OPK Help Thread

acleverusername

@pajamstagrams just to add to what @optimistgardener has said: you’re surging and that’s all that matters (I.e. not the peak). Once you start to surge, you can ovulate between 12 and 72 hours. Most fertility specialists will have you stop doing OPKs as soon as you have your first positive. But it’s fun to test a lot when you’re first starting out. 

laura-kay

I have to check mine twice a day when I get to the suggested testing time frame.  I spiked with the LH surge from .5 at 0900 (I was steady at .5 from the start of testing at CD5) to over 1.1 around 1800.  It’s definitely worth the extra tests at least until you know your body more.

agesandstages

  - Brand of OPK: ClearBlue Advanced Digital
  - Time of day: 6:50am
  - Question(s): After 7 days of seeing "high", I finally saw the "peak" static smiley. Previously, I've only ever used [email protected], so I'm a bit confused about whether my Ovulation Day is today or tomorrow? Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

inthewoods23

@agesandstages with the advanced digital, the static smiley will mean you should ovulate in the next 24-48 hours (hence why it stays static for 2 days before going blank). So generally I would never consider the day you get the peak reading as your ovulation day.

agesandstages

Thank you so much @inthewoods23!

tthor90

Does this look positive? It looks almost as dark but can’t quite tell 

inthewoods23

@tthor90 thanks for the pee droplets.....

But to answer your question, this looks not quite positive to me.

acleverusername

@tthor90 that depends on how you define "positive." There is onset of an LH surge and there is a peak. Some people rely more on the peak to predict their ovulation window. However, most REs will have you stop doing OPKs as soon as you get your surge onset (and the above photo would qualify as an onset). Ovulation tends to occur 12-72 hours following the onset of a surge. I hope this helps. 

kaydejay2019

Month/Cycle: 2 

 clearblue OPK, and cheapie sticks 

: Hi all! Newbie here :-) I think I ovulated yesterday (clear VD, ovulation cramps). I have been using the clear blue tracking device. I had a peak 2 days ago (static smiley face). I am a little bit worried because two days before my peak we did not BD. I know the studies say to BD every other day leading up. but my hubby was out of town. Question : I experienced ovulation cramps, does this mean ovulation occurred already? Or about to occur? This morning the strip was lighter. So I’m assuming ovulation has ended. Open to any advice! 

optimistgardener

Hi @knottie84dcef9e6b137777. If you're planning to stick around this community (and I recommend that you do, because we're a supportive crew once you get to know us!), then I would suggest you change your user handle so it's easier to remember who you are and how to refer to you in conversations. Also, thanks for finding a good spot for this question (OPK help thread). A lot of the OPK help thread Qs are looking for help reading their OPK lines, though, so an alternative place for this kind of question might be Questions/Chart Stalk. No need to post it elsewhere as we all see where the new postings turn up. Finally, please introduce yourself in the newbie thread (here is the most recent one) so we have some context for who you are and what your TTC journey has been like thus far.

As for your questions, it sounds like you probably ovulated yesterday (but I'm an internet stranger, so grain of salt here). That having been said, the usual caveat on ovulation cramps is that they are not great predictors- women sometimes ovulate before, during, or after they "sense" ovulation based on abdominal pain. But pain combined with a good reading on your tracking device combine for solid probability. Re: timing, you say you didn't manage intercourse two days before your peak (would that be (O-3?)). but did you have sex on the day of your peak (presumably O-1), the day before peak (O-2) or on O? if so, your chances are still decent. 

Lots of edits because I'm bad at writing.

garzababe

Hi, I am new here! I had my IUD taken out in may and I am trying to figure out my period and ovulation. I had my period on the July 21 and it lasted 4 days (ended July 24). I started using ovulation strips today and it showed positive. Anyone else experience ovulating this early after their period ends? 

Here is a pic of the test. 

Thanks for any insight! 

bows22

@garzababe either your hormones haven’t regulated from your IUD, or your “cycle” wasn’t a period and you are pregnant. As I mentioned in the other thread I’d take a pregnancy test before continuing to post here. 

heathergirl89

Looking for thoughts. Based on BBT and OPK, I'm thinking I had an LH surge but never actually ovulated. Would you agree? Any other thoughts? Something I'm missing? This is my first cycle after getting my PCOS diagnoses. I did 10 days of Provera to induce my cycle and taking metformin 500mg twice per day. 

fameonmain2

@heathergirl89 it looks like your body tried but you don’t have a valid temp shift to confirm O. Are you still doing OPKs?

heathergirl89

@fameonmain2 that's what I was thinking. Yes , still doing OPKs and BBT. It's just a waiting game now. If I get to CD35 with no BFP or AF, I am supposed to start another round of Provera

inthewoods23

@heathergirl89 yep I agree with @fameonmain2. No O yet and definitely keep up with the BBT and OPKs

fameonmain2

@heathergirl89 yeah definitely keep with both! I don’t have pcos but I have had a cycle with false surges that eventually ended in O!

inthewoods23

Hi ladies, just looking for opinions. I had a weird dip in LH yesterday in the middle of the day after a peak reading. Do you think O is still likely to be today or do you think there's a chance it could be tomorrow?

fantasyflyte

@inthewoods23 given it's one-off and the others were all dark, I'd just write it off as a diluted pee or a fluke test, and I'd say it still looks like O today.

inthewoods23

@fantasyflyte they're only a week past their expiration date lol. We'll have to see if my temp jumps up tomorrow.

I've always wondered if you still see the temp jump the next morning if ovulation happens to occur late in the day. I'll take whatever TBH because if conception is tomorrow that just so happens to make my EDD my birthday 

optimistgardener

@inthewoods23 does your temp always spike the day after O? I think I have a delayed temp spike (so, day12: opk goes +, day13: clear ovulation pains, no temp spike, day14: dull "after ov" pain, sometimes a spike and sometimes no spike, day15 or 2DPO(?): definitely a spike). Anyhow, I think you're on track for ovulation today!

inthewoods23

@optimistgardener I have heard that about the temp shift happening later. Most often I get my peak (for this cycle CD14) the same day or day after O pains. My temp spike comes 2 days after the peak OPK (so CD16) to indicate O is the day after my peak OPK (on CD15).

I often get my first positive OPK in the evening with a peak reading the next morning.

optimistgardener

@inthewoods23 really interesting that your ov pain comes before your OPK peak!

acleverusername

Allow me to add my 2 cents here: I think ovulation happens quicker for some ppl. That’s why they (doctors) say it could happen any time 12-72 hours after onset of LH surge (on average, it is 28-36 after onset). That’s a wide window! 

optimistgardener

I've always been of the impression that i ovulate relatively quickly, anywhere from 18-24 hours after my LH surge (my evidence is powerful sharp pain followed a couple of hours later by a dull, all-over lower abdominal pain that my RE confirmed was probably an inflammatory response to bleeding after follicle rupture), but that my temp shift is a little bit slow to follow afterwards. I've read that a delayed BBT rise is pretty standard. Which is all to say, @inthewoods23, even if your temp doesn't shift tomorrow it doesn't mean you didn't ovulate!

fantasyflyte

@optimistgardener it's amazing how differently bodies handle the same event. I tend to have multiple days of low-level sharp pain on my lower left side, with O happening in the middle of it. Like I started having it yesterday, and based on OPKs and my history I'm thinking O is tomorrow.

optimistgardener

@fantasyflyte no doubt! I've always thought we would be a great community in which to conduct a study on our subjective experience of the menstrual cycle, since we are a bunch of people who are unusually alert and knowledgeable about our cycles, and since we all basically do more or less careful charting as a norm. How many of us "feel" ovulation, and if we do, is it before/during/after? How many of us experience PMS or menstrual cramps? To what extent are they debilitating and for how long? What are our average cycle lengths and O days? How many of us feel ovulation "trading sides" from month to month? It would be extra interesting to accompany recording of subjective experience with physical monitoring to see how our interpretations and physical reality relate.

Since starting TTC, I've been continuously shocked by the very uneven state of scientific knowledge about women's bodies and how our reproductive systems work, and how we work with those systems.

jellie603

Hi! I'm new here! I haven't used OPKs before as this is our first month/cycle of TTC. I've taken 2 tests (clearly) so far and I feel like the number today is wicked high. Also is the test from this morning positive? Peak? What is the difference? If it is peak, does that mean O is in about 24 hours from now? Sorry if these are ridiculous questions - I know nothing about this and have done lurking and just want to be sure get the hang of it all. :D

fantasyflyte

@jellie603 yep, that bottom one is definitely positive, you have great timing lol! Ovulation is usually 12-36 hours after the first peak/positive test so it'll probably be tomorrow if tat test was taken today. Are you also temping to confirm ovulation?

jellie603

@fantasyflyte well there ya go haha! So peak/positive are more or less the same then? And once I get that test we should HIO tonight and probably like twice tomorrow? 😂. I assume temping is taking the BBT? I'm not because I thought I read you need a specific thermometer for that and all we have is the swipe on the forehead type ...

inthewoods23

@jellie603 what brand of tests are those? I've never seen a test line that dark compared to the control before. In any case, as long as that test line is as dark as or darker than the control line (a T/C ratio of 1.0 or greater) then it's a positive test. Peak, in terms of the Premom app, just tells you which of your tests was the darkest test line. This is easier to understand if you test multiple times a day and past your first positive OPK. If you look back through the pages of this thread you should see some good examples.

jellie603

@inthewoods23 Honestly, they are just CVS brand. I tested again at noon and it is much much lighter with a 0.46 number. I've been lurking on this thread and most of it makes sense, just want to be sure I am understanding when my window of ovulation is/could be and when/how often we should HIO haha!

samvsimpson

Hoping I can get some help with my most recent OPK readings. 

Yesterday AM I got a surge, followed by 3 negatives. I didn't take a picture of them but I got a negative at 3pm, 6pm and 9pm as well. 

Woke up to an even stronger positive. Cm yesterday was watery, today it is egg white. 

Temperatures are also included in FF screenshot, which confuse me further given the drop then rise.. 

Any opinions or insight welcome!

optimistgardener

@samvsimpson my opinion is that you had your first LH surge yesterday, which is the only one that counts. some people have long LH surges, but it's the initial rise that sends the follicles into their final ovulatory process. you may well still have a strong OPK positive even after you've ovulated. i often experience a surge with some variation in the test line strength over the course of the day. totes normal.

ovulation occurs somewhere between 12-72 hours after the first surge (but mostly within 48 hours). the temperature dip and rise you experienced are within range for pre-ovulatory variation, but expect a spike in the next day or so as your BBT confirms ovulation, likely today but maybe tomorrow.

samvsimpson

@optimistgardener
Thank you! That is very helpful! I tried googling and it was very hard to get a clear answer. 

samvsimpson

@optimistgardener sorry to bug you again, but what do you think my temps are showing? Failed O?

optimistgardener

@samvsimpson possibly. keep temping, keep watching your fertile signs, and start peeing on sticks again until you see an LH surge followed by a sustained thermal shift. other women on this board are probably better able to speak to the experience of multiple LH surges and delayed ovulation. perhaps some of them will jump in here...

pinkkillersheep

@samvsimpson Sharing my chart in case it helps. I had a couple small LH surges that I marked as negative OPK results and eventually gave up (Mon is CBAD), but judging by CM and thermal shift the third time was the charm. I can’t tell you what it means, just sharing my experience.

samvsimpson

@optimistgardener @pinkkillersheep Thanks for getting back to me! I am probably just overthinking this and know I need to wait it out but it's driving me crazy lol..

I have been consistently getting negative OPKs since CD 18/CD 19 (details below) CM was watery on CD 18, EW on CD 19, then dry/sticky since then. 

OPK details: 
CD 18, positive, then 3 tests (each 3 hrs apart) after that day were negative. 
CD 19, positive and got stronger through the day (every 3 hours again), then dropped back to negative by night. 

jellie603

Hi, friendly neighborhood noob again 😂. I feel like my OPKs are really dark for longer than they should be. Does this look normal? I'm only testing once a day right now because what's the point if they're going to be high the entire time I guess. Am I supposed to mark all of these highs as a positive test in FF? Also here is my FF chart for reference for other data. I can't figure out when O might actually be...