Reliability of IC OPK (compared with the HPTs)

[Jelleetot]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post so I'll introduce myself, I'm Jellee, 30 and DH and I are ttc#1. I'm just at the end of cycle 2 now. I think I'm overdue (although IC HPTs have been BFN so far) but my cycle's been a bit all over the place so am getting frustrated with the lack of certainty of when to really go for it with the SWI (not that it's so much of a chore, but you know...)

So, last month I bought the IC HPTs and ever since I've been reading about how unreliable they are, people getting BFP on other tests while they've been negative etc. I was thinking about getting IC OPK for next month (when AF turns up - I'm pretty sure) so I was wondering if they are as unreliable? Would I be better off going for brands??

Thanks for any help anyone can give!

[duckdodgers]

I use ic opks all the time and find some reliable, some not so. Bought ones with a green strip - those are the ones I find reliable, the blue strip ones not so. I dont often get a truly dark line as dark as control but I do know when to count it as a positive because the line gets darker, I generally test twice a day until line starts to get fainter again.

My last pregnancy was detected by an ic at only 9 dpo!

[Ladybee]

Hi Jelleetot, in my opinion seeing it's only been a few cycles, I would recommend that you hold off using OPKs etc for a little while. I know it's frustrating when it doesn't work out straight away, but it's a difficult road to start down and once you're on it it's quite hard to back off. Just having sex every 2-3 days should be enough, as when you're fertile the sperm will survive long enough to meet an egg when it's released, as long as there is some sperm there IYSWIM. Anyway, that's not the question you asked...
The OPK measures a surge in Luteinising Hormone (LH), which triggers the follicle to release an egg. The surge can be quite short-lived in some women so some people do best testing a couple of times a day when they start noticing their other fertile signs (increased mucous, maybe increased libido etc). The internet cheapies seem to do fine with that strategy and have the added advantage of being, well, cheap, so testing at say 11am & 3pm doesn't cost the earth.
Other people find them a bit difficult to interpret so prefer something that does the interpretation for them - I think there's a digital one that gives you a smiley face.
The thing to remember is that an OPK predicts ovulation is GOING to occur, it doesn't actually tell you when that will be or if it did. Sometimes you might not respond to the surge, sometimes you might miss the surge, etc etc. and then there's the pressure of feeling like you Must Have Sex Right Now that can be quite difficult to deal with. So...as I said before, you might just want to chill out about it for a while before going down that path.

[Jelleetot]

Thanks, duckdogers that's exactly the sort of info I was looking for :)

Don't worry about me getting too obsessed Ladybee I'm not intending to start charting or anything yet. I know someone who ovulates around day 9 and another who does on day 22 so was just looking to get a vague idea of when I might be (although bio symptoms seem to indicate around day 14ish, just wondering if I'm reading them right!). I am probably a fool to myself as I like to get all the info I can asap! (for anything, not just ttc!)