Are OPK's worth it?

[EssJayyCee]

Hi, I'm a complete newbie so please bare with me

I came off the pill 15th July! Had a withdrawal bleed 18th-22nd July.
46 days later had my first long awaited AF.
I am hoping to conceive this month if I can.

Would you recommend using OPK's with me not knowing my cycle pattern properly? Or should I just go with the flow and hope for the best?

I've tried using Netmums for a couple of things and got no replies or help from anyone I hope mumsnet gives me a better response!!

Thanks in advance!
Steph x

This is a much more active site, I don't use opk but I do use the ovia app and had success with plotting on a calendar. How old are you OP?

I am 26.
I use an app called Clue but with me only just starting real AF's it won't have my natural cycle stored yet. During the pill I was on a 28 day average but before the pill I was really irregular sometimes 2-3 months before AF's so finding when I ovulate will be tricky if they are going to be irregular again.

Between* Not before.

I think OPKs can be useful if you don't know your cycle and want to be very precise. When I started using them I realised we'd probably been missing the best couple of days every month as I didn't ovulate on the 'standard' CD14. A lot of us try for a while by just BDing every few days, without precise knowledge of ovulation dates. If this doesn't work, a lot then move onto OPKs and eventually temping to have a clearer picture of dates and timing BDing precisely. Charting etc does make you quite obsessed and as you're just starting out, you might want to take more of a relaxed approach!

I used OPK last month for the first time and thought they weren't working as they weren't showing a line when I thought I was ovulating. About 10 days later I took another one just out of curiosity and straight away two dark lines appeared. Me and my partner are now expecting (3/4 weeks pregnant).. so I now believe the OPKS work and do tell you when your ovulating!

@LittleTipple yeah I think you're right about taking a relaxed approach.

Aww @ty1996 congratulations!

I can't wait for a BFP. Hopefully in the next couple of months!

I think if youre not absolutely desperate for it to happen straight away then a relaxed approach is great. It can be very stressful when you start OPK's, temping etc, you can become a bit obsessed .

But yes if you don't know your cycles and you're not able to have regular sex then I'd say OPK's are a good idea , so you can have a rough idea of when to TTC (like if you and your partner work different shifts etc it can some times be difficult to have regular sex )

Your making me wanna do opk now!