OPK Help Thread

optimistgardener

hey there @jellie603. You're right that a 4-day LH surge seems longer than most, but the usual mantra is that only the timing of the initial surge counts in terms of identifying your O day. So even if you LH #s stay high for a couple of days afterwards, it doesn't matter and O may even be in the rearview mirror as you continue to flip OPKs positive. Based on your chart alone, I would argue for CD15 as your O day. If I were just looking at your OPKs, I would say that the reading at midday on CD14 is homing in on a strong surge, indicating O in the next 18-36 hours, probably. The even stronger reading on CD15 confirms that, indeed, we're in the midst of your surge. The fact that you don't read as "peak" until CD15 is I think secondary to having a good solid double line reading the day before. It can be hard to be 100% accurate in situations like this, but my money is that your LH surge on CD 14 started the wheels in motion for a CD 15 ovulation, confirmed by your temp jump on CD16. If it's still high by CD18, then you're in good shape to assume you're in the TWW.

agesandstages

Feeling a bit confused. I think I’m currently on peak 3 of my cycle, but curious if you’d interpret in the same way?  (My temping is off bc I got a cold / fever). Any input would be much appreciated! (Pic in spoiler)

optimistgardener

@agesandstages that is quite the strong test line on that CD 31 OPK.

If you don't have a sustained temperature rise (or can't confirm one because you've been sick or whatever) then it is hard to confirm O. The temp rise happens as the corpus luteum (what remains after the follicle is released) begins to produce progesterone. Multiple LH surges can happen for various reasons within a single cycle, and will make it even harder to confirm O. As others here who deal with PCOS will tell you, you can get a series of surges as your body tries (and fails) to ovulate before finally, hopefully, at some point succeeding. You can also get an LH surge later in your cycle, right before bleeding, even when you have ovulated normally earlier in your cycle. (This is why it's a bad idea to use an OPK hoping it will detect pregnancy. It might detect pregnancy, but it might also just detect a wonky LH surge as your body gears up to bleed. I have done this and can confirm it is depressing.) In any of these cases, it's the sustained high temp that can serve as your guide. Without knowing your temps, it seems equally possible that you haven't yet O'd but are about to, or that you O'd back somewhere around CD 12 and you're either about to bleed or you're pregnant.

jellie603

@optimistgardener that was SO informative, thank you! A little disappointing because I have been struggling the last handful of days and I just could not mentally bring myself to DTD on CD15 or CD16 and I have a feeling that this morning's (CD17) was too little, too late.... I will keep on keepin' on though

optimistgardener

@jellie603 your CD14 effort ain't bad, though! And honestly, your chart is a bit funky because there are so many high temps pre-O, so a little hard to figure out what your baseline is. Mine is often that way too.

bows22

@agesandstages time to take an HPT!

agesandstages

Thanks for the advice @bows22 and @optimistgardener! Fingers crossed that I can temp effectively next cycle and get better info!

acleverusername

@jellie603 I feel like you probably O'ed on the 31st. 

paytonpedro

The one that says peak. The test line was not as dark as the control line IRL. Was that really my peak? If so it would be a few days early. I plan on continuing to test. My temps aren’t giving anything away yet and have been a little (lot) Rocky.

bows22

@paytonpedro It doesn’t look positive but I wonder if you would have had a positive overnight on 9/4-9/5 and just had a short surge? I’d definitely keep testing to see if you surge again but I’d have sex too!

paytonpedro

@bows22 that makes sense and I’ve thought the same thing but that would be a super short surge! No that my surges are generally very long. Thank you!!!

acleverusername

@paytonpedro one thing to keep in mind is – if you naturally have a low LH surge – these threshold-based tests will give you a false negative. People with underlying conditions (i.e. PCOS) have this problem. That's why quantitative tests could work better. Given your *tw* loss *end TW*, it's possible your hormones are out of sorts. I would recommend giving the semi-quantitative tests a try next cycle. 

In my case, I never used to get a true positive on these types of tests, but as soon as my strips got darker, I new my LH surge was happening. Using the semi-quantitative tests was much more helpful because I could estimate the amount of LH. 

Or, as @bows22 said, you could have had your surge overnight. 🤷‍♀️

inthewoods23

@paytonpedro your tests look similar to mine this cycle where I never actually had a positive test. I definitely agree yours could have been overnight. My current cycle I wasn't able to test during the day since I was in the office and I suspect my surge occurred then. The morning's OPK was 0.38 at 6AM so I knew my surge was going to occur soon but I wasn't able to test again until 8PM that night where my "peak" was 0.87. I wasn't concerned about it until I tested the following morning and got 0.85. My BBT chart confirmed O to be the day after that peak so in hindsight my surge must have happened in less than 12 hours instead of the usual 24+ hours I've had in previous cycles. 

paytonpedro

@acleverusername what brand do you use? Thank you. That makes a lot of sense and is very helpful! 

@inthewoods23 I usually have more of a rapid onset surge so that would be wild if it happened that fast but I guess it would be similar to if it happened during the day, except it was night. 

My tests today are negative still. 

acleverusername

@paytonpedrohttps://www.amazon.com/Premom-Semi-Quantitative-Ovulation-Predictor-Numerical/dp/B07Q3RRHRL

paytonpedro

@acleverusername thank you!!

acleverusername

Question: so... I got a "blazing" positive OPK on Aug 31, but I had a particularly noticeable EWCM several days later... like 3 days later. So, it is possible that I ovulated so much later than my positive OPK? The OPK on Sep 1 was positive too, but about as dark as the test line. The one on Aug 31 was definitely darker. Any thoughts? 

Aug 31:


Sep 1:

fantasyflyte

@acleverusername do you check cm internally or externally on toilet paper/underwear? If externally, maybe it was EWCM produced a couple days previous that happened to fall out?

Personally, I tend to still have watery/EWCM for a couple days after ovulation, so maybe it just stuck around for a bit.

acleverusername

@fantasyflyte this time it was externally-observed EWCM. 

inthewoods23

@acleverusername I'd say it's possible. I think technically the latest time after a positive OPK is 72 hours. *tw* looking at my one BFP cycle, FF says O was 3 days after the first positive OPK. It's probably rare to ovulate so much later but it happens.

paytonpedro

@acleverusername I would think the Aug 31 would be the onset. Are you temping as well? Does that give you anymore insight? I personally don’t even track cm because I have ewcm all the time. But I do know that before an LH surge is an estrogen surge that causes the ewcm. So maybe @fantasyflyte is right about it being produced a couple days prior and just coming out later?

acleverusername

@paytonpedro I don't temp anymore, so nothing to confirm. Oh well, I think it'll remain a mystery at this point. Thanks @inthewoods23 @paytonpedro @fantasyflyte for your feedback. 

paytonpedro

Question: So this is obviously invalid right? This is at the 5 minute mark that it tells you to read it at (from yesterday evening). Could it have been too long of a dunk in the urine? I didn’t dunk it longer than I normally do. Or just a bad test? 
(Sorry if this is huge, bumping mobile)
I also waited another minute or two and it never cleared up. 

Paturkey

@paytonpedro I'll defer to the experts on this, but with my OPKs, in the FAQ it says that pink streaking along the length of the test is nothing and to just ignore it. It's only invalid if nothing shows on the Control line. So I'd call that a valid negative.

inthewoods23

@paytonpedro that's some extreme streak-age. If the test line were messed up I'd call it invalid but you're probably safe to assume it's an accurate result.

DH would probably make some joke with me that I used a right handed test instead of a left handed one and that's why it's all smeared. I hope we have at least 1 kid that's a lefty so I can rub it in his face lol.

jellie603

I'm having a hard time with my OPKs and I feel like I can't accurately pinpoint O with them. I posted last cycle about them as well. So the cycle marked with black i last cycle and the one marked with red is this cycle. For this cycle (I know I have only 2 in there), why was there such a strong positive yesterday and it is like non-existent today? I suppose it is possible that I O'd really early (CD 12) and that is accurate. But AF was actually late this cycle and last so that would mean my LP was wicked short? For last cycle.... I couldn't get them to stop turning positive. Why the heck were they so dark for so long? That question can be rhetorical as I posted that here last time haha. But, still, I am feeling confused and not sure how to read these. 

inthewoods23

@jellie603 LP is the time after ovulation. Follicular phase is the time before ovulation. I used to get positives for a day and a half but in the last few months I either barely get a true positive OPK once or only catch a near positive on the 0.9-1.0 range. What matters is that first positive and/or peak. After that you should O within 24-48 hours.

Keep testing as that may have been a false surge yesterday. If you're temping you'll know eventually if the CD12 test was a false surge or not.

savagebeebi

I'm not sure how to post to this forum but I have a question. Has anyone ever ovulated on a cycle day 25? I just got it positive ovulation test. I had a progesterone test with my doctor's office on Friday and it came back very low. But I had fertile CM this morning so I decided to take a test and it was positive.. I'm just confused. This was my first round on clomid. I took the clomid cycle day 5 through 9. Any insight would be great

fantasyflyte

Hi @savagebeebi, welcome! If you'd like to hang around the board, please go ahead and introduce yourself in the newbie's thread here: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12765041/newbie-intros-w-o-2-14#latest

You're in the right place to ask about OPK questions, but you can also share charts and ask general questions in our general questions thread here: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12764771/questions-chart-stalk-february-2022#latest

As to your specific question, it's definitely possible to ovulate at CD25. Before I started taking metformin for my PCOS, I'd sometimes ovulate CD30 or later. I'd guess if your progesterone is super low and you've got good CM and a positive OPK, you're probably gearing up for O and I'd definitely try to have sex at least tonight if not tonight and tomorrow. Are you temping to confirm ovulation?

savagebeebi

I am not temping but I will next cycle if I have a next cycle. We will definitely be doing the deed tonight! I am diagnosed with PCOS and have never had a regular cycle. I've been taking progesterone to get my period for the last 6 months. This cycle I took progesterone to get my period And then I started clomid on CD 5. I would post the ovulation test but I don't know how..
@fantasyflyte

acleverusername

@savagebeebi you could your RE for a higher dose of Clomid next time... if there is a next time. That will likely help you ovulate quicker. 

gingermama29

@savagebeebi FWIW, I also have PCOS and O around CD 20 with a higher dose of Letrozole. So yes, it’s definitely possible to ovulate that late. I’ll echo what others said and recommend temping to help confirm O. 

savagebeebi

I went to the DR on CD 26 and I was positive for ovulation and they saw a follicle that was mature and ready! Currently in my TWW.

optimistgardener

@savagebeebi that's good to hear. Feel free to join the convo over in the TWW dailies thread.

liliekane

I am at an absolute loss at what is happening with my body. I am 30 years old Cycles are roughly 37 days long. My first month using Clear blue ovulation kit. It is driving me crazy. I do not see much of a line progression. I am on day 5 of flashing smiley. On cycle day 26 today. It does not let me upload photos sadly.

anniemarie887

@liliekane *TW for pregnancy/miscarriage* nov 2021 I had 6 days of high before my peak and I got pregnant. Pregnancy did end in MMC at 9w. *end TW*

acleverusername

@liliekane Is this your first time using OPKs? Are your cycles _always_ 37 days or are they sometimes 32 and sometimes 40? I would keep testing. I remember having like a week of flashing smileys before getting a solid. Hope this helps. 

tryingeverything_tricarenothing

Please help, ...sooo I'm a total newb and don't know how to add a photo for reference...

But I'm looking to get feedback on if I had more than one positive OPK, or if it's just "almost"? The picture is of 5 days of OPKs (all pregmate)

2/21 obv neg
2/22 neg
2/23 AM positive
----PM ????
2/24 ????
2/25 neg

Picture was taken today, all tests were first morning urine, except the additional PM test.

acleverusername

@tryingeverything_tricarenothing to post a photo, click on the icon with mountain and sun right above the reply box. You will have an option to select photo. Like this:

In general though, you can have multiple days of positive OPKs. What’s most important is the first positive; that’s means the message has been sent to trigger meiosis (cell division) after which the egg will be released from the follicle. 

mamafox14

Alright y’all, I am super new at this. I’ve done temping before but just started OPKs recently. I JUST had my IUD out on Monday (so less than 72 hours ago). I’ve been doing OPKs to get a sense of my cycle since I have zero clue when I could expect to ovulate. Pictured below are yesterday afternoon (left) and this morning (not FMU) and I guess it just surprised me that it’s SO much darker. Like not quiiiite positive but close? Am I nuts to even entertain the possibility of ovulating so soon post IUD? Temps have been on the upswing. 

Either way I’ll just have all the sex jusssst in case 😉