OPK question!

[Hollynesss]

Hey m'ladies!

I am sort of on the new side to the whole OPK thing, but I wanted to get some practice in before TTC. I have been pretty diligent about dipping a strip every time I go to the bathroom, but of course this isn't always feasible so I've missed a couple while at work. I am due to O today and had my temp spike this morning, but I have yet to get a positive OPK I sort of assumed that even if I missed the most concentrated surge of LH that I would at least get a faint positive sometime yesterday or today, but I have gotten all negatives since CD 12. Is it possible to completely miss it by only missing one POAS opportunity in a day, or is it more likely I have a bum pack of OPKs?

Thanks for your input!!

 

[Mrs Eleflump]

I'd say it's pretty unlikely to miss it from missing one pee. I usually only opk once a day, in the evening, when I have EWCM. When the line's almost positive I move to 2x a day, but really only for a few days at most.

Maybe your opks are a bit wonky...if you've had your temp spike and it stays up from now, you probably had your LH surge a day or two ago.

Have they been completely blank negative, with only the control line showing, or have you had a second line?

 

[Hollynesss]

I have only gotten a control line, but Im not sure if the control just tests the dye, or if there is a synthetic LH chemical inside that is used as the control. My temp has stayed up, so I think I may have bought a bum pack. They had mixed reviews and were super cheap, so I think I just got what I paid for :/

 

[Mrs Eleflump]

Aww, that's a shame. I've found that, a couple of times I've bought super-cheap ones, and they've not really worked well. I find the ones that are one step up from the super-cheap ones are fine. I've never tried the clearblue ones etc, and probably only will if it's taking us ages to conceive, as they're so expensive.

 

[kitty2385]

if you have only really had one line showing on OPK the whole time I would say they are not working, as you should be getting a faint line before the LH surge, only when the second line is DARKER than the control line is it positive. So... if there is only the control line then they havent been working. hope that helps x

 

[Hollynesss]

Haha, I knew $7 for 50 test was too good to be true! Oh well, I'm kind of bummed as I was excited to see a positive, but at least I'm not out a ton of money. I've never really used OPKs before, so I didn't know how touchy they are. I have heard some women say that they missed their surge, so I was also unsure if you only have one chance to see the surge (like if I have to pee at work and don't use an OPK, and that one time happens to contain the LH surge), or if it is usually present in small amounts and you see a gradual darkening of the line before and a lessening darkness afterwards.

 

[Mrs HM]

Sorry to hear that the sticks were rubbish! I never really got on with the ICs but I can recommend the clearblue ones. I know they're expensive but I test once a day and haven't missed my O yet (I test at noon every day). I used them when I was ttc #1 and tbh I'm sure they are the thing that made the difference for us as the month we conceived we only BD three times. I get mine from Amazon and they are cheaper there than on the high street.

 

[babyzoe]

Hey hollyness. What CD are you? I'd say keep testing until you get your positive or your AF, whichever happens first. Unfortunately, with OPKs there arent' faint positives or progressions (or at least, not at as much as with HPTs). I'd say that if you're testing every time you pee (Kudos to you, that's dedication right there!) then the chances of you missing your surge from one missed test is really slim. I've heard a lot of women say that it's normal for your body to gear up to O and then not do it, and wait a few more days. So don't get yourself down, you'll get your positive. The first time I got my real true positive, I'd been testing for over 30 days!

I'm not sure what kind you have but I have the wondfos from Amazon. They work everytime and I would recommend them to any POASaholic.

 

[Hollynesss]

I am currently on CD 20, and my temp has gone up and stayed up since CD 14, so Impretty certain I missed the surge on my OPKs. They are made by ClinicalGuard, which I've never heard of. I'm going to try a new brand next cycle!

 

[Amalee]

I use Wondfos, which are super cheap as well. I've missed ovulation during one cycle - not sure if it was user error because I missed a day, or if it was because I had a couple crap sticks. They've shown some positives though, so I know it's not all of them. I doubt all of the ones you have are bad! Since you have them already, I say keep using them - you could try dipping two sticks at once when you think you're near ovulation, or testing twice a day to hopefully catch the surge.

Edit: Sorry, misread your first post. I see you're already testing multiple times per day, so my suggestion wouldn't help!