more stupid person ttc questions, this time about opks

flyliceandcoffee

sorry if I get annoying, please let me know if I do.

Anywho, I have a stupid person question. Last cycle was the first time I ever did any ovulation testing, and that was more so I could figure out what was going on after a m/c than it was related to actually trying to catch my O date. This time, we're actually trying to figure out when I ovulate so we can figure out the trend, etc etc. So my question is, when using opks and you haven't yet ovulated, do you normally see no secondary line at all (i.e. only the control line) until right before your LH surge, or do you normally see some LH line, it just gets darker and darker as it gets closer to your surge?

kelley72

I do not use opk's currently, but I have in the past.  I tested 2-3 times a day and pretty much always had two lines, increasing darkness as O approached.  I unfortunately tend to surge multiple times a cycle so mine would darken, fade, darken, o.   I typically o cd15-17 so I don't start utilizing opk's until day 12 or so.   

SchruteBucks

I always have 2 lines.  The test line starts very light and gets darker and darker until I get a positive test.  I usually get two or three days of positives, which is annoying, and then the line starts to fade again.

siennamom

I've used OPKs for a couple months, and get both 'only the reference line' and 'light test line' on non-LH surge days.  test line does get darker as O approaches, and is noticeably same color or darker than reference line on OPK+ day. I normally test in the afternoons after work, but 2x/day when line gets noticeably darker.  hope that helps.

flyliceandcoffee

hrmmmmm, i'm wondering if the tests I have are defective? I've never see a line on them other than the control line. I figured that was because I didn't start using them until after I ovulated last cycle, or I didn't at all since it was after a mc. But now I'm not so sure...

lcwed

I guess I am a special snowflake.  My Wondfo strips stay faded until the surge and then it darkens day of.  I have never had a gradual darkening line.  One day light, next day BABAM! dark line.  Then the next day it was back to faded.

SchruteBucks

Which tests did you buy @flyliceandcoffee ?  It's odd that there wouldn't be even a hint of a line at all.

Davie813

I usually have a fade-in pattern, but the cycle I had the cyst, the test line went from non-existent to positive with no warning.  I think someone on the board mentioned in a thread a while ago that "older" women tend to have LH in their systems at all times--hence the faint lines--but it's not uncommon for younger ones to get positives with no lead-in.

I could be remembering that wrong, of course.

flyliceandcoffee

@SchruteBucks they were the Answer brand (if that's even a brand)? I hadn't seen them before, but they were available as a 20pack and pretty cheap. When I bought them I had figured they were only to help me figure out what was going on during the first cycle after my mc, so I wasn't too concerned with the accuracy of it all. I did start out with first response ones last time (got the ones I have now when I ran out of those), but I still had hcg in my system then too so I kind of figured those might not be as accurate either.

tlc35

lcwed said:

I guess I am a special snowflake.  My Wondfo strips stay faded until the surge and then it darkens day of.  I have never had a gradual darkening line.  One day light, next day BABAM! dark line.  Then the next day it was back to faded.

I usually see a fade in pattern but last cycle I had very light lines and then one day it was almost + in the AM and then + in the afternoon.  But there pretty much always is a light line there.

SchruteBucks

@flyliceandcoffee I've always bought the Wondfo brand on Amazon.  Super cheap, but they've always worked well for me.  You can get 50 OPK and 20 HPT for $21.99.

flyliceandcoffee

@SchruteBucks I might have to get those instead. I actually almost bought that combo pack but resisted and only got the 20 HPT from Wondfo instead. silly me.

SchruteBucks

I'm an obsessive pee-on-all-the-things person, so it's definitely the thriftier way to go for me

mindaa

flyliceandcoffee said:

hrmmmmm, i'm wondering if the tests I have are defective? I've never see a line on them other than the control line. I figured that was because I didn't start using them until after I ovulated last cycle, or I didn't at all since it was after a mc. But now I'm not so sure...

I think you are right in that you were probably just past O and need to test for a longer time period. I though I wasn't O-ing at all, but I would stop testing around day 15. Turns out, I don't O until day 18-20 ish. That's why the Wondfos are the best.

Temping will help too, allowing you to see if your OPK's are aligning with the O date on your chart.

meredithcarole

I do not get a second line at all unless it is my actual surge.

flyliceandcoffee

@meredithcarole - does it just "pop up" one day? you're the first person I think who's said that this is what happens to them and I'm thinking maybe that'll be the case with me.

meredithcarole

@flyliceandcoffee‌ yes, it does. Also, for me it is totally possible to miss it entirely if my timing for POAS is off. Generally I will catch mine in the evening, but I can test within 12 hours of a + and get nothing.

flyliceandcoffee

@meredithcarole that sounds almost exactly like what I think happened last cycle. I started out using first response ovulation tests and it looked like the line was getting darker and darker, then the next day (same testing time) nada.

meredithcarole

Exactly. If I catch any sort of line (dark or not) I consider it a possitive. It just means if it is light I am catching either the end or the beginning. I try to test a couple times a day on the day I expect to have my surge, but again if I had to pick a single time to take one I think 8 pm would be the best for me.

ETA: I do use 1st response, so it is possible it is the sensitivity of their test.

mcodea88

@meredithcarole, I have read that unless the line is darker than the control line (or at least AS dark) then it's not +.  I get lines for many days on my OPKs but always light.  sometimes REALLY light, sometimes pretty filled in but definitely lighter than the control line (Oh - and I use Wondfos).  I think also b/c we're all 35+, we have more LH generally throughout the course of our cycles that this is why that line is present even when not +... maybe I'm wrong - would like to be but I'd say about 95% of the tests i take have 2 lines, but the one is never as dark or darker than the control (until +).  

meredithcarole

@mcodea88‌ that does seem to be true for most, but for some reason I only get a second line the day or 2 before I O. And it does vary in strength depending on my timing.

flyliceandcoffee

so here's a fun, wtf is going on scenario. From what you all have said in this thread, I was concerned that the opks I have were busted so I went and got a "better" brand to try. That test said to test first thing in the morning (I was testing after I got home from work). I tried it the first time at night alongside the original ones I got. Both gave a negative result. I then switched to testing in the mornings. The first day I tested in the morning I got a positive on both. I tried the "bad" tests again that evening and it went back to negative. The second morning I got a positive on the "good" test and a negative on the bad. This morning it went back to positive on both. Uh...what? I am temping as well and it "looks" like my temps jumped up to a higher state 4 days ago. FF isn't giving me crosshairs yet, so could it be that I ovulated REALLY early (as in cd 8), the bad opks weren't giving me the right results, and now I'm catching the lingering lh in my system after the surge?

mcodea88

@flyliceandcoffee do you have your chart to share?

flyliceandcoffee

@mcodea88

ask and you shall receive

https://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/5149f6

mcodea88

Hmm... so you have 8 days of temping, and I BELIEVE the rule is (and now it's been so long since I've read this that I may need a refresher) you need 3 higher temps that are higher than the past SIX temps - so I bet in the next two days, FF will give you cross hairs, as long as your temps stay higher.  Is this your first month temping?  or just first month on FF?  

flyliceandcoffee

ah i see. it is my first month temping, I've used FF before, but mostly just to keep track of cycle days because we weren't trying really hard.

mcodea88

Good luck to you!!

meredithcarole

How long are your cycles usually @flyliceandcoffee?  And I don't really know what to tell you about the OPKs other than you can have more than one surge.  Testing 2 to 3 times a day leading up to when you think you will O is what most do.

flyliceandcoffee

@meridethcarole, they're usually 26-ish days, give or take a day on each side. Not a big deal, I'm more just curious since this is the first time I've kept track of all the things.