All about OPK's? ?

[frsttimemama]

So I broke down and bought an OPK .. is there anything I should know? Tips? A best time to do it? I am so nervous about it, that I won't be ovulating.. when do you have sex in relation to the OPK? Sorry I am so clueless. Thanks!

 

[redlemonade]

What kind of opk did you buy? Generally they work best if used around 2-6pm with urine that was held for 2-4 hours (I could never manage holding it for 4 hours, I think 2 hours is enough). Don't be overly hydrated as that can dilute the hormones.

The exception is the advanced clearblue digital which should be used with first morning urine.

Once you get a positive, you're likely to ovulate within 24-36 hours but its not a definite that you will ovulate.

If you want my opinion, don't worry too much about the opks. My doctor advises against them as they can cause stress. Plus it does make sex somewhat methodical I feel. I gave up opks but it was useful for identifying when I'm ovulating as I tend to always ovulated between cd14 and cd16.

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

[lm3898]

So I broke down and bought an OPK .. is there anything I should know? Tips? A best time to do it? I am so nervous about it, that I won't be ovulating.. when do you have sex in relation to the OPK? Sorry I am so clueless. Thanks!

I test once a day until cd 12ish then 2x/day 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. b/c my surge can be short & I don't want to miss it!! I ovulate later in my cycle, around cd19 now.

I've been doing the cheap wondfo's as well as the clearblue easy digital advanced tests. The clear blue uses first morning urine and the wondfo's don't.

I generally try to BD on the 2-3 days where opk is nearly positive but not quite yet, as well as the day I get the positive and the day after the positive.

I also use fertility friend which, based on my bbt, helps tell the most fertile 5 days per month surrounding ovulation. They've always correlated w/ the opks which is helpful.

Good luck!

 

[frsttimemama]

Thank you ladies.

Holy cow, all of this is confusing! So they are positive when the test line is as dark or darker than the control line, right?

 

[lm3898]

Thank you ladies.

Holy cow, all of this is confusing! So they are positive when the test line is as dark or darker than the control line, right?

Exactly. Here is an example of my positive from Saturday if that helps. The wondfo is in the middle & the clear blue is on top [the smiley face signals peak surge]

The other pic is from last month - you can see the tests get progressively darker as you are about to have an LH surge/ovulate.

 

[frsttimemama]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

I bought them on Monday and did one about 2 pm, so I have been trying to do them around the same time each day.. except this morning I did one when I first woke up and it was SO much darker than the others. Not a positive (I don't think?!), but darker than the others. I took one later in the day, closer to the time I had been the rest of the week and it was almost nothing at all. I'm baffled other than I'm thinking that with as much water as I drink in a day (2-3 liters, not including coffee or anything else I drink), even holding my urine for a few hours, it may be just too dilute so I'm going to continue with the first morning business.

 

[lm3898]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

I bought them on Monday and did one about 2 pm, so I have been trying to do them around the same time each day.. except this morning I did one when I first woke up and it was SO much darker than the others. Not a positive (I don't think?!), but darker than the others. I took one later in the day, closer to the time I had been the rest of the week and it was almost nothing at all. I'm baffled other than I'm thinking that with as much water as I drink in a day (2-3 liters, not including coffee or anything else I drink), even holding my urine for a few hours, it may be just too dilute so I'm going to continue with the first morning business.

I have to say, I always test at about 11 a.m. b/c it's ALWAYS lighter for me in the afternoon. They say, if you're using the cheapies, NOT to test first thing, but that's only b/c it might not show up yet, so if you're getting really dark, that must not be the case. The only time you're supposed to use the first morning urine is with the clearblue ones.


I recc. testing 2x/day with the cheapies, like 10:30/11 a.m. and 5 p.m. so you make sure you don't miss your surge!

 

[frsttimemama]

I will do that. I can do 5ish pm after I get home from work, but I'm still going to have to do the FMU because I have to be at work by 8 am, 7 am some days. Hopefully that will still give me a fair idea.