OPKs - do they work? Top tips for their use?

[FurtivelyPosting]

Hi everyone. I'd like to pick your brains on OPKs, please!

I've started using OPKs for the first time this cycle and haven't had a positive result with them. I'm also charting my temperatures on a fertility website and, although my temps indicate that ovulation occured, the site is querying this because all of my OPK results came out negative.

I'm sure I read somewhere that OPKs don't work for everyone - is that true? I've also been given a handy tip of putting the time of testing back further in the day, to about 5pm (I was testing at around 2pm or 3pm). Will it be a process of testing at different times each cycle until I can identify when my LH surge occurs? That could take months!!

Finally, if you're an OPK veteran, what top tips have you got for us newbie users?

Any advice will be gratefully received. Happy 2008, everyone!

I didn't get a positive result with OPKs this cycle but I am pregnant (fingers crossed, very early days)! Not sure why I am still posting on here but maybe because I am just hoping it stays in. Are you looking for EWCM - that is what always worked for me?

Hello FP - if you have PCOS they don't work very well - this is because they look for a range of 'normal' hormone levels for ovulation and yours may not reach it. This doesn't necessarily mean you are not ovulating. For DD - both blood tests and OPKs all said 'no ovulation' yet I conceived that month, so clearly they aren't infallable.

As Petitfilou said cervical mucous is a much more ready indicator. Also having sex every three days ensures there is always sperm available when the egg does show up. The problem with OPKs is you get the luteinising hormone surge AFTER you have ovulated so it's too late really to do much about it other than sit there smugly if you have had sex recently.

Thanks for the replies - very helpful info!

I don't have PCOS so maybe it's worth continuing to use them. I've also been monitoring my CM - I didn't get my usual EWCM this month but I did get lots of watery CM, which is still fertile. Going by my temps and CM pattern alone, it looks as though I did ovulate - it's just the OPKs that have thrown a spanner in the works! I think I managed to time sex around when I should have ovulated too - 5 days before, 2 days before, 1 day before and the day after.

This cycle has been a bit confusing, to be honest. I'm due on today but don't have any period symptoms - I usually get bad cramps and backache so there's no mistaking it. All I have is some light spotting but no sign at all of proper period flow. I'm fully expecting my period to start today or tomorrow and so haven't tested yet. Even if I'm not getting any period symptoms yet, the spotting should indicate that it's on it's way, I think. What do you think?

Umm are you sure you are not pregnant then - lack of Premenstrual symptoms is normally enough to have me reaching for a stick to pee on

Last time I thought my period was coming - little bit of spotting, no pain etc btw, was a while ago - I'm nearly ten weeks pregnant now!

FP, I got pregnant (with #1) without a positive OPK, first month using them. Didn't temp then though, but if your temps went up bet you ovulated too. I thought 2pm was a good time but finally got my first positive (this time round) first thing. At the end of the day all this is guidance - sounds like you did exactly the right thing.

I am sure that you get the LH surge BEFORE you ovulate i.e. 12-36 hrs before (on average) - but thermal shift generally AFTER.

Hi FP

There are two main problems with usage of OPK's; firstly such things assume that women only have one rise in LH every month and that such a rise is immediately followed by ovulation. Both of these are simply not true.

Also if you are one of many women who produce high levels of LH (a common problem with polycystic ovaries) then the kit will be reading that excess.

The surest way of knowing whether you are ovulating or not is to have blood tests done.

Also any spotting between periods should be investigated to ascertain the cause particularly if this keeps happening.

I used them and liked them. I was also temping last time I got pregnant and it all seemed to match up. Did you start using them early enough in your cycle and you should use them asfter midday and at the same time every day. Some people only have a surge for a matter of hours so it can be missed. I only liked using digital ones.

Thanks for all this advice - it's really, really helpful!

Whomovedmychocolate - a few days ago, I would have said that it was looking promising; my temperatures went up for the second time, giving me a triphasic chart. It's not looking so promising now though as I've had light spotting for the last three days and my temperature took a dive today - I'm still above my cover line temperature but only just. The website I use has given me a recommended test date for tomorrow and I think that with the spotting and today's low temperature, my period will probably arrive tomorrow. I could test tonight but I'm avoiding it as I know I'll feel disappointed. If my period doesn't arrive tomorrow, then I think I will test either tomorrow night or the following morning.

The absence of pre-menstrual symptoms though is very odd for me - you're right about that. Is it common to have so much spotting in early pregnancy, though? This is the third day I've been spotting - it's light and *TMI WARNING** I've been wearing a pad to monitor it; the spotting on my pad is dark brown but when I go to the loo, the toilet tissue has red spotting on it. I can't help but conclude that either my period is on the way or, if I am lucky enough to be pregnant, it may turn out to be a chemical pregnancy.

Goingfor3 - I started using them as soon as my last period ended (I wanted to get into the habit of it and also make sure that I didn't miss 'the window of opportunity'!) and I always tested at around 3pm every day (with a bladder that had been kept full for about 5 hours). I've been told that I could have missed my surge and so should try testing at a different time of the day. I think next cycle I'll try testing at around 5pm and if that doesn't work, I'll switch to earlier (as I could be getting my surge earlier like SazzaK does).

Thanks again for the all of the great advice, everyone. Happy New Year to you all!!

FP - hmm well that is a puzzler, I was never that fastidious about temping as apparently so many things can mess it up. So couldn't tell you about that. Had similar bleeding though - like the very tail end of a period, the a few red spots when I wiped. So don't discount pregnancy yet.

GULPS!

Best to do it with first morning urine anyway. The sort of icky brown stuff that is more sludge than blood was my experience. How exciting! You could start 2008 as one of the bloated few!

I could, but my bloating is down to too many mince pies, unfortunately! My perio arrived this morning with a vengeance. Bit disappointing but new year, new cycle, new start and all that. At least now I've got some good tips on OPKs from this thread to arm myself with. Thanks again everyone and a happy new year to you all.

Oh dear, but good to hear you so positive about it. Now you get two weeks to get yourself together ready to do it all over again. Of course you should have as much sex as possible because there is no bloody chance of so much as a cuddle with a newborn in the house!

it's a right old rigmarole, isn't it? At least I've now got more of an idea about what I should be doing with those OPK sticks....

Hey there FP - I have used OPKs before and not got on well with them - my eggs get shy , I haven't read all the replies, so sorry if I am repeating others, but, my advice would be 1) buy in bulk (accessdiagnostics.com) so you can test several times a day if necessary, as the surge can come at any time i think, and 2) don't let them stress you out, try not to rely on them as sole guide to pinpointing ovulation.

Hope that makes sense... t'is late and I should be sleeping.

Thanks Ready and Anniemac - really useful posts there.

Ready - thanks for the website tip. I've stocked up on cheapie bulk buy from ebay. I intend to use loads of them this cycle in order to try and pinpoint the surge. Might as well wee on a few a day - that's what they're for!

Anniemac - you're right about focusing too much on the OPK results. I'm pretty sure that once I've used up my stash, I probably won't buy any more. CM is usually a much more reliable indicator and I think I would be better off concentrating my efforts on knicker checking!

Thanks again, both - really good advice there.