Using OPK after loss

[SamS_TTCPink]

So today I am CD11 (counting day 1 as first day of heavy bleeding of m/c) and I'm still bleeding but it has reduced dramatically yesterday and today.

I thought, out of curiosity, I'd try a OPK and see what it said and there were 2 lines, and the test line almost as dark as the control line. So, does this indicate I'll ovulate soon and probably get a positive opk in the next day or so or can pregnancy and miscarriage mess with the results and make opk's not reliable at this stage??

We're still not decided on whether to attempt this cycle or not but I'd like to be able to predict ovulation just in case.

[Mackenzie]

Hi, it could still be hcg in your system. Do you have anymore hcg tests? I kept testing till there was no line and then I knew a pos opk would def mean ovulation. Opk pick up hcg as well as Lh hormone. When do you normally O? It will prob be a bit later than usual from the miscarriage. Good luck :)

[SamS_TTCPink]

The cycle that i got pregnant I had a positive opk on CD10 and we BD that night.

Bugger, I thought maybe that may be the case with the hormones messing up the result. I don't have any HCG tests but I guess I could go get some cheap ones (or would I be better off with FRER?)

Why does this all have to be so hard??!? I knew it was all too good to be true and too easy last time. 😉

[SamS_TTCPink]

I took another test tonight and it was negative with no second line at all. 😕

To those who did get PG again straight after a loss, how were you tracking ovulation?

[sugarNspice]

I've tracked ovulation after several of my many losses. For me, opks aren't reliable until a month or two after the m/c... and I generally don't ovulate until then anyway (the earliest I've ever ovulated was 16 days after a d & e, which was with my latest loss, at 18 w... I thought that was very weird, but possibly because the baby had been dead inside of me for a long time, so my body was already getting ready).

OPKs test for a hormone that's shaped (on a molecular level) almost exactly like Hcg, so any hcg remaining in your system from the pregnancy can cause them to be falsely positive, or falsely darker than they should be. And this will vary depending on time of day and how well hydrated you are.
I always use wondfo hpts (internet cheapies, because I go through a lot of them), every 2-3 days, after each m/c. I take them with first or second morning urine (the most concentrated) to try to get consistent, reliable results. They start out positive, and gradually fade. It's only after they're completely negative that I start my usual opks (this is generally after my first af). It's possible to ovulate earlier than this (though I usually don't) but the only way to try to track it is through temps/charting... opks just don't work until the hpts are clearly and reliably negative.
HTH. So sorry you have to go through this.

[atomic sagebrush]

I suspect it is leftover HCG esp. given that you're still bleeding. I would be surprised if you ovulated 14 days after a loss - it doesn't work like AF. It can happen esp. with an early loss, but it's unusual.

I agree with what Mackenzie is saying, take a pregnancy test and see if it's still positive and Sugar's advice is also excellent.

I'm not totally sure I'd TTC if you're still bleeding quite heavily. Even if you are ovulating, that makes me think the lining would not be quite good enough to sustain pg and there is also the risk (however remote) of infection.

[SamS_TTCPink]

Ok, thank you all. Off to buy some pregnancy tests then. Also having HCG bloods taken today and a scan. I guess I'm just impatient to get back on the TTC wagon! 😜

[sugarNspice]

so glad to hear that you are getting an u/s--finally! Just a good idea to confirm that it's not ectopic, and that there's nothing left behind--for sure you cannot conceive and sustain a new healthy pregnancy if there are retained products. It's an infection risk, and everything needs to be gone before your hormone levels and cycles will return to normal.

(One of the reasons I always like to test out the hcg after miscarriage is just to ensure that the levels are declining... if they don't go down normally, it can be a sign of problems, and while this is rare, it always makes me feel better to be sure it's not happening.) I also find that seeing the hpts get paler and paler with each passing day helps me heal emotionally, but this of course is different for everyone. For me it's a reminder that my body is recovering and getting ready for another try.

[SamS_TTCPink]

Thanks sugarNspice! Yes it's been a fight to get an u/s done and it was eventually through a call (ok, 3 calls all up to make a pregnancy app, cancelling an app, trying to get an app...) to a receptionist at a radiology place throughout this whole thing that she actually organised it for me! She has no idea how grateful I am.

[SamS_TTCPink]

So blood tests show my HCG is at 5 and bleeding has decreased a heap today. Won't get results from scan til drs app tomorrow.

[sugarNspice]

5 is so nice and low! What a good sign--that all is going as it should, and that your body will be ready to try again very soon.

[SamS_TTCPink]

Hopefully sugarNspice! 😊

I know it sounds crazy but I am so sure I'm ovulating or about to! I only just stopped bleeding but I've got pains today like o pain and had EWCM this arvo. Still haven't had a chance to get a HPT but opk is negative??!?

It would probably be stupid to TTC anyway but both DH and I are just so impatient now. I'm also having a "down day" and threw a tanty about how this is so stupid that it's so hard!!

Getting just one girl out of all our kids just seems like it should be so easy, even with a 50-50 chance you'd seriously think one girl out of 6+ kids would just go without saying, especially when 'everyone else' can have 2-3 kids and get both genders without even trying! But no, I have to try to sway and then even if I get PG I'm still not "guaranteed" a daughter and now I've had to go through this loss and it's effects too! It just doesn't seem fair that this has to be so hard for all of us on here!! 😠

Oh, and the dr today asked how many kids I have again, I said six and he looked at me like I was mad! He then said, have you got a new husband and is that why you want another baby and I said no, I've been with my DH since we were kids so he goes "well why do you want another kid?" So I had to justify myself to this dr who then said "well it's not advisable!" All solely based on the fact that I've got six kids and now had a loss and that I'm "old" (I'm 34!!).

I felt like asking if he had any kids and what genders and then lecture him about gender desire!!!

Ugh!!!

(Ok, sorry. Tantrum over!) 😜

[maidentomother]

It's not his place to judge your family! Just do your job (be nice & help your patients achieve THEIR goals not yours), man!

[sugarNspice]

If you *really* want to TTC, and think it will genuinely help you to feel better (and your DH is on board) then perhaps you should DTD.

But: the ONLY time I TTC'd with my first ovulation after a m/c, I did get pregnant, and I had a chemical. After another m/c my RE did hysteroscopy (this is where they insert a tiny camera up through the cervix and look at the lining of your uterus--if you've ever wanted to know what the place where your babies grow looks like from the inside, it's the coolest thing ever) during the LP after my first ovulation, and my lining was very thin, almost certainly not healthy enough to sustain a pregnancy. And as Atomic said, if your cervix is still open, and if you are still bleeding, there is possibly some risk of infection. So I personally don't TTC right after a loss anymore--it feels to me like there are more cons than pros.

But: many women--on here and elsewhere--can get pregnant with their very first ovulation, and do go on to have healthy rainbows nine months later. Most likely if your body is not ready, you will not get pregnant, or in the worst case scenario, have a chemical. You've got to do what feels best for you--motionally and physically.

I think it's completely unprofessional of that dr to say what he said--it's his job to help you conceive and carry your babies, not to tell you how many to have, or when to have them. Anything else is none of his business. And 34 is *not* old! It's not even officially "Advanced Maternal Age" yet!

Losses suck. They're horrible emotionally, and they're not pleasant to go through physically, either. But having one *does not* mean that you will be unable to have a healthy baby next time, nor does it mean that you are too old to have another. Sadly, they're common and normal.

So sorry that you weren't seen by a medical professional who was able to act professionally.

[Longing.for.a.daughter]

We had a month off after my m/c in feb, and when we did try again I used the maybebaby ovulation predictor. I find it much easier than OPk wee strips. Crossing fingers for you this month x