Temping/opk question.

ThePax89 · April 2016

I'm currently on the sex every other day and the day of ovulation schedule.

How long after a positive opk do you continue to dtd every day?

How long after a marked temp increase are you fertile? (If at all)

Sincerely, sick of sex.

mylittleversailles · April 2016

Haha, I hate baby-making sex. No one told me sex with a purpose wasn't fun, but I have learned that lesson.

I follow the Sperm Meets Egg Plan, so I do it for 3 days in a row after a positive OPK.

After a sustained temp increase shows you are not fertile at all.

I personally have a rarer slow rise bbt pattern, so I can suspect but it's not clear I've ovulated until three days after.

ThePax89 · April 2016

@reneeannemm that goodness I'm not the only one who hates this. I have intensely fast lh surges, so my hunch is that I ovulate soon after a surge. But I've never temped prior to this month, so we shall see. If you think I'm banging for the next 3 days, it's not gonna happen.

BornReady · April 2016

My understanding is that you are no longer fertile after the temp rise, but I would usually go a day or two after the rise since ovulation wasn't technically confirmed yet.

As far as OPKs, I generally ovulate overnight after my positive Wondfo OPK. So, I generally get a positive around 6-9PM and then have a temp rise the following morning. This has changed some over the years, but it is true more often than not. I am a very short surger.

Like @reneeannemm I usually do every other day until I get a positive OPK or a "peak" reading on the clearable advanced in the AM test and then do everyday for 2-3 days which is probably overkill considering my short surges.

Spartanrd4 · April 2016

I use the advanced digital opk so once I get high fertility we try and do every day but actually the month I got pregnant we only ended up every other around the day I ovulated. I never even got a peak reading that month so don't know if I had a quick surge or what. I honestly thought we didn't have the best timing but got KU anyway! And yes it's my understanding that after your bbt rises your fertile time is over. Most cycles I have a slow rise so I have an idea what's happening...I also have flat temperatures before O sometimes too. The longer you temp the more you can see patterns over time, kind of cool!

catiecatp · April 2016

I'm considering OPK this month - should I start with Wondfos?

Also I agree with PP - the day of the temperature surge is the day after ovulation - technically you aren't fertile. That said, it depends on when you ovulated - I think you could, theoretically, ovulate at say 3 am and see a temperature surge at 7am... if you DTD at 8am it the egg should still be viable

ThePax89 · April 2016

@catiecatp wondfos are a great inexpensive option. I have been pregnant 3 times. The first was conceived with a clearblue advanced monitor (it was $40) and the second two were conceived with wondfos. As fun as it is seeing the smily face, I prefer the wondfos. Beware of other brands. They give false positives because they are more sensitive.

catiecatp · April 2016

Thanks @ThePax89 - I've never used OPKs so inexpensive but reliable seems like the way to start

virginiaham · April 2016

BornReady said:

My understanding is that you are no longer fertile after the temp rise, but I would usually go a day or two after the rise since ovulation wasn't technically confirmed yet.

As far as OPKs, I generally ovulate overnight after my positive Wondfo OPK. So, I generally get a positive around 6-9PM and then have a temp rise the following morning. This has changed some over the years, but it is true more often than not. I am a very short surger.

Like @reneeannemm I usually do every other day until I get a positive OPK or a "peak" reading on the clearable advanced in the AM test and then do everyday for 2-3 days which is probably overkill considering my short surges.

You aren't definitely not alone!!!

^Also, this. So I will usually continue sex EOD until FF gives me crosshairs (morning of 3dpo) unless I'm feeling super confident and cocky about my initial temp shift. My typical OPK & temp shift schedule is so similar to @BornReady. I also love the Wondfos for being able to use them multiple times a day and not feeling like I'm wasting $.

catiecatp · April 2016

So all y'all would recommend Wondfos? I may need help deciphering them

EDIT: I'm looking for reassurance - I'm not a pee on everything in sight sort of gal so it feels weird to go down this avenue at the moment

LCRbelle · April 2016

I personally hate deciphering wondfos but I think that's just because I'm impatient at waiting to O every month. I do get pretty dark positives though. The day before it's normally questionable.
I still use them because they're cheap and I can just buy them in bulk.

BornReady · April 2016

I use a combination of Wondfos and the digitals. I think the Wondfos are good to start with because you can see a build up to your surge and they are very inexpensive. Fertility Friend has a gallery of OPKs to see what positives look like, so that might be helpful to check out too. Good luck, @catiecatp !

Spartanrd4 · April 2016

I've never used wondfos but thinking of doing so, I seem to always miss my surge with the digital using only once a day, too expensive to do more times in one day. I've only gotten peak one cycle (usually only get high fertility) since I started opks even though I obviously ovulate every time.

virginiaham · April 2016

catiecatp said:

So all y'all would recommend Wondfos? I may need help deciphering them

EDIT: I'm looking for reassurance - I'm not a pee on everything in sight sort of gal so it feels weird to go down this avenue at the moment

Yes! FF has a pee stick gallery with plenty of Wondfo's and looking it over is a good reminder, especially when you're starting out, that your OPK+ may not be as dark as someone else's OPK+, or as dark as the wrapper tells you a "true +" is. This is where serial/ daily sticks, watching the line darken, and then lighten again helps. You're looking for your darkest OPK.

OPKs are really different from HPTs for me. With long, irregular cycles, honestly it gets exhausting waiting for that + and definitely turns into a discipline more than it ever does an obsession. My CM doesn't always prettily line up with O, so having that dark line really helps me maximize our timing. Good luck!!

ThePax89 · April 2016

Help! So first time temp-er. It is just making me more anxious. My sleep is very irregular. I was 100% confident I ovulated yesterday. Intense pain in right ovary. All the effing signs. Positive opk. No temp surge this am. What the balls?

dpjennifer · April 2016

Sorry @ThePax89 temping can be rough sometimes. My first cycle I kept staring at all the numbers, thinking to myself "WTF?" It's only after I charted a cycle or two that it started to make sense. So, just keep plotting and later look at it to see the big overall picture.
I've been using clearblue advanced digital OPKs. (you get empty circles on non-fertile days, a blinky smiley face on 'high' fertility days and then a solid smiley face that stays lit for 48 hours to indicate your 'peak' fertility). I used this 3 cycles now and the first two it worked as expected. A few days of blank circles, 2 days of blinky smileys, and then the peak smiley staying lit for 48 hours... and the day after that my temperature spiked! So, exactly when I thought I ovulated, nice to have the backup telling me so, and everything plotted on like normal. (Because as pp said, BD for purpose is not always fun and exciting times). So, I try to every other day, and hit one of those 'peak' days and call it done.
LAST cycle though, I got my 2 days of blinky smileys, then my solid smiley for 48 hours.. just like you I felt the O pain in the side, all the symptoms, everything going well... and NO temperature spike the 3rd morning. And I get a pretty good, clear temp spike. Nothing. Nada. Freaked out. And then the day after that, my temperature spiked.
Good luck with your charting! It can get stressful, but I've tried to not worry about it because it tends to make sense later on. Also, that O pain can happen days before your temperature spike. Mine did last cycle. I got the O pain like 3 days before my temp. spike. So don't lose hope!

mylittleversailles · April 2016

Yes, like @dpjennifer said, just keep plodding along. That's what so important about bbt, it helps you see the big picture and is the only thing that can confirm ovulation, as opposed to all the other things which are more to guide you there. When I started temping pre-loss, I also had a very inconsistent sleep pattern, but I just did my best and eventually saw the pattern.

ThePax89 · April 2016

Thanks @reneeannemm and @dpjennifer

RiverSong15 · April 2016

@ThePax89 - you can ovulate up to 2 days after a positive OPK. This is what typically happens for me. My first month temping, I didn't get a temp rise until 48 hours after a positive and my fertile CM had disappeared - it was a total mind f@$k, but that's why I appreciated the temping. TCOYF recommends sex through the morning of your temp rise. After that, you're not fertile.

@catiecatp - I also like Wondfos because they are cheap, and I can pee on 2-3 a day without feeling wasteful. I will warn though, I never get a true positive on them even though I am ovulating. I get a fade-in/fade-out pattern that gets almost as dark as the control, but never truly positive. I use the custom fields in FF to track it, and mark the darkest day as positive. It lines up pretty well with other signs. I'm not sure if the Wondfos aren't as sensitive or what, but I've heard that others on TB have had this issue as well.

BornReady · April 2016

@ThePax89 Good advice from PP. The body plays such tricks. I find I will have O pain throughout my cycle and as far as the positive OPK it can be hard to tell because you don't know where you are in your surge, so if you caught the start of your surge it could be 12-48 hours from that point to actual ovulation.

catiecatp · April 2016

Thanks @LCRbelle @BornReady @virginiaham and @RiverSong15

I'll talk to DH and see what he thinks - but I'm leaning towards ordering a batch. And the heads up on the picture gallery is very appreciated - as is the idea that it is a pattern of results that you look at.

Question @RiverSong15 - do you take photographs of the results so you can compare one day to the next? I'm not excited about keeping things I've peed on around when I don't need to keep them...

virginiaham · April 2016

@catiecatp I'm definitely guilty of having a ton of OPK pics on my phone!!!

ThePax89 · April 2016

@catiecatp they are small. I keep them in my bathroom until they are positive. Line em up. Write the day on them and snap a pic. It's hard to compare a photo from day to day.

RiverSong15 · April 2016

@catiecatp - I took pics the first month to compare, but I'm also guilty of being a 3/day tester, so I got tired of having that many pictures of things I'd peed on. I found it didn't help me that much, since different lighting can make the pics look different, regardless of the results. If I was unsure if something was positive, I'd err on the conservative side and consider it positive until proven otherwise. It gets easier once you discern a pattern of how OPKs line up with CM and temps.

Knottie1459524222 · April 2016

I have a question about CM.
A bit of background- this is my first cycle post loss. I started taking OPKs on 4/10, got a positive on 4/16, then negatives for the next few days. My previous cycles before I conceived, plus the one I conceived, I had egg white CM during the fertile period. This cycle my CM seemed dry and sticky during the fertile period, and now here I am CD 20 and it is egg white consistency. I'm really confused, I don't temp so I'm not sure what to think of this. We've done a lot of BDing and I thought by CD 20 we could take a break, but now I'm wondering if we should keep at it every other day just to be sure? My previous cycles I've always had a positive OPK between CD14 and CD16. Does anyone have any advice?

catiecatp · April 2016

@knottie1459524222 - your body could have been gearing up for ovulation which is what the OPK was indicating, but without temping you don't know if you've ovulated. It sounds like your CM is telling you that you aren't fertile right now, to me you could likely take a break with BD and keep an eye out for fertile CM in case you didn't ovulate - if you see it BD again and take more OPK?

mylittleversailles · April 2016

@knottie1459524222Our cycles can be totally, completely wacky after loss and you can get an LH surge without actually ovulating. I think most fertility experts recommend you keep doing it every other day while you have possibly fertile CM, so keep on keepin' on until it dries back up.

BornReady · April 2016

@Knottie1459524222 After miscarriage my cm and ovulation took a while to match up again. Your body is pretty confused hormonally, and I imagine it's trying to figure everything out. If you are getting EWCM now, are you also turning OPKs positive? I would keep up the OPKs when you are seeing fertile CM, and act accordingly if you are actively trying. For me I ovulated later than normal after MC for several months and had patches of fertile CM throughout my cycle... even after ovulation.

Knottie1459524222 · April 2016

Thanks guys!! That's really helpful

@BornReady I haven't taken an OPK since the first surge on CD 16, but that's a good idea, I think I will take them when I also see fertile CM. The patchy fertile CM has been so confusing. I've just decided to do the deed every other day or every two days until I start my period, just to cover my bases. Praying the little guys find the egg regardless of the CM consistency! Lol

yolandamunoz · April 2016

Hello ladies

Before my MC I read a book that helped me get to know my body and chart in order to increase my chances of conceiving.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ud/80mhgd68y8yl.png

Here I post an excerpt that might be helpful, about ovulation day and temperature.

Best of luck!!!
-Y

Temping/opk question.

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