? about opks

I was wondering if anyone can help me? I got a fortel brand opk and started using it on CD12 (possibly a bit late?) and my last cycle was 28 days (but I tend to be a bit erratic). I took the first one at 6.45pm and got a darkish band, but not as dark as the control, the following days I tested within half an hour of the original time and barely got a result (both very faint). I don't think I have Od yet as I have been keeping an eye on cm and cp (with the exception of a few days here and there). I'm wondering if I am testing too late in the day even though the instructions suggest btwn 10am and 8pm? Even though it says to test at the same time each day could start testing earlier?
If my cycle lasts 28 days again I should be Oing today. My bbs are a bit tender today and I've had a couple of twinges low on the right side of my abdomen this morning (but now I don't know if I imagined it or not). I haven't checked cm or cp as yet as I usually do it later in the day.
I'm feeling a bit frustrated and down in the dumps today. I'm annoyed with myself for not knowing my body better ](*,) To add to my woes DH is starting to get toey and I'm feeling a lot of pressure to O just so he doesn't become more frustrated IYKWIM!! Sorry this is so loooong..

Oh heck Uhu - we need to get together!! I am having exactly the same problem. I got a fortel OPK and used it today and got only the control line. There was no 2nd line whatsoever. I'm like you and should be o'ing around now and I have no idea!! My cm is usually a really good indicator and even that's been ****ing me around (sorry - getting really p&**ed off ). I'm starting to think that I might not have o'ed last month and that the same has happened this month. My question in regards to OPK's is this - Once you are o'ing, does the OPK pick this up or is it only sensitive to the LH surge prior to O. So would it be coming up as negative if I am currently o'ing? Does it only pick up the LH surge and not the actual O? Does that make sense?

Good luck Uhu - we both need it!

Sorry, I have absolutely NO idea about OPKs as I haven't tried them yet but I'm sure there will be heaps of other girls who know the ins and outs.


But mostly I wanted to give Uhu a big :hugs: and a bit of a slap (sorry if that hurt ;) ) Remember that you know your body better than anyone else out there but you can't know exactly what it is about all the time. I seriously think that sometimes my body messes me about just because it knows I'm watching it's every move and want's a bit of privacy LOL. But seriously don't be too hard on yourself, I'm sure it will sort itself out soon and you will be back on track.

heaps and heaps of :hugs:

Thanks Jen, I really needed that slap :D I'm just so frustrated this month :mad: Can't seem to stay positive and feel like giving up!!! I guess I'm just feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment. I'm sure I'll feel better in a couple of days..........I hope.

Kathryn, I'm sorry to hear that one of us couldn't get it together this month :( I think the opks only really pick up around the surge and the remainder of the time they just show a really faint line or none at all but I'm not completely sure. I think I may have O'd early (well thats what I'm guessing) so next month I plan to start testing around CD8 - knowing my luck I'll probably O late next month and it'll cost me a small fortune in opks!! Bloody things!! I was the same I didn't notice any EWCM this month but I did get a bit slack with checking as I was working and my routine got thrown out. Did you BD at all when you thought you should be Oing? We did once only but I wasn't confident about getting pg. I hope if we are both destined to get af that we get it at the same time again so we can go through the opk journey together and maybe we might get lucky!!!

Hey Uhu,

I spent an absolute fortune as the fortel opk's NEVER came up positive, so i thought maybe I should test 10-15 days!! Though a blood test showed ovulation they never did... i'm sceptical now!

Hi Zoe

hmmm......I can see why you are skeptical about the opks especially since the bloods told you that you ovulated! I think I've got my doubts about them too. Having said that, I did go out and buy one the other day because I'm convinced that I O early in my cycle so thought I might try to start testing on about CD8 an see what happens. If it doesn't work this time I'm giving them away!!!!

Hi ladies,
I use a Persona machine as contraception which detects oestrogen, Lh and Uric acid (as a control). The machine physically "tastes" with a sensor for oestrogen, but the Lh comes up in a window just like on a OPK so i have effectively been using okp's for like a year.

I have found this - before ovulation for about 4-5 days i often have low levels of Lh, which show up but don't give a surge line. Most months i get a surge for 1 or 2 days, and this indicates ovulation as far as the machine is concerned - BUT some months, (and this is one of them) i have strong CM signs (i used the Billings ovulation contraceptive method for a year, so pretty well-up on cervixes etc!) and no surge. The machine hasn't indicated ovulation at all, but my signs indicate i am in my sterile luteal phase.

OPK's are okay, but i don't think doctors can predict reliably when ovulation will occur in relation to Lh. Some months i have a strong surge 2 or 3 days before i have the peak EWCM sign. Once i was on here, in fact, panicking because i had had sex on my first green day, and found i still had EWCM after the event. I must have JUST and no more missed ovulation that month!

I also read sopmewhere that if you are pregnant you get constant levels of Lh in your urine, as it supports the corpus luteum while the baby is getting set up in there. I never test after i have ovulated beyond a day or two, and usually if i do, i find i have faint lines, no positives, but Lh still there anyway.

I doubt any of this is much help - if i were you i would concentrate on the charting and the CM signs, they indicate best, as ovulation without any good CM is unlikely to result in pregnancy.

Hana

Hi Hana
Thanks for the info. I was wondering about the Persona machine, it sounds quite interesting. I haven't heard about them before (please excuse my ignorance), are they available at chemists?

hi guys
the last time i used opks, i bought them through this website. they were really inexpensive and i think they were really accurate. both times it showed that i Od on the same day that FF thought i Od plus my cm and temps all matched an O too.

beck

Hi,
I'm over in Scotland and Persona is available in Boots and in chemists. The machine costs around £70 (sorry, no idea at all how the £ is doing against the Auzzie$ right now) and the sticks are £10 a month.

It has been worth it so far from us despite my current pregnancy scare (sore BB's today BTW ladies, but telling myself that on CD20 it is TOO EARLY for signs!) which is due to a faulty condom. I hear they are FANTASTIC for those trying to get pregnant, and i basically know within a 48-hour period when i am ovulating every month so i can see that conception would be easier for your average couple using the machine - but would it be worth the cost if you were using it just for that? I don't know...

I would recommend it because it's versatile - you can use it to get preg, and once Bubs arrives you can use it to space your pregnancies.

Hana

Hey Hana,

I will have to look into the Persona here in Aust. as it sounds like a pretty nifty little machine! Perhaps some of the other ladies here have heard of it or something similar?

Sorry to hear the condom broke! They can be such a mongrel of a thing at the best of times!!! I hope things work out the way you want them to.

hi girls its my 1st cycle to use opks so im a bit confused with them

beck
which did you use...that sounds promising

Just adding my 2 cents worth to this discussion....

In relation to Kathryn's question about OPK's measuring O and/or LH, I understand that to an OPK, they are one and the same. The OPK needs to measure a changed in hormones (in this case LH) and that is the "sign" that ovualtion is imminent. The trick is, knowing how far in advance for your body, LH is to ovulation.

In IVF, when your eggs are ready to be picked up, you are given a trigger injection 36 hours before the pick up. This gets the follicles maturing to release the eggs. The doctor will surgically retrieve the eggs as close to the end of the 36 hour window as possible.

But this is 'artificial', and your own natural LH surge may cause ovualtion quicker or slower.

I guess it is a trial and error scenario, with the message being that you have to take all things (CM, OPK, mood, abdomen pains, cycle day, past history etc) into account.

Hayseed

Hi!

When i was using billings method (looking at cervical mucus to determine ovulation) Dr Billings said ovulation usually occured 0.2 days (5 hours) after the peak egg-white mucus sign. I get this the day after my surge, so can i assume it takes about 36 hours for my body to ripen following a surge?

Hana