Has anyone given up OPK's and gone on to get pregnant?

[Notinmykitchen]

I have been TTC for bloody ages now, and using OPK's from the start. Clearly it is not working, and its making me miserable. I cried this afternoon just because the bloody test refused to show a positive two days after I would have expected to ovulate this month.

The problem is DH and I both work shifts, so just having sex every other day is not a realistic option. I am wondering if there are people out there who have given up, left it to chance, and actually got pregnant. At the moment it feels like if I stop, then that's it, it definitely won't happen. Maybe what I need is just a good hard slap round the face to make me get a grip, who knows. Any advice would be gratefully received!

Notinmykitchen-I can totally relate to everything you have just said. I'm not much help, so sorry. Just wanted you to know that I for one am in a scarily similar situation to the one you find yourself in. Just really hope someone who can cheer us up can come along soon

Hear hear! Am debating going cold turkey in opks too. They are stressy, as is temping. Whilst I can't help in that way either, you aren't alone. We will get there, but they don't call it 'trying' for nothing. a month or two off may well feel relaxing. I've done this a couple of times this year and I could tell when was ov as I've learnt the signs now. It felt good to have a rest from it. Good luck x

Oh god, I'm glad it's not just me who is struggling with these bloody OPKs, either I never ov or they don't work!! Sorry that I don't come offering an answer but take comfort in knowing you are not on your own!! I temp as well and they're all over the place too!! Trying to relax is easier said than done but maybe that's when it will happen when you least expect it to!!!

Hope you get some answers soon :)

DH and I started TTC in May 2010 and I started using OPK's. Never really got on with them - tried different brands and strengths for about 4 months, but never got a clear result that said time to BD.
In the end I gave up, carried on the FAM method and bought a saliva microscope which I found really good and correct every month. It still took us 9 months trying due to being so busy, getting used to doing it when we needed to instead of when we wanted to. BFP in January and now due in 2 weeks.

Good Luck. If ever you want to chat, PM me

Thanks folks, I feel better knowing its not just me! I'm sure this should be easier, all it takes is one sperm to meet one egg, job done! We WILL all get there eventually!!!

Ooh, cross posted with you MadKatz. Thanks for the positive story! Congratulations and hope all goes well in two weeks!

I did!

I had two MCs, and then couldn't get pregnant, so we tried OPKs and nearly went demented with the pressure of it. We'd be up at six in the morning for work, I'd pee on a stick, see a smiley face and look at DH in despair at the thought of having to have joyless rushed sex in the vague hope that the smiley face meant that I was about to ovulate, or actually ovulating, rather than had finished ovulating. It was horrible.

I saw my gynaecologist after three months of this because I was so panic-stricken about not conceiving, and he told me to put the OPKs in the bin, have sex at least every other day in the middle of the month, and stop worrying. He also said (because I was worried I wouldn't know when I was ovulating) that I should look out for a period-pain style cramping mid-cycle, which is known as mittelschmerz (I think it means middle pain), which is a sign of ovulation. So I did, and conceived DS1 (after another three months of much more enjoyable sex, and a course of acupuncture, which helped to get my head straight) and DS2 (at the first attempt).

Get rid of the OPKs, ladies - they put so much pressure on you, and it's so much better for you to just have lots of sex in the week that you expect to be ovulating, listen to your body, and try to relax. I know it's hard not to be stressed when conception, which seems so easy for everyone else, isn't happening for you, but if there is no physical impediment (which there wasn't for me) then psychology can (cruelly) play a huge role in determining whether you conceive in a given month. The more stressed and anxious you are, the harder it is.

Wishing you all huge amounts of luck - and a happy delivery to madkatz.

I spent a fortune on OPK's as I had a longish cycle and was wasting too many each month. Sometimes I got a + other times not.

In the end I ditched the OPK's and invested in a very cheap digi thermometer from Boots and charted my temps on www.fertilityfriend.com for free. More important than getting a + on OPK (I came to discover) was learning to read my own body's signs of ovulation (EWCM)

It took me 13 months TTC DD1 and 4 months TTC DD2.

Thanks for the positive stories. I think I have now decided that giving up the OPK's is the way forward. I just hope I have the will power when it comes to it!

Hear hear! I've just done the same! Will read TCOYF more closely though! Thanks for the indispensable advice here ladies. :-)

I have to confess I may just be swapping one obsession for another, I've just signed up for fertilityfriend.com to give charting a go. Bit scared DH is going to laugh at me though

Notinmykitchen

I did too.

About 4 months of using OPKs with never more than the faintest of ghosty lines. Got fed up. Binned them. 2 months later fell pg with ds.

This time however after 2 cycles I've caved and ordered a CBFM. This'll probably just stress me, but I am worrying I'm not ov'ing at all, so wanted to give it a go.

Yes. I didn't use OPKs every month, but the month I got pregnant I didn't use them, just went for an every-other-day strategy.

Yep - I just didn't get on with them! I checked cervical mucus instead which worked in two months.