New to OPK- Do I understand this correctly?

[Crayola2013]

Hi All,

I didn't know what OPK was until last month. I have been reading a lot about it on forums and websites but am still a little confused. I have decided to give OPK sticks a shot.

I bought cheap OPK Sticks on amazon. I have a couple of questions

1) What time of the day is best to test?
2) I read that some women test 2 times a day as they see the line grow darker. Why is that? You don't ovulate until the day after you test + on OPK. Why test twice a day?
3) Once you test positive (have a dark line). Then what? Do you do BD that night? The night after? Both?
4) Do I need to monitor my BB temp?

Thank you, all!

 

[Unexpected212]

I've just bought some internet cheapies too so I was curious. They said on them the best time to test is between 10am and 8pm. Not early in the morning though.

On most websites I read it says BD every 2 days during your cycle for the best chance of conceiving. As for when you get a positive test I'd probably BD the day I got a positive OPK and for the 2/3 days afterwards for the best chance.

I'm no expert though I'm in the same boat as you really

 

[kalyrra]

1) As the PP said, any time between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. is usually best. OPK's are not like HPT's... you don't want to use FMU. Another tip: don't drink massive amounts of water in the hour or two before you test. You don't want to dilute the results.

2) Some women test twice a day because they want to make sure the line gets darker. Sometimes, I have higher LH levels that look really close to positive, but aren't quite there (such as before AF). If I test again later, I can see if it actually got darker or if it got lighter.

Others also want to see if they're in the beginning of the surge or the end of the surge. That will give them a better idea of when they ovulate. For instance, some women have a very short surge (12 hrs or less). Others may have positives for 3 days. To say you ovulate the day after a positive OPK is more of a guideline than actual facts. While it may be true for some, it's not true for all! Some O within 12 hrs of a pos opk, some not for 48-72 hrs. Everyone is different.

Then there's some of us who just like POAS and seeing a positive.

3) Once you test positive on an OPK, start !! You can do it a number of ways, but the recommended way is to BD every other day until you get your positive OPK. Then BD that night, and the following 2 nights, skip a night, then once more. That way you have hopefully covered all your bases. This will also depend on your OH's sperm count. Some men with lower count only BD every other day to ensure a good number. Others can do it every day with no problem.

I personally follow and recommend the SMEP plan!

4) You can monitor you BB if you want. It will tell you that you have ovulated, but only after you ovulate. It cannot tell you when you're going to. But a lot of women like to see when they actually ovulated. If you have very regular cycles, monitoring your BB can help you know when O is typical, and you can plan for it.

I personally don't BB, for a few reasons... but mostly because I'm too lazy to try to take my temp at the exact same time every day without fail. It's the only way it can be close to accurate.