OPK first timer

[xjessibabyx]

Hi ladies

I normally use clearblue digital opk so this is my first time using strips and I have started early as this month I have started vitex and was just curious. Anywho would you say this is fairly dark for cd6? Let me know what you think so I know when to start BD'ing haha

Thanks!

 

[JWC13]

One thing to keep in mind is the the darkness of an OPK doesn't matter unless it is positive (as dark or darker than control) because the darkness doesn't really tell you anything about where you are in your cycle. Everyone is different but for me, my OPKs are all super light until literally the day they are positive. For some women they get darker throughout the course of the cycle, but not all. If you haven't tracked your cycle to know around when you ovulate, I would suggest BDing every other day until you get a positive OPK just to cover your bases. Good luck!

 

[happycupcake]

What JWC13 said. It's different for everyone. I have random darker OPKs at different points in my cycle but generally leading up to ovulation they will stay fairly light until maybe a day before where they *may* start to become darker, but many a time too they will stay relatively light until the day they turn positive in which case they may be light at some point during that day but will then turn positive. This varies for me too though. And for some they may not see a full on positive, which doesn't mean they didn't ovulate, it's more likely they missed the surge.
I would use a few each day, fmu, mid afternoon and evening at least. I have found my positives mostly about 9pm, but sometimes with fmu.
Make sure you temp also because this will confirm ovulation and if your body is in a routine then you may notice subtle temp changes each cycle which show ovulation is about to happen. I usually see an increase and then a dip, followed by ovulation soon after. It isn't always the case but most of the time it is. Make sure you're checking cm too, and cp as these are both good clues about ovulation. I usually see some ewcm in the days leading to ovulation but the day of ovulation cm usually turns creamy.
Try not to solely rely on OPKs though as they don't tell you much alone

 

[sherii]

I just went through my first month of using OPKs, so I'm no expert, but I found that mind did get darker as my O day approached, and then lightened significantly. I started using them CD8, immediately after AF ended, and they got darker, until CD12, I o'd CD14, and they were super light CD 13-14 despite my knowing from other things (CM, pain etc) that I o'd on CD14. I didn't get the super dark line, but I think CD 12-ish when I had the darkest result (tested around 12 noon), it would have been darker if I had tested again that night. It's kind of a trial and error thing though, I think, until you figure out your body. Honestly I think next cycle (unless I get a BFP of course!) I'll start tracking BBT instead of using OPKs since my CM and O pain indicated more of what was going on than the tests did.

 

[happycupcake]

I just went through my first month of using OPKs, so I'm no expert, but I found that mind did get darker as my O day approached, and then lightened significantly. I started using them CD8, immediately after AF ended, and they got darker, until CD12, I o'd CD14, and they were super light CD 13-14 despite my knowing from other things (CM, pain etc) that I o'd on CD14. I didn't get the super dark line, but I think CD 12-ish when I had the darkest result (tested around 12 noon), it would have been darker if I had tested again that night. It's kind of a trial and error thing though, I think, until you figure out your body. Honestly I think next cycle (unless I get a BFP of course!) I'll start tracking BBT instead of using OPKs since my CM and O pain indicated more of what was going on than the tests did.

I would still use the OPKs with temping as they give you an idea of when you're about to ovulate which is good

 

[xjessibabyx]

Thanks for your responses girls! I will start temping next month if I don't conceive this time round however I work shifts and nights so may be tricky. I am now cd11 and just taken this at 4.30pm.. would you say that this is positive?

 

[happycupcake]

Looks positive, could have been just shy of positive, the light is quite dim so hard to tell! Sorry for the late reply

 

[xjessibabyx]

Thank you 😊 I took a clearblue digital the following morning (cd12) and I got my smiley! Later that day I had bad cramping in my left side so figured I had ovulated (I don't temp) however I am now cd16 so 4dpo and randomly just took another OPK and it looks darker than I'd have expected. Does anyone know why this might be? My boobs have been aching and felt swollen since ov and my cm is thick creamy white so I figured I am post ovulation for sure?