ovulation test strips

[plantbasedxoxo]

i feel like such a dummy, but i cannot figure out these dang test strips! i have a box of 50 ovulation test strips, i have used them so far 3 days in a row. each day, the result line gets darker. my dumb a** cannot figure out what this means! when should we dtd if we are trying for a girl? when the line is as dark as the control line? will there always be a second line, or am i actually just ovulating right now? i should have just bought the digital ones, but these were so much cheaper! haha!

[ksmom]

There will always be a second line because we always have LH present in our systems to some degree. When the test line is as dark as or darker than the control line, have your one attempt.

[frankie2017]

If a test strip is almost as dark as the control line but then in 24 hrs it's lighter , does that mean I ovulated somewhere in between the two? This is also probably a silly question!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[atomic sagebrush]

the digital ones are just as confusing.

sometimes as you approach ovulation, you will get a slow rise in LH and this will register as what is called a "fade in" where your tests gradually get darker till they eventually go positive. But just a second line does NOT mean it's positive and you can get them in varying shades all the time and not be ovulating and even your hubby can pee on the sticks and get a second line. It's because the human body needs that hormone in small amounts to do other things and only around ovulation do you make enough to register on the strips.

[atomic sagebrush]

If a test strip is almost as dark as the control line but then in 24 hrs it's lighter , does that mean I ovulated somewhere in between the two? This is also probably a silly question!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, it doesn't. You can have the test go lighter or even totally blank and still not have ovulated, or have it still positive and have already Oed. The tests register only the hormone that signals O to occur, NOT when the egg is released or not (unfortunately!)

[frankie2017]

No, it doesn't. You can have the test go lighter or even totally blank and still not have ovulated, or have it still positive and have already Oed. The tests register only the hormone that signals O to occur, NOT when the egg is released or not (unfortunately!)

Whaaaat!? That's crazy !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[frankie2017]

No, it doesn't. You can have the test go lighter or even totally blank and still not have ovulated, or have it still positive and have already Oed. The tests register only the hormone that signals O to occur, NOT when the egg is released or not (unfortunately!)

Ohh I understand now - if the test goes lighter, I would have reached 'peak fertility' in there somewhere, but then you can O 24-36 hrs later. Is that right ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[atomic sagebrush]

Whaaaat!? That's crazy !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

yeah, the surge and ovulation are actually totally independent of each other. The surge is a message that your body usually heeds but doesn't always and on it's own timeline. OPK are like your boss puts a post it note on your desk that says "sometime within the next few days could you call so and so for me" and then you have gotten the message. The call will occur within the next few days most likely.

Now, your boss may keep putting post its on your desk even after you've called, or he may not put another one on your desk at all and just trust that the one was enough. Or you can even forget to call even after the post it (even after many post its) and or you can call on your own without ever getting a post it.

The surge, represented to our eyes by the OPK is like a message your body is sending to itself that it will usually heed but you cannot tell specifically by the time the post it shows up if O has occurred or if it is about to.

I would LOVE that technology but all we have are the OPK.

[atomic sagebrush]

Ohh I understand now - if the test goes lighter, I would have reached 'peak fertility' in there somewhere, but then you can O 24-36 hrs later. Is that right ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not entirely sure I follow this, but you will ovulate 24-26 hours average after that first positive OPK. Not the darkest, the first. Even if your tests stay positive for days after that, and even if your tests go negative right away, it's still 24-36 hours later for most people, most months.

[frankie2017]

yeah, the surge and ovulation are actually totally independent of each other. The surge is a message that your body usually heeds but doesn't always and on it's own timeline. OPK are like your boss puts a post it note on your desk that says "sometime within the next few days could you call so and so for me" and then you have gotten the message. The call will occur within the next few days most likely.

Now, your boss may keep putting post its on your desk even after you've called, or he may not put another one on your desk at all and just trust that the one was enough. Or you can even forget to call even after the post it (even after many post its) and or you can call on your own without ever getting a post it.

The surge, represented to our eyes by the OPK is like a message your body is sending to itself that it will usually heed but you cannot tell specifically by the time the post it shows up if O has occurred or if it is about to.

I would LOVE that technology but all we have are the OPK.

I love this analogy, Thankyou Atomic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moose5]

So I’m gonna be a little dumb now after reading this. If I want a girl I should basically try once I see the line as dark as the first one ? Not when I️t is darker ? Or do I have sex BEFORE I see the line as dark as the first one ? Sorry I’m a little slow :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ksmom]

You have sex whenever the opk is positive, meaning the test line will be as dark as or darker than the control line.

[MBLo]

Sorry I was wondering the same thing. So not when it’s a faint line? I don’t always get a second line but when I do it starts off faint and gets darker everyday for a few days then it’s gone again. I assumed when the like was as dark as the control line then that was when I was O.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[atomic sagebrush]

So I’m gonna be a little dumb now after reading this. If I want a girl I should basically try once I see the line as dark as the first one ? Not when I️t is darker ? Or do I have sex BEFORE I see the line as dark as the first one ? Sorry I’m a little slow :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, the thing is that timing doesn't sway. It doesn't work, so we are aiming (on THIS site) to have one attempt (which does sway pink) at a point in time that is good odds of conception. Sex at positive OPK (the first time the line is as dark or darker than control) is the best chance of conception for most people and so that's when we plant our one attempt. This is generally going to be O-1 to O-2 range.

BUT if you WANT timing, then ~maybe~ you'd want to BD on O-2 or 3. Now, this is not what we recommend because timing doesn't work and it also cuts odds of conception by a lot, but it's your sway, your way. So if you do want to try for timing, some people ~attempt~ to BD just before they expect a positive OPK. I say ~attempt~ because it hardly ever works and causes tons of stress for people and I don't recommend doing it this way, but that's what people try for, at any rate. So in that case, if you MUST do timing and you have an irregular cycle and can't just BD 3 days before you think you're gonna O, it's possible to try to use the darkness of OPK to sneak in the day before the test goes pos but I don't recommend it. :)

[atomic sagebrush]

Sorry I was wondering the same thing. So not when it’s a faint line? I don’t always get a second line but when I do it starts off faint and gets darker everyday for a few days then it’s gone again. I assumed when the like was as dark as the control line then that was when I was O.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you never get a true positive then yeah kind of use your best guess here. But you may want to try a different brand instead to see if you can get a positive on one of them.

But you have it wrong that when the line is as dark that that is when you ovulate. I have a really in depth description of how it works back on page one, just click back and you can read it. The tests detect the surge that triggers ovulation, not ovulation. YOu'll get a positive OPK about 24-36 hours average after your positive test.

[MBLo]

Ok I read it. Thank you!! So my line was dark and visible. So in 24-36 hours I will be ovulating? DH is out of town and won’t be back till tomorrow. I’m figuring by tomorrow it will be too close to O. I’m shooting for a November baby. My next O will be towards the end of the month and that was my target date TTC. I’ve been swaying for 3 months and I’m ready! Just a little confused on OPK.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[atomic sagebrush]

Probably. It is possible to have either a false pos or a false negative OPK. It is also possible that your body just "decided" not to O for 48 or even 72 hours (or longer) after the surge. OPK, they suck but they're all we got.

DTD close to ovulation DOES NOT SWAY. Scientists using modern technology have proven definitively that when ovulation was properly calculated (instead of just telling people to BD on a certain day, or relying on what day women reported with no confirmation) that there were 50-50 boys and girls conceived every day of the cycle. So I would have an attempt especially since you may not O for longer than the average. Totally up to you, of course!

[MBLo]

Omg this is making me so nervous. I don’t want an October baby. My birthday and my youngest bdays are in Oct. should I still try or wait till the end of the month?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, if you try this month there's a definite possibility that it will be an October baby! You gotta do what will be best for your family!!

[MBLo]

Do you continue your workout the day after DTD? I go to Orangetheory it’s an intense interval cardio workout. Wasn’t sure if that would make anything come out. Sorry TMI!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes it's fine! Follow your heart, of course, but if physical labor could cause a baby to shake out the whole human race would have died out a long time ago!