Can anyone explain opk / ovulation tests to me please?

[spamanderson]

Hi lovelies!! I bought some ovulation test strips ready for when we start trying at the end of the month (yippee!) and I thought I'd use them for this cycle to get an idea of my fertile days etc. Well I used one 5 days ago (the 29th and 19th day of my cycle! Yes, 19th!) and got a faint line, next day it was as strong as the test line, tested again today and both lines are faint. I'm confused as to when it's likely I would have ovulated and which days I would be classed as being fertile or the best days to DTD?! Thank you! I feel such a novice but dd1 was unexpected, dd2, we had been casually trying every other day and managed to fall when we only DTD about once in 2 months (we were getting married so decided to have a rest ha ha)

[loopylou1984]

Spam - the clear blue ones are really good. Best of luck, X

[spamanderson]

Thank you! Yeah I was shocked I ovulated that late tbh! Well my cycles were always about 28-30 days until I started using the pill ( just to balance out my hormones, it stopped me getting pmt!) then it went down to a 7 day cycle at the worst. I might have to invest in the clear blue ones. It's likely to be difficult for us to conceive so we need as much help as we can get!

[NewEraNewMindset]

Do you know that you ovulate late? How long are your cycles normally?

[lildottie]

I get faint lines on them leading up to ovulation. they are considered negative unless as strong as control line. I usually ovulate day after last positive (I have sometimes had 2 days of positives)

have you thought about charting your temperatures? that won't help you predict ovulation/time DTD but will confirm when you have ovulated.

[loopylou1984]

Hi

The tests show ovulation when both lines are the same shade, so the best time is a couple of days before this happens.
I find the clear blue test with the smiley faces easier as you get a few high fertility days before your peak so you have a warning. They are more expensive though.