Calling all opk experts...(warning, pics included)

[Upthetree100]

Hi I would like some advice from all you lovely ladies, first month of ov testing and wanted to know if anybody could decipher these tests, is the line getting stronger? What is happening can I expect to ov soon? it looks like it's getting stronger, am I supposed to be looking for a pattern here. (Okay I can tell this is quickly becoming my new obsession)

The lines need to be the same colour, you won't always get a gradual increase. You don't need to see a pattern, you just need the two lines to be the same.

Having conceived three dc, I can honestly advise you stop with these tests, they make you crazy!! Some women's lh surge only lasts 6 hours (unusual) but it means you could miss it of you only test once or twice a day... And then you find you're testing every wee.

My advice would be to wait for your period to end then shag every other day until it starts again. Dc2 took a year to conceive using opks, dc3 was the first month using the every other day shag method.

Good luck!!

Thanks RN It's just not practical for us to dtd every other day every month we have done it before but it hasn't worked I wanted to start being more informed about when I'm ovulating etc so I can definitively say I have dtd when I ovulated.

I get what you mean though, I know will get obsessed that's just me at the best of times so have already mentally accepted it!

Thanks for advice X

Hi, opks did work for me, with pcos and coming off the pill my cycles were anywhere from 4-12 weeks... We just couldn't maintain dtd every other day for 12 weeks!!

Sometimes my lines would show a pattern of getting stronger but more often than not it would be a really strong positive out of the blue. Probably because of my pcos but I got tricked by lines that gradually got stronger then weaker again without ovulating, which made me think I'd missed ovulation, but I hadn't it was just the lh levels fluctuating. I tortured my self over is it positive or not but honestly, when they are positive it's really obvious. The 2nd line has to be as dark or darker than the control.

Make sure you test afternoon wee, I think ideally between12-6pm, as lh higher in afternoon. With a good 3-4 hour wee hold. Good luck. X

Thanks sunny that really helps. I have recently been diagnosed with PCOS too and I think the fear of never getting a +ve opk is stressing me out. Some of the above tests were taken early am or late pm so I think testing once at 2pm after holding in for 4-5 hours from now on is sensible. Thanks for the advice. Fx for my first dark line!

And sunny my cycles been the same, from 4 to about 13 weeks at the longest we just can't dtd every other day on the shorter cycles let alone the long ones.
Did using opk's help you become pregnant?

Mine was nothing, then mega faint squinters then 'oh there IS a line i'm almost certainly not imagining it' then a loud and proud double sprang out of nowhere today. All in the space of 6 days. It's made me super neurotic. The real thing must be nuts!

Ooh that looks like a good one, hope you're busy getting busy now then!!!

Is this your first cycle?

Im not actually trying yet as have a big holiday (last hurrah) planned for September -Ive just been trying to work out my ovulation times and whatnot in preparation for when we start trying! Ive never tried before so also wanted to check that I do actually ovulate! xx

Good idea you sound well prepared!
Ive run out of ov strips and the new ones haven't arrived yet and I refuse to buy the overpriced ones from the shops,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,so the last time I checked was 2pm on Wednesday when I got the faint line.
Didn't dtd that night but did Thursday night. Could I have missed ov, I hope not?

Who knows but if you Dtd on Thursday night anyway I'd imagine you'd have caught your egg on time if you had OV'd. Good luck! xxx

OP I have faint lines like your original pic for my whole cycle, they fluctuate a tiny bit but only get darker a day before a positive and then stay positive for 1-2 days. Don't be disheartened if yours are the same and stay faint for what seems like forever!! Best thing to do is pay attention to other signs as well like pains/Ewcm so you have other indicators ov is on it way!!

You don't release an egg until 12-36 hours after the positive and then it can live for 12 hours so if you did get your positive Wednesday night you should be ok 😊 It's also good to dtd a few days after a positive for that reason!

Opks are a good way to learn more about your cycle 🙂 I did them for last 5 cycles but I'm having a 'dtd every other day' cycle this time! It's good to have a break but opks aren't a bad thing! Good luck!! 😄

Thanks BoBo guess I just need to be patient and keep at it. I'm getting slightly darker lines every time, but I really can't detect the symptoms e.g. I've been getting pains since the day after AF finished!
Going to combine the opk with dtd every couple of days and see how I go.

Good luck lots and lots of baby dust for this cycle!!!
Hopefully you will have developed your intuition enough over the last 5 cycles to just know when you are ov'ing this month! Do let us know how you get on! X

Can somebody shed some light on the attached please. Surely that can't be a +ve? Or is it?

Why can't it just happen naturally why do I have to do this (gives up and runs off to go cry in a corner somewhere)