OPK Help Thread

DoubleUp8

Ok, I think I got my peak, but it was really short. Between morning of CD16 and morning of CD17. I would have missed it if not testing twice a day. Wondering if it was a false surge? I guess the only way to know is keep OPK testing until the tests keep dropping to nothing and my BBT spike. I will add the screen shots for people to check out if they have any advice. 

keikilove

@DoubleUp8 Yep, That looks like you definitely caught the surge & now it’s in its downward trend. If you had tested the night of the 16th as well you might’ve still seen a strong line but fading, and then the faded one on the morning of the 17th. I doubt it was a false surge. 

DoubleUp8

@keikilove Thanks! I am kicking myself I didn't test last night, but I got caught up in our fantasy football draft and spaced. Luckily I did the one at 2:30 because I was worried about having the time. I plan to test when I get home from work, so hoping to see the downward trend continue and a BBT spike tomorrow. 

chindimples04

How do you guys handle OPK testing while also trying to maintain hydration? I have been drinking a lot more water hoping to just feel better in general but I’m worried about a diluting my urine too much and not being able to catch my surge. Does that change when my body gets used to being hydrated and I’ll still catch it? I don’t know how this works. I’m normally a very dehydrated human.

DoubleUp8

@chindimples04 I'm certainly no expert, I would think as long as your hydration is consistent across the data your are testing you will still see a day where the OPK it is darkest. Maybe not a blazing positive, but I think Pre-Mom will label your highest day.

acleverusername

@chindimples04 lol, I'm a bit insane when it comes to hydration (I try to drink 75-100oz of water every day)  so I have a carefully crafted drinking/peeing schedule. 

- first test with FMU (and usually I get up at night, so it's only a 3-4 hour hold for me)
- drink about 24-48 ounces of water between 6-11:30am, then stop
- final "pee" at ~12:30pm
- second test ~ 3:30-4pm (usually can get a 3-4 hour hold provided I fully empty my bladder at 12:30
- stop drinking water before 7pm; pee around 8pm
- third/final test ~10pm just before I go to sleep; that one is definitely the shortest urine hold. 

Oh, and I have reminder set for each test & to "stop drinking water". 

Are you like...

chindimples04

@acleverusername 🤣🤣🤣 this! My teaching schedule allows me exactly on pee break, so that is timed for me. I’m at about 50 oz of water a day. 25 in the morning before lunch and 25 after lunch. Do you still catch your surge?

acleverusername

Yep! I've been catching my surge pretty consistently since I figured out mine is the "rapid onset" kind. How is it possible to go through a day with 1 pee break!?! 🙀

chindimples04

@acleverusername LOTS of training. Especially with COVID, I don’t get extra people in my room, so I can only pee at lunch And then not again until I get home for the day at four. I definitely have a rapid onset, so I usually test three times a day when I start getting fertile CM.

acleverusername

Anyone else using Premom brand of OPKs? I just realized that my Premom app hasn't been reading the colors correctly (usually reads as very low levels) and I was wondering if there was cause for concern (although I know that everyone's LH surge is different). Has anyone else had to go and manually correct their LH levels? 

ashaislurking

@acleverusername I need to go in and manually adjust in premom almost every time I track my OPKs in their app. It's kind of ridiculous TBH. The femometer app is just as picky about my OPKs though so I'm guessing it's just something to do with my phone's camera.

chindimples04

@acleverusername I use Premom too. I personally don’t bother adjusting the color on the app unless the test is clearly positive in person and the app disagrees. The ratios really don’t mean anything and our phone cameras just aren’t as sensitive as the human eye. :-)

legendairymomma

@acleverusername I use Premom as well. My numbers are more accurate when I use my flash to take the photo. 

acleverusername

@ashaislurking @chindimples04 thanks for weighing in. 
@legendairymomma I haven't thought about trying to use flash. I'll give it a go!

lois-l

@acleverusername How low are your readings? You may want to share some pictures of your test results so we can have a look.

@ashaislurking I would try to shoot under the consisten conditions, in same place and the same light, to ensure the quality of the photos.

acleverusername

Hi @lois-l I got my answer here. 🙂 I don't like posting my OPKs here because a lot of ppl here use threshold-based tests, not semi-quantitative ones, so I've gotten incorrect input re: whether or not my LH has surged. 

ashaislurking

@lois-l I'm honestly not too worried about it with OPKs just as long as I can see the progression and understand about where I'm at. I also don't just use OPKs to track my cycles. If my apps aren't tracking the photos properly it doesn't make a huge difference to me, and the lighting legitimately doesn't matter because of my phone camera quality. Just here to offer advice where I can.

chindimples04

I’m having a hard time deciphering these OPKs, I know the bottom two are positive but I can’t seem to get the coloration right. Which test line looks darker to you, 7:30 am or 12:30 pm? I feel like this morning does, but I just can’t seem to get it right.
Edit to add spoiler because it didn’t save for some reason.

daisy528

@chindimples04 clearly I’m a super newbie when it comes to OPKs, but I think this morning looks darker for sure!

keikilove

@chindimples04 I get results like this sometimes. I agree with you that it’s probably the morning. But it doesn’t really matter since they’re on the same day. Both have identified your peak so you should be good to go. 

acleverusername

@chindimples04 your surge definitely started on CD15; and I also agree w/ @keikilove and @daisy528 re: CD16 AM being the peak. 

chindimples04

@acleverusername @keikilove @daisy528 should I be HIO tonight again? I wasn’t until tomorrow, but I have a feeling that will be too late now....

keikilove

@chindimples04 Definitely! The egg is released 12-36 hours after the positive OPK, and usually within 24 hours. Since you don’t know precisely when that will be, you want to HIO when you see the positive OPK so that sperm is ready & waiting when ovulation happens.  

acleverusername

+1 to what @keikilove said. 

wanderlustsoul

Yep tonight! IMO, O-1 is the most ideal time to HIO. 

daisy528

Are OPKs like an HPT where you should read it within a certain time frame? The wondfo’s I have say to wait 3-5 minutes for results. I’ve been checking them at 4 minutes, and it’s almost like the dye hasn’t finished distributing, making them sort of hard to read. Today, I took a pic of the OPK at 4 minutes and then another 10 minutes later and it was much more clear to read. Clearly it’s a negative, but how much time should I let pass before reading it so that it is accurate? Picture in spoiler for comparison 

chindimples04

@daisy528 I wait usually 8 minutes. Mine say before 10 minutes. But yes, you want all the dye to be cleared from the background before reading it. And honestly, it’s usually pretty obvious when it’s going to be positive, at least for me. The test line darkens before the urine even reaches the control line. 🤣

acleverusername

@daisy528 totally agree with @chindimples04: you’ll know really fast if you’re having a surge as the test line starts to darken almost immediately.

daisy528

Jumping on this thread again. Got a positive OPK this afternoon (right?) 

Do I test again tomorrow to see if it is still positive since it’s closer to the end of the day? Or move on over to TWW after HIO tonight? Lol 

krash_

@daisy528 keep testing! You want to test until they are negative again. O is usually 12-24 hours after your LH surge but the LH surge could last a day or two. Also you want to watch for a peak, this is positive but you could get an even stronger positive that would be peak. Premom will help you determine your peak and O day but it will need more test data to do so. 

inthewoods23

@daisy528 I agree with @krash_. I tend to get positives over the course of 2 days and O for me is most often on the 2nd day of +OPKs or the day after which also happens to be the day of my peak reading. You could even test later this evening and see what you get.

bard37

I took an opk yesterday and it was a very positive double lines. They were both the same color.

i took another one this morning, and the line was darker than the control line.

Are those both positive?? Or does my second one count as my positive!? Just trying to figure out ovulation day! First month using OPKs! 

emeraldcity1214

@bard37 The one with the test line being darker than the control line is your positive. 

keikilove

@bard37 Thanks for reposting this here. I always consider all of my positive OPKs where the test line is at least as dark as the control line, but I take the one that is darkest as my Peak reading. Ovulation usually happens the day after the Peak for me. But every body is different. As you use the OPKs over time you will figure out your pattern. Hopefully it won’t take too long! 

daisy528

FF/OPK question - for those who use wondfos or another cheaper OPK (ie. not a monitor). Do you record your “peak” test in FF as just a positive standard OPK test, or as a “peak” monitor test? 

keikilove

@daisy528 I do both. I use the cheapie brand off Amazon called Pregmate—they’re super sensitive. Anyway, I log them in FertilityFriend as a plain old Positive OPK, and I also record them as High and Peak in the OPK Monitor section. FF doesn’t like that I do this & often flags me for “data does not align” but I don’t care. It helps me track everything more clearly. 

krash_

@daisy528 I do the same as @keikilove I also saw someone that added lines for OPK am and OPK pm to track when they are + or - throughout the day. That might be only if you pay for it though. 

chindimples04

@krash_ I do the AM and Pm OPKs. FFFC, I didn’t realize OPK monitor and standard OPK were two things meant different things. 🤣🤣🤣

Kenneylynn3

First positive opk this cycle this evening (wed). I wasn't planning to meet with the donor for ai until Fri afternoon at 1:30. Should I see if we can meet tomorrow instead or will Friday be ok still. CM is still not EW.

fitzfizz

@Kenneylynn3 I would definitely try to meet tomorrow. Even if you ovulate 48 hours after the positive OPK (which is typically the latest it would happen) you would be better off with a -1 than O timing. If you ovulate tomorrow, you could have missed it.