Advice re OPK please-very early smiley face

[StrawberryMojito]

This is my second month using an OPK (clearblue digital that tells you when you are both high and peak fertility). Last month I didn't get a high fertility sign at all (flashing smiley face), it just went straight to peak fertility (fixed smiley face). This was on day 12 which was a couple of days earlier than expected but still seemed normal.

I only finished my period a couple of days ago but started using the opk straight away as my cycles vary a bit (26-30 days). Today (day 8) I got a high fertlity sign. Surely this is too early?

So, we had sex last night just for fun rather than baby making but now I'm thinking should we do it again tonight as I got the high (but not peak) fertility sign or shall we just start doing it every other day until I get the peak fertility smiley face. I don't want to exhaust DH and his swimmers but don't want to miss the window either.

Ty BNmum x

Im due AF soon x

Sorry to hear that, Blue. It could be a one off though, but I'd def go to the GP for answers if I were you. At least you can get the ball rolling. It sounds as if you've done research re: pcos so they should take you seriously. X

P.S. Happy belated birthday, Strawberry. Hope you had a lovely time and hoping you get your bfp as an extra present this month! X

Thanks Charley. Hope you are enjoying your month off.

Oh Blue, that is crap. I think you are right you are going to have to be forceful with the doctor. Is the temping 100% reliable?

I've got to be honest, I'm not sure where I am with my cycle. I got a small amount of EWCM a few days ago but was only getting flashing smileys. I have now run out of CB OPKs with no fixed and haven't had a positive on my cheapies yet but the EWCM seems to have gone so a bit confused.

Acupuncture was cool actually, not too painful and quite interesting. He pressed on various parts of my abdomen and asked whether I felt pain. There was one area that felt tender so he put a needle somewhere in my right foot, after a few minutes he pressed again, no tenderness!

He was putting needles in my ears which was sore but not awful, he said that if it extremely painful then it would have indicated ovary problems, it didn't thankfully but he suspects hormonal problems but I practically told him that myself. He did seem to know what he was talking about but we'll see how it goes. It is expensive so we can only afford about 5-6 sessions.

If we ever did manage to get pregnant again, I wouldn't mind what we had either, like you say benefits to both. I would like to use my favourite girls name though as boys names are boring!

Sorry to hear that blue, how long have you been off the pill now? Please try not to get too down, even if you did have pcos you can still ovulate (albeit irregularly) and can still fall pregnant. You don't have to answer this personal question but are you under or overweight? Weight can be a huge contributing factor with pcos.

Oh that's good business, you shouldn't have to wait too long then.

Sounds fascinating strawberry, I hope it works for you. Did he say how long it takes before it makes a difference? I have the opposite problem with baby-naming. I can think of plenty boys names but no girls names at all, it was the same when I had DS. Maybe it's a sign that we are expecting another boy?

Strawb, that sounds quite good the acupuncture. I never went back to the reflexologist. It is expensive like accupuncture and I started getting doubts about whether it genuinely works.

It's not just the temping that told me I haven't ovulated. My cervix is still medium and open and I get bits of ewcm. I guess because I didn't get ov pains it just didn't do it. I'm hoping it will try again soon. I ran out of opks too but ordered some cheap ones.

I have been off the pill since April and my weight is normal. I was underweight for a while ages ago, but have been a healthy weight for years now. So that shouldn't be it. I'm thinking I might have too much testosterone. But the GP will hopefully give me answers. I'm going to give it a bit longer though till it's been 6 months after stopping the pill.

Thanks everyone for your responses. It really helps!

Blue, I'm sorry to hear about your struggle..and I understand. You are doing the right thing by seeking testing & I agree with the others, that you should not lose hope (even if you have PCOS)..I have a few girlfriends diagnosed with that, and have had successful pregnancies (some with the aid of meds, some without). Keep your chin up and as you say, take charge of your journey and politely demand testing / scans.

Strawb - I've always wondered about acupuncture, that seems like it would be such a cool experience!

Business - that's great!

All ~~ Bad news for me today...my CD11 scan showed a huge follie on my right ovary that they say is "leftover" from my last cycle and that it's not viable...the other little follicles are so small, that they're considering this cycle not a TTC one (frustrating since this is a "here we go again" type of thing for me latley)...So, I had to use my Ovidrel shot today to trigger Ovulation to occur, in order to get rid of this giant leftover egg so I can "start with a clean slate next cycle"....Basically, another few weeks now before I start TTC again (if my AF even arrives timely)...just frustrating. When the nurse was reading the scan information, I felt the lump in my throat and the tears come to my eyes, but I choked them back...Know what I mean? Don't want to become emotional, but it's hard not to...it's just alot of pressure when we know we can't control what our bodies are going to do and how they will (or won't) perform.

Im sorry kab. It is so frustrating having to wait because your body is not cooperating. It is very emotional, wanting to conceive but meeting barriers. Hopefully you'll be able to resume ttc soon.

Sorry to hear that kab, ttc is a giant emotional roller coaster and I think you did remarkably well today. I hope af turns up on time so you can put this cycle behind you and look towards the future.

Hmmm...well at least you can strike weight off the list blue. Please forgive me for prying, I'm hugely analytical (a massive fault of mine) and always try to find a reason why things things aren't working out. My family suffer from pcos and the docs looked at weight first and foremost, he has advised us (myself, sister and cousin) to put on weight to improve our chances of conceiving. Like you say, your body could gear up and ovulate in a couple more weeks time. Fingers crossed.

How's everyone else getting on?

Kab, that sounds rough. Of course it's natural to get emotional about these things, I really hope your body sorts itself out in time for next months cycle.

The acupuncturist didn't give me any timescales but I couldn't afford more than a couple of months anyway. He says his work is 99% fertility orientated and it is hard to get appointments with him, so he must have some good results.

Good news is I got a positive opk today. We dtd last night and will for the next couple aswell.

Yay for your positive opk

Hi everyone, I hope you don't mind me joining in, I have just recently come of the pill. 1st of this month and decided to try out the ovulation kit. I went straight from ooooo to a solid smily on the 14th, I think we covered all days before and after smiley. But on the 16th 17th I had very bad pains in especially when I sat down. It felt like ovulation but I'm unsure?? Do you get pains after??? Also I have found your thread really interesting. Thanks for any help Laura x

P.s I apologise I am no way near as up to date as the rest of you in dtd or bfp's lol, just starting to learn the lingo c

Yay! For the positive OPK strawberry, that's great news. Keep up the shagging

Welcome missv, are you using the clearblue advanced or the normal cb digital tests? It sounds like it wouldn't be too long until you'll be testing, when is af due? The acronyms can be abit daunting at first but you'll get up to speed in no time. Give us a shout if you need anything clarifying and we're happy to help. There's a link at the top of the page to some well used acronyms if you need it too.

Thanks BNmum, testing on or after 1st of sept. using clearblue advanced. Used for three days just out of curiosity early in and was surprised to get a solid smiley without any flashing and I didn't realise until I found these posts that you shouldn't test after a solid. I continued after not realising had a couple of ooo and then four days of flashing smiles again. If af arrives I shall know for next time around. Has any one else had o pains after ov?? My cm on the two days that I had solid smiles was as it should be clear and eye white like? Then had pains a couple of days later. Thanks Laura

Oh not long to wait then. The cb advanced are really sensitive missv so it could be that the pains were actually ovulation 48hrs after your fixed (which just signals ovulation is likely to occur) or just random pains. It's difficult to know sometimes, especially when it's your first cycle.

Well I may be out this month then, those are the 2 days i felt i could possibly give it a miss. I did think that BNmum lol. We shall after Sunday. This is a fab place to chat. You all seem do nice and ready to give advice to anyone thanks so much x

Bnmum, I don't mind the questions, I am eager to explore all factors that might be good/bad. What weight did the doc recommend? My BMI is 19.1 at the moment, but I've been exactly the same weight for years and years now. I don't think it's too low though. I have been reading about pcos and following a low GI diet, but I'm reluctant to do so as I definitely don't want to lose any weight!

Strawb, congrats on your fixed!!

missv, women can have pains before, during or after ov. You might have gotten it during or after, as you ovulate within 12-48 hours after getting your fixed smiley. So either you ovulated on day 16 which explains the pains, or you got the pains just after you ovulated.

You started testing just a few days before you got your fixed? In that case it might have been just too late for the OPK to pick up the rise on oestrogen (which is when you get a flashing smiley), which could explain why you went from the circle to the fixed smiley. The reason that a while after you ovulated you got flashing smileys can be that after ovulation your oestrogen levels rise again, which the OPK picks up on.

Well today I have been getting pains in my side, left side for the first time. I don't have any OPKs to confirm though, but hopefully it's ovulation, only I don't have much ewcm. We'll see!

missv, don't worry! Sperm lasts quite a while inside you, at least two days. Research has shown that successful conception most often takes place from having sex two days and one day before ovulation. So you're not out at all!

Here to hoping, thanks blue, as for pcos, I agreed to dianette four months ago but stopped as husband and I agreed to start ttc, I have had very high testosterone levels since my teens, hairy face stomach etc etc with no cysts showing and my weight is 9st, conceived my daughter naturally 6 years ago. Sunday needs to hurry up!! Lol x x

Hi MissV, I get tender lower abdomen during and just after ovulation, I've been told this is normal. The very first month I used the CB opks, I went straight from negative to fixed smiley. I didn't get a flashing smiley then the next month I had them for days before my fixed. I agree with the others, if you are not successful next month, do it for at least 2 days after your fixed smiley to make sure you don't miss ovulation.

I think that although the CB opks have worked for BN and tea, I think they are overpriced. I have been using the One Step cheap ones from Amazon and they seem accurate. I get positives with them around the time I expect to be ovulating anyway (those pains and ewcm). Good luck.

Blue, fingers crossed you're ovulating!

BN, we've used preseed a couple of times now. Nothing exciting to report, we'll see if it works any magic in 10-14 days!

I think the docs said the your fertility bmi should be between 19-25, so you're only just in that range blue. I would also be reluctant to try the gi diet. Unfortunately, a lot of info on the net relates to pcos and overweight not underweight so you really have to be careful that the info relates to you.

The docs are the best to advise but if you want to look at your diet, this is what I can remember. I'd kind of forgotten (neglected) things after having my DS so when things didn't happen for us immediately when we ttc #2 I reverted back to looking at my diet and hey presto it worked. Of course it could have just been coincidence.

Anyway, I increased the amount of high fibre foods: fruit, vegetables especially dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli etc), beans and pulses. Ate more eggs. Increased amount of vitamin C, apparently this improves hormone levels and can help women with luteal phase defects. Swopped white bread and rice for brown. Ate more red meat and stopped caffeine intake. I think the caffeine was the most important thing. I was drinking 3-4 cups of tea a day and stopped overnight as again it affects hormone imbalance and can prevent ovulation.

I agree with blue missv you could still be in with a chance, fingers crossed!

This is just what I think all of us need, positive thinking. BNMum perhaps the change of diet took your min off ttc no2. Our minds play havoc with our bodies. That's usually the biggest problem. But it very easy to say to say lets not think about it. It's probably the first thing we think about in the morning and the last thing we think about at night. I've got three clients pregnant at the moment and about five who have just had babies. I feel like there everywhere. I'm wishing everyone luck this week wherever you are in your cycle x x

That could have been the case missv although having a 2yo running about all over the place doesn't really leave me much time to think of anything if I'm honest. I think the important thing for me was feeling in control and trying to do everything possible to increase my chances.

The OPKs certainly helped this as my cycle was really long and erratic. I totally agree with strawbs and many others they are overpriced although I managed to get them on offer and they were cheaper than the normal cb digital ones (which have also worked for me) so they didn't hit me as hard in the pocket. I do think they're great when having assisted conception and you need more warning as to when your fertile window will be as they are more sensitive than the normal digital ones.

The cb digital worked for me but I also threw preseed and vits into the mix. Who knows?!