OPK Help Thread

acleverusername

@Kenneylynn3 I agree with @fitzfizz. I usually O the day after my first +ive OPK. Better to have spermies in there ahead of time. 

paytonpedro

Do I stop testing now? Still waiting for a temp spike. 

krash_

@paytonpedro I usually do by that point especially if other signs of O have passed. 

inthewoods23

@paytonpedro I would stop with them being very clearly negative. There is some belief that BBT temp spikes don't necessarily occur the day after O. I think one article I read talked about a study in which it was found the temp spike sometimes occurs as much as 3 days after O or an OPK positive/peak.

chindimples04

@pqytonpedro I usually through 2dpo...twice the day after my first positive and once two days after my first positive.

paytonpedro

@chindimples04 @inthewoods23 @krash_ thanks ladies!! It does make sense that your temp might not spike for a couple days because from my understanding, ovulation occurs 24-48 hours after a positive opk and then temp rises the day after ovulation. Please correct me if I’m wrong. But anyways ok! I think I’m done with them. Literally used like 20 this cycle 🤣🤦🏼‍♀️

chindimples04

Come on down, you are all the next contestants on “Guess the Ovulation Day!”

Pictured below are my OPKs from this cycle and my current chart. FF gave me crosshairs today on CD14, but Im not sure I agree. What are all your thoughts? For reference, the first CD15 OPK is with FMU. 

fitzfizz

@chindimples04 Based on OPKs I would favor CD15 or 16. It would be less likely to ovulate within a few hours of the positive OPK at 5PM on 14. Unless I am interpreting it wrong your technical temp rise is on CD16, since the one on CD15 is less than 0.1 F from the highest of the previous 6, but I know there are multiple ways of calling that. My vote would be CD15 for O.

bows22

@chindimples04 @fitzfizz I’m going with CD14 - that CD13 OPK was 25 hours before the positive so I am thinking maybe the surge started earlier and that was the end of it. I think the CD15 OPK is only showing peak because it’s FMU and just had more LH in it. She also mentioned in TWW that the CD14 temp may be artificially high so that went into my thinking too. @chindimples04 is your LP pretty consistent? I want to know the answer! (Although hopefully you are KU and we will never know)

chindimples04

@fitzfizz someone else suggested Cd16, but it usually takes a few days to get a full temp spike for me. In the spoiler is my chart from last cycle, which has the same 3 day post ovulation temp spike.

@bows22 yes, last cycle (chart above), we DTD on CD and CD13, both times we had a temp spike the following day, which is why I think we had a bit of a temp spike on CD14. My LP has been 11 days. Right now my period is expected on Thanksgiving day. I hope I don’t see it. 🤣

acleverusername

A bit late to the "Guess the O Day" but I would agree with @bows22. I think you probably missed start of your surge. 

70kelly

I’ve been using the Premom app for three cycles now. For the first two cycles, my LH surge looks exactly the same— positive test one day, peak the next day, and back down the day after that. This month, I had positive tests for six days and I never really had a high peak like the last couple months. Did I still ovulate? Why did I get so many positive tests? I tested twice (or more) daily.
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/qd/9bj8a77pe9jg.jpeg" alt="" />
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/tv/ri5qjjs22o3n.jpeg" alt="" />

70kelly

Hopefully the photos work this time.

emmylou78

@70kelly your photos didn’t load still. 

acleverusername

@70kelly I'm on my desktop so I can click on those photos and see them; it probably doesn't work on mobile though (a much more restricted experience.) To answer your question, it's hard to tell. It's possible that your baseline LH was just higher this month. I still think you ovulated (and probably your surge started sometime CD18-21). If you want to know for sure, I'd grab some Proov tests which can measure progesterone in urine and use them in a few days (there a BF sale on right now). 

Also, to quote what's written in the Ultimate Guide for TTGP pinned at the top of this channel, "you're normal until you're not", so variations between cycles happen. 

I hope this helps. 

Kat0906

Hi everyone!

This is my first month ttc #3. My cycles are usually regular but have been increasing in length since going off nuvaring this spring. My cycles are now 45-60 days so I decided to try tracking this month, not so much for BD but so I know when to start testing for pregnancy. My surge wasn’t as high as others I’ve been seeing here, and was about the same on CD 27 and 28. Does the clock start at the beginning of the surge or the end?

The main reason I ask is because my app says I’m 6DPO but I got a vvvfl this morning and the last two days I’ve been crazy nauseas and I have heartburn. I keep telling myself to stop being so dramatic because that’s not really possible 6DPO. Could I have ovulated earlier? 

acleverusername

@Kat0906 You haven't really given us a lot of info to go on, so I'm going to answer your question based on a few assumptions. First of all, since you only posted screen shots starting Day 26, I'm assuming that you didn't have any dark OPKs before Day 26. Based on the screenshot you shared, I would say that your surge started in the morning of CD 27, and Ovulation is generally 24-48 hours after the onset of your surge. So, you probably ovulated on Day 28 (Day 29 at the latest, but I doubt it.)

Since I've used Premom app before, I know that it usually says that O day is one day after Peak. According to the screenshot, your peak was on Day 28, so it would have tagged Day 29 as O day, so Day 30 would be 1DPO. Since you're saying that you're currently 6DPO (as of posting), you're probably actually 7DPO. So I guess, yes, you probably ovulated earlier but only by 1-1.5 days.  

I'm not going to comment re: vvvfl since it's against the TTGP forum rules to ask such questions here. Those questions should be directed to 1st trimester board. 

acleverusername

@agnela2kids hello

johnsk1122

Hello! I’ve been ttc for two months now. I’ve been using the Clearblue Advance Digital ovulation predictor kit and for the last few days I’ve gotten “high” results. Today I got and used the Pregmate dipsticks and the test like was there but light. According to one app (and my CM quality) I’m set to ovulate on Wednesday (today is Monday). I’m wondering if it’s possible for the dipstick tests to all the sudden go from light to dark (indicating the LH surge), or if I should expect the line to get slower darker? Any insight is helpful! Thanks in advance!

bows22

@knottie112122 mine go suddenly from light to dark. I’ve also gotten a peak on the CBAD a full day before my cheapie OPKs have gotten darker (and I’ve had bloodwork based on my cheapie OPKs and they were working properly). I think this is a “everyone is different, every cycle is different” kind of thing. 

johnsk1122

If I was getting EWCM + a peak OPK yesterday, then today still a peak OPK but lower than yesterday but EWCM is dissipating, if not gone, is it safe to say I ovulated yesterday? I’m so confused about the timing!! My app has now pushed my ovulation date another day bc my OPK numbers are still reading high (altho lower than yesterday’s). I plan to keep testing every 4 hours to see if/how levels drop but any insight would be appreciated! (Note I try to track bbt but I’ve been inconsistent with the timing this month so its null)

emeraldcity1214

@johnsk1122 You can only guess at which day ovulation took place. You can only confirm with an US. If you’re still seeing peak fluid keep HIO just to cover your bases. 

fantasyflyte

@johnsk1122 I'd agree, it sounds like you either just ovulated or are about to like now, but without bbt I'd HIO daily until the cm dries up, or maybe until one or two days past a white/faint opk.

acleverusername

@johnsk1122 ... unless you have a known male factor issue, in which case, HIO EOD.

birdnerdgirl

Did any of you start using OPK's while you still had an IUD to find out when you ovulate in anticipation of getting your IUD removed? With no period, when do you start checking strips? Or do you just use one every day for the first two months until you have a general sense of the number of days between ovulations?

acleverusername

Hi @birdnerdgirl; I actually used OPKs to pinpoint ovulation while I had my IUD because I was doing egg freezing. I was on a low-dose IUD, so I still got a light period, therefore it was easy for me. In your case though, I would do as you'd proposed: every day for 2 cycles until you get a sense of the pattern. You can use FMU since your LH pulses will be frequent and detectable with FMU during your FW. Unless of course you prefer testing early afternoon, which is when some/most OPK kits recommend. 

bumphi

> @birdnerdgirl said:
> Did any of you start using OPK's while you still had an IUD to find out when you ovulate in anticipation of getting your IUD removed? With no period, when do you start checking strips? Or do you just use one every day for the first two months until you have a general sense of the number of days between ovulations?
My IUD is not yet out for now and not trying opk either.

jlbaker08

@birdnerdgirl I'm currently using OPKs with my IUD.  I've got the copper one, so I have periods but I wanted to get a good idea of what my cycle looks like before we start TTGP.  I think your thoughts are correct, it's probably a good idea to test everyday for a while to have a baseline.  

LJMoon6

When would you put O day? I usually have a very strong but very short LH surge (24-36 hours). But this cycle my surge was ~48 hours. I feel like a noob!

Monday (night)-slight positive, just about the same color as control

Tuesday (night)-definite positive, same color or a little darker than control, thought this was O day… then:

Wednesday (night)-very strong positive, much darker than control, the only reason I tested again was because I was continuing to have cramps

Thursday (morning)-starting to go negative

I’m inclined to put O day on Wednesday since it seemed like that test was a little darker than Tuesdays. I’m usually so consistent with my LH surges, there’s no guessing when I O, but this cycle is throwing me off. Also, not temping this month.

jackie_dunny

@LJMoon6 I would actually put O day as Thursday (today) as OPKs detect LH, not O and typically you ovulate ~24hours ish after an LH surge (as I’m sure you know). I wouldn’t put Wednesday as it seemed you still had a LH surge going, especially at night, which would mean Thursday morning (~12 hours later) at the earliest for O

LJMoon6

@jackie_dunny So that’s what’s confusing to me. I’ve read that you O 24 hours after your first positive test (so that would put it on Tuesday, which I don’t agree with). I’ve also read that you O 12 hours after your peak/highest LH level (which is what I tend to go by). I didn’t test all day Wednesday until very late at night so I have no idea if my true peak would have been more in the morning or in the afternoon. If it were in the afternoon then I would agree with you that O day is probably today (Thursday), but I’m also unsure of that since I had a negative test this morning…

bows22

@LJMoon6. The only thing about the 24 hours after your first positive test though is if the first was a false surge it wouldn’t apply. But, I would go with Wednesday I think.  I’d still have sex today though If you can!

jackie_dunny

@LJMoon6 see that negative test this morning is also what makes me think it’s happening today (Thursday) because the LH is only just ended this morning. Let me consulate with TCOYF and see what it says and get back to you! (If no one else does in the meantime) 

LJMoon6

@bows22 Ya, I think you’re right. The first positive must have been a false surge… or not as positive as I thought it was. Who knows. I wasn’t paying too close attention to be honest. I thought I had this tracking thing in the bag lol. Getting sloppy.

@jackie_dunny Oh interesting lol. I’m thinking the opposite, negative test today means definitely didn’t O today… Who knows! I should have been more diligent with the tests. Let me know what TCOYF says.

jackie_dunny

@LJMoon6 I’ll only just start using OPKs next cycle so take my opinion with a grain of salt. TCOYF doesn’t say much about OPKs. I don’t think she’s the biggest fan as she more promotes using your body’s cues (CM, BBT, CP, etc) but this is what she said about LH surges 
ETA: she has a whole section of why they’re not completely reliable 😂

Not completely clear but probably more along with what you and @bows22 have said about the first positive as she says “onset.”

ronnie320

Hi all! Long time lurker but new to OPKs so any advice is appreciated. I am using the [email protected] cheapies! I understand there are multiple surges sometimes and i believe you are supposed to go off the first positive, but does that still hold if you have multiple “peaks”? I am not sure if that’s what I had or if it was just a one day fluke test but let me know what you think! Would love to figure out when O likely was or still upcoming for the purposes of tracking and HIO!

TIA! Tried to match my colouring out of the pee part to the theme of the app 🤪

LJMoon6

@ronnie320 I would put O day on CD16/17. It looks like you started to surge around CD14 but the color of the test line never got darker than the control line (might have been same color as but even then, it could have been a faulty test). Either way, your CD16 and 17 tests are super dark compared to the control. I think it’s safe to say that’s when you Oed.

ronnie320

@LJMoon6 thanks! That’s what I was thinking too but thought I would check in case anyone has also had multiple “surges” like that. Appreciate the reply! ☺️

sienna221

Just wanted others opinions. A little rusty with my OPK game. Since the first positive came early on CD16, would O be later CD16? Or since peak came late on CD16 and still positive on CD17, was O probably CD17? FF put it at CD17 but strictly off inputting OPK results. I’ve never temped. 

fantasyflyte

Just going off OPKs, it was probably CD17, maaaaaybe CD 18, because ovulation is usually 12-36 hours after the first peak, depending on who you ask.