OPK Qs

[TTC-a-miracle]

I've tried using them before yet never got a positive result - ever!
A) how you properly use them
B) are they worth it (they seem expensive using quite a few throughout the month)
C) is there any point if you are doing your temperatures?

[jellybean88]

I think your meant to use after 10am but I'm not sure if you don't ever get a pos if there is any point in using them even when not about to ovulate you should get a line
Regarding cost I used to get a pack of 50 Internet cheapies for like $10 and eventually got it down to a fine art and only had to use 3 a month
It gives you a couple days warning whereas temping tells you after but once you get into the swing of it I recon temping is enough that said I found ttc.much more relaxing without temping or opks once I learnt my cycle and what time to dtd

[Calluna]

Test between 10am and 10pm. 2pm is supposed to be the best time.

That said, I could never get a pos OPK either. I do wonder if some people just dont.

[Taurean]

I used the digital tests combined with temping. I also used Fertility Friend to chart my cycles. Once I had a good idea of my cycles, I could use the digital ones over two or three days only so it didn't cost a fortune. I bought them cheap from the UK through eBay too. I could never go back to normal OPKs, digital tests took out all the guess work. They're aren't cheap though but so easy if you can afford them.

[TTC-a-miracle]

Oh wow I didn't even know they did digital ones maybe that's where I've gone wrong I've done them first thing in a morning before work

[Taurean]

The digital ones rock! Google them, Clear Blue Digital Ovulation Tests. They do pregnancy tests too.

[TTC-a-miracle]

Around $50 for 7 tests is that right?
I might start with the others until I get the hang of it

[Taurean]

Oh no, no way! I definitely didn't pay that much! More like $20 for 7 tests or less.

[TTC-a-miracle]

Oh ok that's the cheapest on eBay

[Taurean]

I just found one for $43 for 20 tests - that's about what I paid. Change your eBay settings to world wide. Mine came from the UK

[TTC-a-miracle]

That sounds better I will check that out thank you

[peanutter]

I got a swag online, through ebay. It was 100 for $20 or some such.

They were those little litmus tests, that you have to dip in pee and then leave resting on something horizontal. A little more fiddly and messy, but bunches cheaper.

[juniper76]

I mostly use the IC strips ($20 for 100) because I usually go through about 10 per cycle. When I get what I think is a +opk with the strips, I then use a digi to confirm. I never get a true +opk (ie test line darker than control) with the strips, but I get a line that is close.

I currently get the IC ones through ebay (inpregnancy store), but I have also used the Oracle ones.

Definitely don't use FMU if you've never gotten a +opk with it! The conventional advice is to not use FMU, but there seems to be something of a growing trend to use FMU for some reason. I always get a lighter line with FMU than the night before or later that day. For example, this cycle, I had 2 very dark (but not +) opks on CD15, FMU CD16 was much lighter, then 10pm on CD16 I got the +opk.

I think the theory behind not using FMU is that you don't metabolise the LH from your bloodstream into your urine while you sleep? My advice is to skip FMU and try to do the test after a 4-hour hold with minimal liquid intake during that 4 hours. I usually try to pee 2 hours before I leave work so that I can do the test when I get home and settled (ie after I change clothes, put things away, etc). Or I do the test right before bed. I've had many a +opk at midnight...

I can think of 2 reasons to use OPK if you're charting temps:
1. To confirm what the temps are telling you - this is great if it works but frustrating if they don't match up (like mine!). I tend to actually put more credence on the OPKs than the temps now.
2. To have warning before you O - temps only tell you after you have O'd, so it's too late to BD by the time the temps have confirmed O. The idea of the OPK is to make sure you know beforehand to BD at the right time. Of course, if you have a very active sex life, the OPK is probably not really necessary for that purpose.

Taurean, thanks for the tip for finding the digis cheaper on ebay! Best price I've found in Australia is $53 for 7 and I struggle to justify that expense (about $7.50 per test) but I like the confidence I get from the results. If I can find them cheaper I'll definitely buy more! (I've made this first box last me almost a year!)

[Taurean]

Taurean, thanks for the tip for finding the digis cheaper on ebay! Best price I've found in Australia is $53 for 7 and I struggle to justify that expense (about $7.50 per test) but I like the confidence I get from the results. If I can find them cheaper I'll definitely buy more! (I've made this first box last me almost a year!)

No worries They don't sell the box of 20 in Australia (as far as I'm aware) so being able to buy them from OS at a reasonable price is great! I gave a bunch of my last tests to one of my close friends as we conceived DD2 much faster than I expected and, unfortunately, the tests would have expired before we started TTC #3.

The box I bought arrived quickly from the UK and I had no dramas with them at all. So for about $2 a test, they were good value and so easy to use.