# OPK and ovulating question



## angel11

Hi Ladies

I had a negative OPK 2 days ago - Tuesday (but I could clearly see the line). Based on previous cycles, I assumed another 2-3 days before the line would be positive. However, the next day (Wednesday) I had a very definite positive (yesterday). Today, the OPK is lighter than what it was on Tuesday and I had a temp rise. 

My question is, I am always confused as to when Ovulation actually takes place. If I had a positive OPK yesterday and a negative today, does that mean that I already ovulated? As my assumptions were that LH rises prior to O. When LH levels peak, ovulation happens. LH levels then drop again. 

So if positive was yesterday and today is a negative, then does that mean ovulation already happened? :wacko:


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## Kellysmom

That's the way my cycle work.... but I've read conflicting stories from a lot of women. Some say O happens after LH drops, some say it happens before. I have spotting with ovulation sometimes, and on those months my LH peaks about 8 to 12 hours before O, then drops less than 12 hours afterward. Sometimes, I will only have 12 hours worth of positive OPK's because of this, so I have to make sure to test twice or even three times a day to catch it.... Anyway, that's my story. Good Luck to you!


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## Scout

If you had a temp rise on thursday then you ovulated the day before. That is, if your temp stays high for 3 consecutive days....that's how ovulation is confirmed.

From most everything I've read, it seems that you are supposed to ovulate 12-36 hours after the first positive (not when you get the positive, but when it becomes positive, which could be b/4 you test. In other words, if you test at 3:00pm and get a positive, it could very well have been positive at, say, 12:00pm but you weren't testing at that time so didn't know) So, you could ovulate the day you get the positive or the next day. Temping is the only way to know which day it is.


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## taylorxx

You ovulated the day before your temp rise hun. I sometimes ovulate the day of my positive opk too. You can ovulate anywhere from the day of your first pos opk to 48/72 hours after your last pos opk. It's different for each woman and each cycle xxx


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## Lala27

I have read several sites that say a woman does not ovulate the day before a temp rise, and that BB temping is not accurate at telling you when you actually ovulated. I have read and heard from my doctor that if you want to get pregnant to use OPKs and CM to predict ovulation. I also read on taking charge of your fertilty that the exact day of ovulation cannot be determined by bbt, and only 10% of women even have a drop in basal temps. 

I have spent a lot of time reading about OPKs because when I am using something, I want to have all the information possible. 12-36 hours after the postive is what most sites say, and then I read somewhere that if you are using OPKs frequently like I do (every 4 hours.. i know it sounds like too much, but I have a good reason for testing so much other than curiosity), that when you see a negative, that means you will ovulate within 10-12 hours. Then I read that fertiltiy clinics will do IUIs the 2nd morning after a woman got a postiive OPK because in their experience, most women ovulate 40 hours after the postive. A lot of women getting IUIs were obviously concerned about the timing, and this is what they were told. 

I am no expert I am only telling you what I have read and heard from my own doctor. Then a friend of mine ovulated 24 hours after her OPK went negative (according to temps).. I think she had 2 days of postives, then a negative and then the next day she ovulated according to FF. 

I would just BD every other day until you get a postive and then BD every day when you do get a postive for at least 3 days because your egg can live for 48 hours if its a good egg and sometimes longer. I dont know why so many sites say the egg only lives for 12-24 hours because thats not true all the time.


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## taylorxx

I've never ever heard of a doctor telling a woman that charting doesn't work. A lot of OBs suggest doing it because it helps them understand their cycle. Do you even know how it works and how it determines ovulation? OPKs are not 100%. Some women get multiple LH surges a cycle, some fail to ov and try again causing multiple batches of positive opks. Not everyone ovulates 12-24 hours after their positive opk. Some ov the day of, some dont until 48 hours after their last. It varies from woman to woman. CM changes all throughout your cycle too. You can get patches of ewcm even when you're not ovulating.. even AFTER ovulation from random estrogen surges. CM should only be used as a guide for that reason. Also, I find it very hard to believe that temping doesn't work because I have the same LP each cycle whether or not my cycle is 30 days long, or 60. I highly doubt that's just a coincidence.


ETA: Also, not everyone gets a drop the day of ovulation. That doesn't mean you didn't ovulate that day.


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## Lala27

taylorxx said:


> I've never ever heard of a doctor telling a woman that charting doesn't work. A lot of OBs suggest doing it because it helps them understand their cycle. Do you even know how it works and how it determines ovulation? OPKs are not 100%. Some women get multiple LH surges a cycle, some fail to ov and try again causing multiple batches of positive opks. Not everyone ovulates 12-24 hours after their positive opk. Some ov the day of, some dont until 48 hours after their last. It varies from woman to woman. CM changes all throughout your cycle too. You can get patches of ewcm even when you're not ovulating.. even AFTER ovulation from random estrogen surges. CM should only be used as a guide for that reason. Also, I find it very hard to believe that temping doesn't work because I have the same LP each cycle whether or not my cycle is 30 days long, or 60. I highly doubt that's just a coincidence.
> 
> 
> ETA: Also, not everyone gets a drop the day of ovulation. That doesn't mean you didn't ovulate that day.

Obviously if I have been reading about it, I know how it works. I really dont care what you think, what you have to say or about your personal cycle. My thoughts are from what I have read, personally, i never came on here with a know it all attitude - like you do on every question you answer just about. I said thats what I have read, and what my own personal doctor told me. 

You have never ever heard of a doctor telling women charting doesnt work? I read a thread that you said you are what, 19? 20? I bet there are a lot of things you have never heard lol. I dont care what you doubt. How about this - I doubt that you went to medical school, and I doubt you have done clinical studies about BBT, and its accuracy in detecting the day a woman ovulated. So who am I going to believe? Some random person on the internet? Or reputable websites with references to studies spaned over more years than you have been alive, and my own doctor, who has been in practice for longer than you have been alive? 

Anyways.. for anyone that is interested here are a few things I read about it not being accurate. 


https://www.lifeissues.net/writers/feh/feh_23basalbodytemp.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7308516

https://www.tcoyf.com/content/FertMyths.aspx

But taylorxx seems to have some superior knowledge about this, so maybe you should just ignore the studies done by experts.


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## angel11

HI Ladies. 

Wow, quite a few mix responses :flower:

Firstly, thank you to everyone that made an effort to answer my post. I am not at all picking any sides with regards to your views and I do thank you for each one putting in their opinion. I am pretty new to this so I appreciate each person's view on this. 

From personal experience (not necessarily opinion), I have had 8 cycles of which I usually ovulate the day after my positive OPK (so the day of my negative OPK) and the temp rise usually confirms this. However, this cycle I had a positive OPK and a sharp temp rise the very next day with a negative OPK. So it seems like I ovulated on the day of my positive OPK. From what I have read, and a chart that I have seen, it seems that ovulation apparently happens on the peak of the LH surge. That is why women are sometimes encouraged to test twice a day as you might get a positive, thinking you will be ovulating, when you perhaps already ovulated and your LH is on the way down. 

Here is the chart and basically indicates that ovulation happens on the peak of your LH. Now, even if you catch it on the down, the egg still survives for some time so of course you can still get pregnant. My assumption was that seeing as I got a positive and a negative the next day, its irrespective of whether I caught it on the up or down, I would've already had to ovulate? See that is the confusing part. :wacko:

Each person is so different and I remember having a positive OPK one day and then going to the doc the next day, and he did an ultrasound that clearly showed a really nice 22mm egg waiting to pop. So it seems that this month I might have actually ovulated on the day of my positive OPK. The other factor is, I usually test at 17:00 each day but this day, i tested at around 20:00 that night so I probably could've had a positive earlier in the day as well. 

This is the earliest I have ovulated so far and might be due to the acupuncture I started. 

Thanks for the links and useful information. It seems that I might have to move my window for BD, a little earlier. :haha:
 



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## WantingABubba

Those articles about BBT are a load of old tosh :rofl:

I wonder what OPK or fertility monitor companies they're being funded by :winkwink:


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## Angelique1

As uncomfortable as this thread may have become for the two opposing sides in debate, it has been for me the most helpful information. Thank you guys.


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