"Almost" positive OPK for several days?

[cindylouwho]

Hi there! I am new here. After reading TONS of posts, I finally signed up for an account so that I can ask my own questions!

A little history first - I have been married for nearly 3 years. My husband and I would have been happy to start TTC about 2 years ago, but I have a genetic disease (cystic fibrosis) that makes pregnancy extremely risky, and for the first part of our marriage my health wasn't stable enough to try. After 2010 being a really good year for my health (I was only in the hospital once during that calendar year... in 2008-2009 I was in 7 times, so that gives you a picture!) we decided that we both felt good about trying to get pregnant. I came off of birth control at the beginning of March, so about 2 months ago. I knew my cycle would probably be unusual, since it was never regular in high school (due to the health problems), but it has been even crazier than normal over the past two months. For one thing, I ovulated 2 weeks ago and then got my period 4 days later... something that according to everything I've read is only really possible in menopause (I'm 22, so definitely not menopausal)!

Because of my CF I have inadequate, very thick cervical mucus, so I want to start using Pre-seed. But because of the crazy cycle, I got a bunch of Wondfo OPTs from Amazon and I've been using them this week. So far, I'm a little confused. I've done them for several days (I think I started on Friday, and it's now Tuesday) and each day the test line has been fainter than the control line, but not by much. Today, in fact, it was so close that I had to walk around my apartment looking at it in different lights to make sure it wasn't positive! LOL. I'm a little confused as to what this means... from the research I've done it looks like most women get either a super faint line, or nothing, when they aren't actually getting a positive OPK. And yet here I am with an "almost" positive line for six days in a row??? Is this just more of my hormones being crazy? Should I start using Pre-seed now, or wait until I get a real positive OPK?

I've done some temperature charting, but I run a lot of low-grade fevers and things from CF which completely throws that off. As of the last two days or so, my cervical discharge does seem to be picking up - but it's definitely still creamy and not egg-white. (That doesn't mean too much though - when I ovulated 2 weeks ago I had absolutely zero EWCM... I would not have known I was ovulating if I hadn't had a progesterone test done that day at the doctor's.)

Oh and I'm definitely not pregnant..... sadly!!!

 

[Hena]

Hi Cindylouwho, welcome!
I'm sorry I can't answer your questions, I just started using OPTs myself, but a lot of the ladies on here have been using them for ages. Hopefully one of them will be able to answer. With your complicted medical history, it might be a good idea to make an appointment with your GP or OB/GYN (if you haven't already) to go over all these kinds of questions as well.
Good luck!!!
Lots of baby dust to you!

 

[SillyHale]

I only used Wondfo for the first time this month and I would get a control line for a couple days and then on cd12 I got a fainter test line with the control line (I know that's supposed to mean it's not positive) but that happened for 2 days in a row and then the test line completely disappeared again. I DTD during that time just in case. But what I am thinking was that it was positive, it just wasn't as dark as it was supposed to be because I kept testing days after that and still nothing. Maybe they're not as good as the expensive ones? I have no idea though. I'm going to keep using them though.

With ov and then getting your af four days later though, that's not good because if you were to become pg, your LP wouldn't be long enough to sustain a pg (haha not very technical of me but I think this phase is used for building hormones and such). I would talk to a doctor and find out what they think. YOu did a great job of explaining your situation so maybe print what you wrote on here and take it in for notes. Goodluck!

 

[cindylouwho]

Oh, I know that a 4 day LP would never sustain a pregnancy!!! No embryo can implant if you shed your uterine lining too quickly. I'm fairly sure that was just a fluke, though. I have talked to my GP some about it, and he is very familiar with my medical situation. Since I just came off of birth control, though, I plan to wait a bit before asking for medication or anything else. My cycles were strange when I was a teenager, but NEVER this strange, so I am sure that it is just the birth control reacting with my already crazy hormones. I started Vitex this week, so I'm hoping that will help me out.

 

[cindylouwho]

So, an update... two days ago I forgot I needed to do my afternoon OPK and so drank a lot of water in the 2 hours leading up to the time. As a result, I got a REALLY faint line. Oops! The next day (yesterday), though, I got a positive. Both lines were equally dark. Plus, yesterday (the day of the positive) my temp dipped much lower than is typical, and today it is back up a little above what is typical for me. (My temping has been irregular, because my hormones have been crazy, but I've done it enough to get a good idea of what is normal.) Also a definite increase in CM (though no EWCM, but I didn't have that last time I ovulated either). So it definitely appears that I am prepping to ovulate. I think I will take an OPK a day after I finish my next period, just out of curiosity, to see if it is as dark as the lines I got for those 6 days??? Who knows, maybe I just produce more LH than most!

 

[SillyHale]

Cool, well I'm happy you've seen a definite positive. That means things are happening

 

[cindylouwho]

Yeah, me too!!! At this point I'm honestly just glad for ANY sign that my body is doing things in a semi-normal fashion. Now I'm just hoping for a normal luteal phase!

 

[Sparkles237]

it maybe best to try and get a different brand of opk's, i've been using them for nearly a year now and i find the ones i get on ebay work brilliantly. Normally you shouldn't have a positive opk for more then 3 days once you get a positive and an egg releases it should only get lighter then. Use your pre-seed now, next month try again and if you get a positive for 6 days again, it maybe worth speaking to your doctor. If your periods still end up bit weird it maybe worth trying Maca root, it has sorted out my periods brilliantly

 

[cindylouwho]

Sparkles237, I didn't get an actual positive for 6 days. It was a line that was still noticeably fainter than the control line, it just seemed darker than most people get before they actually ovulate. I only had a positive for 1 day (I think... the second day I took it about two hours late, so it might have been positive then but off because of the time difference). I might try maca - I have already started on Vitex and hoping that helps.