Do darker OPKs indicate overall fertility?

[Erin514]

Can anyone tell me whether getting darker OPKs "means anything" for your overall fertility (besides just trying to pinpoint ovulation)?

I used vitex to bring back PPAF and while TTC cd1-14. While on vitex, I had a very short surge and would never get a true positive OPK (I just counted an almost-as-dark line as positive), although I did get pregnant from a single attempt at "darkish" OPK.

That pregnancy ended in a miscarriage and I didn't restart vitex. I've had a long surge and much darker OPKs even though the HCG is out of my system, with multiple days of true positives last cycle. I'm now starting my second cycle since m/c and I'm already getting a pretty dark line at only CD4 (I used to never see a hint of a line until cd17-18).

Do the darker OPKs mean anything for a pink sway? Should I be worried I'm too fertile and it may sway blue? I should be having my a attempt at FIRST positive OPK when getting multiple positives, right?

[Throwaway_panther]

From my understanding, no OPK counts for anything unless it's a full on positive (as dark as if not darker than the control line), and that the varying shades before these points don't mean anything? What OPKs are you using, too? I've never had a "blank" or very light OPK in the times I've checked for ovulation (I never did before my DD).

But I'm posting too to follow if there is any information to the contrary -- for my second m/c, I actually had had a much shorter LH surge than normal that cycle (2 days of positive OPK compared to my usual 3-4) (which is why we thought I was out of the ovulation window...), if that has any bearing here.

[atomic sagebrush]

No, they don't. Sorry, I wish they did!

We have TONS of pink swayers reporting many days of pos OPK and many of them still conceive girls. No correlation.

RE when to have attempts with lots of positives, I want you to have attempt at first pos and then pick it up with e4d after that. That way you're covered no matter what.

[Erin514]

Thanks Atomic! That reassures me.

TP, I use Wondfo. They used to be stark white and then 3-4 days with a line that never got darker than control, then stark white again. Since last cycle, there were four days my test was darker than control. It could just be post-miscarriage adjustments or what the fact that I'm not on vitex but it was confusing!

[ThinkingofPink]

Did you get a new pack of wondfos? I find the darkness of them varies quite a bit from batch to batch. The ones I have now are extremely sensitive and are fairly dark even when I'm not ovulating.

[Erin514]

Oh! I DID switch to a new pack since I noticed the change in darkness. I wouldn't have thought it would make a difference but maybe that's what's going on. Huh.

[cosmosis]

I haven't had a single blank wondfo OPK since I started using them.

[foxtrotmama]

I've never had a blank wondfo but have gotten blanks on other IC strips.

[Ntli]

On the topic of opk, is it abnormal then to just have 1 positive then back to lighter within 12 hours??

[cosmosis]

Not abnormal. Some women have alot of LH, others do not. What happens after the first OPK differs from woman to woman. Some will get 2-3 days of positives others will see it come and go quickly.

[foxtrotmama]

I've never had two days of positive OPKs in a row and I've done a lot of cycles with OPKs.