zipped bag. Once opened they have to be used within 20 days. If for some reason you have to test for more than 7 days, they are pretty good deal. Otherwise the regular 7-day pack is your best bet.
They were always easy to read for me (I assume it may vary by individual hormone levels) and left no doubt when the surge is occurring. I have tried using Clear Blue before and the First Response were way easier to read.

IF YOU ARE SELF MONITORING FOR IUI - PLEASE READ THIS

DO NOT use First Response OPK's
1. It comes in a 20 pack, and you think you are getting a good deal because chances are that you won't need them all and you can save them for the following month if needed... wrong. They are not individually wrapped which means once you open the package you must use them within 30 days.
2. They are not accurate. I had the feeling they weren't accurate because last month I got my surge on day 11, but my period didn't show up until cd37... so the math didn't add up. This month I got a surge yesterday (cd9) according to First response, but got a negative with a digital OPK, it is way too early for a surge if my cycles are 30+ days long. Today, cd10, it was negative according to First response and negative on the digital as well... so if I was only using First response and trusted yesterdays test, I would be having an IUI today it would not have resulted in a pregnancy because I'm obviously not ovulating.

SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY AND BUY DIGITAL
1. Yes digital opk's are expensive, but they are worth it.
2. They come individually wrapped, so if you don't use all your tests, you can save them for the next month if needed.
3. As you know, IUI's (and in my case, donor sperm) are very expensive, so getting the correct day of surge is very important. Spend the extra money and save yourself the heartache of a bfn and the money for the failed procedure.
4. There is no guessing involved... "is one line darker than the other?", "is it dark enough?" etc. Either you are surging or you're not.

I bought these and luckily they worked the first month we tried because they expire 30 days from opening. Other ones are separately wrapped so they last longer but these work well. I tested first thing in the morning and when the line got darker I even tested in 12 hours to see...my husband and I had sex at the first darker line and again in 24 hours and I found out I am pregnant expecting our second child.

This test is so difficult to read. The instruction tells you that the test is positive if the test line is the same shade of pink or it is a darker pink than the reference line. So basically your playing guessing games on two shades of pink. They apparently couldn't come up with a better idea. I definitely missed my ovulation this month because of this test! I would not purchase this product again!