When should I stop having sex?

[Hariboz]

Hello

I’m approaching my fertile window this week. I use opks and therefore have no idea when I ACTUALLY ovulate, we tend to have sex just before and during my strongest lines on ovulation strips.

My question is, should I have sex more than once in the day of my strongest lines?

Should I have sex even once the test turns negative?

I’ve been trying for a while now and only had one bfp which resulted in a chemical. That cycle I remember we dtd twice in one day so I’m wondering if that helped us catch. Or would we be overdoing ourselves?

I guess I want any tips/advice about timing sex during fertile window. Anything we can do to maximise our chances this cycle?

Seen too many bfns, feel like I would try anything right now.

Hi @Hariboz, as you likely ovulate 12-72 hours after your get your peak OPK, I think it might be beneficial to keep DTD for a day to three after your peak. You can then rest for a bit !

@Kay00 so keep going for a few days even if test turns negative? What about doing it more than once in one day?

Unless you have fertility issues or have been trying for a very long time I normally suggest just DTD every other day throughout your cycle up until your period or a BFP.

As a minimum I'd do from the week before predicted ovulation up to a week after your peak. DTD every other day regardless of readings means you don't have to worry about missing your peak.

The only other advice I'd have is to make sure you're both on board with how often you're planning to DTD. TTC can often be a marathon and not a sprint, you don't want to tire yourselves out/ make it just about making a baby.

@Curiosity101 last cycle we dtd every second day and it was exhausting, when our fertile window approached we were burned out and doing it for the sake of it.

My other half even said he didn’t feel like he was producing good sperm during the fertile window compared to the previous week.

We will probably start day before my peak opk, purely because we do get tired and it becomes a bit of a chore.

That makes sense 😊

In that case I'd keep going for one or two days after your peak to make sure you're covered for ovulation. But more importantly if you aren't temping then keep doing OPKs so you can be sure they stay negative and can assume you ovulated successfully.

@Curiosity101 Do you think I should continue to take ovulation tests for the rest of the cycle after peak surge? Usually I just stop after my strong lines have turned negative.

I would keep testing for 3 or so days after they turn negative (unless you're doing BBT) because there is always a chance of failed ovulation. If your body fails to ovulate it should try again and you'd pick up another surge after they go negative.

@Curiosity101 will do, what about dtd more than once in a day. Does that really produce weak sperm as some say?

The research is pretty contradictory, but overall the message seems to be that you wont harm your chances by having more sex. And that you may actually improve your chances, because although there will be less sperm in later attempts, it may be better quality on average.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5845044/

Thanks @Curiosity101 for the article, that's really interesting.

I wouldn't bother doing it more than once a day. Ideally you need to be starting before you get your positive OPK. Every 1-2 days is good. I would definitely do it for at least 3 days after your peak opk as you could take that long to actually ovulate after the peak. I found temping really helpful to get an insight into my cycle so would also recommend that if it's something you would be up for. Good luck

@Hariboz what worked for us was no sex for a week before ovulation, then dtd at 2 days before, a day before, on the day and a day after.

You can try the ovulation strips to find out exactly when you ovulate, when the second line appears thin, that is a day before, then it gets stronger and then fades again. May take a month or two to get the right days but should then work.

Good luck :)

I think perhaps I’m stopping too soon, need to keep going even after my surge as you can ovulate a few days after it