When to start using OPK's?

[GlitterMouse]

Just a quick question, sure it's been asked a thousand times before-sorry! When in the cycle is the best time to start using opks? Historically I've had a really short luteal phase but easily managed to conceive my two boys.

I really have no idea what is going on with my cycle at the moment, each one is different so I'd kinda like to know where I'm upto! I've been doing LE and cardio since January and we are planning to start TTC pink in May/June. Thanks in advance of your suggestions.

[XXforhubby]

How long are your cycles normally?

What are you using for opks?



[emoji170]DS1[emoji1379], DS2[emoji577], & DS3[emoji602][emoji170][emoji166]One last pink sway 2016[emoji166]

[GlitterMouse]

How long are your cycles normally?

What are you using for opks?



[emoji170]DS1[emoji1379], DS2[emoji577], & DS3[emoji602][emoji170][emoji166]One last pink sway 2016[emoji166]

Thanks for replying xx

My problem is that my cycles are always different lengths, can be anything from 23 days-27 days. One or two have been even longer-31 days?? I've been very lapse in monitoring it and feel this will let my sway down.

At the moment I have sainsbury's (UK supermarket, if you are unfamiliar) own OPKs. I bought them just to see if I can fathom what's going on. When I get to TTC-ing, I was going to switch to Clearblue smileys. Are they the best ones to use? I'd appreciate any advice you have.

[ksmom]

If your cycles are irregular, you could start testing after AF ends or maybe starting around cd10 since your cycles are short. My cycles are often irregular as well which causes me to use way too many OPKs. I suggest getting the cheapie internet ones so you don't feel like you're wasting money. The CB digital ones are good to use BUT they're pricey and I personally only use them when I get what I think is a positive on one of the cheapies.

[XXforhubby]

I would start using internet cheapies until you get a handle on your cycle. I would begin testing starting at CD8, since you can have short cycles, and continue until CD18-20 to cover your longish cycles.

You may need to test twice a day, morning and again between 12-2pm (LH levels peak in the afternoon).

If it becomes too time consuming for you or too stressful, you can always BD every 4 days starting when AF ends and continue until CD21. I'm doing this since I'm still breastfeeding and my cycles will fluctuate. Plus, opks stress me out too much, haha! Especially since I used them for my last pink sway that ended upbringing me my sweet DS3 [emoji4].

FX and GL to you!!


[emoji170]DS1[emoji1379], DS2[emoji577], & DS3[emoji602][emoji170][emoji166]One last pink sway 2016[emoji166]

[GlitterMouse]

Thank you so much for your replies ladies. I will begin testing at cd8 due to my short cycles xxforhubby. Can anyone recommend the cheapie internet opks you are using?

[atomic sagebrush]

Use cheap ones and for a month or two start on the early side like CD 8-10 because it can be nice to see the progression from totally negative to positive.. Then after you get the jist of what you're looking for you can dial it back a bit and err on the side of closer in.

[atomic sagebrush]

Thank you so much for your replies ladies. I will begin testing at cd8 due to my short cycles xxforhubby. Can anyone recommend the cheapie internet opks you are using?

wondfo has been pretty good.

[XXforhubby]

I also posted this in the exercise forum too.

I like Wondfo or Babi Internet cheapies and the CBD with smiley (pink ones) NOT the CBD advanced with flashing smiley (purple ones). The advanced seems to cause problems for people.

I always used cheapies until I got a positive- the test line was as dark as or darker than the control line. Then I would check it with a CBD. This way you don't use but 2 or 3 of the CBD's per month (they are expensive) and a box of 20 could easily last 8-10 cycles this way making them MUCH more cost effective!


[emoji170]DS1[emoji1379], DS2[emoji577], & DS3[emoji602][emoji170][emoji166]One last pink sway 2016[emoji166]

[GlitterMouse]

Thank you everyone for your replies xxx

I will get onto this asap :happy:

[princessCharlotte]

I always start testing from CD8 and have see the pattern so far.

it is best that you start tracking for at least 3 months first before actual attempt if you want to know O date.
otherwise, every 4 days method is recommended

[GlitterMouse]

Thanks PrincessCharlotte for your advice. I will probably struggle to chart for at least 3 months beforehand as my first attempt is May/June. I really want to get on it as I'm 38 now. I've been exercising and doing LE hard and have lost about 21lbs so far. My cycle has been all over the place, maybe because of this and I didn't want to stress myself out too much with charting etc. I am a bit of a 'see how it goes kinda girl!' Will buck up my ideas from now though :bigsmile:

[atomic sagebrush]

I do not want ANYONE tracking for 3 months before TTC (unless you are not actively TTC right then for other reasons). There is no benefit to swaying from tracking cycles for months in advance. You do not need to know your O day and it changes anyway. People who get all worked up over knowing thier O day for ages in advance are sadly disappointed when they start to sway and their cycle goes bonkers which happens about 87% of the time.

[GlitterMouse]

Thanks Atomic, that makes me feel a lot better. I am going to have a look at my cycle this month, with a view to maybe ttc in May and if not then, definitely June. I dipped a toe in testing my temp etc before I conceived DS1. Must admit, it was a half hearted attempt and we were very lucky to conceive with no problems. I have made a conscious decision to remove myself from as many stressful situations as I can. I am a worrier and have heard you and lots of other ladies say that testing can be stressful. I'm going to be lighthearted about it-DH and I love an experiment just out of interest (geeks!) and if its a no go we will happily do E4D.

[maidentomother]

I recommend starting on CD8. David brand OPKs (pink handled strips in pink text packets) are the best cheap strips I've found over here. I've heard Superdrug own brand are good. Unfortunately, Wondfo aren't available here (the rare ones offered have all been fakes to my knowledge).

I also really like the ClearBlue Advanced Digital OPK (NOT the regular digitals, those don't work for me at all), particularly for women with erratic O day/cycle length, like you and I. I have to use it carefully and the tester sticks are expensive, but I get a lot more warning (usually 5 days in advance) and clearer, more reliable results than I do with strip OPKs.

[GlitterMouse]

I recommend starting on CD8. David brand OPKs (pink handled strips in pink text packets) are the best cheap strips I've found over here. I've heard Superdrug own brand are good. Unfortunately, Wondfo aren't available here (the rare ones offered have all been fakes to my knowledge).

I also really like the ClearBlue Advanced Digital OPK (NOT the regular digitals, those don't work for me at all), particularly for women with erratic O day/cycle length, like you and I. I have to use it carefully and the tester sticks are expensive, but I get a lot more warning (usually 5 days in advance) and clearer, more reliable results than I do with strip OPKs.

Thanks for the info maidentomother. You must have read my mind as I am struggling a bit to get the wondfo. I've also been reading about the fake ones. Wondfo are expensive on Amazon UK, far more than Amazon US, working out about £1 per test, which is what I have been paying for my Tesco/Sainsbury's own brand anyway. As I have some of those in already and I need to start testing tomorrow I think I will plough on until I find a cheaper and reliable solution.

I will look into the clearblue ones you recommended. :agree:

[coralsky]

I always used these ones until they started looking close to positive, and then I used clear blue digital (the pink ones, not advanced) to confirm with the smiley. That way I was only using 2-3 CBs per cycle and it worked out a lot cheaper. :)

50 x One Step Highly Sensitive 20mIU Ovulation / Fertility Strip Tests (Wide Width). These are identical to what we supply to the NHS: Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care (http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Step-Sensitive-Ovulation-Fertility/dp/B001G7STT0/ref=sr_1_2?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1459496546&sr=1-2&keywords=ovulation+test+strips)

Good luck xx

[maidentomother]

I think the Tesco ones are okay.

coralsky, I am not a fan of those OPKs. I have never gotten a dark let alone positive OPK on them.

[GlitterMouse]

Coralsky, I love your name! Coral is my absolute fave colour. Yours too? Coral dust to us both!!

Thanks very much for your suggestion. I may as well give them a go as they are v.cheap and apparently are used by the NHS?? I will heed your warning though Maidentomother. I'm trying to be as laid back about this process as I can be!

[coralsky]

Well maybe I was just lucky but I used them for well over a year, and always found them to be pretty consistent and reliable, esp considering the price. As I said though, once it got close to positive I would then confirm with a digi to be sure... but after the first couple of months I rarely needed more than 2 digitals per cycle, and often only 1.

But I know everyone is different, so maybe you just need to try and see. :) If the lines are not clear enough for you, then of course it's not worth the £ savings if they are going to create stress! ;) xxx

Ps. Glitter mouse I love your avatar! x

[coralsky]

Oh ps. I have just remembered that there was one month when I thought I was ordering the same as before, and ended up with slightly different ones, which were not as good at all. :(

I think it was these ones I got by accident...
One Step® 20 x Ovulation Tests - Highly Sensitive Ovulation/Fertility Tests - 20mIU/mL Sensitive Tests: Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care (http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Step®-Ovulation-Tests-Sensitive/dp/B0071MSEH6/ref=sr_1_3?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1459584738&sr=1-3&keywords=ovulation+test+strips)
So to be clear, the above link is to strips I DO NOT recommend...

The ones I would recommend are on the first link in post 17 of this thread.

After that, I just made sure I really studied the picture properly before ordering, or else clicked on a link from my previous orders to make sure I was getting the right ones. :)

Good luck ladies, let me know what you think of them if you do try them out xxx

[maidentomother]

Coral, I've seen them work fine for some women. Standard CB digis don't work for me either so I know I'm atypical. Those other One Steps you linked are AWFUL, I never get anything beyond a faint line if I even get any second line at all. I've seen many women complain about them on FF.

I've now been wondering based on recent cycles if I am (at least some of the time) Oing before I get a dark OPK and maybe that's why I haven't been getting pregnant. Ugh!

[coralsky]

Coral, I've seen them work fine for some women. Standard CB digis don't work for me either so I know I'm atypical. Those other One Steps you linked are AWFUL, I never get anything beyond a faint line if I even get any second line at all. I've seen many women complain about them on FF.

I've now been wondering based on recent cycles if I am (at least some of the time) Oing before I get a dark OPK and maybe that's why I haven't been getting pregnant. Ugh!

Yeah the one-step opks in the 2nd link are NOT in the same league as the ones I linked originally (in my experience anyway), and at first glance the packets do look pretty similar too! That's why I felt I had to post again when I remembered about those other ones!! lol. But of course I understand that everyone is different, and just because a particular type/brand worked well for me, doesn't mean they will for everyone. I guess its like anything and there is always a bit of trial & error involved. :)

I am so sorry its taking a while for you Maiden, I know how frustrating it can be month after month when nothing is happening. :( Have you tried ultrasounds and/or blood monitoring to help you figure out when you are O'ing? Are you using clomid at all? I found that when I used clomid it did make my cycles a bit 'wacky' and harder to decipher (although it obviously doesn't have that affect for everyone I'm sure) but when I did some monitoring it really helped me to figure out what was going on...and I actually found the bloods were more helpful than the scans, but maybe if I had had the scans more frequently in the follicular phase of each cycle, they would have been more useful. :/

I hope its not too much longer for you, fx fx fx xxx

[atomic sagebrush]

Well maybe I was just lucky but I used them for well over a year, and always found them to be pretty consistent and reliable, esp considering the price. As I said though, once it got close to positive I would then confirm with a digi to be sure... but after the first couple of months I rarely needed more than 2 digitals per cycle, and often only 1.

But I know everyone is different, so maybe you just need to try and see. :) If the lines are not clear enough for you, then of course it's not worth the £ savings if they are going to create stress! ;) xxx

Ps. Glitter mouse I love your avatar! x

It is a conundrum to be sure because I feel like with the expensive ones, not only are they ALSO unreliable (just like a different flavor of unreliable) but also people try so hard to preserve them that they never really learn how they progress and often miss O all together.

The other option is to say "eh screw it" and do e4d (and to be honest if the results with it stay this high I'm going to start recommending it, the OPK are just such a sucky way to do things.)

[maidentomother]

Yeah the one-step opks in the 2nd link are NOT in the same league as the ones I linked originally (in my experience anyway), and at first glance the packets do look pretty similar too! That's why I felt I had to post again when I remembered about those other ones!! lol. But of course I understand that everyone is different, and just because a particular type/brand worked well for me, doesn't mean they will for everyone. I guess its like anything and there is always a bit of trial & error involved. :)

I am so sorry its taking a while for you Maiden, I know how frustrating it can be month after month when nothing is happening. :( Have you tried ultrasounds and/or blood monitoring to help you figure out when you are O'ing? Are you using clomid at all? I found that when I used clomid it did make my cycles a bit 'wacky' and harder to decipher (although it obviously doesn't have that affect for everyone I'm sure) but when I did some monitoring it really helped me to figure out what was going on...and I actually found the bloods were more helpful than the scans, but maybe if I had had the scans more frequently in the follicular phase of each cycle, they would have been more useful. :/

I hope its not too much longer for you, fx fx fx xxx

Thanks hun. <3 I've had a ton of monitored cycles and extensive bloodwork. Everything is good if not excellent except for undetectable testosterone (likely due to how sedentary I am and my pain meds). There have been some cycles when I inseminated too late, and until this current cycle I've only ever had one attempt in my fertile period. It's not always easy timing my attempts bc OPKs don't work well for me, my O is unpredictable/moves around a lot, and I'm using a sperm donor and so have to schedule attempts but can't always at the last minute.

I did one cycle on injections, which I responded very well to, but couldn't inseminate in time. I've done 2 Clomid cycles, in Jan and my current cycle. My ovaries respond really well to the Clomid and like the injections it does wonders for my short LP, but I feel awful on it, like a bad case of the flu for 10+ days. I'm not sure I can handle another cycle on it, and I only have one cycle worth's left. I won't be able to get more or Femara, which is what I really want to try (I think I need it to O earlier without horrific effects, plus lower incidence of multiples, I had 2 eggs on Clomid).

I do have enough FSH left to do 2 cycles more of injections, though I don't really want multiples and I released 3 eggs on them. Still, I think the biggest issue is probably my sperm donor, who has low sperm count. I always conceived so easily with 2 prior partners. I should finally be using a new donor next cycle; it's been hard finding one as I'm VERY picky about looks, intellect, personality etc.

If I'm not pregnant this cycle (I just Oed) I will be getting sn HSG early next cycle/later this month, to check my tubes. That's the last thing I need checked out on my end.

If you like you can peek at my charts:

http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/4a5f89/thumb.png
My Ovulation Chart (http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/4a5f89)

[coralsky]

Oh wow Maiden, it must be so tough, I really feel for you... :(

It sounds like you have all the bases covered, so I don't know if I can be any help (probably not!) but I will mention to you anyway the few things that crossed my mind while reading your post...

1) The only thing I can think of which *may* help low testosterone is DHEA.. BUT I would only use this as a 'last resort' type thing (ie. after failed ivf attempts, etc) and since all your other numbers are good, it may not be the best idea... esp. with you taking medication for other health issues - I would def. not think about it without speaking with your doctor first, at least. So maybe that one is best kept in the back of your mind as a 'last ditch' possibility if all other avenues are exhausted (please don't let it come to that! ;))

2) I think if your current donor has a less than ideal (but not totally awful) SA then increasing the number of attempts has a really good chance of helping. My DH's SA was not really terrible, but not too great either (notes from clinic- sample suitable for icsi only!) and it then made me wonder if that was why I had needed extra attempts to finally get a BFP...? (to be fair, there were other factors that particular month that may have helped me pop out a better egg too) but we had been ttc for a long time with 1-2 attempts and nothing happening, then on bfp month we ended up having 3 attempts and got the positive then! (blue though! ;))

3) If you are finding it difficult to have fresh samples available from your donor at the right times, and are regularly visiting a fertility clinic for monitoring etc anyway - would it be at all possible to have them freeze some of his sperm, and then do AI/IUI at the clinic? Or is that a terrible idea? I suppose it might be harder to increase the number of attempts doing it that way, as they may want one IUI per cycle only... but I was just thinking that might be a way of getting around the donor's last min availability issue.. and would hopefully increase your chances at the same time.. may be expensive for 'natural' cycles though (?) Have you tried any trigger meds to help time O? I suppose that might be an option with an IUI route too... quite possibly a terrible idea, but just thought I would mention when it popped into my head, just in case.. I know that sperm does freeze/thaw pretty well...

4) Have you had a hysteroscopy or uterine cavity checked? If not, I would maybe see if they are able to do this at the same time as HSG (if possible) just to cover absolutely everything you can.

I don't know if any of that is any help or not, and I know I come at this from more of a HT perspective, but I thought it couldn't hurt to mention some of my thoughts to you... although I am sure you have considered it all already anyway! ;)

I REALLY hope this is your lucky month, and then you don't have to worry about any of that other stuff... Or if not, that the new sperm donor does the trick next month at the v least...
Got everything crossed for you hun xxxx

[atomic sagebrush]

:agree: no DHEA without doc's input including blood tests

[maidentomother]

1) I've been wondering if I should take DHEA ever since I got my bloodwork results back showing undetectable T, very elevated SHBG, and very low DHEAS. The FS had no comment on DHEA supplementation. She didn't think it would hurt but doesn't use/prescribe it. Atomic at the time thought it best I not take it. I doubt it is a major issue but since the opiates I take can suppress T/androgens, DHEA supps might counteract that...Maybe I should try it for 3 months then get my T etc tested?

2) Definitely going to try to always have multiple attempts at this point. I think you're right that it may be necessary with my current donor.

3) IUIs are really ineffective and it would be a real hassle/basically impossible for me to time it properly anyway, bc my pain is unpredictable and I'm often not able to go out or it can take several hours to get my pain under control. But I doubt it would help anyway and fresh sperm are soooo superior to frozen for natural fertilisation. I think a trigger might help me generally or would be at least eorth trying but my FS doesn't.

4) I haven't had a hysteroscopy but neither my FS nor I think I need one, everything is normal on scans, I have never had any symptoms of uterine abnormalities, and I always conceived so easily in the past, never spotted or cramped in any of my 6 pregnancies (not even my last which was heterotropic ectopic and which I miscarried). It is possible my last D&C caused damage but I've been pregnant since then. I will ask if one can be done eith my HSG though, it can't hurt!

Thank you so much for your input, fresh eyes and a different perspective are always good IMO.

[Kittybear]

Best of luck this month m2m xx

[atomic sagebrush]

1) above - If you know you have low DHEA at this point I'd prob. take the chance. You seem to be able to get in for good quality medical care (some of us have a really difficult time getting docs to help us with blood tests and stuff like that) so if you're able to get your bloodwork done then there's little risk that you could end up too high (since you know you're low to start with and will have blood redrawn in a few months)

[maidentomother]

Yep drs here are so happy to have any patients who pay privately. I already get quarterly blood tests for vitD anyway (at my expense). Healthcare is sooooo much cheaper here but it is heavily govt subsidised. Like 30 Euros for a bunch of scripts and bloodwork. Blood tests can cost 40-120 euros depending on how much is being tested. I know for a fact my (govt) insurance wouldn't cover much of what I ask for but I get better care paying myself. I wanted private insurance but no one will take me due to the severity of my scoliosis.

If I'm not pregnant this cycle I'll give it a try.

[atomic sagebrush]

Keep us posted!!!

[coralsky]

I think I agree on the DHEA. I think that if your doctor is happy for you to try (ie. not saying- no, no, no!) then it might be worth a go, as long as its not going to interfere with your other medication you need for health reasons. BUT if you are going to be changing sperm donors next month, I might be tempted to try 2-3 months with the new donor first, just to see if that will fix it. :) Well, if your patience can stand it, anyway! ;)

And that's great they are happy to do hysteroscopy for you too! I know what you mean that it likely wont show up anything, but its better to tick as many boxes as you can, I think. ;)

Best of luck hun, FX for this month too xxxx