OPKS advice. How important is it....

[littlestgirlguide]

....to follow the instructions?!

Probably a stupid question. But the instruction say to PIAR, leave 20 minutes for urine to reach room temperature, then dip and leave 10 minutes before reading.... Also not to test first thing, or after 8pm and that mid afternoon is best.

Well, I am at work and cannot sit in the toilets every afternoon for 20 minutes waiting for a pot of wee to cool down, so I have been testing in the evenings after getting home so 7pm ish. Got nothing but -ves so far, and wondering if I'd done it as stated on the packet it might have shown +ve!

Any experts out there who can advise?

[Geeklette]

Can't say I've ever read that I need to wait for it to reach room temperature, I tend to pee, dunk and glare stare at it until its done! I think possibly the room temperature advice might be for if the test is being done in a lab and the sample has been refrigerated?

After several months of using these little blighters, I now know my body well enough to know that I can get away with just doing FMU until I get a semi positive, then again between 6pm and 8pm to confirm (and the following FMU, which is usually also positive for me). I think the advice to not use FMU is in case you miss your surge, or only catch the tail end. CBFM is the odd one out, as it insists on FMU.

What brand are you using? I use internet cheapies and CBFM sticks.

[littlestgirlguide]

They are Internet cheapies from amazon, the sort with big green writing on the front.

[willitbe]

My IC tests used to say about leaving to reach room temperature, but now they don't! not sure why the change in instructions. But having had a similar issue to you with working. I found that testing in the morning with FMU and testing in the evening once I was home, meant that I did detect the surge. I tend to only get the true positive in the mornings anyway, it has been rare that I have got the positive in the afternoon as is supposed to happen!

I would recommend testing both morning and evening to make sure you don't miss an lh surge.

It was easier using clearblue (non-digital tests) as they required FMU and no cool-down time anyway, and they were easier to read, but the expense meant I had to return to IC's.

[littlestgirlguide]

When you say a semi-positive, do you mean a dark control line, and a fainter test line? That's happened this week, but the packet says to regard this as a negative as well?

[Pipbin]

I tend to test in the morning too, however it needs to be the second wee. I just squeeze one out before leaving the house.

As for the semi positive, i find that I tend to fade in and out. So in the run up to an actual positive it will get darker until I get a positive, then fade out. A darkening line is a good indicator that OV is on it's way, but not fool proof, I've had one get dark but not dark enough, then be dark enough about a week later.

[Quodlibet]

I can't be arsed with leaving wee to cool down, and have been getting reliable positives which correlate with my temp changing the next day and confirming OV. Like Pipbin says mine fade in and out, so I'll regard anything that's a pretty dark line as an indication that OV is likely about to happen. When you've used enough of them I think you get to know what a darkish line means for your body.

[Geeklette]

hi littlest, yes about the semi-positive. I almost always get a faint test line anyway, but I've got to the stage where I recognise the day before as it is definitely not in any way faint, but it's also not as dark as the control line. The ones I use are One Step (big green writing) from Amazon, too.

Like Quodlibet I use mine in conjunction with temping - good job really as I am PCOS and have recorded up to three separate LH surges in one cycle!

[littlestgirlguide]

Thinking I maybe need to buy a thermometer!