Hi lisalou,
Thanks 
How frustrating with your friends! I guess they are just worried about you. Lots of women (whose levels drop fast and dont need chemo) are only told to wait 3 months. You know your body and if your numbers havent risen since Sep, I dont blame you for wanting to start sooner rather than later.
I've actually learnt quite a bit about OPK's/charting/EGCM while I have been battling to get my fertility back all this time. I am using the whole lot to help get there quicker
Here is some useful info:
Amazon sells OPK's 25 for £5
Do them twice a day from day 11 (I often get a positive in the morning, gone by the afternoon, sometimes the LH surge is short and its easy to miss)
DONT STOP SWI too soon after a positive though, stress/illness/travel can delay ovulation so at least 3 days worth is good (i.e. more than the 12-36 hours as it says on packet)
Check out www.fertilityfriend.com if you want to do charting. It helps you know when to stop SWI (because you can tell AFTER you have ovulated and when to test for pregnancy/when AF is coming) Here is my chart
But "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler if you want a complete low down on all things fertility related - its brilliant.
or an easier way is the Sperm Meets Egg Plan
Drink a glass of grapefruit juice for a few days before ovulation, it drastically increases the amount of EGCM you get. Drink more water too for the same reason.
If you have a read of Toni's book or do the tutorials on FF.com you will see that ovulating on day 12 is totally normal. Its a myth that all women ovulate on Day 14, every one of us is different and it can be different month to month. I love charting because it has totally help me understand what my body is doing (and even helped me get the AS diagnosis too!)
anyway, best of luck to us both !!! xxx