Best time to OPK test?

roscoe1009

Hi all,
I'm relatively new to this TTC thing.  Just started TWW #3...  I am wondering if anyone has any insight as to what the best time is to do an OPK test?  For the past two months I've been using the Clear Blue Easy Advanced and the instructions say first morning urine, but all the research I've been doing online says late afternoon is best.  Does it matter if you do first morning urine if you've gotten up 2-3 in the middle of the night to pee?

Finally, I read a study somewhere that OPK test for women 35+ tend to have a shorter LH surge period.  Meaning, while for most the LH surge shows on an OPK test about 24-36 hours before O, but for 35+ women its usually closer to 12-24hours.  I have no idea if this is true or not, just trying to get my head around the vast amount of info on there and sort myth from reality.  Thank you!

rspalding001

So in my experience I start to see a surge in the evening and definitely confirm a surge in the morning. What I mean by that is by using the Wondfo OPKs I see the test line get very close to being as dark as the control line in the evening and by morning it is as dark or darker than the  control line which gives me my positive. Ill start testing around CD10 but I usually don't get a positive OPK until CD 18 or 20. If you are getting up in the middle of the night to pee it shouldn't matter too much as long as you are not also drinking a ton of water at night in my opinion.

Regarding length of LH surge I think it depends on the person to be honest. Keep in mind that women who are closer to menopause can have extended LH surges, so the theory that women over 35 have shorter ones is a bit of a generalization. If I were you Id probably test with the Wondofo cheepies in the morning and the evening until I had an idea of what my cycle was like. Then you can probably test less often and still catch your surge.

Kaessi

Thank you for asking this @sophiakam - great question & I have been wondering about this myself. I'm new to the OPK thing and haven't quite gotten it down yet. I did this month with FMU and tried to test again in the late afternoon/evening but I drink A LOT of water during the day & can't hold it as long as I need to!

And thanks for your answer @rspalding001! I plan to start anew this next cycle & hope I have better luck.