question re: OPKs

soc_girl

I was looking at OPKs the other day and noticed that there seem to be 2 choices: the digital kind that look a lot like pregnancy tests, and the more affordable kit that is a cup for urine and a strip of paper you put into the cup. The cheap version says there are enough strips of paper for "one month" but I wonder - since I'm charting, couldn't I just start using the OPK a few days before I think I should O based on previous charts and therefor make the test strips last longer (get more than one cycle per kit)?

jac*n*abe

Yeah, if you know about the day you typically ovulate, you should start testing 3/4 days out.

 

When I ordered my OPKs there was a guide on instruction sheet saying when I should begin testing, according to when I would typically ovulate. 

 

Usually, if I start to notice changes in my CM toward more fertile, I'll start using them. 

NDwife07

Yeah, I wouldn't spend the money on the digital. I think I got my OPK strips through babywishes.org and because I only used 5-10 per cycle (used 1-2 per day) they definitely lasted a while.

jac*n*abe

Ditto, Lauren, on not getting the digital. I like the dip sticks. I know it's getting saturated enough. Haha. 

marleysmom

jac*n*abe:

Yeah, if you know about the day you typically ovulate, you should start testing 3/4 days out.

When I ordered my OPKs there was a guide on instruction sheet saying when I should begin testing, according to when I would typically ovulate. 

Usually, if I start to notice changes in my CM toward more fertile, I'll start using them. 

Ditto this. I used the strips but also bought one digital that I used to confirm what I thought was a positive result on the strip. Since the strips are sometimes tough to read (is the line darker are not? sometimes hard to tell), I used the digital just to make sure. It was worth it to me to buy just one for that purpose.