I never dreamt of this...

karirayyy · December 2016

Hello out there!

My husband and I have been trying to conceive for just over a year. I've been using an OPK the whole time. My cycle has been so wonky, my solid smiley face appears anywhere from the 15th through the 19th day of my cycle. It's incredibly frustrating. On November 1st, we did our first IUI (unmediated). Everything the doctors have told us is that we're healthy, "it just hasn't happened yet." Following my procedure, I tested my progesterone (7.8) one week later. And when it was time to test, I got a negative result. I started my period on November 16th and bled for six and a half days. My cycle has always been for five days. When it was time to use my OPK again, I began on the 24th, and since the 25th I have had a flashing smiley face (high fertility). If I flash again tomorrow, that will be nine days of high fertility. I am at a loss and don't know what to make of any of this - can anyone relate?

BenJay · December 2016

@karirayyy - Not sure what's going on, but I got multiple days of flashing smiley and NEVER a solid smiley. I was on Clomid though, which likely did it. Never have gotten a positive OPK even though my progesterone levels were good.

Hopefully someone with more experience can speak to this.

Worldtravler0522 · December 2016

@karirayyy I'm not sure I will be much help either but OPKs never worked for me. I had four monitored cycles before switching to IVF and each time the nurse said my OPK should have shown positive because of my hormones. My cycles have always been crazy, I bled for a month straight once before going to see the RE

in my experience AF is just a jerk face.

seethosestars · December 2016

I'm sorry to hear that you too have struggled to get pregnant! You're in the right place here

I think it's normal to ovulate on different cycle days each month, so having that solid smiley on CD15-19 depending on the cycle is not really all that unusual. It's also not abnormal to have bleeding for slightly more or less days than is "usual" for you. No one's body works like clockwork forever!

That being said, many of us have definitely struggled to turn OPKs before! I actually stick to the boring cheapie OPKs where you either get two solid lines or you don't. then I don't feel bad testing every day of my cycle if necessary.

Bababatty · December 2016

Welcome! I'm sorry you find yourself here, but you're in the right place. You'll get lots of good support. I hope you join the weekly check-in thread, too. :-)

I can't give any good advice on the OPKs beyond what the others said. Are you temping, too? Even if you're not turning an OPK, that could help tell if you ovulated.

funkykey · December 2016

@karirayyy - welcome! Like the others, I'm sorry you find yourself here, but hope you can find some helpful information here.

I have tried probably 4 different kinds of OPKs. Earlier, there was some variation in my cycles - some might be 31-32 days long, one or two were 25, but this past 5-6 months, I've been like clockwork, almost 28 days to the hour, with the same amount of bleeding. AF is a jerkface.

The Clearblue Advanced ones - with the flashing and solid smiley - will test for two hormones, E3G and LH. The E3G is first, and will trigger your body to release the LH, which is what will trigger the actual egg release. The dollar store OPKs will measure just LH, usually. I think flashing smiley is E3G, solid smiley is LH.

It is possible to have elevated E3G for several days and no LH surge. There will be elevated E3G throughout your cycle, and the LH surge may be brief - like just for about 6 hours. Last month, I measured E3G for like 10 days, but no LH surge. I was testing in the mornings, and my LH surge might have been in the afternoon. Sure enough, I measured an LH surge on a dollar store OPK tonight, twice, but in the evening. I didn't have a solid smiley face this morning.

Good luck!

hoffmanr7 · December 2016

Hello, I am sorry you find yourself here but glad you joined us. I can't give anymore insight than has already been shared but I will send you positive vibes

funkykey · December 2016

ps. though I'm good with the OPKs, and my cycles recently have been pretty uniform (at least according to AF and OPKs), my cervical mucus is another story... It is all over the map - cloudy, creamy, stretchy, watery, gluey - all sorts of different things, sometimes even on the same day.

I do not love tracking my cycle this closely - it's so confusing, and there are so many factors to consider - like will your cervical mucus change consistency if you've been drinking alcohol the night before? - bah.

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I never dreamt of this...

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