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TTA: Glaring + OPK with beta HCG <60?

GhanimaAtreidesGhanimaAtreides member
in Miscarriage/Pregnancy Loss
Long story short: doc absolutely forbids TTC for 3 months post op, but she won't shell out the birth control patch until my HCG hits 0. But birth control would be ideal in a post-loss situation where cycles are wildly unpredictable, so hopefully this is my last month having to use NFP + contraceptive film to avoid. Which I kinda suck at avoiding since I've been in a TTC mindset for 2 straight years and this last loss was and TTA oops.

I have been getting all my usual O signs; increased energy, sex drive, insomnia, EWCM, cervix HSO, full saliva ferning, so I decided to try an OPK. It's glaring positive. Meanwhile my wondfo HCG from Thursday morning is very faint (not quite a squinter yet) and beta that day was 74, with slowest weekly drop being 50%, and last week's was back up to a 70% drop. I anticipate another 3-4 weeks to get to the 0-5 non-pregnant range.

I've heard that HCG can trigger an OPK, but usually quite a bit after the first +HPT; my beta HCG is low enough to be comparable to a pregnant woman's <14dpo. With my last non-chemical, I ovulated 2 days after hitting zero. I've heard it's possible to O with HCG in your system.

We've been using contraceptive film since I first felt comfortable last Sunday, 3.5 weeks post op (not a D&C) and will continue until I get the 3+ biphasic temps. Would you consider the OPK as a true +, or a residual false + from HCG?

(This TTA thing using NFP in a wonky-ass unpredictable post loss cycle SUCKS. I am looking forward to getting on the patch so I can shut the charting part of my brain OFF and have a 3 month vacay from it.)


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Re: TTA: Glaring + OPK with beta HCG &lt;60?

  • NYTino24NYTino24 member
    @GhanimaAtreides My HCG dropped from 53 to 0 in less than a week, so it's possible you are close to 0 already. Not sure what you should think. My OPKs have not gone to one line or even a really faint second line since before my BFP cycle.
    It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most...not where you live, or what you drive, or the price tag on your clothes... There's no dollar sign on a piece of mind, this I've come to know! *ZBB*

    Me: 36 DH 35 
    TTC  9/2016     BFP 12/9/16    EDD 8/21/17    NMC 1/8/16 at 7w6d
    TTC  2/2017  BFP 3/6/17   EDD 11/17/17   DS born 11/25/17 via ECS
    TTC 12/2018   BFP 6/2/19   EDD 2/12/20  NMC / BO at 7 weeks, low progesterone
    TTC 7/2019   BFP 8/21/19 EDD 4/22/20 CP at 5 weeks
    TTC 8/19    IUI #1 w/ Clomid + Ovidrel + progesterone  BFN, IUI 2 and 3 w/ Letrozole + Ovidrel + progesterone,
    IUI 4 Follistim + Ovidrel + progesterone BFP 1/9/20 EDD 9/18/20

    AMA, ITP in pregnancy, vWD type II - low Factor VIII, unexplained RPL and secondary infertility
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  • justsuziejustsuzie member
    My opks were very positive when HCG was at 17 and htp were a very faint positive. I didn't get my true LH surge until 3 weeks later. 
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  • justsuziejustsuzie member
    My doctor said it's rare that I would O with HCG higher than 5. I makeup of HCG and the lutenizing hormone are so similar that the LH opks can't tell the difference. The only way I would trust the opks is if you've been doing them for a while and have seen them get lighter and then darker again. But then again you can have LH surges and not O. I would trust your temperatures the most. Do you chart? I was at a constant 98.6 while I still had HCG in my system. And when I was under 5 my temp went back to my baseline of 97.6. I was then able to see my O by charting. Good luck. The last few weeks were the worst for me because I was so impatient and just wanted to start taking pnvs again. I started as soon as HCG was below 5. I've heard it takes 12 weeks to build back up but my dr said I only had to wait 2 complete cycles to ttc again. And she said that was basically to get my folic acid levels back to normal not because of any danger of mtx damage to egg quality. 

    There is so much ambiguous and contradictory info on the internet and very little scientific journal information that I tried to steer clear and rely on my OB because she seemed very knowledgeable and straightforward with information. I hope you have an OB you are comfortable with. Good luck! You should join us on ttcal even if you aren't actively trying. There is a thread for waiting to O and benched that gave some very knowledgeable ladies.  There are 3-4 ectopic loss women that are on that board that helped me tremendously. 
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  • GhanimaAtreidesGhanimaAtreides member
    Thanks @justsuzie, I am charting and my temps have been steadily follicular range for two weeks now.


    I think I will ask my doc to test my folate levels with each new cycle after I hit zero. It seems weird that you could possibly not find out you are pregnant until you miss a period and only start taking a prenatal then, and the OB will tell you you're just fine and it's not like if you didn't have 3 months built up you're better off aborting and starting over. But WE can't even think about trying again without our folate being built up to 3 months worth or a comparable blood level?

    I was thinking about posting in TTCAL, but it's a MUCH bigger group than it was just two years ago. Plus with TTA, I wasn't sure if it was the right place. The whole thing just reminds me of what I can't do right now. It's good to know that they have their own TTA/Benched thread though.
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  • justsuziejustsuzie member
    @GhanimaAtreides Unfortunately my dr wouldn't test my folate levels because she said that I would definitely be fine if I ate healthy and took pnvs for only a month, but she recommended to wait to 2 months to be sure. Folate builds quickly.  (I mean think about all the people that eat like shit and don't take pnvs and then get KU.) Hopefully your dr will test you to give you peace of mind.  We had a contraception malfunction the month after my 0 HCG and I was terrified of getting pg because of the lack of folate.  My dr said it wouldn't have been the worst thing, just not recommended.

    The ttcal board is actually not that big right now.  Maybe 10-12 regular posters.  I was on the waiting for AF thread and waiting to O thread for literally months.  The thing that I love about it is seeing other loss moms go onto to healthy pregnancies.  3 regs have recently moved on which gives the rest of us hope.  Sometimes this board is just a constant reminder of loss which I can't always deal with.

    Good luck with waiting for AF.  Looking at your progress I say that you have come down pretty quickly.  So is the no ttc 3 months after your shot?  My dr said the same thing but then tacked on an extra 2 normal cycles (3 AFs) just to help me get regular again so I would be able to know my dates for early US to monitor.  We plan to ttc this summer around June because that is when things will be less stressful in our lives.  DH is still in school and I am a teacher so we are both getting into that hectic time of year.  Good luck to you, and keep us posted.  

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  • GhanimaAtreidesGhanimaAtreides member
    You'd think that the docs would waive the waiting for dating purposes requirement for anyone who charts; that just seems like common sense.
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  • NYTino24NYTino24 member
    edited March 2017
    @GhanimaAtreides You'd think, but even then, temps aren't all that accurate. I thought I ovulated based on 4 high temps, OPKs, and CM... but I had a fever! Once it went away, it was easy to see I hadn't yet. Frustrating, but it proves you need other back up methods to cross check.
    It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most...not where you live, or what you drive, or the price tag on your clothes... There's no dollar sign on a piece of mind, this I've come to know! *ZBB*

    Me: 36 DH 35 
    TTC  9/2016     BFP 12/9/16    EDD 8/21/17    NMC 1/8/16 at 7w6d
    TTC  2/2017  BFP 3/6/17   EDD 11/17/17   DS born 11/25/17 via ECS
    TTC 12/2018   BFP 6/2/19   EDD 2/12/20  NMC / BO at 7 weeks, low progesterone
    TTC 7/2019   BFP 8/21/19 EDD 4/22/20 CP at 5 weeks
    TTC 8/19    IUI #1 w/ Clomid + Ovidrel + progesterone  BFN, IUI 2 and 3 w/ Letrozole + Ovidrel + progesterone,
    IUI 4 Follistim + Ovidrel + progesterone BFP 1/9/20 EDD 9/18/20

    AMA, ITP in pregnancy, vWD type II - low Factor VIII, unexplained RPL and secondary infertility
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  • GhanimaAtreidesGhanimaAtreides member
    Update: ok, it's gotta be a false + because it's still glaring this morning. I also realized that my contraceptive film seriously resembles EWCM; I abstained a couple days and it's right back to creamy.
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