I need help with OPK

[Thorz300]

Ok so I know that if the line on your OPK is faint, then it is negative, but mine is slowly getting darker, is that how it normally works? I started with the OPK the day after AF ended and got a barely visible line (I had to move it in certain lights to see it) each day since then it has gotten darker and darker but is still not quite as dark as the control line. I just wonder if this is how they normally work and I am not sure I will ever know if it is positive or not. I don't expect ovulation for 3-5 more days will the line start getting lighter and lighter after O? Am I the only one that wishes the OPK would just say OVULATING or NOPE NOT YET????

[dloui128]

That is how OPK's normally work, once it is as dark as the control line you are ovulating. I hated trying to figure out those kind of OPK's so I used the clear blue easy digital ones that gave you a smily face when it was positive.

[Boymomsrock]

Yep...once the line is as dark or darker than the control line you will ovulate 12-48 hours after. I think that's the window but for most it's at least 24 hours. GL!

[hplnvf32]

I know, I am confused too. My OPK yesterday was very positive around 2 pm but it is still very positive today. Does that mean I will probably ovulate tomorrow?

[LacePrincess]

I know, I am confused too. My OPK yesterday was very positive around 2 pm but it is still very positive today. Does that mean I will probably ovulate tomorrow?

No. Your FIRST +OPK is the only one that counts. Any +OPK's you have after doesn't mean a thing, as the LH surge takes different amounts of time to excrete from the body.

The 12-36 hour countdown starts from your first +OPK. So it means you O'ed today or will tonight sometime.

Yes, a fade-in/fade-out pattern is normal, I get that on mine. IC's are a PITA to read sometimes, and you also need to know that it doesn't matter if the entire thickness of the line is the same color. As long as any part of the line is as dark as the control line, it's positive. Mine are always darker on the left hand side of the test line. It CAN be hard to tell, which is why I'm glad we're not doing any sort of abstain/oneshot deal, because it would PISS ME OFF to DTD and then see an even darker +OPK the next day!

The digital ones are great but I can't afford them. They cost $42 for one month's supply here. OMG!

[hplnvf32]

Thanks, I should have clarified that the reason I am confused is because yesterdays OPK, my line was EXACTLY the same color as the control line but today it is darker than the control line.

[Thorz300]

I'm glad to hear I am not the only one who gets confused by these, so I don't feel like I am the only one not getting it. Luckily we are doing FR and BD everyday up until day after O so we shouldn't miss it, but I still want to know when it is. I wish I could afford a better opk but I just have the internet cheapies! They say FMU shouldn't be used for OPK so I usually do mine around lunch time noon-1pm is that a good time or should I be doing opk later or earlier than that?

[LacePrincess]

Thanks, I should have clarified that the reason I am confused is because yesterdays OPK, my line was EXACTLY the same color as the control line but today it is darker than the control line.

I can see how that's confusing! But I'd still count yesterday's as your first +OPK. The key is 'as dark as' your control. Today's could be darker simply because there's a touch more dye in the test strip or your pee is more concentrated. Try not to overthink it! ;)

This is why going with FR or bd'ing through O is SO much less pressure when OPK's can be such a PITA.

Thorz, you're absolutely bang on, you don't use FMU with OPK's. LH is produced in the morning so the best time to test is between 10am-8pm. If you have the cheapies then test twice a day when you start seeing EWCM if you can, 11am-12pm and then late afternoon so you make sure you don't miss a surge. Often I catch the beginning of my surge at noon and have a dark positive later that same evening.

[Northern_Shutterbug]

No. Your FIRST +OPK is the only one that counts. Any +OPK's you have after doesn't mean a thing, as the LH surge takes different amounts of time to excrete from the body.

That's not true, you can have multiple surges and not ovulate. I've had months where I get positives and no ovulation until 4-5 days later, and in between the line has faded and come back positive again. I keep testing until I have a decent temp shift.

[hplnvf03]

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a529/hplnvf03/F3C13F1A-958D-47C8-8784-DA78033730A8-7642-000009D6B7F56F6D_zpsf80383c1.jpg

So the top one is Monday.
The 2 in the middle are from yesterday.
The bottom 2 from today.

I was trying a 5/6 day abstain with a one time shot. We BD'ed late Monday night but now I'm thinking I should tonight. I still have some wet CF. haven't had EW since Monday. Thoughts?

[LacePrincess]

That's not true, you can have multiple surges and not ovulate. I've had months where I get positives and no ovulation until 4-5 days later, and in between the line has faded and come back positive again. I keep testing until I have a decent temp shift.

Northern, I think you interpreted my post incorrectly. I didn't mean that the first +OPK confirms O. OPK's only confirm an LH surge has started.

Yes you can have multiple fake estrogen surges, and multiple fake LH surges. (Although, fake LH surges are rarer than fake-out estrogen surges). But when looking at OPK's from one 'surge event', if you will, the first OPK is the only one that counts if you're trying to time BD. After the first +OPK some people might have multiple days of +OPK afterwards (I'm not talking about a fadeout and another surge like days or weeks later), and it's confusing because they keep thinking they haven't O'ed. In your case you were having multiple LH surge 'events', as shown by the fadeouts (and negative) OPK's in between. My previous post was only talking about what commonly happens, when someone has like 3 days in a row of many +OPK's and is confused when to BD.

But yes I agree with you that OPK's don't confirm O, they only detect LH. The only way to know for sure O occurred is to wait for 3 days of sustained thermal shift. But of course by the time you see that the egg has come and gone for that cycle.

[LacePrincess]

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a529/hplnvf03/F3C13F1A-958D-47C8-8784-DA78033730A8-7642-000009D6B7F56F6D_zpsf80383c1.jpg

So the top one is Monday.
The 2 in the middle are from yesterday.
The bottom 2 from today.

I was trying a 5/6 day abstain with a one time shot. We BD'ed late Monday night but now I'm thinking I should tonight. I still have some wet CF. haven't had EW since Monday. Thoughts?

Okay, the top one is negative. The second from the top one is definitely positive. It's impossible to really pinpoint O, but you should O 12-36 hours from the second OPK, in other words sometime overnight yesterday or sometime today.

If you bd again today you'd definitely increase your chances of conception, but, you'd also be totally erasing your abstaining strategy. When you abstain you pretty much limit yourself to just one attempt. Anymore and you've undone any benefits of abstaining. So it's up to you if you want to risk possibly swaying blue by doing that.

[hplnvf32]

Just seeing your response. If I ovulated overnight last night or sometime today, I feel like there is a chance of getting pregnant because we BD'ed at 11 pm Monday night. So monday to Tuesday night at 11pm would be 24 hours and Tuesday to 11 am today would be 36 hours. And with the cervical fluid I was feeling, there is more of a chance that sperm were still alive 36 hours later. If we BD tonight, it would be after my DD goes to bed so it may be too late anyway.

[hplnvf32]

and btw, my temp did not go up this morning so I am thinking I may ovulate today.....

[LacePrincess]

Just seeing your response. If I ovulated overnight last night or sometime today, I feel like there is a chance of getting pregnant because we BD'ed at 11 pm Monday night. So monday to Tuesday night at 11pm would be 24 hours and Tuesday to 11 am today would be 36 hours. And with the cervical fluid I was feeling, there is more of a chance that sperm were still alive 36 hours later. If we BD tonight, it would be after my DD goes to bed so it may be too late anyway.

For sure the sperm should definitely be viable for at LEAST 48 hours if you had good EWCM at the time. If you can rein in your impulse, I'd really encourage you to just hang in there and leave it at the one attempt unless you're really willing to completely give up on the abstain. If you're in early months trying, you don't want to have any regrets that you rushed things along and wish later that you'd been more patient, kwim?

I agree that you probably will ovulate sometime today. Hope you see a temp rise in the morning!

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, that is totally normal and can be very handy!

[atomic sagebrush]

I know, I am confused too. My OPK yesterday was very positive around 2 pm but it is still very positive today. Does that mean I will probably ovulate tomorrow?

No, it doesn't matter how long the test is positive for, you'll ovulate 8-48 hours after the FIRST positive test even if your test stays positive for 700 years afterrwards ;)

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks, I should have clarified that the reason I am confused is because yesterdays OPK, my line was EXACTLY the same color as the control line but today it is darker than the control line.

I understand and that can be very tricky. The only solution is a smiley but they are SOOOO expensive and still aren't 100% accurate.

[atomic sagebrush]

That's not true, you can have multiple surges and not ovulate. I've had months where I get positives and no ovulation until 4-5 days later, and in between the line has faded and come back positive again. I keep testing until I have a decent temp shift.

This is true, but Lace means that provided the first pos OPK is a real positive and not from a fake surge, then it doesn't matter if it stays positive for 3 days afterwards.

[atomic sagebrush]

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a529/hplnvf03/F3C13F1A-958D-47C8-8784-DA78033730A8-7642-000009D6B7F56F6D_zpsf80383c1.jpg

So the top one is Monday.
The 2 in the middle are from yesterday.
The bottom 2 from today.

I was trying a 5/6 day abstain with a one time shot. We BD'ed late Monday night but now I'm thinking I should tonight. I still have some wet CF. haven't had EW since Monday. Thoughts?

The top one does not look pos to me but the others all are. You will O 8-48 hours after the first pos on Monday.