[.h00dihoo.this.]

.. i posted this in the AIP board.. then realized i was clearly posting in the wrong place lol so here is the post:

so after coming to terms that i was losing the baby the day after xmas.. i had ordered some OPKs to try and get a hint of where my cycle was, when i'd ovulate.. etc.

well for the last three days, i've been testing twice a day and the lines keep getting darker as each day goes.. today's was just funky.. the dye never fully disappeared and looks smudged on the test.. but you could see both control and test lines.. i took another afterwards bc i figured it was a janky test.. and then the 2nd again, came out funky, but instead of the dye being left vertical.. the dye left horizontal across the test LOL..

so here is where i need the help.. i've never taking OPKs before.. so i dont know how this works.. but do they typically get darker as you get closer to O'ing? and is it only possible to get a positive OPK when the line is JUST as dark as the control.. or is it possible to get the test line fainter than the control?

i do understand there will always be a line.. but because of that, i just don't know when to trust that it's an actual BFP or not?


*** okay so here is a pic .. a crappy pic.. but a pic, of yesterday's and then today's PM.. it's getting darker as the days go on, but this one is the same darkness as this mornings

[TnPhotoMama81]

They get darker as you get closer to O'ing. I think they are + when the line is just as dark (or darker) as the control line.

Here is what my + opk looked like. I ovulated on CD21 and confirmed by temping:



Are you going to be temping as well? That is a good back up method for knowing you did in fact ovulate because you will see a temp rise...that stays elevated until you get your period.

Some ppl get much darker OPKS than I got though. You could google examples of + opks

[doremi]

Here is what a positive OPK on the Wondfo looks like for me.


Mine get progressively darker leading up to the positive OPK, then immediately fade after. The day after I took this pic, my test line was barely there.

[.:Shortcake:.]

OPK's do get progressively darker. What I do is test once a day until it's almost positive and then I test twice a day to make sure I catch the LH surge. The LH surge is produced and from your last positive OPK you should O within 24-48 hours. The ones you posted do not look positive to me. They do however look like mine when they are starting to get darker. I think if you keep taking them you will notice them getting progressively darker. What I do is I tape them to a notebook and then add the new one each day to compare. It's been around 2 weeks since your loss so your body will probably gear up soon to O. Sometimes directly after a loss though your body doesn't the first cycle.

Here is how mine are when they are positive.

[L-SBB]

Everyone's given you great advice already....I'm very sorry for your loss welcome to the group - there's a lot of great support here when you need it.

[martilynne]

I have nothing else to add but I wanted to let you know again that I am sorry for your loss and I hope you get a BFP quickly!

[humnck]

First, I am ss for your loss!

I agree, everyone has given you great advice! It's also important to remember that if your OPK shows positive, this does not guarantee that you are o'ing, sometimes your body gears up for it, but just keeps trying to O, but can't, not to say you won't O, but just a word of caution. This is why temping can be very important as mentioned above. And you can get a positive two days in a row...good luck and I hope you catch your eggie!!

[Belita]

I agree with the others. I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm also in my first PP cycle and it's so hard, but I feel like I'm actively doing something toward becoming pregnant again even though we're supposed to avoid this cycle.

[Cait&AngelAbove]

I also agree with the other ladies. I am so sorry for your loss.

[.h00dihoo.this.]

thanks girls!

i SWEAR i already O'd a week after the mc by body symptoms.. but, i've been wrong before.. and then the fact that these seem to be getting DARKER.. perhaps i am wrong!

but then again i may just have it all wrong all together LOL.. last week i had all the excessive wet cm, for a couple of days, then it dried up.. not again since.. i had the same thing with DS2 and they said he was actually conceived nearly 2 weeks later than what i thought when i O'd going by the cm.. so, now im wondering if i get the cm a week in advance to actually O'ing.. though last cycle when i got pregnant, it wasnt the case because i o'd when i had all the cm.. so crap i dont know lol

i suppose i will just keep testing and if one comes up with question i'll bring it here!

[BeckyBozeman]

Ditto what the ladies have said above... with both of my losses I had symptoms of O (darkening OPKs, scads of EWCM, O pains, etc.) the first cycle but never actually O'd. I'd definitely recommend temping along with using the OPKs...

Good luck!

[.h00dihoo.this.]

how do you temp?? the idea of temping every morning doesnt excite me.. im a fairly lazy person lol.. with temping though i've heard your supposed to do it the same time every day.. and i wake up at all different times.. so then i'd suppose i'd have to wake up to a timer!?

[Belita]

I temp vaginally because I often sleep with my mouth open. I hated the idea of setting a timer each morning, too, but it's really not a big deal for me. Since it goes so quickly I find that I'm able to easily fall back to sleep.

[.h00dihoo.this.]

and you use ..... what sort of thermometer?? my only thing is my 1 year old sleeps in his crib literally right next to the bed.. so the alarm deal sort of worries me

[BeckyBozeman]

Generally you should use a basal body thermometer. You can get one at almost any drugstore or even big box stores like Walmart or Target. You do want to take your temp at the same time each morning, preferably after you've had at least a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep before you get up or do anything else. It's important because what you're watching for is a big rise to indicate ovulation. So you want to keep the conditions as consistent as possible to be as accurate as possible.

I know it seems like a pain at first, but Belita is right... if you set an alarm you can quickly temp, record it and then go back to sleep. And it is the most reliable way to know if and when you ovulate. If you use OPKs and temping you'll always know when you ovulated.

[.:Shortcake:.]

There is a book called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler that is very helpful for temping. I couldn't do the whole temping thing. I tried it and it wasn't for me. When I'm awake I'm up and my time that I get up varies. Another thing you can do with OPK's is chart your cervical mucus (gross I know). But that along with OPK's should be enough to know when you ovulate.

[.h00dihoo.this.]

yeah i dont know if temping is going to work the more i learn about it lol.. i toss and turn probably every hour atleast.. and my 1 year old still wakes every 3-4 hours.. i always wake up to turn over though prob every hour lol.. my sleeping life sucks.. so the thought to wake up to an alarm doesnt sound pleasing at ALL esp if i happen to be woken up to it just as i fall back asleep or finally in a deep sleep lol

[.:Shortcake:.]

Originally Posted by .h00dihoo.this.

yeah i dont know if temping is going to work the more i learn about it lol.. i toss and turn probably every hour atleast.. and my 1 year old still wakes every 3-4 hours.. i always wake up to turn over though prob every hour lol.. my sleeping life sucks.. so the thought to wake up to an alarm doesnt sound pleasing at ALL esp if i happen to be woken up to it just as i fall back asleep or finally in a deep sleep lol

Yeah it doesn't sound like temping is going to be for you. Your best bet would be to use the OPK's and also chart your mucus. I'm not sure how your doctor is but my doctor was willing to do monthly blood draws 3 day past ovulation to be sure I did in fact ovulate with my PCOS so that might be an option for you as well.

[Erin84]

For what it's worth, I find that as long as I temp while it's still dark out, it doesn't matter what time I temp. So I might set the alarm to wake me up 3 hours after I lie down (as long as it's "the next day"...) Or I might take my temp at 5am, 6am, whatever... For whatever reason, that works really well for me. Or workED, I kind of got sloppy and didn't temp this cycle. So if you temped when Van woke you up, as long as you were sleeping for at least a couple hours, you'd be fine. I've temped, gotten up and peed, and come back to temp again, and got the EXACT same result, so if you have to pull him into your bed or anything real quick, you'll still be fine.