Written by: Dr. Amy Beckley, PhD, Founder and Inventor of the Proov test — the first and only FDA-cleared test to check for successful ovulation at home.
Written on 2/14/22
We get a lot of questions about our PdG tests — and for good reason! I invented the first and only FDA cleared PdG test and with new technology comes new information.
The good news is we love questions! (Seriously, feel free to email us info@proovtest.com or DM us at any time.)
Since launching the PdG test, there are a few common myths we’ve seen about Proov Confirm, including what it does and what results mean. So, we’ve gathered the 3 most common Proov Confirm myths — and debunked them! — so you can better understand your results and reach your goals faster.
Myth #1: PdG test results and progesterone blood test results should always match.
To put it plainly, PdG (a marker of progesterone found in urine) and progesterone blood levels often do not match. Since we’re measuring 2 different things here — progesterone in blood and PdG in urine — it really is like comparing apples to oranges.
The main reason for this is that studies show progesterone levels in blood during the second half of the cycle fluctuate a lot — like, from levels of 2 ng/ml to 41 ng/ml in less than 24 hours! The study even describes progesterone levels during the luteal phase as “episodic” meaning they’re super irregular and inconsistent.
This means a single progesterone blood test (which you would get from a doctor or in a lab) only shows your levels at that single point in time. It also means that a blood test taken in the morning could provide much different information than a blood test taken in the afternoon.
This is where PdG comes in. Unlike progesterone, PdG isn’t subject to hour-by-hour fluctuations.
In fact, your body breaks down progesterone into PdG overnight while you sleep. It breaks down all the progesterone that circulated through your bloodstream during that day.
PdG — derived from all that progesterone we just talked about — collects in your urine until you use the restroom the next morning, where your body gets rid of it. Because you’ll hold this urine long enough for all the progesterone to break down into PdG, studies show that PdG levels in first morning urine after at least a 6 hour hold provide an average of all progesterone levels from the previous day.
So, the reason your progesterone blood test result and PdG test results may not match exactly is because you likely caught your progesterone levels while they were fluctuating. If you got a high progesterone level, your levels could be much lower later on, meaning the average for the day could very well fall beneath the threshold that turns a PdG test positive.
Progesterone blood tests are good for confirming whether or not ovulation occurred. In order to get a more complete picture of your levels during the implantation window (i.e. to check for successful ovulation), you’ll need a PdG test.
In order to check for successful ovulation, you’ll need a PdG test.
Myth #2: I got a negative PdG test; this means I didn’t ovulate.
Not necessarily!
Sometimes it can take women a few extra days after ovulation for PdG to reach an optimal level. If you find yourself with a negative PdG test on 7 or 8 DPP, don’t panic. We always encourage our users to test throughout the entire 7-10 days past peak window — to see your overall PdG levels and check for successful ovulation.
If you find that you have not gotten a positive PdG test at all throughout 7-10 DPP, but that your numerical value is higher than your baseline value, this also confirms ovulation. It means that your PdG levels have risen enough to show that ovulation has occurred, even if your PdG test is still negative.
Although those results can be disappointing, it is important data to know about your body, and knowledge is power. In these cases, pregnancy is still possible, since ovulation did occur; but if you are having difficulty conceiving, this could be a missing piece of the puzzle for you.
If your tests show higher PdG levels but still aren’t quite positive, this is a sign of suboptimal PdG levels.
Myth #3: My PdG tests were negative, but I got pregnant. These tests weren’t accurate for me.
By now, you probably know exactly why this myth isn’t true! We know that it’s entirely possible to have negative PdG tests even if you ovulate. Negative PdG tests don’t always mean you didn’t ovulate; they simply mean that not quite enough PdG is being produced to allow for a higher chance at pregnancy.
If your PdG tests are negative but show a higher level of PdG compared to your baseline, this does in fact indicate ovulation. The 2 basic needs for pregnancy are sperm and egg, so as long as you ovulate it is entirely possible to conceive.
That said, we mentioned that studies show elevated PdG during the second half of the cycle is correlated with a higher chance of successful pregnancy compared to those with low PdG levels. So, while it’s absolutely possible to conceive with low PdG levels, your chances are significantly better when they’re high!
If you do get a positive pregnancy test with negative Proov PdG tests, we do recommend reaching out to your doctor just in case. We believe that more information — especially in this case — is better!
Have other questions about Proov Confirm or PdG in general? Feel free to reach out to us at info@proovtest.com.
